River Skirmish

South Bank Viking bondi advance under Danish arrow fire

Another game from our Age of the Wolf campaign. This was a strange though inevitable situation of having two players controlling four factions - my Vikings facing off against my Danes. Matt took the Danes and we played Battle at the Fords scenario. Points are scored for troops that have crossed the river at the end of the game - the river bisects the battlefield and there are just two crossing points.

At the southern crossing, the Vikings advanced rapidly under fire from Danish archers - no point hanging about to be picked off one by one. It's really annoying losing elite troops to lowly archers, so the poor bondi took the lead and the brunt of the missile fire.

North Bank Vikings line up to defend Danish probes

Over on the north bank the Vikings took a more defensive stance, lining the bank of the river and waiting for any Dane attack. This was my general strategy - to attack in the south, hold in the north. There are never quite enough Saga dice to move everything if you want to employ battleboard abilities, so I was quite happy to do this. A unit of bondi in front with a small reserve of hirdmen to plug any gaps, keeping a watchful eye on the advancing Danish Lord and his bodyguard.

South bank vikings cross the river

The decisive action was taking place on the south bank. The Viking bondi waded the crossing and exacted their revenge on the Danish archers, slaying a few and forcing the remainder back. Unfortunately this left them tired and easy prey for the Danish hearthguard. Their sacrifice was not in vain though, as the Viking Lord and his bodyguard waded across the river.

North bank Danish attack is repulsed

On the north bank, the Danish Lord finally took the plunge and surged forward with his bodyguard, crashing into the viking bondi. Ordinarily this would have been an easy combat for the Danes, but I had kept some Saga dice in reserve on combat abilities, allowing me to reroll misses. Thus, the lowly Viking bondi slaughtered the Dane elite and pushed back the Lord. He waded back to the far bank, his warriors helping him out.

South bank Vikings advance

Back at the south bank, the Vikings took up a position in a patch of boggy ground, just out of reach of the Dane archers. Dane warriors hurtled past them and attempted to cross the river, but were hacked down almost to a man by very annoyed Vikings - back into the river they went and back out again. By now the Danes had utterly lost control of the south bank. In a last gasp attack on the north bank the Danish Lord and his troops faced the viking defending line, but were no match. The Danish Lord fell in battle and limped away, jeered by his Norse tormentors. You can read about the Danish lament on Matt's blog.

Another good game of Saga. As usual, there never seems to be enough Saga dice to cover all eventualities, forcing some hard decisions to be made (or not - in the case of the Danish Lord!). Though each force is practically identical, the Saga abilities means that each plays in a very different way. This is the beauty of the game to my mind.

The campaign system is not quite up to the same standard. Setting aside the very confusing points/units system, the random fate rolls have played a large part in allowing the Vikings to steam ahead. In truth, it's not really suitable for just two players, even though we have four factions between us. It has generated some very enjoyable games, but it's not quite worked out the way we had hoped. Officially we are half way through, it remains to be seen if we will complete the whole thing. If there were a group of four or five players I think it would work much better - and to be fair this is exactly the set up the Age of the Wolf is designed for. Even if we abandon the campaign, there's plenty more Saga gaming to come.

Age of the Wolf Game 3

At the end of season 1 of the campaign, both my armies (Danes and Vikings) had done well - winning battles and gaining wealth, troops or whatever. For the second season we again let the dice decide what each faction would do, leading to the rather strange situation of three of the four defending. So we had just one game to play, Danes raiding a Saxon village. It was a straight battle with victory points determining the winner, with the attacker gaining bonus points for every field or hut burnt to the ground. We double checked the setup, but it was definitely straight into the action as two units of Danes immediately set fire to two fields.

With a time limit of just seven turns, the Danes could not afford to hang back and pile fatigue on to their enemies, a tried and tested tactic. Instead, as the Dane commander I spent most of my Saga dice purely to move around as many units as possible, with an occasional use of the intimidation ability to cancel an enemy activation. The nearest hut went up in flames, while hearthguard pressed on to attempt to torch the third field, this by now defended by Saxon warriors. Over in the centre, Danish levy once more proved a thorn in the enemy's side, as their arrows brought down a unit of hearthguard.

Resistance by the Saxon defenders was weak, their warriors no match for the Danish hearthguard - the third field was soon ablaze. The game was coming to and end now. The Danes made a final push around the rear of the Saxon army and made it to the penultimate hut, but were unable to set it alight. Satisfied with the carnage they had wrought, they withdrew back to their own encampment. In points terms it was quite close, but adding in the bonus for the burning fields and hut it was a clear victory to the Danes.

In the post game phase, both forces suffered a slight decline in their numbers due to battle attrition. The Danes had plenty of wealth and were able to reinforce some of these losses, but the Saxons are penniless and have to rely on the mercy of the fates. This was reasonable with another six levy joining, but the Saxon commander is really struggling and thinking of defecting to Welsh allies! At the end of season 2 the Saxon contingent is really struggling, while the Danes and Vikings are roughly neck and neck in front.

Three games in then and it's possible to make a slightly more informed opinion of the Age of the Wolf supplement. It's a great idea, there are four new scenarios to play (including the one above) and there is huge scope for narrative development with all the little traits and abilities of the warlords, the fates, reinforcements, and such like. The book is pretty well laid out and it's reasonably easy to follow the procedure around seasons, games and campaign mechanics. There is a problem with forces being mismatched, it's not explained at all well. And the random events can be very unfair - Saxon flood and famine coupled with Vikings gaining ten hearthguard (elite) troops springs to mind. As we prepare for season three it's clear that the Saxons are really struggling. It's also very unclear as to there being any way they can get out the predicament.

Dark Age Archers WIP

I was hoping to have these painted by the end of the month, but here we are on the last day and they remain a work in progress. I thought I would present the stages gone through so that anyone interested can have a go at this painting style - and to help me in future projects. It's fairly quick and easy, mostly glazing and minimal amounts of highlighting.

Stage 1 : Prime and wash

The first stage is to prime the figures white. I use Halfords white primer, available in the UK - it's a car spray. If you are looking for something similar, make sure it's acrylic. Once that is dry, I wash the figures with a diluted brown. This is just to give a guide and a little lining, it beats working on a glaring white undercoat.

Stage 2 : Leathers base coat

I don't particularly enjoy painting all the leather areas, so I get them out of the way early on. Various browns are thinned and used on all the belts, bags, quivers, etc. If your paint is thin and a little translucent, some of the wash from stage 1 will show through, giving instant shading. Additionally, a khaki or pale colour is used on the leg bindings and a few of the paler garment areas.

Stage 3 : Flesh, base and metal base coats

This was a very brief session, base coat and first wash on the flesh areas. I also washed some earth into the sandy bits, and painted the metal areas. Sometimes you can only squeeze in a short session, but every little helps.

Stage 4 : base coat remaining garments

For this stage I was able to spend quite a bit more time, enough to get the base coats for all the clothing. These were mostly neutral creams and browns, with a little pale blue here and there. I also washed the metal areas with a grey - a mix made from blue and brown paints.

That's all I managed I'm afraid, it's been a busy month in other areas so little time for hobby painting. These are close to completion, just the hair and fur, bows and arrows and a little weathering left to do. Let's hope they do not attract the attention of PETA!

Weekend Progress

There's not much to report at the moment, I seem to spend most of my time building more figures to add to the already large pile of unpainted miscellany. Here's the dark ages archers, not much to show - they have been primed, washed and then the leathers started. I should have done more but I was distracted by building the first unit of a Picts force. You can see them in the background. My short term goal is to have the archers finished by month end and a start made on either some trolls or the Picts, I just cannot make up my mind.

Saga Age of the Wolf first impressions

The start of the year means a new resolve on gaming for me, to play more often. My regular opponent suggested we try Saga Age of the Wolf. I love Saga and dark ages gaming, so I was happy to turn up at the dungeon with not one, but two armies.

Age of the Wolf is a campaign system designed for several players, but we only have the two of us interested in this game and this era, so we are taking two armies each. Whenever a player has choices in the campaign, such as who to attack, we let the dice decide. It means we miss out on the scheming and backstabbing of a real player campaign, but we do get to play lots of games and a story develops as we go along, which is just as much fun I reckon - certainly better than just playing random one-off games.

Danish Levy take on Norman crossbows 

One of my factions is the Danes and they ended up raiding against the Normans, so we generated a battle. This turned out to be a new scenario called scouts, one of three or four new battles to try in the book. The units from each force turn up one by one as the game progresses. The Normans thundered forward with a unit of knights, hoping to ride down a unit of Dane levy, but their plans came unstuck when they were showered in a hail of arrows and the unit fell back dismayed and confused. More caution was then exercised, as both sides tried to organise a battle line as troops arrived on the field.

The Danes had an advantage in the early loss of the knights, plus their battle board ability to pile on fatigue to the enemy. They could afford to hold back and wait, while the Normans had to try to rush forward, especially when they came off worse in a missile battle - the Danish archers once more proving their worth, getting the better of Norman crossbow men. Again, this was aided by the excess fatigue piling up on the Norman forces.

Tired Normans face unyielding Danes

The Norman knights finally managed to calm their horse enough to engage and scatter the Danish archers, but they were quickly tiring. The latter stages of the game saw the Normans cantering and galloping around the trees, trying but unable to gain a decisive charge, constantly hampered by fatigue and exhaustion. Eventually, the Norman Lord over-extended and was set upon by the Danish Lord and his bodyguard. His horse crashed to the ground and it was only the quick actions of his nearby knights that rescued him from certain death. He was carried from the battlefield, dazed and bloodied.

After the battle there is a process to go through, as in-game casualties are converted to campaign deaths or injuries - the Norman warlord will be suffering from that serious wound for the rest of the campaign. Both sides managed to recruit more troops, theoretically the Danes did really well here with five new hearthguard joining their ranks while the Normans attracted lowly levy, though a good number of them. Perhaps those extra arrows will pay dividends in future encounters.

This brief report just scratches the surface of what's in the book. I only had a hurried look but it seems well organised and very detailed. Hopefully the campaign will progress well for all four armies - too many campaign systems allow one side to gain such an advantage that the underdogs just give up. It's early days as yet, with just one game played, but I have high hopes for this gaming adventure.

Drabant Miniatures Archers

It's a return to the dark ages this year (and no, that's not a satirical political quip). Last night I had my first taste of the Saga Age of the Wolf system, and it was so tasty. I will post more about it after a few more sessions, but suffice to say the very next day I dug these archers from out of my stash, prepped and glued them on to bases.

These are Drabant Miniatures archers, one box of Saxons and two of the Vikings, though my aim has always been to use them as one unit of 12 fairly generic dark ages archers. Once painted, this unit will be serving in both my Viking and Anglo Dane forces. It's surprising how effective they can be - especially against fully armoured knights.

I have been taking a look at my Dark Ages collection and it's a real hotch-potch of stuff. I started with some plastic Wargames Factory figures, and they are the worst. Avoid. Then I tried some Gripping Beast plastic Saxons and they are quite reasonable, though all heavily armoured (wearing chain mail) which is not so useful in the age of the woollen sack vest. Then I tried some Gripping Beast metal vikings and I was a little disappointed in those, some pretty awful sculpts and poor casts. More recently I have tried Saxon Miniatures Anglo-Danes and they are pretty decent. By far the cream of my collection are the Drabant Miniatures vikings - painted examples can be found here. If you are looking for high quality and don't mind paying a little extra, they are highly recommended. It's a shame that the range is so limited.

Danelaw Village

I am on holiday in York and yesterday visited the Yorkshire Museum of Farming. Now I enjoy looking at farm implements and fertilisers as much as the next man (i.e. not at all) but the reason for my visit was the reconstruction of a Danelaw village. It's based on best guesses and archeology, giving a good feel for a dark age or even fantasy settlement. You will probably recognise the basic building designs from the plethora of mdf kits around, but the photos might prove useful for colours and a few other little touches. It was a glaringly bright day so some of the colours are washed out a little.

Bronze age huts

Typical wooden dwelling

Carved sign above the doorway

Wattle and daub house

Potter's house

Animal Shelter

Cart, possibly pulled by hand or maybe goat?

House decoration

Another house carving above doorway
Represents Odin and his ravens maybe

I certainly picked up a few ideas. The wooden walkways to aid with muddy conditions I have seen before and certainly is a nice idea for any bases. Other bits lying around that can add authenticity is chopped wood, lots of little outhouses/animal shelters, wicker fencing everywhere, cart, etc. There was even a longship moored in the nearby stream. And much, much more.......

More Anglo-Danes

The second half of the Anglo-Dane starter force is complete. Though just half the size of the first contingent, these are the elite warriors of the force. They have the best equipment and best armour. These are the highly trained, professional soldiers of their era, often blood relatives of the warlord. Some of them are armed with double handed dane axes, which it is said can cleave a man in two (I heard this tale at a re-enactor camp, not sure if he was being serious or not, I would imagine it would be nigh impossible to cut through armour, flesh and bone with just one stroke).

They are led into battle by Aelfric, Lord of the Northern Marches. I should really make his clothing more elaborate so that he stands out on the battlefield, but for the time being his horse design shield will have to do. I had problems with this transfer, which I had to hide with a bit of weathering and scratches along the top border.

That's the Saxon Miniatures starter warband completed. This gives a four point Saga force, which is a reasonable sized skirmish force. Standard games are played using six points, so I need a couple more units before I can call the Danes truly complete. I can use some of my other dark age troops as proxies for a while, but I would like to add some levie archers and another unit or two of warriors, to be decided after a few test games. Hopefully they will see action soon.

First of the Anglo Danes

It's a couple of months since I posted any new painted figures, so I am really happy to have finished these Danes from Saxon Miniatures. As with most dark ages figures, the biggest impact comes from the shield - the figures are almost just something to hang a shield on. These are half and half transfers and hand painted. I was pretty pleased with how they blended together.

Sixteen unarmoured figures gives me two points of a Saga force. The next set of Danes to paint are the final nine from the starter warband, which are the armoured warriors and the leader. I want to crack on with them and get them done as quickly as this first set, then perhaps add a unit of archers to give a reasonable sized force for a game.

Shield Transfers Review

I have resisted using shield (or banner) transfers in the past, for two reasons. Firstly, I think they are expensive! Secondly and more importantly, everybody seems to use them and you can feel a bit of shield transfer fatigue when you browse through images on various forums and blogs. However, when I bought the Danes from Saxon Miniatures there was a set of transfers thrown in as part of a deal, so it would be silly not to give them a try.

I had read on a forum somewhere that they can be fiddly to apply. This was my experience with the first couple, but then I got the hang of it and it wasn't too bad. I have 16 shields in the unit, half are hand painted and the other half are transfers. The biggest problem was that they do not fit - or rather they do not fit all the shields. They are obviously designed to fit the rimmed shields. The instructions are to paint the shield face white before applying the transfer, so any size discrepancy results in a white border. You can see this clearly on the left shield, but there is also a little on the rimmed shield on the right too. Now that I have fitted them I will have to go back and cover the white bits. Dark age warriors would often cover the edge of their shields with strips of leather to strengthen them and prevent splitting of the wood, so luckily I can paint the white bits as leather. I'm not sure what you would do if it was a medieval metal shield, I guess you would just have to blend it in as best you could.

I like the designs, they are really nicely done and I can see the attraction. The more intricate examples are lovely and it would be a real challenge to replicate them by hand - imagine trying to achieve anything like these Irish symbols. The simpler designs like those in the photo above are not impossible to achieve by hand/brush. In terms of time, adding in the covering of the white borders, it will have taken me roughly the same for applying transfers or painting by hand. The main attraction to me would be the very intricate designs that are nigh on impossible to achieve with a brush. After trying these first few transfers and learning a few lessons, I think I will probably get more for future additions to my dark ages and medieval collection.

Speed Painting Dark Ages figures

As I mentioned at the start of this project, I was keen to blitz through these Danes as quickly as possible. These are speed painted, but I still aim to achieve a nice finish. Cleaning, assembling and basing the figures took about two hours. After that, each of these stages represents about one hour of work. Pictures speak volumes, so .......

Stage 1: Prime white, wash khaki, drybrush white

Stage 2: Glaze garments in pastel natural dyes

Stage 3 : Glaze tunics and other clothing in greens and reds
Wash shield backs and base coat some leathers

Stage 4 : Basecoat remaining leathers, skin and metals

Stage 5 : Wash leathers, glaze tunics and add ground colour

Stage 6 : Wash flesh and metals, glue on shields

Stage 7 : Base and wash beards and hair
Cool shade the garments, base shield rims

I probably should have fixed the shields on at the end of stage 7 to allow easier access to the hair and beards in stage 6, but you know how impatient you get! Obviously the shields are not yet completed and they make up a big part of the impact of the unit. I am going to try a few transfers on some of them, along with some easy hand painted designs - that probably merits a new article. Photos of the completed unit coming soon.

Anglo Danes WIP

My hobby time over the past month or so has been, much like the English summer, a complete washout. Commission painting, holidays and Total War Warhammer have all taken their toll. Combined with my decision earlier in the year to paint dwarfs to a high standard, I feel like I have made very little progress on Mount Unpainted. So, I am planning to blitz through some easy and quick-to-paint figures, starting with these Danes. These are from Saxon Miniatures, nice enough sculpts for historical metals, not overly detailed so I should be able to get them done quickly. These are the unarmoured figures from the Anglo-Danish warband deal, which also includes eight armoured figures plus a warlord. As usual, I have mounted them on pennies, I will add the ground texture before priming.