Lead Legionaries: Armored Archers & Such for Sellswords Semi-Historical

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Armored Archers & Such for Sellswords Semi-Historical

Six heroes of the British Isles ready to take on the Viking raiders in my semi-historical campaign

The really cool thing about starting to play a new set of rules -- cooperative Sellswords & Spellslingers in a semi-historical setting -- is that I have almost all of the figures I need already. Well, almost. One thing I noticed as I was reorganizing my Saga Dark Ages miniatures was that I have no armored archers. All of my bowmen are unarmored. Some have helmets or shields, but none had chainmail or even leather armor.

Thus, this batch of four armored archers in case one of my players decides they want to equip one of their archers with armor. The other two figures are covering other minor gaps in my collection. Since the players will represent the heroes of the British Isles -- Anglo-Saxons, Britons, Picts, Scots -- I noticed that I didn't have many "heroic" looking Pictish figures. Also, pretty much all of my miniatures with a two-handed axe or sword are Viking. And in this campaign, the Vikings are the "bad guys." So, I tossed in a Pictish hero and a Anglo-Saxon with a two-handed axe (and shield on back). These six won't cover every gap I have, but it is a start. Not to mention that the players may want to use their own figures...heresy! Ha, ha!!

I really like the Pictish hero, left -- doesn't he took a bit like Mel Gibson in 'Braveheart'?

My favorite figure of this batch is the Pictish hero with his arms upraised. I don't know if it was intentional, but to me he looks a LOT like Mel Gibson's William Wallace character in the movie "Braveheart." He is a 28mm Gripping Beast miniature from their Scots-Irish Heroes pack. I believe they also package him individually as chieftain because I swear that's how I bought him from Cotton Jim's Flags at Historicon either this past year or in 2023. I went with a highlander looking color combination -- a dark red and black tartan wrapped across his shoulder and a dark greenish kilt. I considered putting a pattern on the kilt, too, but have found that sometimes too many patterns on one figure is "too much" for the eyes. The other figure is a cloaked Dark Age warrior that I believe is also from Gripping Beast. I gave him a bow and arrow made from lead spears. I also gave him a pattern on his reddish-brown cloak, though it is hard to see it in this photo.

An armored Briton converted into an archer and a Saxon warrior with a two-handed axe

I have owned the 28mm figures I use for my Britons for so long I have honestly forgotten who the manufacturer was. The figure on the left comes from that pack, which you may be able to tell from his almost Late Roman style helmet. Speaking of patterns, his cloak pattern is my absolute favorite from this group of six. Since the Britons were definitely Christian at this time, I thought I could get away with a cross and dot pattern on a broad red stripe. Otherwise, I have him a deep blue cloak, pale blue tunic, and dun yellow leggings. I love the horn strapped at his waist and think it helps him pull of the archer vibe. The Anglo-Saxon warrior shows he is from the period with major Scandinavian influence on equipment, and could easily substitute as a Viking if needed. I like the green and yellow color combination on him, and his baggy trousers.

Another 'general' figure raided for an archer & another Briton complete the set of six figures

I raided another Gripping Beast leader figure for this armored archer on the left. This is their Alfred the Great figure reduced in prestige to merely a heroic archer. The arrows that the four archers in this post are carrying are slender lead spears I've trimmed down. For the feathers on the ends, I painted the tips in white glue and sprinkled fine Woodland Scenics flocking on them to give it some texture. Alfred's bow is a brass wire spear (I needed something narrower to go though his closed fist), while his British companion carries a slightly thicker lead spear trimmed and bent. I like how both of these turned out, and love the balding head of the Briton. Alfred the Archer's fur-lined cloak is cool, while I went all-out on his companion's cloak with my Micron pens.

Another look at the six heroes I painted up, the first specifically for my semi-historical campaign

All in all, these six figures should prove useful if players choose to use them for their characters. I envision each player controlling 2-3 figures in this cooperative minis game. The bad guys are run by the A.I. and card deck in Ganesha Games' Sellswords & Spellslingers rules. As I mentioned, this will be semi-historical, so no "wizard" characters and we shall have to see how the supernatural makes an appearance in the games. At the soonest, it will likely not be till late March that I begin running games with the rules. It depends on if I run my Star Wars skirmish first.

So, what else is on my painting desk? I have begun working on some Viking heroes resembling the characters from the History Channel "Vikings" series. There's Ragnar Lothbrok, his wife Lagertha, and more. Those will be for my Viking Town Raid game, as will the 28mm resin Viking longship which is done except for the creating the sail. Stay tuned for those and more which are underway...!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2025