Anglo-Saxon army

Its been a while since my last post, and a lot has happened since then. Namely, I've built myself an Anglo-Saxon (or Anglo-Danish more correctly) army!

Last autumn I found an unexpected inspiration and calling to put together a force of Normans for Saga (the results of which can be seen here). The inspiration for this period has remained strong, and little by little I've painted an Anglo-Saxon force to fight against the Normans. Only, this force has grown to be quite substantial with over 150 models done so far! That´s not a bad pace since it means I've painted about one miniature each day this year. Anyway, here´s the progress so far:

Commander 1

Commander 2

Commander 3

Fyrd warriors

More Fyrd warriors

A base of Huscarls with dane-axes

Combined unit Huscarls and Fyrd

Two units of Fyrd

  

Combined unit of Huscarls and Fyrd

Two units of Huscarls

Most of the miniatures can be taken off the bases for use in skirmish gaming

Viking mercenaries

Javelinmen

Slingers

Anglo-Saxon huscarls

Here we go again, the start of a new army for the Dark Ages. The Norman warband I recently finished only served to "whet my appetite" for this period, so the natural next step was to start putting together some Anglo-Saxons. Here are the first 12, heavily armed and armoured huscarls ready to repel the barbarian invaders.

The models are once again from Gripping Beast. I gave these guys a lot of equipment traditionally associated with Normans (kite shields with Norman designs and painted helmets), as it seems quite likely that the same styles were in vogue on both sides of the channel. The equipment and the similar colour palette also help to tie my two armies together. The models from Gripping Beast are lovely and were a joy to paint. I shortened the dane-axes a bit, as those provided by Gripping Beast are ridiculously long (they should be at most shoulder height).

Norman infantry ready!

I managed to finish (yeah right!) my Norman warband for Saga a few weeks back by painting up a large number of infantry. These include 16 spearmen (warriors), 8 crossbowmen (warriors) and 12 archers (levy). Once again, the miniatures are from Gripping Beast, with shield transfers from Little Big Men Studios.

Group photo of the spearmen:

Crossbowmen:

Archers:

The entire warband:

Norman knights for Saga

This is the start of my newest Saga warband: Normans. First up are my warlord, Baron Odo the Outrageous, and 12 knights (mounted hearthguard). The miniatures are from Gripping Beast, with shield transfers and the flag from Little Big Men Studios.

To commemorate the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, I added a printed frieze of the Bayeux Tapestry to the base of Baron Odo. Lets just pretend that this recounts the (forthcoming) exploits of this (as yet untested) mighty warrior.

The transfers from Little Big Men Studios are both beautiful and easy to use. These ones are made specifically for Gripping Beast shields and fit on really well. Unfortunately, about half of the models have shields where the canvas runs over to the back of the shields. This meant that I had to paint "extensions" of the transfers over the edges of the shield. It was a bit challenging to mix the paints to get colours that perfectly blend in with those used in the transfers, but I am quite happy with the end result.

I also tried something new with the flag, which is paper glued onto aluminium foil. Whilst the foil allows for a better "furling in the wind" -effect, it was a bit fiddly to glue into place. This will require more practice.

Great Northern War - Moskovski infantry regiment + general

Another regiment finished for my Great Northern War Russians. This time it's the Moscow infantry regiment in their scarlet uniforms. The minis are once again from Warfare Miniatures, but with a few additions from Ebor (officer, sergeant, casualty) to add variety to the previous units. I also painted a general (Footsore miniatures) to command my fledgling division of three regiments.

Great Northern War - Sibirski infantry regiment

So I finished another Russian regiment for the Great Northern War. The Sibirski (Siberia) infantry regiment in the uniforms worn at the battle of Poltava.

To be honest, I've had the unit painted for almost three weeks, but have been so busy that I only managed to get the basing done today. Hopefully the next unit will be finished more speedily.

Great Northern War - Pskovski infantry regiment

So, we're starting a Great Northern War (1700 - 1721) campaign at our club. I didn't have any models for the period, but it wasn't a tough sell to convince me to purchase more toys.

Well, here is the first unit painted: the Russian Pskovski infantry regiment in the uniforms worn at the battle of Poltava 1709. The pretty little miniatures are from Warfare Miniatures.

The sergeant has his hands full maintaining order

The colonel has positioned his regiment just beyond the range of enemy artillery

Spilt milk!

I painted up a set of Viking civilians from Wargames Foundry, which form a nice little diorama around the "tragedy of the spilt milk".

Brynhildr, Asgerd and Fenja

Oluf and Ogmond

"Lucky" Lief

Spilt milk - the start of an epic saga?

I also painted some livestock a few weeks back. Also from Foundry.