Gallery: DBA Book III

 --Early Muslim North Africa and Sicily. III/33--

Early Muslim North Africa and Sicily III/33 Cavalry General.

Arrayed light horse, III/33.

Sub-Saharan Cavalry III/33

It's funny I decided to open with these guys. It's taken me 5 years to complete them. They were a bits project, I used up various leftovers from other projects as I got them and gave them a very elementary paint job with a decidedly limited palate. 

The part of North African Archers will be played by the Maronite Christians today, thankyou.

Cliched zebra skin shields for the sub-Sahran 'volunteers'.

I like the army for two reasons. Firstly, along with Norse and the Magyar was one of the three waves of invaders that kicked the stuffing out of Charlemagne's Empire. Also started a wave of castle building in Italy, which had huge payoffs down the line for the tourist trade. Vikings of the Mediterranean these guys...franchise offices bases in France and Italy.

The second more concrete reason is the DBA army list of these guys have oodles of historical enemies, including some that get lots of play in our neck of the woods, Spanish, Andalusians and Carolingians. I'm not saying you've got to play DBA with matched historical pairs, but I'm not saying you shouldn't either...

Spear element composed of left over Spanish and Andalusians.

  

I used my trusty Armies of the Dark Ages for reference, but it didn't have much on this lot.  So I made up most of it.

Some armies in DBA really call for specific, period detailed figures. Others call for 'what you got'. This is one of those.

--III/45a +b Pre-Feudal Scots--

Teenage Visigoth's Rule for Happy Miniature Gaming #5

'What you have is probably enough'

Teenage Visigoth's Rule for Happy Miniature Gaming #7

'Make it the way you want'.

I had a pile of the redoubtable Minifigs Feudal Europe line kicking around, so as I was busy playing Viking Era games, I built them into a Pre-Feudal Scots army. As per the first rule quoted, I thinks it's more important to get the job done and get you figs on the table as opposed to endless self indulgent wallowing about the spears being the wrong length or the shields being out of scale. Just bloody paint them and start having fun.

However, it's a little more 'medieval' looking than I wanted with the crossbows and Breton-ish horsemen. I had more of a transitional, shaggy post-Pictish look in mind for the army, but as I had what I had, this is what was produced.

So I was 50/50 happy with the army. I loved the paint job I did. It just didn't have the vibe I was wanting. So after a 5 year career of being chew toys for Neldoreth's Vikings I sold them to a fantastic dude in Spain.

Pre-Feudal Scots. Minifigs 15mm, stock and conversions.

He looks like a Knight general, but I usually used him as a Cavalry general.

Psiloi. I was in a crossbow loving frame of mind when I made this army.

Scots spearmen; slow, steady and getting the job done

Thanes and other heavily equipped lunatics.