SAGA - Gaelic Personalities and Cavalry

Celtic Personalities previously painted.

 I picked up a Gaelic Warband for Saga some time ago. The warband consisted of Victrix figures sold off by a local gamer. It was partly painted but there were still a fair number of figures for me to work on. This morning I finished off a unit of 4 cavalry miniatures.  It posted it below along with a unit of personalities and infantry (above) that I painted earlier this year. I also have a levy unit of 12 javelin men to which I need to complete by adding their shields. Slow and steady will will the race. 

Cavalry unit fished this morning.

A unit of Levy Gauls to finish.

WIP - Numidian Field Force - New Directions Part 2

 My 2nd unit of Cavalry nears a state of readiness required for the Clash of Spears day taking place at the Abyss on October 5th. A photo of the figures drying under a lamp. The plastic Victrix figures were glued into Wargames Atlantic, recessed 50mm oval bases. White glue and Krautcover Scenics Soil of Sparta were used as a filler.  

Rebased Numidian Cavalry

Really like the look of the Soil of Sparta from
Krautcover Scenics

WIP - Numidian Field Force - New Directions

 I originally was working on my Numidian field force to form an Art de la Guerre army. However the local club is strongly committed to Saga and skirmish gaming. Plans are afoot to hold a gaming day devoted to the Clash of Spear rules early next month. 

Elephants to spare.

My elephants are individually mounted. My infantry is incomplete but I foresee no problems getting some figures ready. That leaves me to rebase my cavalry figures. I soaked the elements these figures were based on last night and I just removed them and glued them to the new standard. 50mm oval MDF bases from Pandraken Miniatures.

Rebasing Cavalry project. Never ending projects

SAGA Night - WOTR in Action

Last night was the monthly SAGA night held at the Abyss by Saga Montreal and the Club de jeux de figurines historiques de Montréal Historical Wargaming Club. We had a small turnout last night with just three tables in play. A bloody affair was fought between the Age of Chivalry Flemish and the WOTR  Lancastrian English under the flag of the perfidious Earl of Northumberland, The scenario was Raise the Scared Banners. I will admit that the dice gods were definitely in my favour, consistently scoring 60-70% possible hits or when required saves when rolling. The Flemish ranks were greatly reduced, verses the loss of a Warrior, 2 Levy Archers, and 4 mounted Hearth Guard figures on the side of the English. We had raised our banner on three of the five objectives. 

Canon at the centre of the line. Warlord with Warriors standing nearby to absorb losses suffered by their leader.

The Fleming levy pike men advancing on the centre objective.

The War Wagon providing covering fire as well as its special abilities on the Flemish left wing.

End of turn 5, my warlord has taken the central objective. The 24 Flemish pike are reduced to two units. One of two figures hiding behind the war wagon. Four Figures to its front. Two loss Saga Dice.

End of turn 5, my left flank showing the advance by two levy archer units. In the back third of the table 2 Flemish Archers remain in control of their objective. Alas they do not generate any Saga Dice. 

On my right wing my unit of foot Hearth Guard remain in firm control of their objective, supported by the remains of the Mounted Hearth Guard unit. My mounted unit primarily was responsible for the destruction of the two Flemish Pike units as well as the 3 of the enemies mounted Hearth Guard which came charging off the hill in turn 4. Turn 5 the survivors were unable to destroy my field piece.   

Leprechaun - 25mm

 Today was my final day at physiotherapy following my knee replacement surgery earlier this summer. As well as meeting physical goals we also discussed life, family, hobbies, etc. My physiotherapist expressed some interest in my painting of figures so today as a thank you I brought along a figure I had painted a few years ago. I said I hoped that it would follow the legend and now that she held a leprechaun  that it would grant her wealth. 

I have no idea of when or where I had obtained this figure, nor of the company which produced it.

WW3 1/300th Harriers

 Back in the 1980s, one of the main types of wargames that was popular with our gaming group in Halifax was modern micro armor.  These were tactical battles, with 1/285 or 1/300 scale vehicles played using the WRG Armored Warfare 1950-1985 rule set. Other sets such as Tac Ops, or OMG were also tried, but we kept going back to the WRG. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, our interest faltered in the period. It was briefly revised in the early 2000s with the arrival of Cold War Commander.

I still maintain my 1980s arsenal and have been thinking about dusting off some troops. recently dug out this unit of British Harrier Jets. The aircraft were purchased from Heroics & Ros over 40 years ago.  They have been mounted on clear plastic stands, glued to LITKO Game Accessories 50mm bases.  The 50mm base was what I finally decided was a perfect size for balance of the models on a tabletop as well as providing protection of the aircraft. I need to figure out what to do with the final appearance of the bases. Any suggestions would be welcomed. The glue that was applied under the stands has maintained it's white appearance. A friend suggested that that effect could represent clouds. 

Recent photo of Harriers being scrambled on the work table.

A Harrier up close onboard HMS Invincible in Halifax Harbour sometime in the 1980s

Some photos of a Cold War Commander game being played in Halifax during the 2008 Christmas holiday season.

Baueda - Ancient Chinese square pavilion

 Tonight is an easy post. According to Baueda Wargames these 15mm ancient Chinese square pavilions are based on several surviving examples, depictions and models. They are designed to be used as a baggage element for any Chinese army and to fit on a standard 40x40mm DBM baggage base.

I purchased two and they currently seemed to have some Japanese troops sheltering under them. This oversight will be corrected when I find the unpainted Essex Chinese DBA Army I know I have in storage.

15mm Ancient Chinese square pavilion

28mm Bolt Action - UK Paras

 A year ago I made a purchase from Facebook Marketplace of a 2nd edition Bolt Action WW2 Airborne Force. The figures were from Artizan Designs and were painted to what I thought was an excellent standard, based and varnished. Certainly better than what I could have obtained through my own efforts. 

The photos were the original photos that were on the marketplace. The total force was 45 figures and consisted of 

3 Airborne command squad armed with pistol, Stengun, Rifle + 1 Medic

Troops 

Section 1  - 10 man Airborne Section armed as follows 4 Rifles, 5 Stenguns and 1 Bren gun.

Section 2 - 10 man Airborne Section armed as follows 6 Rifles, 2 Stenguns, 1 Thompson, 1 Bren gun

Ad Hoc Section - 10 man Airborne section armed as follows 7 Rifles, and Stengun and 2 Bren Guns

Weapon teams 

1 metal Airborne flamer 

1 metal Airborne light mortar 

1 metal Airborne Sniper 

1 metal Airborne spotter 

1 metal Airborne medium mortar team (3) 

1 metal Airborne MMG team Artizan (3) with wounded/dead trooper 

4 metal Airborne PIAT team armed with 2 PIATS and 2 loaders

Artillery 

1 - 6 pounder anti tank Airborne (3)

The purchase of these figures allowed me to gift the Warlord Games British Airborne Starter Army that I knew I would not get around to painting anytime soon. 

SAGA the Age of Magic or FGU - Bushido RPG

 Fantasy Games Unlimited published two RPG games that I enjoyed playing in the 1980s, Bushido and Daredevil Adventures. I ran a Daredevil Adventures campaign and my buddy Harris ran a Bushido campaign for our group. A few years ago I was able to purchase on eBay a group of figures for the  Clan Wars - Legends of the 5 Rings game. I never played the game, but the figures were very appealing. I thought that maybe one day I would get the figures painted and use them in a Bushido campaign of my own. When I received my introduction to Garry of the Scarlet Lancer Painting Service, I thought it would be a great project to have him look after for me. I may have mentioned I am triaging the mountain of lead, figures I will paint, those that I will have someone paint for me and finally the dustbin of history. The Clan wars figures were shipped off to be painted. I am extremely happy with the outcome.

The above two photographs show the extent of the collection. There are approximately 50 foot figures which I would divide up into three clans, a mix of Samurai and Ronin for each group. Locally it has been suggested that I can also throw together a Warband to use in the local SAGA Age of Magic night. I have to find a couple of suitable monsters that I know I have that would be a fine addition to a fantasy style game.

Barsoom HOTT Completed

 The ubiquitous red weed dominates the Martian landscape. The Barsoom HOTT army looks complete. I added the Alien Fire Gamer's Grass as the final step this morning.

Barsoom Hordes of the Things Army.

SAGA - AOC - SCOTS

Since January of this year, with the arrival of the new supplement the club has been focusing on playing the Age of  Chivalry.  The first warband I began in anticipation of AOC was the Scots, in honor of my mother's heritage.  I compiled a collection of  photos showing various units of this warband in different stages of preparation for the tabletop.

First is a collection of 32 of pike figures that were repurposed for SAGA. These had long sat in a Mastercraft toolbox as part of an army based for various DBX style games.  I had picked these two units up rather a long time ago at the Ottawa CanGames consignment booth. 

Next I have a unit of repurposed knights. These were a gift I received many years ago from Ross Mac. They comprise my Warlord and his mounted Hearth Guard Bodyguard. 

Warlord and Bodyguards 

Mounted Knights circling the woods

Next are figures I painted in the last year. Two units of Levy Archers, with the figures being from Claymore Castings. I recently added a third unit that is sitting on my painting table..

Levy Archers advancing in a tabletop encounter.

Next are the Hearth Guard or Foot Warriors of the Scot's warband. I went with a blue motif for their main colour. Some Saracens are in the background.

Finally a display of national pride. The banner of St  Andrew is a bit early for the period but it was readily available to produce some banners, both for foot and  mounted figures. In the background is the cookie tin that will be used to both store and transport the warband.

The pike are repurposed figures while the mounted figures are new purchases from Claymore Castings.

Finally a couple of photos of the Scots in their first encounter with the English. The knaves from south of the border won the first match. 

 

Pulp Figures - Assorted Miniatures

 I am a fan of the figures produced by Bob Murch. Here is a sample of some recent figures of his that I have worked upon.  The first is Col Muzzy Bluderbooch. The figure is the 2021  Bob Murch's Movember Fund Raiser

 Col Muzzy Bluderbooch

From the Mystery and Horror line in the Pulp Figures Catalogue we have PMH 11 Triumph of Frankenstein! The Baron has unleashed his terrible creation! Or as I like to say,

the good doctor at work

And finally , available from Crucible Crush Miniatures we have the Masters of Devil Reef. They are part of the Cthulhu 28s Line. These figures were sculpted by Bob and were a Kickstarter that I backed.

Bonus Selection

These figures are not part of Bob Murch's work, but they are definitely pulp. They are part of the A Fistful Of Kung Fu Line by North Star Military Figures. North Star is also the source of  Pulp Figures available directly in the UK. The following figures are  AFOKF03 - Kung Fu Squad: The Demons