Hypothetical Hastings: Vikings vs Normans

At Historicon, I met with my buddy Rob and we decided to play a game of Ravenfeast Big Battle variant. I had previosly gamed Hastings with Alex and I wanted to get the Vikings on the table. I decided to play a "what if" scenario where Harald Hadrada had led his Viking army to victory over Harold Godwinson at Stamford Bridge and hen raced down to face William at Senlac Hill. For this one Rob took control of the Normans while I led Harald and his vikings.

Viking Center

My deployment mimicked the Anglo-Saxon plan at Hastings, I deployed a battleline on the hills and dared the Normans to smash against my shieldwall. 

Norman Left flank led by Bishop Odo

Rob had other plans and looked to use his mounted knights to cautiously test my flanks. Rob's lines were hesitant to come to grips with the Vikings and my handful of archers didn't cause enough discomfort to goad him into more aggressive (and rash) behavior. 

Some Viking berserkers attempted to change Bishop Odo but were ultimately cut down by some knights. 

Instead, the Normans were content to let their knights hurl javelins and their bows and crossbows to unload volleys. 

Rob's crossbowmen started to target Harald Hadraada and inflicted two casualties. Alarmed at the potential  loss of my leader in such an anticlimactic manner, I saw a moment, broke my left flank shieldwall and launched Harald and some huskarls straight at William of Normandy. Harald and his hearth guard managed to slaughter some Norman knights and nearly felled William before ultimately succumbing to a frenzy of assaults. I pulled my left flank back to refuse it.

At this point, it was getting late and it seemed apparent that the Vikings would ultimately fall. I conceded to Rob and his Normans. Our alternate history would still end with William the Conquerer taking the throne of England. 

We did some things wrong but nothing that likely changed the outcome and most importantly we had a good time. 

Historicon 2026

I managed to make it up to Lancaster, PA for the HMGS convention Historicon. It wasn't guaranteed that I would make it, one of my dogs has been dealing with some medical issues and luckily my girlfriend is a wonderful human being and agreed to take care of my dogs while I ventured north to roll dice and push lead. 

I am a fan of the Lancaster County Convention Center as a venue. Not everything is perfect but there isn't much to complain about in my opinion. There are plenty of inexpensive parking garages nearby, the facilities are top notch and there are good food option.

The theme of the convention was the American War of Independence (a no brainer with the 250th anniversary of our nation). There were reenactors in Continental Marine uniforms and plenty of themed AWI games. There were other games not in theme as well. Here are some photos of different games I stopped and watched:

Attendance seemed healthy and it was a pleasant surprise to see new vendors offering different products. One of the new vendors was Podrek Miniatures. They were offering quick-play rules and 3D printed figures for 6mm games. The rules and ranges included ACW, Sc-Fi and Renaissance Italian Wars. 

Chase, the proprietor, was also offering demo games for the Italian Wars variant. The rules were aimed at 5-10 units per side on a table size of 1'x1', 1'x2' or 2' square and length of about 30 minutes. 

If you know me, you know I love 6mm, I love pike and shot and I love bite-sized games so it's no surprise that I bought two starter armies (French and Imperial/Spanish) and the rules. 

My good buddy Rob joined me at the convention and we managed to get in a game of Ravenfeast Big Battle (more on that here in its own post) and we also participated in one of the themed games, a refight of Brandywine using beautifully painted 28mm figures and Black Powder rules. 

Rob and I (and everyone else playing) enjoyed our time with the game even if the GM had a bit of a laissez faire attitude about GMing and there were only quick reference sheets for about half the players. In the end, the Americans "won" because they managed a draw. 

Later that evening, Rob's son managed to join us and we played some gladiator games with the always fun Blood Sweat and Cheers rules. 

It was another great time at an HMGS convention and I managed some nice purchases: a miniature storage case, the Italian Wars armies and a book on Scottish civil wars and feuds during the 16th century. Rob and I have been attending these things for nearly three decades and I always cherish the memories made from these get togethers where we catch up, eat unhealthy food, drink beers, push lead and roll dice. 

1859 French

After tackling the Austrians for the 1859 war and putting a dent in that lead pile, I turned my attention to some French.

I painted up five battalions of line and I was pleased with the results but I had some issues with the matte varnish. I sprayed them on a very hot and humid day and the varnish dried leaving the clear coat more milky and white. I sprayed them with more gloss varnish and reapplied some matte but it wasn't entirely successful. At some point I will spray them with gloss and then matte to try and rectify the splotchy varnish coat. Below is a small sampling.

Here are some zouaves below. I painted two battalions in formed line and I must say these sculpts were both enjoyable and easy to paint.

And now a battalion of skirmishing zouaves. I plan to use Field of Battle 3 for these armies, some troop types can form skirmish formation but I can't recall if the zouaves are one of them. The Chasseurs a Pied can but I haven't painted any of those yet.

Speaking of Chasseurs, ypou will find below some that are "a Cheval". Cavalry didn't feature heavily in the Solferino campaign and I believe both the Austrians and French used primarily light horse (chasseurs, hussars, uhlans, etc.) and my armies will represent that. I went with a brighter green than how they are normally depicted however I always like to go brighter in 6mm.

And now some hussars. I have to admit something...I don't think these uniforms are accurate for 1859. According to the Casali campaign booklet, the only hussar unit with light blue uniforms would have been the 8th regiment but Casali lists their trousers and cuffs as white. I have seen several examples of painted miniatures online showing the 8th wearing red trousers for 1859 so who knows. Perhaps the red was more of an 1870 thing, I am not sure but since this army will also do double duty for the Franco-Prussian War, I'm not too concerned...they are French hussars regardless.

Here is a battery of cannon. I really have to cram the crews on so that they fit the bases. In Firld of Battle, a battery is depicted with two bases of guns (so that you can point one gun in reverse to reflect they are limbered). I have two batteries thus far and will probably paint up at least two more batteries.

And here are some French commanders. I like the little fellow who is holding his shako (or is that a kepi?), add some character. I will paint up a total of four or five command bases.

Thus far, I have finished 8 infantry battalions, 2 cavalry regiments, e artillery batteries and 3 command bases. I suppose I am about halfway done for the French and about the same for the Austrians. It will be nice to finish up these armies and get them on the tabletop. At some point I will pain the French heavy cavalry I have but that isn't a priority at this point.

On a Wing and a Prayer...

After painting some small 6mm Swedish and Russian forces for later 17th century, I started on a Polish army, painting up pancerni initially. I later finished a base of Winged Lancers but never photographed them until today. The figures are nice sculpts but the horse ankles are a bit delicate with some of the poses. The goal is to paint up a small army with a few bases of winged lancers, a few more of pancerni, maybe some irregular horse and then some of the lesser know infantry types and a base or two of artillery. The Poles can fight my Swedes, Russians and ultimately Turks (whenever they are painted up).

This project has languished a bit and at some point I need to finish the Poles, tackle the Ottomans and flesh out Russian and Swedish forces...I also have a partially painted Danish army. I really like the Tercios rules for this period and it would be fun to get some of these other exotic Eastern European armies painted up and on the tabletop.

Tenth Legion Crimean War (and some WW1)

Years ago, I embarked on a Crimean War project that would focus on Russian and Turkish armies. The awesome 6mm armies (mostly comprised of ingenious proxy figures) and battle reports over at the Pushing Tin blog were a significant inspiration to my desire and I always thought it odd that most of the Crimean War projects neglected the Ottoman contribution. 

I chose to purchase Magister Militum figures (although the Pendraken range is incredibly nice as well) and I made considerable progress. It was around this time that Magister Militum sadly announced they would be closing the doors of their business. In a panic I made several large, last-minute orders before they closed for good. I'm not sure why, but my Crimean War momentum dissipated soon thereafter. 

Since then, Baccus Miniatures, known for their beautiful 6mm offerings, purchased the rights to Magister Militum's 10mm ranges and rechristened them Tenth Legion. The new website is quite nice but I noticed they didn't have any photos of the figures posted on their gallery section. Combing though my painted Crimean War figures, I also realized I hadn't photographed all that many of them. Which brings us to here:

First off we have some Russian cavalry (above), Uhlans to be precise. I can't recall which regiments I painted these fellas up in but they are quite nice sculpts regardless.

And here are some Russian Hussars. The Hussars (and I believe the dragoons as well) are sculpted wearing their greatcoats. I like the look.

Next up, a Russian infantry battalion wearing predominantly helmets.

And now some Ottomans. Here we have some Ottoman infantry...I painted these guys likely looking much prettier than their actual appearance in the field.

Here are some Turkish irregular cavalry which appear to be a common fixture in the Ottoman armies even if they weren't particularly effective on the actual battlefield. I believe these figures were sourced from the Magister Militum Napoleonic range and are mounted Mamelukes. 

In a twist, here are some sculpts from the Crimean War range that were repurposed as Turcos for my 1914 WW1 project (which is also almost exclusively Magister Militum/Tenth Legion.

The Hotchkiss HMG teams are converted French 1914 gun crews while the command bases are a mix of Crimean War figures and also WW1 officers.

French Crimean War generals now seeing service as WW1 French generals.

Lastly, I included a picture of a 3D print armored car I got off eBay but it is manned by a Magister Militum artillery crewman.