In the grip of Odin

So, the SAGA game has got its axe in me and I’m furiously working on my Anglo-Danish army. I just finished basing them all and I hope to get them primed this weekend so I can start painting them proper. I did finish a unit of Huscarls, which you can see below.

These guys are by Gripping Beast and I like them a lot (the minis that is). Painting these was a nice change of pace from doing Space Marines. So much so that when I got my SAGA minis I put aside the 4 leftover Space Marines I was working on so I could get started on these! And wow, these huscarls painted up quickly! Took me about one evening each, and only because I was working out my color schemes and taking breaks for dinner and whatever TV show I wanted to watch that night.

I got myself one of the 4-point starter warbands from GP, a pack of geburs (levies) and an extra pack of ceorls (warriors). That will give me a 6-point army, the standard size for SAGA. I have to admit a great fondness for the axemen though, since they look like a bunch of frothing psychos (guys going into battle wielding a 5-foot long axe I wouldn’t exactly call restrained). Not as dirty and broken as Viking berserkers of course – at least these dudes look like they might be decent fellows after they’ve calmed down a bit. Anyway, I’ve ordered two more packs of them, so I can have 3 points of Dane axes charging into my opponent! A glass hammer I’m sure, but why not try it anyway!

So, I have about 45 or so minis to paint, but I think they will go very fast, even if I spend some time detailing them a bit. Looking forward to getting this army on the table!

2013 – And now for something completely different!

Right, 2012 is in the bag. As far as miniatures go for me, last year was all about 40K and Space Marines. I finished the 40K Fight Club 2012 Painting Challenge, which you can see at this link.

Here’s a shot of the Command Squad I did to finish things up.

With this lot done, I’m throttling back on my 40K painting. I’m still going to do it, but not at the same pace as last year. Look for a Daemon army from me starting maybe in the spring.

What I am hot for right now is SAGA, the Dark Ages historical game. I’ve linked to the entry on Boardgame Geek mostly because the actual manufacturer’s site isn’t so exciting, frankly, even though they have an exciting game on their hands. My Christmas present to myself was an Anglo-Dane army with all the trimmings (wire spears, shield decals, etc) and I will be getting into that as soon as it shows up in the mail. I’ve played one game of it so far (and got crushed) but I really liked it nonetheless. Building an army for it is stupid easy, since you don’t need that many figures, and the miniatures are relatively cheap and easy to get since there are so many companies that make them for this time period. Plus, there are no big vehicles to build – about the most complicated weapon system is cavalry, and my chosen army, the Anglo-Danes don’t use them (which is fine because I hate painting horses).

Plus, I like the flavor of the period. The more I read about the Dark Ages leads me to realize they weren’t really that dark – there was still a lot of societal and cultural development going on – it just wasn’t recognized by those chroniclers whose work survived to this day. It’s all really quite fascinating.

I believe I have also mentioned the WW2 game Bolt Action? I’m currently painting up some of the American G.I.s from the basic set that Warlord Games produced. These are going to be for the store set. I’ve put together the minis which are plastic and they’re pretty good. A definite aesthetic difference from the cartoon-like proportions of GW Space Marines!

I think the biggest thing I learned last year is that I absolutely hate painting to a deadline, even a self imposed one, which probably means no more challenges, or if I do one, I’ll be very slack with getting things donex. Miniatures painting is a way for me to relieve stress and when I have to get something finished by a certain date, it’s stress that I don’t need to have. I mean, I’ll get the job done, but only on my own time. That is why I will not do commissions and only offer to paint stuff for friends if I am absolutely sure I will do it. I admire the discipline of the guys who take commissions – I just couldn’t deal with the pressure.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to painting at my own pace this year, and getting back to playing around with other game systems!

So, that’s it for now.