Reinforcements and a new army.

Sticking to my New Years resolution of not buying any new shiny things that are not in any of the periods I game in. I received a parcel today, to enhance what I already have.

Long term readers of the blog will know, I have one box each of the Gripping Beast Plastic Vikings, Anglo-Danes and Dark Age Warriors. They haven't seen the light of day in over a year, but I do intend to return to them once my Wars of the Roses and War of the Three Kingdom projects are finally completed. I would like to use them, not only for Saga, but also Lion Rampant and possibly for larger scale battles using L' Art de la Guerre, Sword and Spear etc. So I acquired some new recruits.

A Gripping Beast Anglo-Dane 4 point starter warband containing 25 metal miniatures.

Viking 4 point starter warband, again with 25 metal figures.

I also wanted to add a third faction. Initially I was going to opt for the Normans as there are a number of plastic box sets by various manufacturers as well as a plethora of metal figures to suit. But I decided I wanted something totally different and so opted to build up an Arab army.

Two boxes of plastic Arab Heavy Cavalry.

Two more of Light cavalry & horse archers.

Three boxes of foot, in the shape of spearmen and archers.

Finally, a couple of sheets of shield transfers and a pair of banners for the new army.

So my Dark Ages and Middle Ages forces get some new recruits and a completely new force. I doubt that any work will be done on these figures until deep into the Winter months, but at least I know I have them available for when I am ready. I also primed the metal figures in the pleasant weather we are currently experiencing, so another job that is difficult to do outside in the colder months is now sorted.

I have not been posting as regularly as I would like on this blog, but my other blog, The Saga of Yolare is being updated quite regularly and I am also doing a lot of YouTube videos on my channel. These feature unboxings and battle reports among other things.

Getting back to war gaming.

I am now sufficiently recovered after the op, to start playing games again. I have already started painting again, I have found short thirty minute spells doesn't cause muscle problems. The first game will be the long awaited skirmish in the snow with the forces of Godfrey Lovell, Owen Wadham and Guy de Cobham. The battle will of course be on my 'Saga of Yolare' blog if you wish to know the outcome. It will be fought using the Lion Rampant rule set, which is perfect for a small scale skirmish.


Godrey Lovell the Thrang of Knapton, on the left with his banner man, demands the lion's share of the supplies being carried to Egton Low Moor. Owen and Guy refuse and so battle shall commence.

The forces of Owen and Guy, consist of one unit each of spearmen and billmen, as well as two units of archers.

The leading archers are in the colours of the Thrang of Thorngarth, Guy's father. The second unit of archers and the spearmen are from Egton.

The forces of Godfrey Lovell consist of two units of billmen, one of archers and his Thrang Host, (foot knights).

Lovell's force is weaker in archery, but more powerful in melee. Due to the melting snow, mounted charges would be too dangerous, hence the dismounted foot knights.

For the mule train, I have had to borrow my English Civil War mules, so please ignore the more modern weapons being carried, such as musket rests and shot pouch bandoleers. The snow is to cover the road and verge base.

The plan is to fight this skirmish tomorrow and of course this will allow me to write the next chapter in the Saga. Not read it? Well shame on you, pop over to my other blog to follow the story.

http://thesagaofyolare.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/new-installments-of-saga.html

A couple of Sabots to try out.

I was sent a couple of sabots by a friend on Tabletop Commanders, Richard. He ordered a number of them, custom made for his own 6mm armies and kindly sent me a pair to evaluate. They come in two parts with a solid square base plate, and what is best described as a picture frame top with a hole for a dice and enough room to add the unit name if required.

Anyway, best to see the photos, which for some odd reason are not very good, but you will see the bases clear enough.

An empty base on the right, with two cannon and a limber on the left.

Two regiments of infantry.

A brigade of cavalry.

They certainly do the job and make moving around lots of units much easier. I should mention my infantry and cavalry bases are 60 x 30 mm and the cannon are 30 x 30 mm.

New Wars of the Roses troops and a book.

Well the postie arrived today, and my order from Perry has arrived after eleven days, well worth waiting for too.

First up is the new American Civil War supplement for Black Powder. I have had a quick flick through and it is of a high quality with lots of photographs of beautifully painted minis on battlefields that ooze atmosphere. A good read over the coming days.

It came with this lovely 28mm sculpt of a Union officer tussling with a Confederate soldier over a regimental flag. I shall enjoy painting this.

On to the Wars of the Roses or Saga of Yolare. Enough light cavalry now to give the other two of the four main factions a unit in their livery, plus two units for lesser lords.

Four boxes of three 'Scurrers' in various poses, two of the boxes with lances at the charge.

Once box with lances upright.

One box of command.

Finally, two light cannon with crews.

That just about finishes all the figures I needed to complete this project. So an excellent haul, especially after the Montrose Irish recruits I received yesterday. I am going to be a busy boy in the coming weeks.

Care Package

Hi all, just a quick post about a care package I received from my good friend Gab's, some figures he had no use for, but which will fit my armies perfectly. All will be added to my Montrose Irish force.
The figures are more 25 than 28mm, but that isn't a problem for me, I will mix and match as required.

All the figures received are laid out on the painting board.

Sadly, the paintwork on the figures is beyond saving, so a bath in Dettol awaits these guys, on the left are ten cavalry figures. I am thinking of changing out three of the figures for the three metal Moss Troopers I have from the Scots Lancers box set. This will give them even more of a Scottish feel.

This guy will be perfect to add to the mule packed light artillery piece I have for the army.

A squad of nine firelock storming party methinks! Will add a shock factor to the army.

Finally, the horses have been cleaned up and given a coat of light grey primer.

So all in all, a fine addition for the Marquis of Montrose in his fight with the Covenanters. Thanks again to Gabs for passing on these figures. I shall show more as and when I begin to clean and paint the figures.

Getting back into it again.

Hi all, it is now two weeks since the operation and I must admit I feel a whole lot better. I can actually feel the improvement day by day, so thought it was about time to stop loafing around and get on with some painting again.

I did have a couple of projects that were close to completion, and they will be the first things I shall be tackling. All are for the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and all have been in my stash for well over a year.

First up are horse holders for my two regiments of dragoons, the mounted figures are for colour comparison. Not a lot of work needed to complete these.

Also close to completion are the Highland Clansmen, again not a lot of work left to do on these boys. I have some ink pens to help me make some sort of reasonable job on the tartans.

Also in the stash, but primed ready to go are some civilians to populate any farms or towns that are needed on the battlefield.

One of two packs of casualty figures, again primed and ready for painting. I shall have to pick a sample figure from each of my regiments to colour co-ordinate again.

Second pack of casualties and a pack of Pike men, I can mix and match the latter with the as yet unpainted plastic figures I have in storage. Enough for four more regiments I think.

That should almost complete this project, though I do have a small break down cannon and mule for the Montrose Irish to paint as well.

So sticking to my resolution not to buy anymore new, shiny armies, but simply enhance what I already had, I did indulge in a little retail therapy yesterday. This was to fill in gaps in my Wars of the Roses project. I ordered two light cannon with crew, as I had no artillery at all for this period. I also went for two boxes of light cavalry as I only ever did have one box. My cavalry units are made up of six figures and as I have four major factions only two of them had light cavalry, so now the other two can add them to their retinues. The extra box will allow me to field two units for the lesser nobles. Finally, for this project I ordered four blister packs of Scurrers, a total of 12 figures, the thinking behind them is to allow the Montrose Irish to have some cavalry.

Finally I have a copy of the American Civil War supplement for Black Powder on pre-order too.

Busy times ahead.

General Update

Hi to everyone,

I have just been discharged from the hospital after undergoing a double bypass operation. Needless to say I am very sore, bruised and battered. The operation was a success and I should now begin to recover steadily. I will need a couple of weeks or so, to get back to anything like some kind of fitness, but stay with me as I have lots planned for the future.

Ian