William and I played two games of DBA 2.2 yesterday afternoon. A great way to end the year. It has been a while since I had the troops out on the table. First match was a Western Cho Other Chinese Army (I/32C) vs Mongol Conquest (IV/35).
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| First Clash |
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| The Cho Victorious |
Played on the Steppes, the terrain was very minimalistic. We had the river, a hill and a rocky patch. The Steppes was a GF9 Flames of War gaming mat, and the river was by Armourcast. The figures were mostly 15mm Essex Miniatures.
Thursday night was the first time in almost a year that I had my Norman Warband in action. Since they were readily available I was able to photograph the units for the Blog. The Calvary were Black Tree Design Miniatures that I repurposed for SAGA. They were originally based for DBX games. The figures of Bishop Odo and William the Conqueror are from Footsore Miniatures and Games. The remaining infantry are from various manufacturers. Some were purchased 10 or 12 years ago and I simply don't remember where they were from.
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| Bishop Odo and William the Conqueror |
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| Hearth Guard |
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| Mounted Norman Warriors |
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| Two units of Norman Warriors on Foot |
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| Levy Bowmen |
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| Levy Spearmen |
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| Levy Slingers - I need 4 more |
Thursday evening Graham popped by to SAGA night to make his deliveries. I received my final group of redcoats, an officer and eight men. Again Graham puts my painting to shame.
This is part of the 15th Regiment of Foot. 15th Foot – Buff facings, white lace. (Louisburg, Plains of Abraham, Montreal). The reason I selected the 15th was they were garrisoned in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the start (1758) of the French and Indians wars.
Last night was the last SAGA meet-up for 2025 by the club. For the evening we returned to the Age of Vikings and I dug out my Normans, lead by Bishop Odo. I was matched against Eric and his Norse Gaels. It was a fairly bloody affair with the game declared a draw, 21 vs 20 points.
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| Crossbowmen anchor the line. Bishop Odo on foot between two units of warriors. |
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| The battle lines are drawn. The setup was diagonally across the board. |
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| Both sides received an extra SAGA die each turn. Brutal. |
This was a SAGA warband that I picked up in November 2024 on the Facebook Marketplace. I have been meaning to rebase some of my own DBX based Saracens to provide greater flexibility, due to the revisions between the older Cross and Crescent and the more recent Age of Crusades supplements. Based upon the troops mustered this warband looks like it was for the earlier supplement. I just need to paint up or rebase some more cavalry figures. The figures themselves are a mix of Victrix and Gripping Beast hard plastic miniatures.
I have set up my tabletop in the anticipation of having a game over the holidays. My table is slightly only 31 inches wide, and almost 5 feet long (59 inches). It looks like I will be able to get some 15mm troops into action, but 25mm large scale affairs might be a thing of the past. Not that I have had too many in this city.
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| 15mm Mike's Models carrying out exercises |
The final project I had in mind to complete on last weekend's Paint and Chat was this bombard and crew from Black Tree Design. It was given to me but a fellow gamer at the Club two months ago. It fits in with my Scots for SAGA and that is where it shall be stored.
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| HYW1019 - Bombard and Crew |
Last Sunday afternoon during my Paint and Chat, another project I wanted to complete was this set of Objective Markers from Footsore Miniatures and Games. They are also useful as objectives when playing SAGA.
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| Objective Markers - The Barons' War (SKU: WHV022+WHV023) My Roman Auxiliary man puts everything into scale. |
A couple of 15mm tents by Baueda. Now I have to dig out some 15mm figures to populate the base. Nothing too fancy here. One tent has basic flock grass layered on and the other just green paint on the MDF base.
As part of my Paint and Chat, today my established goal was to complete some projects. I managed to complete one as the chatting seemed much more productive than the painting. Very little paint was used this afternoon, but glue was applied. I had to get 24 wings attached to the Hussars as well as get weapons in hands, and the men seated upon their mounts. Mission accomplished. Six three man calvary elements are ready for action.
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| 15mm Polish Winged Hussars |
