Lead Legionaries: A Batch of Dark Ages Cavalry for the Win!

Thursday, November 5, 2026

A Batch of Dark Ages Cavalry for the Win!

With these 5 Dark Ages cavalry, I have now painted more minis than I acquired in 2026 -- woo-hoo!

For a couple years now, I've been tracking the number of miniatures I've acquired (bought or given to me) vs. miniatures painted. With this batch of five Dark Age cavalry, I am now "over the top" and have painted more minis than I've acquired for 2026. As Theoden would say, "Victory!" Assuming I don't go crazy and make a big purchase before the end of the year, I should stay "ahead" and theoretically continue reducing my unpainted pile until the end of the year.

I believe that these are all Gripping Beast 28mm metal cavalry except the rider in the middle

I chose to do these five Dark Ages cavalry because I actually could use more of them for Dark Ages games of Lion Rampant. At the upcoming World at War convention at Fort Meigs, Perrysburg, OH, I will be running a Picts vs. Vikings scenario. So, hopefully these will see the tabletop that weekend. The good thing about Dark Ages soldiers, whether foot or mounted, is that they all look so similar. A Saxon or Pict or Frank all look relatively the same.

The rider was leftover from a batch of mounted Dark Ages Britons I painted a decade-plus ago

Most of the riders were bare-handed and needed weapons. I chose to also give one of the figures a javelin in his shield hand, as well. For their weapons, I used a mix of swords and spears. Next, I epoxied the riders to the horses before priming. Once cured in place overnight, I began by working on the horses. I have a few color combinations that I like for horses, so I used them here. Once I finished the horse's color and highlighted it, I did the manes, reins and straps, plus any other miscellaneous metal fittings or tassels. I save the horse blanket for after I've chosen the colors of the rider's clothes so that it can complement how I painted the rider.

I used a leftover horse from my Moorish Saga army to mount the rider in red - very interesting pose!

As for the riders, I do them the same as I do for most foot figures. I begin with the skin, do the armor or main tunic color next, and essentially work my way outwards. Three of the figures have chain or scale mail, while two appear unarmored. These aren't mean to be command figures, but standard horse troopers. So, I don't need to worry about banners or anything fancy like that. I tend to use pale colors when painting medieval or Ancient troops because I figure their clothes or uniforms are worn repeatedly and fade in color over time. Still, if you can afford a mount and armor, you're probably fairly wealthy in the Dark Ages, so I splurged with a few brighter colors, too. For their. hair color, I used a variety of common European hair colors. The more variety, the more irregular a force looks!

I liked how the cloaks came out, but wish I had done more to 'jazz up' the rider on the left

I also went with more basic shield patterns for these five troopers. I have tried using decals more than once, but always fail spectacularly at them. So, I always hand-paint my shields (or use my micron pens for fine detail our outlining work). I have been using pill-shaped bases like these for my cavalry ever since I began (and since stopped) playing Saga. I'm not sure why I prefer them, nowadays. Maybe they look less chunky than large, rectangular ones? Either way, the shape is certainly more common and easier to find now, but I doubt I will ever go back and re-base my rectangular-based cavalry.

I finished these guys today & they will be used in a game tomorrow - can't beat that for timing!

What else is on my painting desk? I have five Viet Cong guerrillas from Gringo40s that are moving along nicely. I have also begun the next batch of four mangrove trees my friend Mike W printed for me. And I sat down a few days ago and made a list of batches of "new" and "old" purchases in my unpainted lead pile that I wanted to paint up soon. Think of it as an "On Deck Circle" in American baseball...ha, ha! So, stay tuned. Though we are in November already, there's plenty more on the way!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026