New Saxons Sets – Thegns & Fyrd from Wargames Factory

The dash to plastic in wargames figures continues with the release of Wargames Factory’s Saxons. As usual for this company, the figures are 28mm in scale and you get good value for money with 32 figures in each box.

The Saxon Thegns were the wealthier, armoured warriors, usually the body guard of the local warlord or chieftan and formed the hard centre of the Saxon Army. When these men locked shields to form their shield wall, they were a tough nut to crack and won many victories in battle. It had seemed to me that the Saxons were the fall guys of history as they were remembered as the losers of the Battle of Hastings to the Norman invaders and they are constantly portrayed as the under dogs to the Viking Raiders of the time. However, the Anglo Saxons held off the Vikings and under King Alfred, eventually beat in them battle to establish a stable, wealthy kingdom of England. As to being the underdogs, have a read of Bernard Cornwells Saxon stories to see what a tough bunch they were!

The Saxon Fyrd made up the bulk of the Saxon army and consisted of the less well off, everyday folk, called up from the local area to form a militia. As such, these warriors would be less likely to wear armour and would carry a variety of simple weapons, such as axes (from the farm, rather than war axes!), spears and bows. It was the Fyrd that were lured off the hill at Hastings by the Normans and this was evidence of their indiscipline and lack of military training.

The sets themselves are very nice and the moulding is crisp and well detailed. The two sets share the same Arms & Shields sprue but the Thegns set contains torso’s with Chain Mail armour where as the Fyrd set has unarmoured torso’s.

Apologies for the quality of picture. The focus doesn’t do justice to the detail present on the models. So here’s a better shot of the heads!

The heads, arms, weapons and shields are all seperate, enabling you to create plenty of variety for your warriors and there will be no problem in producing a very convincing warband with these figures. The sets retail at

My First Napoleonic Skirmish!

My British Napoleonic army is steadily growing and it has now actually been on the gaming table. Even though I have only finished 40 figures, I was able to join in with a skirmish game that was played at the club that I attend. The skirmish rules were actually written by one of the club members, Richard, and worked really well, allowing us to play with a small force of Napoleonic Infantry rather than the normal large battalions. Basically, we were re-creating the sort of adventure that you read about in Bernard Cornwells’ ‘Sharpe’ novels. So we had a great game, lots of fun and I’m pleased to report that the French Army was prevented from stealing the gold from the Spanish Villagers!

On my last Napoleonic blog posting I said that I would discuss the difference between British Flank & Centre Companies and why there are different sets for Waterloo Infantry & Peninsular War Infantry. Of course if you are a veteran of the hobby you will already know the answers but if like me, you are a newcomer to Napoleonics, these things can be confusing and a barrier to starting your own army. So this is what I’ve discovered and if anyone out there reading this has any extra information or would like to correct any error that I may make, please contact me through my shop email and I will publish your email through the blog. Unfortunately, due to the huge amount of spam that I was getting through the blog, I’ve had to turn off the comments (Thank you to the Russian & American spammers and the Pharmaceutical suppliers that have contributed so far….).

So when deciding what British force that you are going to field, there is one final decision that you need to make. Are you going to model a force from the Peninsular War or do you fancy the period around Waterloo? Or to put the question another way, would you like to have your Line infantry wearing white trousers or grey? Now that’s a gross over simplification that totally ignores the historical perspective but essentially that’s the main difference between the two troop types. If you are desperate to have an army that will fight in Spain & Portugal with all the allies & enemies that go with them, then you need the guys in the white trousers. If you want to fight Waterloo and the associated battles, then grey is for you! There is one other significant difference, the type of hats worn by the officers & troops. In the peninsular, it was the stove pipe shako with the plume at the front for the troops and the Bi-corn Hat for the officers. At Waterloo, the troops wore the Belgiac Shako with the plume to the side and the officers wore the same except that the cord on the front was gold rather than white.

There are some other subtle differences but if you stick to the above, you will be about right. Remember, although the button counters of this world will delight in telling you exactly what shade of underwear the Coldstream Guards were issued with in 1815, we are trying to create an army that looks good on the war games table and in war time troops had a habit of improvising and adapting equipment, even in the 19th century. So you will see troops on campaign wearing a mixture of uniform in different shades and states of wear and tear. If you are happy with that simplification, join me on my next blog article on the construction of my Napoleonic Army and I will start to assemble some figures. Oh! and I’ll get back to you regarding Flank & Centre Companies!

Bolt Action Waffen-SS

I am in the process of reading Antony Beevor’s latest book, ‘D-Day’. A super read if you are at all interested in military history, even if World War Two isn’t your subject. Antony Beevor is one of those clever historians who manages to combine the big picture of army groups and brigades manoeuvring against each other with the accounts of the soldiers that were there doing the actual fighting. It’s riveting stuff and the truth of war appears to be stranger and more horrific than most fiction.

Beevor is not particularly complimentary about General Montomery and from the evidence presented, Monty appears to have been suffering from a bad case of over inflated ego. However, the idea that somehow the British and Canadian Forces were slower to break out of the Normandy beachheads than the Americans ( and therefore were perhaps less of a fighting force) is put clearly into perspective when it is explained that the British were facing the cream of the troops available to the Germans, the Waffen SS. Whilst in the main, the Americans were fighting the German line infantry, including many Russian and other foreign conscripts.

The Waffen-SS were the cream of the German army, well armed and equipped and highly motivated to the point of fanaticism. In Beevors book there are tales of Waffen- SS troops refusing medical treatment from the Allies, prefering to die for Adolf Hitler rather than surrender. There are many examples of SS troops fighting well and within the bounds of what we can call ‘civilised war’ ( if such a thing exists), but too many incidents of brutality occured throughout the war, tainting their reputation. That said SS units fought courageously, sometimes ferociously, against great odds until the wars end in Berlin, 1945.

Bolt Action Miniatures, the WWII section of Warlord games have just released their Waffen-SS set containing 20 metal soldiers. They are, as always from this Company, beautifully sculpted and produced and a must have set for any WWII wargamer. Also available are two support packs, An HMG-42 machine gun team and a PAK 40 antitank gun and crew. Heres a picture of the painted models courtesy of Warlord.

German Imperial Guard!

I couldn’t resist showing you these conversions. They ‘re converted from the new Bolt Action WWII German plastic set, with added Imperial Guard weapons and equipment.

I think that the guy with the flamer looks great! These are the first of what will be an Imperial Guard squad and they are going to look superb on the war gaming table. If I wasn’t so focused on my Napoleonic army & Necrons I’d have a go myself. Her’s a few more pics!

I’m already thinking that a Tiger tank in this scale would look pretty good as well. Why not a whole Imperial Guard army made from WWII Troops. Now there’s food for thought!

Plastic German Infantry from Bolt Action – sprue shots

We’ve just received a sample sprue set from the new Bolt Action plastic World War Two German set that is due to be released later this month. Bolt action is the Second World War ‘section’ of Warlord games, the company responsible for the superb ranges of Romans and English Civil war figures. Up to now, the Bolt Action releases have been in metal or resin but it was only a matter of time before the Company released a plastic set.

As with their previous releases, the quality is superb and the production from Renedra plastics is first class. The detail on the MG 34 and MG42 supplied on the weapons sprue is amazing. I dont think that my photo’s will really do them justice but here they are!

The scale is 28mm, which means that they are ideal for the ‘Rules of Engagement’ rules set. They are also very well priced at

I owe Clive Owen an apology

I remember watching the film ‘King Arthur’ a while ago. It’s the one about the fall of Hadrians wall that stars Clive Owen as a Roman Officer and a group of Sarmatian Warriors that were on one last mission to rescue a group of Roman nobles for the clutches of the Barbarians in the North. It also starred Kiera Knightley, who whilst looking very attractive in a languid sort of way, didn’t really convince me that she was the warrior queen Guinevere on the grounds that she doesn’t look as though she ‘s got the strength to draw breath, nevermind a war bow.

Anyway, I digress, although, it was a worthwhile diversion just to have an excuse to put a Picture of Kiera in my blog. The point was that the film looked at the legend of Arthur from a new historical Perspective and set the whole legend at the point when the Romans were leaving Britian rather than in the Middle ages.

I found all this a bit too much to swallow and was particularly sceptical that a warrior group such as the Samartians would be in the service of Rome in Britain.

Well, I was wrong. I was lucky enough to have the time to go and visit Hadrians wall recently and I’ve got to say that it is well worth a look. We went to the fort at Birdosland and I was surprised to find that it was garrisoned by the Dacians and that the later history of the wall seemed to support the the idea in the film that as the Romans pulled out the existing population would have become self governing and the existing garrisons would have stayed on. Even more thought provoking was just how much wasn’t known about the ‘dark days’ as the romans retreated from the wall. So the premise of the film isn’t so outlandish after all.

So I think that I’ll be having another look at that film and this time enjoy it as a possible version of what might have been and not get too sniffy over the historical facts. I bet it will have some great ideas for wargaming scenarios as well…..

Finally, here’s a picture of Julie ( my Wife) impersonating a Roman Guard at Birdsoland Fort. Now, if she had been around at the time, she would have sorted out those Northern Barbarians…….

Even more new releases…Pegasus Models

I really like Pegasus Models as a company. Yes, I know I say that about all of my suppliers but I would n’t stock anything from a Company that I didn’t like. So why do I like them? Well they choose interesting and lesser known subjects for their models. I mean where else could you find a set of Californian Indians or Gold Miners?

So the latest release from Pegasus is a box set of the World War Two German Tank, the Pz-38T Light tank.

Although, the Tank served with the German Army , it was actually a Czech designed vehicle that was acquired when the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia. Considered to be one of the best light tank designs of the Second World War, it saw action in Europe and on the Russian front. The box contains two models , with 27 parts per model. Assembly is straight forward and the models are really ideal for wargaming and with a bit of detailing work, they will also make into fine replicas. At

And More…this time from Mantic

The Mantic range continues to grow and it gets better as it does so. This week sees the release of the Mantic range of fantasy Dwarves and very nice they are too!

There are two basic regiments available; the Ironclads are the footslogging, brain bashing infantry and the Ironwatch are the missile troops armed with crossbows or guns. Of course there are more releases in the pipeline but for now heres a quick look at the boxe art for the Ironclads:

Also available from Mantic is a new paint set especially designed for dwarf armies. Mantic have really thought through their ranges so if you are new to the hobby, you can pick up a piaint set which will include all the paints you need for a particular race as well as a sample sprue. The set also remains at a good price so you can be confident that you are getting good value when you buy these sets.

Here’s the box art:

So At

And there’s more….from Italeri

This is the latest in from Italeri and I liked it so much that I nearly started to put together a World War Two North African German African Korps army just to go with it…but I’m sticking to Napoleonics for the time being…

Anyway, the subject is a North African House in 1/72 scale and as you can see it looks superb! Italeri have released a steady stream of soldiers and vehicles from the Second World War North African Campaign and this is a lovely piece of scenery to go with these sets. It will make an objective for your battlefield or just a great centre piece for a diorama.

It’s moulded in Sand coloured plastic but there is plenty of detail in the kit so even a simple paint job with a drybrush & wash will result in a very nice looking model.

Here are the pictures of the sprues:

As you can see, the pieces are well textured and detailed.

The model retails for around

New releases, New releases, New Releases!

I’ve mentioned before that I have been very busy with an amazing number of new products that are being released at the moment. So here’ s the first of the latest batch to arrive. If all goes well today there will be more posted later.

The latest release from the Wargames Factory is a Science fiction themed set of Greatcoated Troopers or infantry for the far flung future universe. Armed with a mixture of Rifles, Flamers and Grenade Launchers, they will look good in any Science fiction army and the price tag of

First Choose your weapons

So here’s the next article tracking my progress in painting my first Napoleonic 28mm wargaming army. It’s designed to help beginners to the hobby or those like me who have decided to move from Science fiction to real history.

There is a bewildering choice of 28mm Napoleonic wargaming figures available, so before you dive in and buy some troops there are some fairly simple questions to answer. Firstly, do you want to have a British, French or other European army? I decided to start with the British. After all, I had been brought up on tales of Wellingtons victory at Waterloo and the heroics of Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe. And of course, although the French Army at the time was undoubtedly a fine fighting force and contained some of the finest troops ever seen, as well as a vast range of superb units and uniforms, it’s one draw back was that it was French…..   :0)

Next, do you have a preference for plastic figures or metal? Plastic figures are usually cheaper, lighter and easier to transport. Metal figures are usually one piece and so do not need assembly, they ‘feel’ more substantial and the detail can be better although the new plastics are catching up. I have no strong feelings either way. I like working with plastic and I enjoy the process of putting the models together. I also like the infinite variety of poses that you can get when assembling your army. Plastic also tends to be less expensive so buying the Troops in plastic & the character and specialist models in metal is a good compromise.

So if you are happy to be building a British Napoleonic army that will be made up of plastic and metal figures read on!

The next decision was to chose the box set. Would it be the Perry set or Victrix….If you have read my previous blogs, you will know that I am a great fan of the Perry Miniatures sets. The quality and sculpting are superb and they have cleverly put together a set that makes up into a British Battalion formed up as a firing line and includes 4 British 95th riflemen. That said, the Victrix sets are also nicely sculpted and although they are split into Flank and Centre Company sets ( the Perry’s include parts for both) you get 52 figures in a Victrix set and just 40 in the Perry set.

I chose the Victrix set to start with…I just wanted more men to start with and I figured that if I started with Victrix I would have to buy the Perry set at a later date so that I could add another regiment to my army. I know, it doesn’t really make sense but remember at this stage I didn’t have a firm plan but just wanted to build an army and start painting Napoleonics.

Having chosen the Victirx, lets have a look in the box . There are 8 sprues in the box. Four of these:

These sprues contain most of the soldiers torso’s. The top two bodies on the far right are for the Sergeant and drummer, the rest being normal Waterloo Centre Company troops. The rest of the sprue contains the drum for the drummer, back packs for the infantry and the ensigns or flag bearers flag.

You also get four of these:

The one torso on this sprue is for the Officer and also doubles for the Ensign or flag bearer. There are also 14 different heads and lots of different arms. Fortunately, the instruction sheet is fairly clear and you should have no difficulty in putting the figures together, with a minimum of ‘cleaning up’ required.

The only issue that I had with the set was that some of the pieces on the sprues aren’t numbered very well or not at all. That said, assembly is straight forward and mixing and matching the different heads & arms is the fun bit!

If you take a close look at the heads, some are clearly Veteran Campaigners and some are more suited to the Drummer and Officer figures. Also some of the Hats ( or Belgiac Shakos to be precise!) have covers. I dont think that it matters whether you use the covered ones but I prefered to have all of my troops with the plume showing.

Also included with the instructions is a small flag sheet. Although there are four flags, you actually have just two regiments to choose form, this is because each Battalion carried two flags. One was the Union flag or Kings colours, the other the Regimental flag. The colour of the Regimental Flag usually determined the colour of the facings on the Troops uniforms. Or to put it more simply, a blue regimental flag meant that the collars and cuff of the troops’ uniforms would be blue. For my first regiment, I choose the 4th Kings Own, with the blue flag.

So that’s enough to be going on with now. In the next installment, I’ll have a look at the differences between Centre & Flank Companys and Waterloo and Pennisular Uniforms as well as showing you some pictures of my own version of the 4th Kings Own Regiment.

History, it’s the future….

Back in January I mentioned that I had treated myself to a box of the Victrix British Waterloo infantry and that I would be painting them over the coming month. Well, it’s taken a bit longer than that to get them finished but my first Battalion is now nearing completion. Here’s a quick picture of the command group just to prove it!

Kings Own 4th Regiment

It was only through attempting to paint these figures that I became aware of how difficult it is to get into the hobby that I enjoy so much. The actual process of painting is a skill in itself that you have to learn but the real barrier for me was the difficulty in finding the correct reference material and help and advice on how to put together a Napoleonic army. If I found this difficult, then I think that many a newcomer to the hobby must be deterred before they even start. And where do you start? Sure there’s plenty of great websites and forums on the internet but they often are difficult to find and contain conflicting advise. There’s also the problem that you can never find the correct piece of information just when you want it.

So I plan to do a series of web logs charting my progress as I build my first British Napoleonic Army. Yes, I did say Army and I know I haven’t finished my first Battalion yet but I have resolved to have a historical army completed by the end of this year…..To track my progress, or lack of it on this subject, check out the Make History category of my blog.

I haven’t abandoned my Necron army. Far from it, I’ve still got a number of projects on the go and I’ve completed a couple that were started in previous articles. However, I think that having two very diferent armies and modelling projects on the go will allow me to have a change and learn new techniques and face new challenges. I also think that the contrast between the two facets of the hobby, that is Science Fiction & Fantasy versus Historical will provide a refreshing change.

Finally, I need to change the way I write my blog, so watch out for shorter posts and hopefully, more frequent ones …