Lion Passant

Passant : Striding

The Lion Rampant retinue has reached a milestone - it's fully built, if not yet painted. For the final unit I decided on billmen, only to find I didn't have enough bills, so I added a few figures in full harness with great weapons. I also gave myself the challenge of making and painting a flag, a hand painted wyvern added to the to do list. With this unit glued together I had four figures left over and made them up as spare archers, intending to ocassionally swap out a few billmen to make a mixed weapon unit. But then I had a flick through the rulebook and decided it would be nice to have a unit of bidowers, which are only six strong. A couple of wargames factory Saxon bodies were used to make some extra rustic scouts. I tried to give these figures a little movement, to suggest they are running around and shooting rather than stood in mass formation. The two central figures in the unit are destined for the archers unit and will be swapped for a couple of the more rustic elements of that already painted unit.

With these figures added to my already painted units I have a little flexibility in how I build the retinue. The usual set up will be men at arms, expert archers and two sets of expert billmen, giving 24 points exactly. However, by dropping one expert upgrade I can free up two points, enough for the unit of bidowers. As for painting, I am still hoping to get the men at arms completed by month end, then maybe the whole force by the end of March. If light cavalry are released at Salute, I can foresee my retinue growing again in the near future. I just need to try playing the game now, to see if I actually enjoy it!