Anglo-Dane Warriors Ready for Battle...

When Gripping Beast announced their plastic warriors kit for SAGA I was pretty excited.  In addition to their excellent Viking and Saxon plastics I knew this would be a nice compliment to their line. 

These particular eight men will serve as warriors for my Anglo-Danish warband.  I had to restrain myself on the shields as I love to paint designs but I wanted to keep their designs simple such as to distinguish them from the more elite hearthguard.

Also, this was my first attempt at NMM(non metallic metals) and, as you can see, I have a lot to learn.  My results were mixed but I definitely need to work on the technique!
Thanks for viewing...
~Gareson

More Anglo-Dane Hearthguard Painted...

In my trek towards completing two SAGA warbands to roll out to my club I made another stride today...finishing up four more Hearthguard figures.

Three of the figures are from the Gripping Beast plastic thegns box set and one(second figure from the right) is from a GB metal Anglo-Danish command blister pack.  I probably won't start out playing with the war banners rule as I get the basic rules down but I wanted the pageantry of some standard bearers on the field(thus the two shown above). 

For the banner-bearer I intended to make a custom flag, but after I painted the figure and his shield I couldn't pass on using one of the two designs that came in the Thegn box becayse the colors were a great fit for the shield.  For the longer poles(middle two figures) I used pikes made by GB that I cut down to size. 

Here are a few singleton shots...

And a close-up of the Dragon standard...

While I wait for the new Gripping Beast "Dark Ages Warriors" set to arrive in the mail, who will serve as my Anglo-Dane warriors to round out my units, I am working on the two warlords(one Viking, one Dane). 
Since I am on the topic of "Danes", time for a rant...
Though the phrase "Anglo-Dane" is historically accepted, and a somewhat apt descriptor for the civilization in Eastern England in the late Dark Ages, I can't help but lament the lack of "Saxon" in the nomenclature.  There's likely more Saxon than either Danish or Angle blood in the "Anglo-Danes" but "Saxon" just doesn't make the hyphenated cut...COME ON!  I suppose if we called them Saxon-Anglo-Danes that would give us an acronym of "SAD". However, we should really save S.A.D. to stand for "SAGA Addiction Disorder".  O.K. rant completed...

Thanks for viewing,
Gareson

Anglo-Danish Huscarls

Just completed these Anglo-Dane Huscarls for my SAGA games which means I have one half of my small warband ready and by mid May I will have enough Vikings and Anglo-Danes to hit the table with. 

I tried to tie the unit together with whites, reds and yellows while remaining a bit random by using different hues of those three core colors and putting some other colors into the mix. 

I  probably left the Dane axe a little long(the four in the blister pack need to be clipped down...they are about 9 scale feet in length)...but  I took the creative liberty of modeling a longer axe just for visual appeal.  The figures of from Gripping Beast and are metal.  I am not new to metal by any means, but these are my first ones for SAGA after doing a bunch of GB plastic figures.  The only letdown was in the faces as the plastic sculpts better have more defined facial features. 

I have really been struggling with my painting lately.  My main issue is that when I ever I see someone else's figures I like their painting style much more than my own.  I have waffled forever between the photo-realistc blending tecnhiques of American and Eastern European pro painters and what I call the U.K.-style...one of broad strokes and super highlights(see Kevin Dallimore's stuff at Wargames Foundry).  I usually end up somewhere in between, with a mix of the two styles as I waffle on approach...and I am often, appropriately, displeased with the final result.  I think I am finally leaning towards the "British" style...there is something refreshing about the "impressionist" approach that many Brits take to painting wargames figures.  This batch of figures is still an "in between" style, but I am resolved to change with my next group of figures.

Still too much on deck to be painted...more Anglo-Danes, specifically more hearthguard and slingers.  I also have Viking archers to do as well as more warriors.  Additionally, I preordered the Gripping Beast plastic Dark Ages warriors set...not sure when we'll see those arrive over here in the United States but hopefully pretty soon.

Wish I could attend Salute in England...that looks like a blast!

Thanks for viewing,
Gareson

Anglo-Dane Hearthguard Table Ready

In my quest to complete two warbands for SAGA, I have begun painting my Anglo-Danes.  I hope to have the core of both(Viking and Anglo-Danes) done before the end of the school year to roll out to my club. 

The four below are from Gripping Beast's plastic "Saxon Thegns" set...

I have decided to make the Warband base lip colors vary for each faction to match the color of their SAGA dice.  Of course, some factions share dice, so I'll have to be creative down the line.  The main reason I am doing this because the kit is so similar for Dark Ages warriors for many of the factions, I wanted a quick way for new players to tell "who is who". 

I didn't like how the "magic wash" was blunting the hues of my Vikings figures so for these guys I am only apply the wash to target areas where I want some shadings(mainly metal and wood surfaces as well as the shields). Here are some individual pics...

Next up  on my painting table are some Huscarls for the Anglo-Danes as well as my Viking warlord. I purchased an Anglo-Danish command pack from Architects of War which, with four figures for under $10, is a nice deal.

Thanks for viewing everyone.
Comments are always welcome and appreciated....
~Gareson