SAGA - Byzantines

[AngusH]

Footsore are releasing Byzantines later this year.

Of course they would...

Those V&V cataphracts are amazing. I grabbed the Footsore Late Roman cataphracts to use for my Last Romans. Probably not perfect for Byzantines, but I just loved the minis:

[AdamPHayes]

Footsore are releasing Byzantines later this year.

I bet they’ll be nice and not requiring me to sell a kidney to afford an army....

[Antonio J Carrasco]

I bet they’ll be nice and not requiring me to sell a kidney to afford an army....

I think that Footsore's Byzantines will be for the period of Justinian reign. At least that is what it looks like for the photos released by Footsore, so far.

V&V and Crusader are for a later period, if I am not mistaken.

Except if you have a lot of money, I wouldn't recommend a whole army using V&V. However, they are a delight to paint, so for a single elite unit it's not that bad idea. Besides they fit perfectly with Footsore. I have four V&V Berserkers and they are a match, sizewise, with Footsore Hearthguard. I'll try to take a picture later, once I finish the bases.

[Captain Harlock]

Well its true they are expensive, GW level expensive, but damn they are good looking... I like that they have more normal proportions like Perry miniatures, they are not sculpted in the traditional chubby/stumpy style

[AngusH]

I finally managed to finish a single point of my SAGA Byzantines however, plus a warbanner to help keep the lads rested while they cower in forests and ineffectively pepper my opponents with arrows.



It was my First time using a LBMS banner transfer and I found it fiddly. Instructions weren't a lot of help, but they did make good backing paper for the actual transfer! I managed to trim and cover up some of the mistakes with paint and I think I salvaged it. I'm used to playing 6-8 figure skirmish games where I can take a whole week to paint one mini and feel like I've made good progress, so I'm still trying to find the right balance to be able to tackle a SAGA-sized force. I cut some corners with the warbanner guy and it took half as long as the others, and (IMO at least) ended up looking better, using what I call the "GW method" of basecoat+wash+edge highlight for everything but the red and the skin, and also barely diluted my paint.

Looking forward to tackling some Flemish mercs next - using the new armoured Normans from Footsore, which are about 80% chainmail... woo hoo!

[Koyote]

Very nice.  You've struck a great balance between bright and muted colors. 

I'm looking forward to seeing this warband progress. 

[FierceKitty]

My 10mm Byzantines took a Crusader army to the cleaners last Sunday; very satisfying force. And the crusader and Turkish enemies can also wear mail, so lots more fun painting 'em.

[armchairgeneral]

Nice painting.

I have quite a few Byzantines and I felt the GB figures were much nicer than the Crusader ones, and I am a big fan of Crusader figures normally.

Aventine have said they are doing Byzantines but no sign as yet and they announced this a couple of years ago.

Nobiscum Deus!

[AngusH]

I have quite a few Byzantines and I felt the GB figures were much nicer than the Crusader ones, and I am a big fan of Crusader figures normally.

Yeah I agree re: the Crusader minis, especially the skutatoi. I like that they are bearded, but otherwise I think the GB are superior. Happy with the slingers though, and the javelin/archer/crossbow psiloi are likely buys when I start work on my Crusaders-era SAGA list.

Flicking through some Osprey books last week at my local book store, I think I appreciate the GB minis a little more in general - especially the faces. Seems like a conscious effort on the sculptors part to match images like this:

[armchairgeneral]

Yes I felt the GB range is well researched.

For further reading I would very much recommend the John Julius Norwich trilogy of books on the history of the Byzantine Empire.