From MartinN: 28mm Dark Age Franks (40 points)

Being a rather slow painter I finally managed to get the figures for my next entry done. These Saxon Gedrith will feature in future games of Dux Britanniarum and Dux Bellorum. I intend to use them as Franks as I want leave the British Isles story wise. 

Although the Age of Arthur in good old Britain is for sure one of the most interesting Periods I'm a bit over saturated by the concentration on British history while there was so much more going on on the continent. The Franks struggling for a place in the corpse of the Roman Empire, the final death throws of the western Empire when Aetius led a coalition of roman and Frankish troops to victory over the Huns, the Visigoths carving out their empire in Italy and so on...

I wanted the miniatures to look like they were about to emerge out of a wood maybe attacking some merchants or a roman patrol on their way home.

The four long bearded models are from the superb Early Saxon range by Musketeer Miniatures. The two other guys are from the nice Arthurian Saxons by Westwind Productions. Both ranges fit together quite well although the Musketeer figures are more detailed.

I wish a Happy New Year to all fellow participants and bloggers.

Absolutely gorgeous work Nick! I really like the edging on their tunics and the weathering on the shields. When you and Axebreaker (Christopher) get together with your collections it must be a real feast for the eyes! I also really appreciate your desire to situate your Dark Age setting on the Continent as there was so much happening all over the world during this period in history. Well done.

These six fierce Franks will give Nick 40 points, which includes a little extra for the shields and excellent groundwork. Great Job!

From ChristopherS: 28mm Dark Age Early Saxon Gedriht (37 points)

Here is another wonderful unit of Dark Age Early Saxons from Christopher.

Here is my second unit of those elite Early Saxon Gedriht who look like ZZ top on steroids who are just as proficient with their weapons as the others are with their guitars. It's what I think of when I look at them and partly why I like them so much. 

Bill(the sculptor) just made these guys look cool and are a must for any painter interested in early Saxons imho. I added a banner to these guys even though in Dux Brittani rum they have no effect, because I think banners add a bit extra in terms of looks to an army. 

These superb figures are again Musketeer with the equally superb LBM for the shields and banner. The weathering on the rocks and shields is done with MIG pigments which I really enjoy using.

Lovely work once again, Christopher. I agree with you in that these fellows absolutely demand a banner as they're such hard-asses. 

These six warriors will give Christopher a base of 30 points but I'm adding a few more for the excellent banner, shields and groundwork. Well done! (But you're still behind me. Y'know, just sayin'.)  ;-P

From AndrewS: 28mm Napoleonic French & Dark Age Saxons (290 points)

Andrew hasn't let Kent's challenge gone answered and so submits this fine Napoleonic French battalion and a large Dark Age Saxon warband.

From Andrew:

The first unit of my Napoleonic French collection, I thought I would break the ice so to speak with the simplest unit of the lot a battalion of 16 line infantry in greatcoats!

These are a mix of 28 mm Perry Plastics and Foundry Metals, they do seem to go together quite well although the Foundry have come in a tad smaller, but I am happy with the overall look of the unit.

The version of Black powder myself and Kevin have adapted means that we only need 12 or 16 figure Infantry battalions, which helps keep down the costs of building an army in this period but the biggest bonus is that we do not have to paint 24 or 36 detailed figures to make a battalion.

The second lot I have for you is a small commission I agreed to take on, the client only told me he had purchased some Saxons via eBay and just asked me to paint them up in my usual style.

The vagaries of such instruction escaped me until I saw what he had sent, the whole lot was a real mixed bag of figures, so my first task was to try and sort them into types and then try to make it look like a force. In all there are 42 Foundry 28 mm Saxons of various types and quality, some of the moulds used to cast these figures were past there best and they were the devil to clean, two actually retain a mould line, it was that or lose most of the face trying to sort it. I have managed to disguise the issue in the painting though.

The first picture is an overview of the 42 figures, I decided the only way I could tie these together was to have a colour scheme on the shields that brought them together.

Whoa! What a stonking submission! Fabulous work Andrew. I really like that French battalion. I too have Foundry and Perry castings mixed together within units and find they work quite well with one another (not totally surprising since they are from the same sculptor). 

These two fine groups of figures will give Andrew an impressive 290 points, enough for him to claim the lead once again. Well done!

From ChristopherS: 28mm Dark Age Saxon Gedriht Warriors (35 points)

Christopher sends in this beautiful unit of Dark Age Saxons.

From Christopher:

My next entry is Saxon Gedriht which are elite fighters typically members of a Warlords family, close retainers and household guard (Huscarls) and are professional warriors armed with the best armour and weapons in the army. 

When I first saw these on the Musketeer web site I knew I had to have them as they looked seriously hard and fearsome. 

They are based on individual bases mounted on a sabot movement tray. The shields are LBM with some MIG pigments I added to give a more used effect. 

They are mostly painted with Foundry paints which are my personal favorites and some Vallejo.

I always really enjoy your Dark Age work Christopher, and these lads certainly don't disappoint. You're right they do look suitably ferocious and hard-bitten, especially with their motley assortment of armour and well-used shields.

These six Saxons will give Christopher a base of 30 points, but I'm adding another 5 for the great basing and weathered shields. This will give Christopher enough to pip past me and Martin into first place in our private duel to 500 points. Well done but this lead won't last for too long... ;->

From ChrisP: 28mm Dark Age Anglo-Saxons (228 points)

From Chris:

Check it out, something that isn't 15mm US!

Anyway, I have been tinkering away at these for the last couple of weeks, and spent a few hours on Friday finishing them off. This is a full 6 point warband of Anglo-Saxons for SAGA.

The Warlord is from Gripping Beast, showing off a couple of dead enemies, one which is being used as a step. The warlord is sporting a very dapper purple cloak, much to the envy of the other Saxons!

The first point is made up of four Hearthguard. One is a plastic Saxon, with two swords, two are metal miniatures which came with the Warlord and the final one is a plastic Warlord Games miniature with a couple of Saxon pieces to make it look a bit more "Saxony". The close up is of the Warlord Games chap, showing off some free hand tattoos on his chest, it looked too bare without them, so I had a go at adding them. I am happy with the result!

The rest of the army is made up of four units of 10 Warriors, all Gripping Beast plastics. Some have arms from Warlord Games Celts, mainly because I had been pilfering weapons from my box of Saxons for armies like other SAGA force! Shield decals are from Little Big Men Studios. I knew they were going to be great, and LBMS really did not disappoint. I got the shield transfers to basically inspire me to get these guys painted, the Saxons have been sitting in a box for at least 2 years!

I am happy with how these have come out, next up? Who knows. I actually have nothing ready to paint....

Great work Chris! Your warlord is excellent and I particularly like how the tattoos turned out on the barechested hearthguard. Very nice.

This impressive SAGA warband will give Chris 228 points, propelling him into first place in the points standings. Bravo!

Now, we just have to wait for James' riposte...

From JohnM: 28mm Dark Age Early Saxons (50 points)

John is getting prepared to try out the Dux Britanniarum campaign system and is in the process of completing his Early Saxon warband. 

From John:

My next submission is quite small, just 9 figures, but some extra work has gone into the Saxon command stand. These are all Gripping Beast figures.

I am looking quite forward to trying out the campaign system offered in Dux Britanniarum, the new Dark Ages ruleset from Two Fat Lardies. The game is set 4-5 centuries prior to the period of the SAGA ruleset, but I felt I could use my SAGA Vikings for Saxons. You can see the army in the background of the first photo. The hoard trays are from Warbases UK. I will have more about this on my blog in a couple of days.

I did need 9 more figures though to complete the starter army. The command figures are from the Early Saxon range. I just could not resist the Saxon lord with the two heads in hand! The game requires a commander and two sub-commanders as well a champion (the one with the red and blue shield). The banner is from LBMS Saxon range, it was hard to make a choice from the sheet. The Saxon Lord is on a 60mm base and the sub-commanders and champion are on 30 mm bases.

I also needed 4 more elite warriors, and for these I picked another set of Joms-Vikings. These are by far the best figures I have seen from the Gripping Beast range. An absolute joy to paint. 

All the figures were primed white and then airbrushed with GW Boltgun Metal. I should have another submission in a couple of days, no metal on these guys though!

You've done a beautiful job on these Saxons John! There certainly will be no mistaking which is the command stand in this force!

This warband will give John a base of 45 points but I'm adding another 5 for the Warlord's basework and banner, so 50 total. 

From MikeW: 28mm Dark Age Saxons (30 points)

Mike sends us six Dark Age Saxons that will bolster his forces for an unfolding campaign. 

From Mike:

A small selection of Dark Ages Saxons... 4 Musketeer Saxon archers (the detail on these is so gorgeous even I can't fail to bring some of it out) and a Musketeer Duguth that I'd undercoated and found left over from my last painting stint while I was hunting out other figures. 

The other figure is (as far as I can tell) a late 80's Citadel female ranger - noticeably not as good a sculpt, but is perfect for the character of Lavinia in my Dux Britanniarum campaign (see:

http://troubleatthemill.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/to-britains-shores-chapter-4-new.html). 

It had been painted (badly) back in about 1990, but I gave it a fresh undercoat and a less garish repaint.

The nitty gritty details - Army Painter black undercoat, and a mix of Army Painter Warpaints and Vallejo, with my usual Tamiya textured diorama paint and Javis static grass basing.

Great stuff Mike! Its really nice to see the old Citadel stuff come out of the woodwork.

This half-dozen will give Mike 30 points for his climb up the roster.

From MikeW: 28mm Early Saxon Gedrith Warband (100 points)

Mike sends in this fine unit of Early Saxon Gedrith warriors that he will be using for a WAB 'Age of Arthur' list.

From Mike:

Gripping Beast plastics (with one exception), with the usual approach - basic block colours, Army Painter dip (this time I used the two brush technique - brush dip on in batches of four, take a clean brush and remove anywhere it's pooled), Army Painter varnish, and Tamiya diorama paint plus Javis Spring Grass and Gale Force 9 Parched Straw on the bases. The standard bearer is a Wargames Factory plastic Saxon Thegn (the double-handed axe wielder) and the standard itself is hand-painted atop a computer printout and attached (with the wife's blessing) to a bristle cut off our garden broom :D 

These fierce lads will give Mike 100 points to add to his score. Well done! He tells me there is a substantial submission on the horizon, so stay tuned!