ADDITIONAL SAGA UNITS PAINTING PROGRESS

So following on from my last post I've managed to assemble 24 sergeants  with crossbows and get the first 8 painted.  More progress to follow.

FIRST SAGA FORCE FINISHED

So for the last 3? Weeks I've been beavering away on my first Saga force The militant orders of Christ or Milites Christi as they are called.   I've always been fascinated by the rise and fall of the knights Templar.   The militant orders list is perfect for representing these holy warriors.

(Shields!!!)

All the shields have be painted by hand and I've stuck to a sale pallet of colours to keep the army cohesive.  I did a fair bit of reading regarding colours of the brothers and the men at arms the fought with them.  It appears the men at arms (Sergeants) were dressed in black whilst the brothers were in white with the red Cross displayed on their chests.   I decided that the force would look better with off white padded amour for the sergeants but included black shields and some black clothing items to help tie everything together and add a nod to their historical counterparts.

(First Unit of Warriors)

(Second Unit of Warriors)

(Third Unit of Warriors)

As for playing them on the table I have had quite a few games so far of varying success.  They are a powerful melee force if they can build up 3 points of piety (the mechanism that's used to increase their effectiveness on the table.)   The army has some weaknesses though.  The brothers are vulnerable to bows and especially crossbows and they dislike being in terrain.  The sergeants are there to slog it out in terrain and you have the option of taking crossbows (I'm working on three units of them at the moment) to help with the ranged guys.

(The first three Units of Warriors all finished)

What I'm really loving about Saga is that is so easy to collect and paint up a force for it that I'm totally hooked.  There are many saga boards that have been created by fans that have been placed up on the Saga forums for people to try and some that have captured my imagination or the Japanese Samurai period.  So I've ordered so I've orders some Wargames factory Samurai to have a go at using these board's  - they will also work well for legends of the rising sun or Ronin so I figure my money won't be wasted.

- Here are some progress pics of the cavalry that i snapped off during the painting process.

(Three Units of Brothers all together in one big 12 man unit)

Anyways that enough out of me for now.  Let me know what you think of the Templar's.  I'll add photos of the crossbow sergeants when they are done (hopefully about a week).

- Here are a front and back pic of my lord.

I'll leave you with a final picture of the completed 6 point force.

(6 Points of Templar Goodness!!)

Upcoming Chinese Waring states plastics!!!!

Over the years of working for both Games Workshop and Battlefront Miniatures its been my privilege to work with many talented people and whilst i now prefer to keep my hobbies separate to my work life many of the people i know have left GW or Battlefront and gone on to do other things within the industry. Today i have the great joy of introducing one of those people who is embarking on a project which im extreamly excited about.  I'll pass you over to Joe to tell you all about it: 

Hello supporters. Mark has been kind enough to allow me to introduce my company and our very first project. My name is Joe Krone and I spent over 15 years working in the gaming industry for companies like Games Workshop and Battlefront Miniatures. I learned an awful lot about how the gaming industry works and throughout my tenure I always wanted to advance my career on the games development side. I think that is everyone's dream job and I came within reach of the golden ring but never could hold on. When I left the gaming industry for a new career I was able to spread my wings and begin developing rules and games without the conflict of interest worry. This month I released my first rulebook, Land of the Free published by Osprey and another milestone this month occured when my brand new gaming company, Watchful I Studio, announced its very first product range. We have designed and will be launching a Kickstarter in the near future for miniatures covering the Chinese Warring States and Qin Dynasty Periods. We have optimized the design process to give you unarmored,  lightly armored, and fully armored warriors including several weapon, shield, and head options. The sets will include arms to create standard bearers and head options to create line officers. Our intention for the Kickstarter is to raise enough money to have these fantastic sculpts manufactured in plastic. We are currently working on how the sets will be arranged and how many sets there will be. The range wouldn't be complete without support elements and officers so stay tuned as we will continue to post new updates on our Facebook page. If you would like to join our page please search for Watchful I Studio on Facebook. Enjoy the pics and spread the word. Check out Facebook for more pictures of our digital sculpts. More to come soon................

I think you will all agree that these digital sculpts are excellent. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the final plastic sets will look like. I'll be following this one closely and hope that you will go check out the Watchful I Studio facebook page.