4 Anglo-Dane Huscarls - Army Painter vs. Vallejo Wash

These 4 Anglo-Dane huscarls by Renegade Miniatures were painted and finished with Vallejo's Sepia Shade Wash (except the shields). I wanted to compare the Vallejo wash to Army Painter dips, so I picked up some of this wash at Sentry Box on Friday. The Vallejo wash is actually darker than I expected. It is closer to the Army Painter Dark then Army Painter Strong dip, except that it is brown whereas Army Painter Dark is black. The Vallejo wash does not work the same. It covers all aspects of the model and changes the tones by making them darker brown, whereas the Army Painter dips tend to cover deeply in the crevices and less so on the rest of the model. The Vallejo wash does not run off like the Army Painter dip. One has to remove the excess with a brush and there is much to remove. It sticks. Army Painter dip, after two minutes, clots for easy removal of the excess. Upon my first try I was convinced that I had ruined the moved with the Vallejo wash. However, I kept removing the excess and most of it eventually came off, but it was a race against the clock because it dries so quickly. What I liked about it was that once done, and dry, one can go straight to touch-ups. The Army Painter dip takes about 24 hours to dry, which can be a time consuming when you want to finish a project, but it achieves a better result. As well, you will have to spray it with matt, if you don't want the shine. The Vallejo wash would be fine, if watered down and applied by brush to key areas. I would never use it for dipping again. All that said, I am still pleased with how these turned out.

Anglo-Danes vs. Normans - Saga Battle Report

I debuted my Anglo-Danes today, against Dave's Normans. We played the scenario, "Sacred Ground", straight from the book. We used 5 points apiece. My warband consisted of:

1 Warlord
3 units of 4 Huscarls each (2 units with hand weapons, 1 unit with typical sword or small axe)
2 units of 8 Warriors each

The objective was to hold three sacred areas and each turn one received points based on the type, and number, of soldiers one had in it. The beginning of the game saw Dave rush in with his mounted and take 2 of the 3 terrain pieces. It took my men two turns to get there, during which Dave racked up huge points. In the center, Dave charged off a hill with his mounted knights into my warriors, and despite Dave's 13 attack dice versus my 8 attack dice, I won and he was forced back up the hill. On my right my warriors were picked off by crossbows and when they finally made it into the woods they were destroyed by mounted warriors. In the center, I continued to push my attack and finally killed his knights and his warlord. Then we waited it out. I was receiving more points per turn then Dave, but he had earned quite a few points in the early part of the game. On the last turn he shot two of my warriors depriving me of a point and moved one more of his warriors into the sacred grove, to gain one more point. In the end, it was as close as it could get. The final score was: 54-54. It was incredible that our scores turned out exactly the same, but we were both pleased with ourselves and I went home an 'appy camper, as we say in Newfoundland.

Here some images:

 Dave's Normans in the Center

 Dave's Normans on my right

 My Anglo-Saxon's successful counter-charge up the hill

 My warriors on the right, who were "crunched" as Dave said

 Dave's menacing crossbows

 My warlord and half a unit of huscarls. The crosses are my fatigue markers.

The huscarls successfully destroyed the unit of mounted knights on the hill in one charge

My observations are that one of the best abilities of the Anglo-Danes is the "Intimidation" ability. It is a wonderful thing to be able to prevent an enemy activation. Other than that, "Trapped" is a cool ability but I was only able to use it once. I think it is a must to use "Activation Pool" and "Noble Lineage". Other than that, I think that next time I will combine my huscarls into one larger unit of 8 and another one of 4. The extra dice were not really needed and it would be better for attacking, I think.

I can't wait to play this game again. There is lots of strategy and much to manage in every turn. The rules are clearly written and an easy read. There are summaries at the end of each section and a reference page at the back. The game is simple to learn and play, but has lots of intriguing options available. It reflects the Dark Ages quite nicely.

Next up, paint more Anglo-Danes to get up to 6 points.

Six More Anglo-Danes for Saga

This represents the final few needed to complete a 4-point warband. I will be painting more though. I quite enjoy this era. These figures are Old Glory with the exception of one special figure from Crusader Miniatures; he is the bald, shirtless one.

Warhammer English Civil War - Alford 1645 Battle Report

Went over to my buddy's, Dave's place, to try out some WECW. After perusing the battle board, I settled down to play the Covenanters. Dave asked me if I wanted to know the historical outcome before we started. I said, "no, let's see what happens". As it turned out, the game followed an historical outcome with the Covenanters devastated, in almost the exact same way as in history.

There were some interesting twists in the game. Two of my units had ranters (or preachers) and each turn I had to roll a d6. On a "1" the ranters had convinced the unit to do something that was beyond my control. For most of the game, it had no effect as I passed my rolls, but then suddenly on my right flank one of the ranters convinced the unit that "we are doomed" and the whole unit turned 180 degrees and began marching lengthwise into the rest of the line with their backs to the enemy. This really screwed me up.

Beyond this, I rolled four "1"s for the artillery, which resulted in four misfires. Not only that, but when I got my shots, I overshot the artillery three times, making them basically ineffective all game.

The Covenanters were in a bad position to start, and I probably should have spent more time maneuvering, but there was really no time. Dave charged off his hill, like some kind of hagus-loving, bagpiper blower and there was little left to do but stand and shoot. I think the good guys were doomed from the start.

It was a fun game. I think the Covenanters would definitely have benefited if I had a stronger understanding of the Warhammer mechanic. That said, most of the miniatures were made by Warlord Games and many were from my store (www.toysoldiers.ca), and they were nicely painted so that was gratifying.

 My cavalry. A big unit but "raw".

 My fearless, yet ineffective commander.

 Pretty, but useless to me.

 The ranter with a sword?

 The ranter with the Word

 My right flank

 The left flank and center of my army

 The left flank

 The Covenanter cavalry got caught by the infantry and took a beating and fled

 The Covenater element of pikes with ranters fleeing because the ranter declared they are doomed. Incidently, they were. It's just that I did not know it yet.

 Two of my artillery crew fled, leaving the guns behind.

 Bad guys.

Good guys fleeing into the marsh and stopping at the river

How to Build a DBA Battle Board

While I was at Don Ray's place in Calgary we played DBA on a battle board that had been made by Paul Hannah. It was the first time I had used a battle board with framed edges and I loved the feel of it. Everything felt enclosed and a solid board prevents accidental slippage, too, I reasoned. It also provides possibilities for flock and gravel terrain. I was enamored with the idea and resolved to build one upon my return to Edmonton. When I got home, I marched into Home Depot and found one 2' x 2' piece of 1/4" plywood with one good side, along with a strip of 1" molding that was about 9' long. I must admit that I got a little lost in the molding section. So many kinds to choose from. I debated, Do I go fancy and stain it? Should I use oak? Do I want designs? Which designs do I want? I realized that I was making it too difficult. I grabbed a plain piece of molding and cut it into smaller pieces while in the store.

That night, I took to cutting the molding to fit around the board. I glued and tacked it. Filled in cracks and sanded it. I put the good side of the plywood, on the bottom, faced down, so that there would be no rough edges on the board when I used it for gaming. The bad side of the plywood would be covered with sand, anyway. So, that side faced up.

I painted the plywood with white glue and then covered it with sand. Then I mixed Future Floor Wax with Burnt Umber craft paint in 50/50 mix and painted the sand. The Future Floor Wax causes the sand to suck up the paint and gets into every crevice while providing a coating that keeps the sand from coming off. Once dry, I painted it with Burnt Umber to make it dark brown, then I painted the molding a light tan around the edges. After that was done, I dry brushed the sand with Teddy Bear Brown, but not evenly. Purposely, I did some sections lighter than others and then dry brushed them further with Antique White. I wanted a natural look with some patches darker. After all this dried, I applied Flock. All I need to do is stick felt coasters on the bottom and the project is finished.

Here are some photos: (Next time, I will try to get more pictures of process in the middle.).

The Beginning:

The white spots are wood filler. I filled in a few deep knot holes before starting.

This will be the bottom of the board.

The molding has been applied and the white glue is now smeared on.

The glue is smeared and ready for sand.

The sand has been poured on.

The End Results:

Now, I can't wait to pitch my first battle on it. Hopefully, it will be a victory and set the tone for the future.