Northern Crusades: Some of what I did during the great 2020 plague

[Maniac]

Thanks very much all, most kind of you.

I'm hoping that my club will enjoy Steed and Steel.  It looks like a fun set of rules.  I'll target a night when there are four or five of us, and have each player draft up 2 knights to run through a tourney consisting of Archery, Melee, Jousting.  Should make for a good round of playing.

Then I'll have to write up a mini campaign for Saga to use my Crusaders vs Oesel Vikings.

[cahrn]

Great project and use of time during the pandemic. I've dabbled here and there with some medieval stuff and the colors and heraldry you're using with your miniatures make it look super interesting. A friend of mine really loves the Northern Crusades and Baltic history in general. Seeing a nice cohesive collection like this is some nice inspiration to get back on some of my neglected projects. Keep up the good work!

[NickNascati]

I have to correct what I said.  The pamphlet is produced by The Society of Ancients, not WRG.

[metalface13]

Great looking minis! What size round bases are you using? Look bigger than 40mm?

[Maniac]

Great looking minis! What size round bases are you using? Look bigger than 40mm?

I'm using metal fender washers.  For infantry they are 1", or ~25mm, for the mounted figures they are 1.5", or ~38mm.  I do have some command stands for other forces that are on 2" fender washers.  Those take a little more work, and need a piece of card to cover the hole with.

So fairly close to a 40mm base.

I like the fender washers better as they are heavier, and make models less top heavy.  Plus a cast on base covers the hole in the washer perfectly.  Lastly, they magnetize, so if you want to use them on a tray....

[metalface13]

Oh, nice idea!

[Maniac]

So it has been quite a while since I built anything new for this force, but we finally made it back to 'Ol Blighty after the fun and joy of Covid disruptions to travel.  After hitting our old stomping grounds, Wales, Hadrian's Wall, and Scotland I came home with an itch to add some Northern English types.  I chose Eustace de Vesci (who had signed the Magna Carta), an unknown Northumbrian lord whose arms we saw in Hexham Abbey, de Warenne, and Meyners (the originators of clan Menzie, who we are descended from).

The banner dates from the 1300s, but I couldn't pass it up as I love the clan's motto.  Shown here with one of the de Warenne brood.





Then de Vesci and the bannerman is a crest we saw in Hexham Abbey.