Saga

Another set of rules I've had for some time and just getting around to sorting suitable figures! Saga is a very clever set of Dark Age skirmish rules available from Gripping Beast you don't need many figures at all, my 4 point Viking starter warband is composed of a Warlord base and 4 units of Hearthguards, thats only 16 figures!

In this period Gripping Beast are the boys for suitable figures so I pick up a box of their plastic Viking Hirdmen and also a pack of metal Ulfednar Berserkers, well you have to don't you? I also got a banner sheet and shield transfers from Little Big Men Studios now these really set the figures off and are very easy to use. Now on to the Figures! Dougie
The Warlord base, figures from the GB plastic Viking Hirdmen box.

Ulfednar Berserkers, figures GB metals

So all I've now got left are 12 more plastic Hirdmen for the other 3 units and I'm done. At the moment they're primed and based so I should get them finished in the next few days.

Check your 6 Jet Age

I've had these rules a while now and rate them highly.

 I've always been unsure about a scale to pick, the system uses hexs to play on and I decided fairly quickly to go for a 6'x4' Hotz mat Hotz Mats . In this size, to get the necessary 45 x 30 hexes to play on, you're looking at a hex size of 1.5 inches, which is what the author suggests. The scales open would be 1/300 or 1/600. I tried both but for me the 1/300 aircraft just looked odd at engagement ranges, way too close so I saved a ton of money and ended up buying some of the dinky Tumbling Dice 1/600 Aircraft .
The rule book covers the 4 periods I'm interested in Falklands, Arab Israeli, Vietnam and Angola and with the Tumbling Dice stuff being so cheap I can do the lot!
Hotz Mat wise I already had a Green European one which will be fine for Vietnam and Angola and do the Falklands at a push but I've ordered a Desert one and Sea one to cover all terrains.
The next quandary involved bases and attaching the planes. The system requires you to record speed and altitude, now you can do this on the paper Maneuver Charts that you game with or incorporate it into the stand. So I'm not sure wether to use the classy plain Litko Stands or the Forge World Flying Bases . Magnets were fine for attaching the aircraft.
Litko Stand

 Forge World

Attachment, a 2mm magnet from Hasslefree Miniatures Magnets
Attached to a Phantom

On the flight stand

On to some planes, all 1/600 Tumbling Dice. Dougie
Sea Harriers

Skyhawks Air Force and Navy

Super Etendard and Canberra

Mirages

A Shar letting an Aim9L go!

 

Empress Taliban Commander

Folks one of the truely superb Empress 28mm Taliban figures. He'll form part of a 28mm Skirmish Sangin project, this dapper fella is sporting an M65 jacket over his Shalwar Kameez with slung AK and some nice brown loafers from Charles Clinkards. You've gotta love the Empress figures! Dougie

Salute 2013

I made my yearly pilgrimage to Excel for Salute yesterday and I wasn't disappointed, some really great games and the wallet got hit so all round an enjoyable day.
Game highlights for me were numerous and my favourites were as follows;
Omaha Beach - Some really super terrain from the GMG guys from Kildare featuring Dog One beach and lovely 20mm figures and vehicles.
Dux Bellorum - The Newark Irregulars take on the new Osprey rules of the same name again stunning figures and terrain.
Zombie TV - Crooked dice team delivering the zombie apocalypse to Trafalgar Square with a really clever terrain tile complete with collapsed Nelsons Column and Tube Station, Fantastic!
Dead Mans Hand - Great Escape Games new wild west skirmish system played on a Poker table in 28mm, very clever idea and looked spot on.
Purchases were initially controlled and I didn't go too crazy, first off I stopped by Eureka miniatures, lots of new stuff in 28mm which wasn't even on their website, some cracking Somali Militia and my first purchase of the day a four figure pack entitled "Seal Team 6" now this isn't what they have on the website, its 4 figures straight from Operation Neptune Spear, seperate heads featuring the latest generation of night-vision goggles with 4 tubes, wonderful!

Empress Miniatures were visited and I picked up some additional Brits including the new pack of downed aircrew, these are as usual simply tip top, now some may be horrified that I'm moving from my Afghan 20mm, I'm not these are gonna be a new project for Skirmish Sangin so keep watching!
Whilst at the stand I also saw the new Red Star Miniatures French Foreign Legion Paras for Indo-China. WOW!!! Mr. Paul Hicks has done these and they are Excellent, really capturing the period and flavour, seperate heads with steel helmets, and we can apparently expect other heads with berets and the Bigeard Cap, so they'll cover Algeria as well. Viet Minh are in production
All told an excellent day and looking forward to next year
Later, Dougie

Mutineer Islamists

Some of the very nice 20mm Mutineer Miniatures Islamic Militia, they're usable in a variety of theatres, all wearing shalwar kemeez and as such I've painted them with matching tops and bottoms which is the way they're worn. Dougie
Pack ISM01 Islamic Command Figures
This is a great pack with a Mullah/Cleric type, a couple of obvious leaders with comms gear, a guy with binos and AK, a mechanic with a nasty looking spanner and lastly a sniper prone with Dragunov. The Mullah has unfortunately lost a hand, probably making an IED, and is suitable for all Middle East scenarios or outside Finsbury Park Mosque.

The sniper in the shade of a tree

Pack ISM02 Islamic Militia AK47
8 standard AK armed Militants, a mixture of either chest webbing or plain.

Pack ISM03 Islamic Militia RPG

4 guys with RPGs



 The boys in downtown Al Amarah, Iraq 2004.

 

 

 

 

West Side Boys Part 3

More of the superb Mutineer Miniatures 20mm African Christian Militia, this time the support packs. All the figures are very nicely done and are ideal as any African rebel forces. Dougie
A Dushka Team

A Mortar Team

A Recoiless Rifle Team

Victorian weirdness again

Thr opposing unicyclists ! Dougie