Lords of Battle

 

There's been some slow progress over winter on the 15/18mm Dark Ages project. I finally have enough heroes painted up for half a game of Midgard! I've previously posted about the chaps in the middle with the bird banner here. The new additions are also 18mm Saxons from Wiglaf Miniatures mounted on 2p pieces. As before, the banners are from Little Big Men Studios and the photos are taken in front of Jon Hodgson backdrops.

Why half a game of Midgard? The rules (which are excellent) split each army into 3 commands. So, a standard game would include at least 3 heroes per side to act as contingent commanders.

I've really enjoyed doing these. More will be in the offing soon. I'm rather taken with the idea of building two Saxon armies so that the kingdoms of the Heptarchy can kick the snot out of each other.

I've also slapped some paint on another unit of armoured warriors for use in Midgard or Dux Bellorum.

The unit on the left-hand side is one I painted last winter, but I've recently switched the banner for a LBMS one I was more happy with. The banner for the unit on the right-hand side is by Wargames Designs (from  their eBay store).

I've also completed another unit of Forged in Battle 15mm Welsh teulu. I experimented with giving them patterned cloaks and sashes. It's taken a few attempts, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

I also note that Wiglaf have just released several packs of 18mm Welsh warriors. I'm looking forward to getting my mitts them in the near future. 

Cheers

Meanwhile, back in Midgard...

Hi folks. I've had a few months off. Not necessarily for good behaviour. But now it's cold, wet and dark of an evening I've retreated back indoors to the painting table. Amongst other things, this summer I got to visit some fascinating ancient monuments, in many cases for the first time, which in turn has inspired me to crack on with my 15mm/18mm Dux Bellorum project. While I probably have enough Saxons to cobble together an army, they are sadly lacking opposition. So, the priority was to get some paint slapped on some Forged in Battle 15mm Welsh teulu I've had kicking around for ages.

As well as the unit of 'noble warriors' (as they're termed in Dux Bel), I also knocked up a command base. This is in anticipation of the Midgard Heroic Battles rules, slated to drop next month. I've been eagerly looking forward to these rules, which are happily compatible with the Dux Bel units I've painted to-date. The major difference miniatures-wise is that Midgard armies have between 3-5 separately based 'heroes' per side. 

I think the photo above gives all you dyed in the wool 28mm players a good idea just how wee 15mm is! I so enjoyed modelling this Welsh warlord that I immediately painted a hero base for the Saxons, using 18mm Wiglaf miniatures.

Given that the Wiglaf lads are taller than their FiB counterparts, I built up the base of the Welsh hero with Greenstuff so that he could look his enemies in the eye. I used banners from Little Big Men Studios for both bases.

I've also managed to paint some Wiglaf Saxon skirmishers. These were a quick and dirty effort, if I'm honest. I tried to keep the colours more muted than usual, possibly indicating a lower social status. I do wonder whether I should have used less miniatures per base and angled the miniatures to make them look less uniform? Oh well, they'll do the job for now and there are plenty more minis in need of daubing.