Battle Report 1/11/2013 - SAGA

Last night I was able to get a late night game of SAGA in with my friend Roy Scaife.  It was a great fight ... close in the end.  I was a bit lazy and just used the dinning room table (as my game room in a bit messy at the moment with several projects I'm working on through the next couple of weeks).  But hey - that's what is excellent about SAGA ... you can throw a mat on the dinning room table .. a bit of terrain ... and you are underway!  Pictures of the game below with some commentary.  Although I have a full 6pts of Vikings, Roy currently only has 4pts of Anglo-Danes painted, so we used 4pts each.

Jay White - Vikings 4pt Warband
1 x Warlord
4 x Hearthguard
4 x Hearthguard (Beserkers)
8 x Warriors
12 x Levy with bows

Roy Scaife - Anglo-Danes 4pt Warband
1 x Warlord
4 x Hearthguard
4 x Hearthguard
8 x Warriors
8 x Warriors

Our objective was to kill the enemy Warlord ... simple enough eh!

Getting underway.

Deployment goes well.  I figure I'll swing my Levies around the flank to lay fire into the Anglo-Dane (AD) warriors.  I'll need to get him to come out from that damn wall first though.  My original thought was to bypass the house, get to the far stone wall and then swing around where the hedgerow doesn't provide any cover.

My Vikings advance with the Levy on the flank.

Roy takes the hedgerow across from the house.

Roy promptly gets his troops up to the hedgerow/wall and holds fast.

Warriors holding the wall.

My Vikings advance.

Roy's Anglo-Dane plan comes together.

My Vikings moving past the house ... but those
Anglo-Dane warriors that have jumped the wall
are a tempting target ...

I move up past the house but things are a little slow going as the AD have been using their ability to cancel one of my actions.  From previous games I learned to be very wary of splitting your force.  It is best to keep them in a distance that allows them to support each other.

Anglo-Dane warriors make a move over the wall.

Since I've cleared the house and I'm clearly heading for an "end-around" - Roy takes the initiative and moves is warriors over the wall to push around the side of the house into my rear area.

I take the bait ... and it costs me (no saves for me!).

I immediately move my unit of Warriors into melee with Roy's and come out victorious ... but it costs me dearly (lost four, didn't make a single save ... ouch!).  Clearly I'm going to need some help on this side.

It's all coming down to the side of the house ... lots
of Fatigue to go around.

I move my Warlord down and swing my unit of Beserkers across to that side of the house.  Roy moves his second Warriors over the wall and brings them into melee with my Warlord.  The melee sees two brave Vikings sacrificed to preserve the Warlord.  Roy lost two in the combat.  In my turn I use my ability to remove an enemy Warrior or Levy unit that has 3 or fewer models - and I take his Warrior unit that was reduced to three models (Roy was unimpressed ... mayhaps bitter about that ...).

Casualties abound ... but both warrior units are destroyed.

I manage to wipe out the second unit of Warriors but in the process I find myself a little exposed with my Warlord who only has a single Warrior and single Berserker beside him.  My hope is that Roy doesn't have the movement to get one of is Hearthguard units into my Warlord ...

Anglo-Dane Hearthguard make a run for the
Viking Warlord ... he is not resilient enough to survive.

But ... he does have the movement and rolls HOT (his dice sucked earlier ... they came back when it counted).  Four wounds on my Warlord and only two willing bystanders ... ka-poof ... Warlord down!

A satisfied Anglo-Dane Warlord.

Roy's Warlord ran up ... just in case the Hearthguard didn't finish the job.  A great game all around.

FIW Comparative Figure Size

There are many figure manufacturers out there offering 28mm miniatures for the period of the French and Indian War.  I thought I would post this up as an aid in choosing which figures to use or mix together with each other.  I've owned (but since sold) figures from RAFM and Old Glory Miniatures and can provide comment on how they compare to the various figure manufacturers shown in the picture below.

This review is only within the scope of "28mm" miniatures - 15/18mm miniatures is another story --- but I only play 28mm scale.

Before I get started, there is a great article over on the Unlucky General blog that includes one miniature range I have not owned or seen in person - Blue Moon Manufacturing.  I will not re-post his comparative picture here as that I believe would be inappropriate "blog" infringement (at least without asking first) ... but if you check his post you'll see that Blue Moon clearly fits into the "larger" class of miniatures.

Covered in the first picture is Galloping Major, Northstar Military Figures, Redoubt Enterprises, Front Rank Figurines, Conquest Miniatures, Eureka Miniatures, Perry Miniatures, and Wargames Foundry (apologies, I don't have any FIW from Foundry, just some Napoleonic's but it works for comparison).  Crusader Miniatures is another that has miniatures available, but I currently only have a single figure in my collection and it is currently painted (French Officer).  For that comparison I've added the second picture that shows painted/based Conquest Miniatures, Crusader Miniatures, and Redoubt Enterprises.

28mm Comparison

Based on the picture above you can see which lines would mix very well together:

• (large class) Galloping Major, Northstar, Blue Moon, Redoubt, and Kings Mountain (see end of this post for picture of Kings Mountain Miniatures)
• (standard class) Front Rank, Eureka, Crusader, Conquest, and Perry
• (small class) Foundry - which can also go with RAFM and Old Glory

I have fully painted, based and completed Conquest Miniatures, Front Rank, Crusader, Perry Miniatures and Redoubt Miniatures currently mixed together in both my French and British armies and I it looks just fine -- although I think the key there is that they are not mixed in the same units so it works.  If you are looking to mix in the same unit stick to the "classes" listed above.

Comparing Conquest Miniatures (left),
Crusader Miniatures (middle), and Redoubt Enterprises (right)

As you can see above, Crusader Miniatures fits in between Redoubt Enterprises and Conquest Miniatures - but I have to say, Crusader and Conquest mix well together.  

So far as Redoubt is concerned, they have a large and robust miniatures line for FIW but I've seen inconsistency in their miniatures line as a whole.  Most notably (speaking from the miniatures I own), is the difference between the British Light infantry and the British Highlanders.  The British Highlanders are "skinny" for Redoubt and so mix well with the more "true" 28mm miniatures like Conquest.  The British Light infantry however are very chunky and look large even beside other Redoubt miniatures.

RAFM and Old Glory I used to own and have seen them beside my Crusader and Conquest figures.  They are definitely in a class of their own - I call them "true 25mm" miniatures as they are the smallest size wise and really don't mix well with the miniatures pictured above. 

UPDATE:  Added Kings Mountain Miniatures (separate post here).

Kings Mountain Miniatures (right) with
Conquest Miniatures (left)

That's it for now - hopefully this helps not only list the various FIW miniature manufacturers but will also aid in buying decisions and help those who want to mix the various lines together.

SAGA Viking Warband

I'm hoping to get some games of SAGA in over the next couple of months (along with more Muskets and Tomahawks).  I really like both SAGA and Muskets and Tomahawks - in fact I just bought a Breton warband starter army box the other day.  I have a 6pt Anglo-Saxon army that is in need of painting as well.  But for now, I have my 6pt Viking warband done and ready for action (special thanks to Artmaster Studio).  Pictures below.  I've tried a little bit different method of taking the pictures.  I used a sheet of paper from my printer and stuck with the flash from my camera ... clearly my photography skills need more improvement :-)

My fearless Viking Warlord

Viking Warriors

Viking Hearthguard

Viking Hearthguard Berserkers

Viking Hearthguard

Viking Warriors

Viking Levies

Viking Levies

Viking Levies

Progress On Several Fronts

In case you think I've been asleep at the wheel ... I have been making steady progress on several fronts with my French and Indian War projects.

French Siege Position
The position itself is now complete, the French artillery crews are complete, and I've started painting the guns (of which there are four, one is complete).  My previous post on building the position can be found here.  This is the main position that is for my Fort William Henry scenario.  Once I wrap up this and the British fort guns I'll start play testing the scenario I've put together.  Pictures below.

British Artillery Crews and Fort Guns
The British artillery crew are painted but in need of basing.  I have the fort guns cleaned and ready to go once I wrap up the French siege guns.

4Ground FIW Buildings
I ordered and got in my 4Ground buildings from their American Legends range.  They currently offer four buildings - a New England Pioneer's Cabin, New France Pioneer's Cabin, New England Settlers Cabin, and Log Timber Block House.  I must say they've done it again, another great set of buildings that go together easy and look spectacular.  Pictures are below of the assembled "out of the box" buildings.  I sat down and watched a movie while I put them together and managed to put all four sets together in an afternoon.  Since I already have several buildings (Pegasus Hobbies) that are painted I will actually be basing and painting these buildings to match my exists set.  I'll also be building a small palisade for the block house.

I also wrapped up my SAGA Viking 6pt warband and will be doing a separate post on that when I get a chance.  Lots of great stuff to come in 2013 - I'm looking forward to finally putting on my Fort William Henry game and seeing the fort in action.