A Gathering of Hosts?

It will be quite a while until I complete the Early Saxon Warband I'm currently working on as I'm awaiting my order of shield transfers from LBMS, so I thought that to keep me motivated and also give you a chance to see how the Age of Arthur project is developing I would show them to any interested passer by as a Gathering of the Hosts, small forces taking the field, joining with others to contest the fate of Britania. Firstly, of course, Arthur Pendragen, Dux Pendolorum, and his mottly assortment of Britons ~

Secondly, Cerdic and his hordes of pagan warriors ~

When I eventually complete the aforementioned Early Saxon Warband, currently enduring their time under the Brush of Doom,there will be just 6 Arthurian Heavy Cavalry figures for this project remaining in the Lead Pimple. While I may not have enough yet for a game using Hail Caesar, there are enough I'd hope for a bash using either Midgard or Neil Thomas' rules, as individual bases can stand in for units giving each player a larger army to command on the tabletop battlefield here in GHQ. Or as in the picture following warbands can be reduced from three to two bases, also giving a larger force to command ~

 In the meantime though its back to wielding the old Brush of Doom...and thinking about the next order of figures for the project of course.

Command figures added to Arthurian Pedyts

The two bases of Arthurian Pedyts I showed in the previous post are joined now by a six figure base including command figures to complete their battle line. The figures are once more from 1st Corp, the base from Warbases of course, and LBMS shield transfers from my packet of spares! Firstly, see them on their own ~

And then in the context of the completed battle line ~

In the meantime I've started on the next Early Saxon Warband, again using figures from 1st Corps, after all it was a no-brainer taking advantage of their sale pricing. Very good value for money I thought! In fact I'm finding it very tempting to just go ahead and order more from them and leave the noticably more expensive Footsore and Gripping Beast offerings until later in the year now.

Arthurian Pedyts

Back refreshed from a bracing but surprisingly dry break in the South Lakes area I've pressed on with more figures for the Age of Arthur project. First to pass under the Brush of Doom and muster into GHQ are two bases of Arthurian Pedyts. The figures are from 1st Corps supplemented by two officers, one from Wargames Foundry and the other from Gripping Beast - a spare Wolftails Warrior figure. The shield transfers are from my LBMS remainder packet, fitting some shields more convincingly than others it has to be said, and the bases from Warbases as usual. There remain six figures will populate the unit's command element, and are well underway as you read this, but have a look at these anyway ~

When I decided on a whim to build two small armies for the Age of Arthur I had in mind that rather than usual figures from the Wargames Foundry ranges I would try to utilise other manufacturers' products. So far I've ordered figures from 1st Corps and Gripping Beast as you've seen already. Remaining in the Lead Pimple for this project are three bases of Saxon warriors - 24 figures in all -and six mounted Arthurian heavy cavalry, so its time to consider what I might order next for the project, and who from of course! I'm considering either Crusader/Artizan Miniatures from North Star or Footsore for my next tranche, if value for money was the sole consideration it would most likely be those from North Star, but then I do like the figures from Footsore... more thought needed I believe, not to mention counting the coin deposited in the warchest, before any decision is reached.

Some Thoughts on Hobby Value for Money

I received this extract from the 1975 Minifig Catalogue recently from Paul. It shows the price of a single foot figure as 8p! For context this arose from a discussion Paul and I were having last month about the cost of wargames figures and the increasing spread of the Blister pack at the point of sale.

The Bank of England compound interest calculator below shows that the buying power of 8p in 1975 equates to 65p today. So why are we paying over £2.00 on average for a foot figure in 2026? After all, a 16p loaf of bread in 1975 equates to £1.20ish in 2026, which strangely is about right using the Bank's calculator!

Are overheads like staff wages, heating, lighting, advertising rates, business rates and taxes disproportionately affecting miniture figure businesses? Or do we suspect that we are being ripped off? Perhaps we are, but then again perhaps we are not? Other factors may be the root cause of the £2.00+ figure trend.

 Consider the rather basic style of said 1975 Minifigs figure. Certainly lacking in fine details compared to today's offerings? No doubt though easier to paint, an important consideration when dedicated hobby time is limited by real life demands! Equally the Minifigs example comes from what I would call the Lost Golden Age when most wargamers aspired to build an army rather than merely a small group of figures.

Modern figure offerings can be ridiculously over detailed for a wargames figure, perhaps reflecting the rise of the game in a box {see my point above}where a single figure is not ranked with 20 or 30 similar comrades. So its probably fair to say that sculpting costs will certainly have risen disproportionately to inflation, time is money after all and the labourer is worthy of his/her hire certainly. The truth about pricing and value for money probably lies somewhere between barely covering costs and being ripped off, with each of us choosing our opinion based on personal circumstances and experiences.

Rather than focus on an issue we can't determine without full access to the facts, I'd rather turn to look at why wargames figures may have got ever more finely detailed to the point where some fine bits can barely be seen, let alone painted with a size 0 brush! As an almost 76 year old who confesses to being merely an average painter, though with 50 plus years experience, I struggle with the detail on some figures but not on others. Thinking about that oddity it seems the bolder and clearer detail of a Dixon Miniatures figure for example is easier to process than a Perry Miniatures figure. In both cases the detail is there, but the clarity and style of sculpting differs. Of course many will say that one figure is blessed by in-scale detail while another will happily accept bolder detail on another. Figures seen in close up, firstly in magazines and then in the ever present Web pages, have played a part in driving forward ever more detailed figures and ever more complex and layered painting styles. But in real life figures are seen from gaming distance,  some 3-5 feet I'd guess for most. At those levels more detail and layered painting are lost I'd contend. Painting to collector's standard or to the pro painted label have a part to play in this ever more detailed drive, but do they do more harm than good to the aspirations of we average hobbyists?

Coming to my final point, the rise of 50 figure 'armies', with attendant rules such as Sharp Practice or Bolt Action, has certainly contributed to the ever more detailed figure sculpt. If figures do not need to sit in seried ranks with identical comrades then sculptors can make free with action designs and myriad extra details. After all, only 49 more to finish my army...

As we all know we are far from an homogeneous group in our wonderful hobby! 

Different views are probably inevitable, after all we don't all share the same hobby starting point, history or club/group set up. Perhaps as a geriatric-in-waiting wargamer trends in the hobby have left me a straggler? And we all know what sorry fate often awaited those folk... Anyway, sorry for rambling on, well done if you got this far without dropping off to sleep.

Arthurian Command

The last of the smaller groups  for the present, being three figures to represent an Arthurian Sub-General and his Companions. The figures are from 1st Corps and the shield transfers are more LBMS left overs. At a push the base might also represent the Arthurian Army Command on foot. The separate hand & weapon combo has proved resistant to UHU, Superglue and both combined, so I wonder how they will fare in action on the tabletop battlefield here in GHQ? Time will tell on that.  In the meantime, here they are awaiting your comments ~

There will be an hiatus now in painting sessions as I'm away from the home base, staying for a few days in the South Lakes area for Sue's birthday. On our return it should be on with an Arthurian infantry unit, once again using up some left over shield transfers from LBMS as I've enough odds and ends to service all their shields.

Early Saxon Characters

I am confident that I don't really need to say this, but I detest the modern trend started by Wargames Foundry of putting figures into blisters for sale. I look back nostalgically to The Lost Golden Age of buying figures individually to suit the look of units in MY armies. This is pertinent to my most recent efforts with the Brush of Doom in that I wanted specific figures for my Early Saxon  Sub-General bases from Gripping Beast but of course they are either sold in blisters of Characters or at inflated prices in Saga packaging. The result is that I'm left with these figures: a blind Seer and a rather over enthusiastic minstrel/bard! Neither of which I have much use for in Hail Caesar games,  but there you go have figures, will paint! My maxim of waste not, want not gets me again! Anyway, blathering on done with, here they be ~

The Blind Seer and guiding boy are just right for Dark Age/Fantasy games I'd say, so may get out in The Saga of Bicca Biccasson, if I can persuade anyone to give it a go that is. The other figure, well, it's a nice table filler, I'll give it that. Moving on, next up enduring their rite of passage under said brush are three 1st Corps figures suitable to populating a Sub-General base for my Arthurians. After those are completed I plan to move on to an Arthurian infantry unit which I'd hope to complete by the coming of Spring...at last!

Bicca Se Bealda...

...and other Early Saxon Commanders! Following on from the Gripping Beast Arthurian Hearthguard figures I turned to two sets of Gripping Beast Early Saxon Characters for my next step, supplemented by a lone 1st Corps figure ~ which will be easily spotted given the difference in style and heft! Firstly then the stout figure of Bicca Se Bealda, with Draco bearer and a supporting somewhat smaller figure sporting another left over LBMS Shield transfer ~

Then a second base featuring an Early Saxon Warlord and Draco bearer, supported by a figure borrowed from the Wolftail Warriors pack. His cast on shield featuring another left over LBMS Shield Transfer. Waste not, want not after all ~

Next to pass under the Brush of Doom will be three more figures from the Gripping Beast Early Saxons Characters packs. Arthurian figures to make up a second command base for Arthur's foot should be after those. More on all this as and when.