Adding to my Pictish Warband for Saga...and some carts!

Two of my Pictish long spearmen (I believe from Foundry)...the guy on the far left is my favorite

One of my long-term plans for Saga Dark Ages miniatures is to field a Pictish warband. I've always been interested in the Picts ever since reading about Robert E. Howard's fantasy depiction of them in his Conan the barbarian stories. Learning about the historical kingdom is even more interesting, though. They ruled what is now Scotland for many centuries before merging with the Scots-Irish, who'd immigrated from Ireland. Many of what we think of as "Scottish" names are Pictish, such as McNaughton (after the Pictish name Nechtan) and McBride (Brude, or some form of it, was also a Pictish one).

Judge for yourself my job on the Pictish checkered, tartan, or stripe cloaks

Back in my 15mm DBA Ancients days, I fielded a Pictish army, too. In fact, I still own them, and don't ever expect to get rid of them. WAY too many checkered and tartan cloaks, and tattoes (i.e., Picts, or "painted people"). I also remember vowing NEVER to do that army, again. So, here I am, creating them once more, but in 28mm! It is also interesting comparing my painting skill back then to what it is now. I honestly think I had a steadier hand and a better eye for fine detail then. I know and use more techniques now, such as washes and dry brushing, that I didn't use back then. But it could simply be the difference between a young man and a 56-year-old one!

I decided not to replace the horn blowers spear, while all the others have been cut out and replaced with wire spears

Anyway, the Saga list I will be using for the Picts is actually the "Scottish" one. Their actual Pictish list in Aetius & Arthur is meant for the early Picts that fought the Romans - not the ones who fought the Vikings, Saxons, etc. The early armies of Scotland actually had more in common, fighting style, I feel, with the Picts than with the Scots-Irish armies of Dal Riata. They used closely huddled masses of infantry armed with long spears, so I have been painting more and more infantry armed with long spears.

My newest-painted 28mm Essex, 2-horse wagon

In fact, I have been modifying the figures -- cutting out the cast-on lead spears with an X-acto knife and then replacing them with copper spears from North Star Miniatures. This has been a lot of work, but I am almost done. I have one final batch of long spear armed Picts on my painting table now, ready to be primed. These pictures are of a batch of six I just finished. I kept the lead spear for the guy blowing the horn, as I rationalized he might be towards the back and perhaps wield a smaller spear.

A close up of the loads I created for each of my three wagons, which can be popped in and out easily

One thing I also finished recently was an 28mm Essex 2-horse wagon. I've had it in my unpainted drawer for years, having finished off the two others I bought at the same time. A Saga scenario from Book of Battles called for three baggage elements (Prized Possessions), so I decided to see if I could get it painted up in time. When I first painted the other two wagons/carts, I left them empty, rationalizing that would give me good flexibility using them for various scenarios and periods. This has been true, as I even put French & Indian War women and children in them for a scenario where the menfolk are trying to escort their families to the local blockhouse. Well, I decided that while painting this last wagon I would make some bundles of goods that I could place in the wagon (or leave out), as the scenario dictated.

The load I created for the Essex two-wheeled cart I painted up years ago

I used some of the resin or plaster-cast scenery that I've obtained from various sources, epoxying the pieces down onto pieces of bass wood that were trimmed to fit exactly into each cart or wagon. Besides the treasure chests or sacks of food, I added a few beads from the local craft store that look like amphorae. I like how these pieces turned out, and think they add a lot to the look of the wagons.

Besides sacks of food and a treasure chest, I also included beads that looked like amphorae

The wagon itself was not too difficult to assemble and paint. I scratched my head a bit over how the pieces all went together, and still have one long pole I ended up not using because I could figure it out. Once it was all epoxied together, I spray-painted the bottom of it with Krylon acrylic black. I went over it with a 50/50 mixture of black acrylic paint and water, to make sure all the cracks and crevices were covered. Then, I did dark brown wet brush followed by a medium brown dry brush after the first coat had dried.

For the sides and top of the wagon, I used brush on black paint as a primer, then repeated the next two layers. I topped it off with a Khaki dry brush for highlights to bring out the wood grain. I know that an older wagon would end up being more gray than brown. I just like more how my version of wood looks than real life...ha, ha!

This burst in painting progress has been aided by my two Winter week break from school. Sadly, it is drawing to a close. I expect I can get started on the last of the Pictish long spearmen before class begins, again, though. Stay tuned to see!