Category Archives: Ancients

SAGA: 4 Points & Warlord Painted & Based

My SAGA starter warband is completed at last.  The warlord and 4 points – 2 points of hearthguard and 2 points of warriors.

SAGA_4pts_warlaord_painted_based

In the back is some terrain I made – I’ll have a post about that later.

Next up is 1 point of levy: 12 bowmen.  I test assembled a bowman from the Wargames Factory unarmored saxons, and I just don’t like the way it looks.  So, I actually bought some GW minis.  My first ever.  I got a box of Warhammer Bretonnian Peasant Bowmen.  They look pretty good, and they come with a bunch of extras, like a wooden stake and chain defensive fortification, a dog, a nice flag banner, etc.  They are a touch shorter than the Wargames Factory minis, but no so much that it’s noticeable.

Also on deck is 1 point of hearthguard, metal minis from Gripping Beast, and 1 point of warriors, also metal from Gripping Beast.

Assembling and Painting Wargames Factory Saxons

Over the last several weeks I’ve been assembling and painting Wargames Factory’s plastic Saxons.

what_i_deal_withThey come on several sprues, body, head, each arm, shield, and weapons all separate.  It took me about an hour to do 4 soldiers.  Clip off the sprue, choose and fit the parts, clean up the mold lines, and glue.

ready_for_decalsshieldsI used Little Big Men Studios’ shield transfers.  I read that it was easier to apply the transfer if the shield was not attached to the soldier, so I did the shields separately.  If I were to do it again, I’d go ahead and attach the shields from the beginning. Applying the transfers was pretty easy.

all_assembled A bunch of them assembled and ready for primer.

dane_axes_primed_and_chainmailOne point of Hearthguard.  I primed them black, then dry brushed The Army Painter’s Gun Metal over the metal parts – helmet, chainmail and axe heads.  When I do this step next time (for my levy) I’ll use a leather brown primer instead of black.  Then I can paint everything but the belts, straps, etc.

dane_axes_washedGetting close to done.

basedTwo points of Hearthguard painted and based.

Wargames Factory’s plastic minis get a bad rap in some circles, but I think they are great value for the money.  I got them for $15.99 at The War Store, and there’s 32 soldiers in a box, so that’s 50 cents each.  Each box also has more weapons, heads, and arms than you need, so you have a lot of flexibility in your poses and armament.

SAGA and Gripping Beast’s Harald Hardradda

A friend at my local game store has gotten me into SAGA.  (Yu know who you are (that’s a pun that one person in the world is going to get)).  I’ve not played yet, but we have some games scheduled in a few weeks.  I’ve just started painting my army, but tonight I finished my warlord.

I used Gripping Beast’s Harald Hardradda figure, but I’ll use him as a generic Anglo-Danish leader.

out_of_package Here’s what you get in the package.  I ordered from Gripping Beast’s USA partner, Architects Of War.  They shipped fast and have good prices, and an easy to use website.  I got my SAGA rulebook from them, also.

 

size Harald is BIG.  I read up on him, and he was a big guy in real life, also.

 

unpainted_back This is where the shield attaches to his back.

 

shield_decal I used a decal for the shield front.  It was easy to put on.

 

decal_applied The shield after the decal was applied.

 

before_shield_attached When I primed the figure and the shield, I put a bit of blue tack over the parts that I would need to glue, so that I could glue metal to metal with no paint in the way.

 

after_shield_attached The shield is attached.

 

after_wash Harald is painted and washed with The Army Painter Strong Tone ink.

 

Gripping_beast_Harald_Hardradda_front Done and based.  The sword on the base is from Wargames Factory Saxon Thegns.  He’s on a 30mm Litko.net wood base with a heavy duty magnet base underneath.

 

Gripping_beast_Harald_Hardradda_back

 

I am really looking forward to playing SAGA.  I’ve started on my Anglo-Danish warband.  Hopefully I’ll have some pics of them for you soon.