Throwback Thursday: The Ol' West

My original intention in starting this blog (or, as I call it, my phlog) was to document the miniatures that I have painted, mainly so I have a record of what's hiding in all those plastic shelf sets in my closet. I haven't felt constrained by that intention at any point - I'm perfectly happy posting battle reports or capsule reviews or whatever, and I have done so.

In keeping with my original motivation, though, I decided to start posting photos of some of the figures that I have painted either before I started this phlog, or that never made it on here for one reason or another - one offs, role-playing figures, and other odds and ends. So I'll aim for one post a week, showcasing some figures I have in reserve.

This week, have two sets of Black Scorpion (I think?) Old West figures. One set is a group of western ladies, and the other set is a bunch of rough, and possibly drunk, cowboy types. I got these figures just to paint them, with no game in mind, and they were a ton of fun.

LAV III In Afghanistan - Finished

After having endured the dirty looks of my LAV model for the last 6 months, I finally got back to the diorama this week and finished it off. There was actually very little to do, at least when viewed against the project as a whole, but I had other things on my mind (as you can see on this phlog).

Here it is, all together at last!

Hadwin Returns

Last night I reprised the Saga scenario I reported on here. This was the last Trumpeter meeting before the convention at the end of March, and I wanted to have one more go at it before I host the game there.

As is normal in Saga, it was a bloodbath. The result was very close - the Picts resigned close to the end of the allotted time, but I think the VPs would have been close to even, despite the casualties.

Vikings mass on one side of the river, Picts on the other.

The first band of Viking Warriors race across the ford and attack the
 Picts in and around the near building, but are rebuffed 
without casualties on either side.

Reinforcements from the neighbouring farm race across the farmstead to engage the Vikings on their left.

More Vikings fight across the river, but the Picts hold fast and prevent them from gaining a foothold on the near bank.

The Viking Warlord enters the ford, while his Berserkers
slog across through the deeper water.

A band of Viking Hearthguard achieve the far side of the bank, but the Pict Warlord and his Hearthguard race forward
on ponies to intercept.

On the other flank, the Vikings have smashed the defending Pict Levy and gained the bank.

The Pict reinforcements race to stop the Vikings.

The Vikings have destroyed a unit of Pict Warriors and surge across the ford, but the Pict Warlord and his Hearthguard
still stand between them and the main building.

The Viking and Pict Warlords face each other at the bank.

The Pict Warlord and his reduced Hearthguard still hold fast on the other side.

The Viking Warlord and his berserkers manage to kill the Pict Warlord.

In the final act of the Saga, the Pict Warlord and the Viking Warlord exchange blows over several activations,
but the Viking eventually manages to slay the Pict and the Picts surrender.

Hospitaller Hearthguard complete, project done!

Last night I put the finishing touches on my 2 units of Hospitaller mounted Hearthguard for Saga: Crescent & Cross, gloss varnished them, matte sprayed them, and took some photos.

As with the standard bearer, I was unsure about adding pennants to the knights' lances, but it serves as a good way to distinguish the Hearthguard from the Warriors - and as a nice visual indicator to my opponent that they are in really big trouble.

I used wire spears on these guys again, and I'm much happier with these than the cast pewter spears that came with the unit. They will be less prone to bending, and they are properly stabby. Don't go reaching for my miniatures without due consideration, or you're likely to end up perforated.



With these guys finished, my 15mm C&C warband is complete. I have figures enough to field any reasonable size force, with good flexibility to refine the composition as I learn the particulars of the force in the game. The Saga rules regarding miniatures are loose enough that I could field any of my figures as Warriors or Hearthguard, depending on how big a unit I want and how many points I want to use up.

Here's a (slightly dark) photo of the whole force together:

From front to back, I have:

- Warlords, a priest, and a trumpeter;
- Two units of mounted Hearthguard and the standard;
- Two units of foot Warriors with spears and one with crossbows;
- Pilgrims and two units of mounted Warriors.

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.