More Hospitallers

I have been diligently continuing work on my 15mm Hospitallers for Saga. This time, I have a unit of levy Pilgrims and some command/character types.

First, the Pilgrims:

A levy unit in Saga is twelve figures. A pack of peasants from Legio Heroica is six figures, so I ordered two, giving me the twelve I needed. Astute viewers will notice that one of the figures in a pack of peasants from Legio Heroica is a pack horse, so yes, my pack horses will have to do their part in the war against the heathen!

Knights Hospitaller are not actually allowed to field levy in Crescent & Cross, but I wanted a unit in case I decide to switch things up and play my Hospitallers as plain Crusaders at some point.

Next, some commander types:

I have here three mounted men brandishing swords (any of which I could use as a warlord), a flag bearer, a priest, and a trumpeter. Crescent & Cross has rules for troubadour and priest characters, as well as adding standards to units. All of these figures should see action at some point, though I doubt I will use the trumpeter much - too bad, because I think the Maltese cross I painted on his back is probably the best one I've done yet.

That big red flag will be the only bit of bright colour in my regular forces and I think it will look out of place, but that's what Osprey and the internet tells me they used, so that's what they get.

So all I have left to paint for my planned Hospitallers force at this point is two units of four elite cavalry. After what I've done so far, eight more horsemen will be a snap. These last two units will bring my force total to nine: two points of Hearthguard (8 figures), two points of mounted Warriors (16 figures), three points of foot Warriors (16 spearmen plus 8 crossbowmen), one point of Levy (12 figures), and a Priest for one point (one figure). I doubt I will ever field a nine-point army, but this gives me the flexibility to swap units in and out to make up whatever sort of force I feel like playing.

New Year Catch-up: Knights Hospitallers

I have been a bit neglectful of my phlog recently, so it's time for a bit of a catch-up with some of the miniatures I have been painting recently.

I have been working on a band of Hospitallers for Saga: Crescent & Cross. This is a project I've been talking about for a while. My wife, Grace, and I both planned to paint up forces, but it took us a long time to decide if we were going to do it in 28mm or 15mm, and then what warbands we wanted to build, where we would get our figures from, etc. We both actually bought 28mm forces (Fireforge Templars and Mongols) before we decided to do it in 15mm after all. In the end, we put in a big order to Legio Heroica miniatures in Italy, with our friend Dave ordering a batch as well. Grace and I have been diligently painting our figures since we got them just before Christmas, and we both got quite a bit done over the holiday. Here's mine.

Two units of foot Warriors.

Two units of foot Warriors.

One unit of Crossbowmen.

Two units of mounted Seargeants (Warriors in Saga), plus some sort of leader-type.

Two units of mounted Seargeants (Warriors in Saga), plus some sort of leader-type.

With these guys, I tried something different than what I have done in the past: instead of painting the metal parts with metallic paints, I just scraped and filed off the primer to expose the bare metal of the pewter miniature beneath. The result is that the metal is really shiny and bright, much nicer than anything I could expect with the paints, if that's the effect you want. The effect is diminished by the Dullcote I always use, but a bit of gloss varnish on the metal bits brings it back.

The Sergeants come with pewter spears, which aren't bad in their own right, but I elected to add some wire spears. I think they look a lot nicer, and they are properly stabby - I have poked myself a dozen times already.

I was torn about whether I should order some Little Big Men transfers for the shields, but decided to just freehand them. It's a lot of work, but I think they worked out fine.

The Legio Heroica figures are really nice, maybe the nicest 15mm figures I have seen (though there are so many great choices out there, it's a tough field).

New Year Catch-up: Romano-British

I have been a bit neglectful of my phlog recently, so it's time for a bit of a catch-up with some of the miniatures I have been painting recently.

This time, it's the first figures from a force of Romano-Britsh I'm painting for Dux Britanniarum. I ordered these figures, and a full force of Saxons, from Splintered Light some time ago, along with a set each of shield transfers from Little Big Men. I decided to pull them off the shelf and get to work painting them while I was waiting for the Crusaders I ordered to arrive.

For the most part I'm happy with the figures, and I think they look good when painted, but the spears aren't very nice. The giant fat spearheads and the teeny, tiny shafts, which I predict won't survive long, take away somewhat from the overall effect.

2 units of regulars.

2 units of regulars.

Elites.

Elites.

New Year Catch-up: Vikings and Picts

I have been a bit neglectful of my phlog recently, so it's time for a bit of a catch-up with some of the miniatures I have been painting recently.

First up, my 15mm Vikings and Picts for Saga:

Some loot objectives for the Vikings: some freshly-captured "wives", chests of booty, and a cart full of beverage.

Some loot objectives for the Vikings: some freshly-captured "wives", chests of booty, and a cart full of beverage.

Viking Warlords.

Viking Warlords.

The whole Viking band together - 6 units of Hearthguard, 3 units of Warriors,  and 2 Warlords.

Some Pictish reinforcements: a unit of mounted Hearthguard, with a mounted Warlord.

Some Pictish reinforcements: a unit of mounted Hearthguard, with a mounted Warlord.

I finished painting these guys ages ago, but I can't remember what I have already photographed for the phlog, so here are a bunch. The total forces comprise four 4-point warbands, two Viking and two Pict, with some extra units available in case I want to change things up a bit. The Picts are all Splintered Light figures (very nice) and the Vikings are Khurasan (also very nice), with the exception of the loot-hauling objective counters, which are Peter Pig (also very nice). I have a few more objectives that are awaiting paint, including some priestly types.