The Lost Remnants!

A while back now Phil gifted me a few Gripping Beast Late Romans, which had originally been passed to him by Norm! They are well travelled! I put them to one side until I had finally painted all the figures for The Heart of Darkness project. It's fair to say that the recent heatwave temperatures hereabouts have not been conducive to long sessions wielding the Brush of Doom, but working in short early morning sessions I have managed to complete them! As there were a dozen of them I've opted to base them on a single 60 x 80mm base, as I have previously done with Hearthguard or Warband bases. I see them as descendants of the remnants of a Roman unit who somehow were left behind when Roman units were withdrawn in the early C5th. Perhaps their orders never reached them? Or perhaps they simply chose to stay behind? Their backstory and basing choice are sufficiently loose to allow me to field them as a small Warband or as a Warlords Hearthguard. Enough blathering on, here is the Lost Remnant of Rome ~

As an interesting aside, the spears are plastic, a free gift sprue in an order from North Star a while ago.

The shield transfers are from LBMS via Victrix as is the vexillium device. The latter is from a Helenistic sheet, but it will do for me in this instance!

These are venerable figures, their design easily predating the arrival of LBMS shield transfers I'd guess. The transfer sheet option here 'fits' the large shields on Gripping Beast figures. If you look carefully that is rather more accurate for the rank and file figures' shields. In the case of the two officers figures from the Command pack that is not so, as you can clearly see on the lead figure and the officer on the far right. Its a minor irritation, but with cast on shields there is little you can do to ameliorate the effect. In a game though I'd venture few would notice, or care?

As with The Heart of Darkness project there are no more figures remaining in the old Lead Pimple to add, so I need to order up a couple of units to boost the Post-Roman element of the collection. A unit of infantry from Crusader/Artizan via North Star, and some Light Cavalry, either from 1st Corps or from Gripping Beast. Not forgetting they have no archers as yet! These will needs wait though until next month as we will be off Oop North for a few days in early July taking in the sights along Hadrian's Wall and hopefully various castles and Abbeys too!

Just Champion!

Together with my most recent order to Gripping Beast - figures for the Early Saxon Hearthguard - I also ordered the final outstanding pack of Early Saxon Characters. While two figures from the pack have joined the finished unit of Hearthguard, which are still awaiting shield transfers from LBMS/Victrix, this third figure will function as a Champion or as a minor Warband command base. Again, like the recent 1st Corps Young Warriors, the pose is very static considering the context, though the actual sculpting is fine. It's obviously an aged figure, I can't help but think a contemporary version would have far more motion/life in its composition. I have tried to suggest a dragon/serpent tattoo on his face, not very successfully really. Here he is anyway, make of him what you will ~

For now at least the Age of Arthur project has reached a natural pause, in that I have no more figures in the Lead Pimple for further additions. In this instance going forward to  dice with the Brush of Doom will be some figures for my small Darkest Africa collection in the shape of five female archers {from Copplestone Castings via North Star} destined to join the Maiden Guard of King Bykalaizii m'Tuubi, erstwhile ruler of the P'Doki, an almost mythical fierce warrior tribe inhabiting the little known, and now forgotten even by stamp collectors, British Colony of South Central East Africa. 

A Warband of Young Warriors for the Early Saxons

It seems to me that I started working on these figures for another Early Saxon warband eons ago, progress has seemed so glacial. The figures are from 1st Corps and are sold as Young Warriors. As such they sport almost no armour beyond the occasional helmet and are armed only with spear and shield in the main. They are posed mostly in one of two standing poses, the Command pack figures excepted. All in all they are far from striking figures; not poorly sculpted at all, just bland and disinteresting to my eye. While I'm on a roll, they don't really fit my idea of a 'young' look either, too many beards on show. In their favour though they are cheaper than their Gripping Beast alternatives! Though the latter are much 'younger' looking in my opinion, being clean shaven. Enough of my blathering, judge for yourselves if you would ~

Next to pass under the Brush of Doom are a base of Hearthguard for the Early Saxons. I'm currently waiting on delivery of the buckler transfers from LBMS/Victrix so once they are finished I will be off on a diversion as you've seen, hopefully to rejuvenate an old project and hopefully reinvigorate my flagging mojo for the Arthurian project one at the same time! More on all that in due course...

The Age of Arthur Project ~ Update

This blog post is really as much for me as for my interested followers or any casual visitors. The four birds' eye view photos show where I'm at right now with the Age of Arthur project and gives me an idea of what else I could realistically add, given that four 4L RUBs is at the very limit of current available storage space here in GHQ! So, let's all have a closer look and think about the possible additions, starting with the Arthurians {or more properly the Post-Romans} ~

Their first 4L RUB contains: two units of Medium Infantry PEDYTS, each of three bases; three bases of javelin armed SKIRMISHERS; two bases of skirmishers with SLINGS; one base of Hearthguard and a Command stand to lead them; two Command Stands for the PEDYTS; a Champion; and lastly a fishwife vignette! There's clearly enough room for a further three bases of PEDYTS in this box.

In their second 4L RUB there are: four bases of Commanipulares; a Command Stand for a Cavalry Division; and the Army Command base. I do need to add some ARCHERS to the army, and could still clearly add both infantry and mounted figures in the space available! Some careful thought needed there then.

Turning next to the Early Saxons ~

Their first 4L RUB contains two WARBANDS, each of three bases, three bases of ARCHERS, and two bases of javelin armed SKIRMISHERS - I need to add a Command pack from Foundry to complete both these and a Command Stand for the Division. Beyond that there is obviously room for a further WARBAND of three bases.

Their  second 4L RUB so far holds: one WARBAND of three bases - with a second WARBAND of Young Warriors currently passing under the Brush of Doom; the Army Command; Commands for two Warbands; a Command stand to lead the Hearthguard; a Blind Seer vignette; and a Bard! The figures from Gripping Beast for the base of Hearthguard are next in the Painting Queue once I finish the final base for the Young Warriors. There is clearly space for additional WARBAND bases at some point in their second RUB.

I shall have to see where the spirit takes me in the coming weeks and months. Finding sources for figures from different companies strikes me as somewhat easier for the Post-Romans than for the Early Saxons from my initial web browsing. For the former I could use Footsore, Crusader/Artizan {from North Star} and Gripping Beast alongside 1st Corps. For the Early Saxons figures from Footsore and New Line Designs would add in different figures for variety there. More on all of this as and when, subject to the state of my mojo as usual...

Hengist and Horsa

 Along with my 1st Corps order for the Early Saxon Warband of Young Warriors I also purchased the Hengist and Horsa pack of character figures. After finishing the Knights of the Round Table figures I slipped the two into the painting queue ahead of the warriors as I rather liked the look of them ~

Horsa, on the left here, will lead my Hearthguard for the Early Saxons. My order for the figures to make up that unit is on its way from Gripping Beast even as I type this entry. 

Hengist, on the right in the first picture obviously, will lead the Arthurian Hearthguard,  the Wolftail Warriors I have featured earlier in a blog entry for this project ~

The Warband of Young Warriors for the Early Saxons are well underway now, with one base already completed. More on them hopefully in the coming days as they pass under the Brush of Doom...

Knights of the Round Table?

No, not really, very sorry if I've  disappointed any frothing fantasy gamer, but just some 1st Corps Arthurian Heavy Cavalry to add to the ongoing Age of Arthur project. These six figures are the last elements of my initial Warband purchase from their sale, the Warlord and Draco bearer plus four Commanipulares. I replaced what I considered the overlarge Draco with a smaller one from the spares box which I thought was more in keeping for a mounted standard. You are free to differ on this of course ~

My latest arrivals, 1st Corps figures making up a warband of younger warriors for the Early Saxon, are now spray undercoated and fixed to the MDF hexes ready to take their place in the painting queue. Along with them I also had ordered the pack of the Hengist and Horsa  character figures which are also ready for painting now. I plan to add them as command elements for the Hearthguard for each force: for the Arthurians the Wolftail Warriors I've previously featured here; for the Early Saxons the Gedriht figures I have ordered from Gripping Beast, taking advantage of the Wargames Illustrated monthly voucher offer which reduced the P&P costs to a more acceptable £1.00! Afterall, my warchest is not bottomless.

Finally a further base...

...completes another Early Saxon warband of three bases; or fourth warband of two bases each; even a ninth warband of one base! Any and all will work with Hail Caesar we've found, but I must confess warbands of three bases certainly look more menacing, especially when you are the Sub Roman Britons! The figures are by 1st Corps,  the shield transfers are from LBMS and as ever the bases are from Warbases! Blathering on at an end, here they are for your comments ~

Next to pass under the old Brush of Doom are the six Arthurian Heavy Cavalry. I've been plopping paint on these from time to time as I worked through the warband figures so hopefully they should be completed by next week, all being well. In the meantime, the completed warband as it prepares to muster into GHQ ~

My latest order from 1st Corps was delivered on Tuesday while we were over at Phil's with William for another WWII game. They are already cleaned up and the shields glued on ready to be spray undercoated at some point. More on these when they exit the Lead Pimple to risk their encounter with the Brush of Doom!

The Second Base...

...for the new Early Saxons' warband has finally struggled out from under the Brush of Doom and mustered into GHQ. Again the figures are from 1st Corps, the shield transfers from LBMS, and the base from Warbases as ever ~

I have tried to organise the layout of figures on this base as far as possible to replicate the undisciplined charge look of the first base, but to me it seems I was less successful! You will of course be able to form your own opinion ~

Figures for the third base are underway, leaving just 6 Arthurian Heavy Cavalry in the Lead Pimple, though more Early Saxons are on the way from 1st Corps, subject of course to the vagaries of Royal Mail...

First base...

...of a new Early Saxon warband. There will be three bases making up the warband, when I've finished painting them that is! The figures are from 1st Corps and the 80x50mm base from, you guessed it, Warbases! 

As you may recall I have been having occasional problems with getting the hand & weapon pieces to stick to the figures. With that chasenning experience in mind I glued the shields on these before spray undercoating them! I'm pleased to say that they are firmly fixed on, less pleased to say I failed to consider how fiddly painting some parts of the figures would prove to be! I have managed to cope but do urge you not to look too closely!

The shield transfers are from LBMS, now owned by Victrix. They sell the sheets unpunched for other companies' figures but fully punched for their own. Strange that you might think, if you were less of a sceptic than I am. That aside the shield transfers do fit quite well so far, something that has not always proved to be the case with previous projects.

I have sent off for a further warband from 1st Corps, this time all the figures are Young Warriors standing with spears. I had hoped to add some Gripping Beast figures but in the end these worked out cheaper, and I am a wargamer after all. I've also added two sheets of shield transfers as they were available, so saving on P&P! As I said, I'm a wargamer after all...

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.

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!