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Author Topic: Grandad and the boys - Dark Ages  (Read 2395 times)

Online dadlamassu

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Grandad and the boys - Dark Ages
« on: March 28, 2019, 11:04:37 AM »
The schools at which our grandchildren are attending are going to cover the topics on Rome (Antonine's Wall is only a few miles away), Dark Ages (Vikings, Saxons, Picts, Gaels, Scots etc).  So getting ready to encourage them and set up some themed games February and March were Saxon months!  This year I am concentrating on getting through a large number of plastic figures that have been sitting around in boxes for years - Vikings, Angles/Saxons/Jutes, Late Romans, Imperial Romans, Celts, Ancient Britons etc.
Having just re-read the Arthur trilogy by Bernard Cornwell ( a sort of "Sharpe" in the Dark Ages") I started with the Angles (Aenglish).
 
The Saxons first came to Britannia as mercenary troops of the Roman Empire.  Later they came as invaders.  The term "Saxons" is used in many cases to represent a number of European migrants, mainly from what we now call Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.  They were pagans who called themselves Sais, Jutes and Aeglish.  Each host came with their king or prince hungry for land and plunder.  They came to conquer and settle.

In this setting the models are mainly plastic 28mm figures by Gripping Beast, North Star and Warlord Games with metal figures from Gripping Beast, Warlord Games, Blacktree Design, Crusader, Footsore, Bad Squiddo and some not particularly designed for this period including fantasy figures from Hasslefree, Games Workshop and many others (some very old!)

Saxon High King and champion (old Citadel I think)

All of the warbands include red as the Bretwalda's colour and to represent that each warband follows its king they also have some unifying colour to make them easier to identify on the wargames table.  The warband strength and "organisation" is flexible so that they can be used under several different sets of rules - our own club rules, Saga, Of Gods and Mortals, Dux Briranniarum, Dragons Blood etc.






On the work bench just now are some light troops and characters.
'He could have lived a risk-free, moneyed life, but he preferred to whittle away his fortune on warfare.'
-- Xenophon, The Anabasis

Offline Hami

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Re: Grandad and the boys - Dark Ages
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2019, 08:02:16 PM »
They are looking good.

Online dadlamassu

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Re: Grandad and the boys - Dark Ages
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2019, 12:45:55 PM »
To fight the invading, migrant Aenglish, Saxons etc ...

Following the withdrawal of the Roman Army the vestiges of the old Roman ways remained in some of the successor kingdoms while others followed their own ways.  I have followed this with representative forces of largely Christian Romanised soldiers and also warbands of partly and non-Romanised warriors.

Of course there is an "Arthur" and a "Mordred".  They are represented by converted Warlord Games figures and their banners come from scans of the "Salute 06 Special Set".  I have used scans because I needed 2 identical copies of each and to fit them to my figures.

Arthur


Arthur and his banner bearer


Mordred and banner bearer (head swap to a Roman cavalry sports helmet is homage to the film "Excalibur").  The dismounted version may lose his spear for a sword as the figure is unstable.


Some characters


The Gripping Beast Late Roman Infantry sets provide most og the Romano British.  The first two Regiments are based on the contemporary Byzantine model with an armoured front rank, archers in the second rank and unarmoured spearmen in the third rank.  These represent the highly Romanised troops of the king's field army



A regiment composed of Sagittarii (archers)


Two warbands of less Romaised soldiers



A warlord with his two Scorpions (the scorpions are metal from my bits box and the crew are converted archers)


Another British warlord that I will be using as a king.  Both are conversions of Warlord Games figures.


The King's Standard Bearer (Again I've scanned a banner)


Sir Sagramor - again Warlord Games figures with a plastic and a Lamming head. (Just noticed I need to finish the horse!)


Sir Sagramor's Standard bearer converted figures
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A couple of old Citadel fantasy figures mounted on Warlord Games Horses.  Not quite "period" but one will be the "Green Knight" and the other the "Black Knight".


Warlord Games knights with head swaps and cloaks added to make the figures match mounted and dismounted as close as possible



More to come ... Civilians, farmers, slingers, javelins, archers etc  They are all on the work table.

Offline Harry Faversham

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Re: Grandad and the boys - Dark Ages
« Reply #3 on: May 08, 2019, 12:33:44 AM »
Really nice models, I like the way you've painted them, well done matey.

:-*
"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

Online dadlamassu

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Re: Grandad and the boys - Dark Ages
« Reply #4 on: October 11, 2019, 12:29:54 PM »
At long last I have managed to finish our Dark Age Knights.  I have put them all into one post.  The figures are a mix of Warlord Games, Black Tree Designs, Old Citadel and probably others from the lead mountain.  Quite a few are conversions.  Some foot figures have cloaks added from tin foil.

The King


Warlord (Arthur)


Warlord (Sagramor)


Warlord (Mordred)


Knights (the one on the right might be Galahad)


Knights


Knights


The Green Knight, The Dark Knight and another