SAGA Skirmish: Gripping Beast Vikings vs Saxons!

Had a chance to finally squeeze in some action with an introduction game of SAGA to some new converts. Using Gripping Beast Plastic Viking Hirdmen and Saxon Thegn boxed sets to build the forces, we once again, put them to the test. Here at the opening gambit, the viking line surges forward from the left to attack the Anglo-Saxon defenders.

The Saxons in a bold move rushed the Viking Ulfhednar and wiped the berserkers out. In turn their warriors were cut down by the Viking Warlord and his warriors.

After some crushing skirmishes, the Anglo-Saxons retreat. The Viking Warlord sends his warriors in to attack the opposing Warlord and his last two remaining Hearthguard who are defending from behind a stonewall.

Refusing to be defeated the Anglo-Saxon Warlord stands defiant! The Viking warlord joins his warriors in the attack!

The viking warriors jump the wall and attack and slay the last remaining Saxon Hearthguard....

leaving the Saxon Warlord to be surrounded and slain.

A great night of introducing SAGA to new players who in turn brought additional recruits to the miniature wargaming hobby!

Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow

Battleground Hobbies Terrain Factory

Fired up the Battleground Hobbies Terrain Factory.

Hope to have the first batch on Ebay this weekend! As always if you are interested in something custom made don't hesitate to contact us.

These were designed specifically for the Warhammer and Warhammer 40k worlds where there is constant war.

The land itself being broken under constant battle.

But these terrain pieces will work with any Fantasy or Sci-Fi genre game.

Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow

How To: Warhammer Terrain

Here's a quick tutorial on how to make some easy terrain for Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, or any other Fantasy, futuristic or historical genre of table top gaming. Here is our terrain piece with some Warhammer 40k figures to show scale.

We started with a leftover piece of polystyrene from a large disassembled project and some hardboard cut to the same approximate shape.

Overlap the hardboard past the edges of your foam.

Here is a smaller version...

adding old stone ruins to the top.

Apply hobby or craft glue to the bottom and press the polystyrene firmly on to the hardboard.

We then used coarse drywall screws to hold everything together. If you decide to use this step. carve a bit of the hardboard away so the screw head sets in the board. You wouldn't want to scratch your playing surface.

Our screws were long enough to go through the base and up into the ruin to help secure it on top.

Next we applied liberal amounts of craft glue along the base edges were foam meets base...

and poured coarse ballast onto the glue. Press it in to get maximum coverage.

Using any paint for a base coat, mix in some ballast...

and apply with a larger brush.

The mixed in ballast will give you a nice texture.

We sprayed the whole thing with a black base coat.

Now the real painting begins. We started with a Raw Umber and Charcoal Gray. Use a smaller brush, this is a half inch flat brush which is great for dry-brushing techniques.

On the flat bare surfaces and along the outer edges we applied Chocolate and Burnt Sienna.

The ruins got a coat of Pewter Gray...

and then a dry brush of Slate Gray.

A final light dry-brush of Granite was added to bring out any highlights and add a final contrast to the darker base colors.

Then we stippled on some Olive Green where we plan on adding foliage.

For our dry leaves and grass we use a mixture of herbs and spices mixed with Coarse Turf from Woodland Scenics.

Add in the crevices where blown leaves and old plants would gather.

Here is another example of filling a crevice in the rock.

Don't forget about along the edges of the base.

And there you have it! Ready for the gaming table. You could use lighter and greener colors with more traditional green flocking, These pieces were more cut to facilitate a rocky terrain area.

As we mentioned these can be used for almost any game system and scale. For Fantasy and Dark Age games like Saga add a cairn or load stone to the  base.

For World War II or Napoleonic era games like Bolt Action or Black Powder add barricades or sandbags.

Until next time,
Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow

Model Building Class, Scenery Update

Our Model Building Class is winding down and will be concluding next week. After the half timber house we covered scenery so that bases could be made for their houses or other projects could be moved along. This was a quick build monolith demonstration to show the basics of foam cutting, putting it together, painting and detailing. This is an easy terrain piece that can be used in any tabletop wargames like Warhammer, SAGA, Black Powder or Field of Glory.

We used a few leftover pieces of foam which were cut using a variety of tools. It measures approx 11 x 7 inches and 6 inches tall.

It was glued and a coarse threaded screw was used to "pin" the monolith onto the base.

A series of layered colors completed the painting demo and we used a mixture of coarse modelling turf and Italian Seasoning for the foliage. Hopefully we'll get a few photos of completed class projects next week!

Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow

New Release: Dark Age Warriors from Gripping Beast Plastics

Gripping Beast has put out another Dark Age plastic box set of warriors perfect for your SAGA warband. These Dark Age Warriors may be used to represent almost any unarmored European warrior from the Late Antiquity to the Early Medieval period. This will be a splendid addition to the Saxon Thegns and Viking Hirdmen already available.

They might be found in the Auxillary of Justinian's Byzantines, in the Goth hordes that fought across Europe in the twilight years of the Roman Empire, lining the Shieldwall at The Battle Of Hastings, supporting the Thegns of Alfred The Great or the Hirdmen of his Viking enemies, or even raiding unsuspecting villages and monasteries throughout this period.

In this Gripping Beast Plastics box set you'll find parts to assemble 40, that's right, 40 finely-detailed Dark Age Warriors. Each Warrior can be armed with a spear but for extra flexibility, the set also contains additional parts for you to make up to 8 of these warriors with swords and 8 with hand axes. If  you prefer pelting your enemies from afar, up to 32 can be outfitted with slings or up to 16 with javelins.

The figures are flexible enough to add to most any SAGA warband. There are also parts to create horn-blowers and as always, plastic bases for all the figures.

With all these figures, we're sure you'll have a great battle!

The Old Crow

Boys and Men, War-games then and now

I stopped by a friends house to help with a project and discovered this fine set up on the coffee table. Everything was there. The fortifications, infantry, mobile artillery, armored vehicles and even air power. His grandson had been over the night before and was going at it.

Then I wondered if he'd wind up playing war-games like the rest of us do. Painstakingly building and painting soldiers for an army. What will he choose? Historical dark age vikings for SAGA, Winged Lancers for Pike & Shotte, British Paratroopers for Bolt Action? Maybe he'll traverse to fantasy games like Warhammer and Lord of The Rings or Sci-Fi games like Firestorm Armada or Warhammer 40k. Who knows.

I remember back to the days of cardboard box houses and if we hit it right, confiscating some O gauge train buildings from our dads stash. We'd set it all up and battle all night long. We used plastic army men, misc space figures, animals, Vikings and even some Cowboys and Indians.

Usually we set up a town and had the locals round up some mercenaries to help with their defense. Then the evil army would show up and try to take the place over. It was always a desperate struggle but the defenders would always rally and make the town safe once again.

It had me wondering. I went to the basement and rummaged through some boxes and came up with some of the very soldiers we played with as boys 30-35 years ago. And today we use more sophisticated rules and miniatures but in essence are still playing war-games

So what will the next generation come up with? We had a variety of things going on and the big one was no computer games. Unless Pong counts. It's a busy disconnected world and table top gaming is a great way to bring friends together and meet new ones for fun and socialization.

If Facebook and texts are the only ways you communicate, get out to a local hobby shop where some good old fashioned toy soldiers are on the table and have at it! Many shops have open nights and are more than willing to teach a new player. Old timers are always eager to share the love of the game with others.

Well if you know a new player, a memory of war-games from the old days or have a son carrying the torch, let us know. We'd love to hear about your story!

Have a Great Battle,
The Old Crow