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

Wargames Table Restoration and Refinishing

 Found a fantastic old worn out table that had been used for a work bench and was heading for the scrap yard. I suddenly had grand visions of a gaming table with drawers large enough to hold the armies needed to go on it. So I set upon it with a vengeance! Here is the result, now the process...

At 3' x 5' it is a perfect size for wargames of all varieties. So off came the legs. There was a ton of wear on the whole surface. Sorry no photos of the whole thing before we started.

The drawer facings had also been abused.

Inside wasn't much better. The legs are on the right already being sanded down.

Here's a drawer facing sanded and the other one in the mix.

Wanting to make it a little distinct, it was decided to go with a cherry finish on the legs and frame then accent the top and drawers with a red mahogany.

We carefully removed and then replaced the tag from one of the legs. Originally thought it was brass or bronze but discovered it to be a leather tag. Need to research the origin.

And yes, the foam trays with wargame armies fits perfectly with plenty of extra room for books and dice. Theses SAGA Viking Hirdmen and Warhammer Dogs of War figures will have a nice new home!

A coat of satin polyurethane was added to the top and drawers where the action will occur. We'll have to post the inaugural game once time permits. Now to build a room to go with the table.

Have a Great Battle
The Old Crow

Viking Shield Design for our SAGA Warband and Painted versus Unpainted

Finished of the Gripping Beast Viking Hirdmen for our SAGA warband with shield designs. Here's the lot. Another point of warriors ready to rumble. Having fully painted figures on the gaming table does make for a great game and nice photos too!!

Every club is different and some require painted miniatures in order to play. We can go either way on this one. It does make for a better "Wargame Experience" when the battleground is stocked with great miniatures all colorful (like these guys) and not gray! On the other hand, getting your figures all painted takes time. What if you want to try out a new faction in Saga? How about game testing your new Warhammer Fantasy Empire army? Should you take a canon and unit of spearmen or hellblaster volley gun and handgunners? It's nice to have a place to try these variations without having to paint them.

How about cardboard tokens? Anybody else ever try gaming like that? We've play tested a few things with squares on the table, it was not very exciting or appealing but it did get the job done. Let us know your thoughts on this one. In the mean time, here's our viking shield designs.

There are great transfers for shields out there, but we tend to do our own designs. As you can see, they can range from simple colors to the elaborate knot work.

You can halve or quarter the shield for easier patterns, break it into eighths with alternating colors or add a twist to the lines like the viking on the left.

Animal designs and patterns are big in the viking age. Do a bit of research on the internet or local library for historical icons you could use. Here we used a bear claw, fire worm and crow.

Don't forget to let us know what your club does for gaming, painted or unpainted!

Have a Great Battle!
The Old Crow

More Gripping Beast Viking Hirdmen for SAGA

We had a good day painting these Viking Hirdmen from Gripping Beast Plastics. These guys will be an additional point of Warriors for a SAGA Viking warband.

The shields were primed later so they still need finished but we wanted to share these guys with you for now!

Lot's of great poses and accessories available from the box set we reviewed early last month.

Have a Great Battle,
The Old Crow

Gripping Beast Plastics Viking Hirdmen for SAGA - FINISHED!

We had started with a review back in June on the Gripping Beast Plastics box set of Viking Hirdmen and promised photos of the finished figures. Here they are, ready to raid the coastal villages!

Well final touches were added to the four Viking Hirdmen who will become a point of Hearthguard for our SAGA Viking Warband.

Shields were completed with hand painted icons and basing was done with a mixture of blended turf, medium grey ballast and Italian spices! Small rocks were added for a bit of realism.

Here's Olaf One Eye, with his red dragon emblem

Bolverk longs for the sea, thus the viking ship on his shield, and wields axes.

Sigvaldi carries his hatchet and throwing spears. He has the crow on his shield

and last, Halldor carries Thor's Hammer on his shield!

If you're interested, we uploaded several different views of each figure on flickr. Let me know if you like that or would prefer to see them all in the blog post.

Have a Great Battle,
The Old Crow

Gripping Beast Viking Hirdmen for SAGA Hearthguard!

If you recall from our last post, we had 4 of the Gripping Beast Viking Hirdmen ready to be painted for a point of Hearthguard in SAGA. Well, Here they are so far!

No basing or shield designs yet but coming together nicely!

Individually these guys have some character..

Great helmet and pose...

Gotta love the braided beard!

My favorite, ready for action with the evil eye and all!

Should have final photos soon!

Have a Great Battle
The Old Crow

Viking Hirdmen from Gripping Beast Plastics - Review Part 2

Late last year we did a review on the Grpping Beast Plastics Saxon Thegns and neglected to follow up with the Viking Hirdmen! This is another great set which is very economical. As in the Saxon Thegns box, you get 44 Viking Hirdmen figures, warriors of Odin, and the components for a  variety of weapons including the fearsome 2 handed Dane Axe.  You also get parts to turn up to two of your warriors into Viking Lords and two into horn-blowers.

Each of the four sprues is packed with various arms and hands with everything from swords to axes to spears. There are plenty of extras including heads to keep the variety going. A great component is the shield with spears or javelins. This is fantastic for having your hirdmen ready to hurl additional implements of destruction!

The command sprue, as mentioned above, contains parts for making a Viking Warlord and horn-blower to lead your warband.

We would have liked to see a standard on the sprue too, but with the number of extras provided you can easily create a standard bearer.

If you're interested in getting into the Viking Age skirmish game SAGA, this box set would allow you to easily build an entire warband.

There was very little flashing on the sprues so not much time was needed cleaning the figures. We completed a dozen figures in about two hours. Eight are armed with spears which can make a point of warriors for your SAGA Warband...

(Lots of extras added to these viking warriors!)

...and these four axe wielding  warriors of Odin will be used as a point of hearthguard for the same warband. That would be half of your 4 point starter warband built in a short period of time! We'll get them painted and post the final products soon!





If you're trying to decide what to buy next, we'd recommend this fine box set. You can't beat the value, for approximately $32-36.00 dollars in the states, you are paying less than one dollar per figure!

As always, have a great battle
The Old Crow