I vow it, that hence I will not flee a foot's length!

So claims the Saxon Warrior at the Battle of Maldon.

Yep, Ive been working on an Anglo Danish warband for SAGA and present it to you now in all its shieldwall glory!

(The Anglo Danish Warlord stands in his shieldwall, flanked by his Huscarls).

I used my usual SAGA painting technique on these boys, which I will detail for you henceforth...

DISCLAIMER: this might be a long post; maybe too long. If you cannot be bothered to read it all then just look at the pretty step-by-step pictures.

I started by cleaning up the models, glueing them to their bases and then adding airdry clay to the bases for texture. Make sure you use a polymer clay, so it does not crumble (an artists airdry clay, not a children's one - I used Fimoair with great success, you can get it at Hobbycraft in the UK). The clay gives a great texture to the base and you can even sculpt with it, if you are that way inclined (I don't smooth it down, I rough it up a bit to keep the texture - this way it can be straight painted without adding any sand or anything of its ilk).

As you can see, I have used Gripping Beast figures on Renedra bases. I have also used Gripping beasts wire spears - soooooooo much stronger then the crappy spears you get with them.

I then undercoated the models in grey. I just prefer to paint SAGA models over grey instead of black (and I never use white).

After the undercoat I begin to apply the base colours. In this case, the metal, the flesh and the leather went on first (the metal was watered down so it flowed into all the links in the mail. Actually, as I rule I water all my paints about 4:1, but the metal it was about 2:1). To be honest, I'm not sure why I made the decision to do these first, I would normally apply the tunic colours. Probably it was due to the tunics all being different colours so I did the universal colours first.

After these base colours I then went and applied the tunic colours. When applying colours at this stage it is not important to be neat, to be honest. I dont mean to liberally slap colour on using a wall roller or anything, just dont be concerned if colour looks 'sloppy' - it will all work out fine.

Now, I planned on using 'dip' on these models, as I think it can make dark age models look pretty good (suitably grimy, if you will). I have seen people use dip as a means to get away with doing any actual work on the models, just applying the dip over some base colours (in fact, this is how Army Painter teach you to do it for the sake of speed). This is fine, if that is what you want to do. However, I have been painting models for nigh on 15 years using all sorts of techniques. I have experimented with dip and believe I have a happy medium between speed and quality that i am happy with. To this end, all of my 'dipped' models receive a highlight stage. As presented here.

 This highlight stage brings the models up really nice once the dip has been applied and gives the model a more 'traditional' 3 tones (shade - base - highlight). However, the highlight is applied at least 2 tones above the base colour, as it will be dulled in the dip process and you want it to persist after dipping.

After this I turned to the most important aspect of the model - the shield!
Now, I know you can get some nice transfers for dark age shields, but I really enjoy painting the shields myself - transfers can look a little... hmm... fake? To get the best out of transfers you need to paint over them. In this respect, the transfer acts as a guide only, not an end in itself. In my humble opinion.

I wanted all the shields to be different patterned, to reflect the levy approach to warfare that persisted (no nice Roman uniforms welcome. Thanks).

After the shields were done all I had left was to paint the base of each model and they were ready for 'dipping'.

I don't dip my models. That is to say, I don't dunk the model in the tin of dip, like they suggest. I just don't want that much dip on my model. I apply it with a brush and use it more like a wash; I make sure that the dip does not pool anywhere on the model.

Of course, after dipping the models are all nice and shiny. We don't want that. I use a super-matt spray to dull the model (after the dip has dried over-night, of course) and make it look awesome again. This also brings out the paint job that much more and demonstrates the importance of applying a highlight.

All that was left to do was apply static grass and clumps of a a sponge-type lichen effect material (by Galeforce Nine) to the bases and they were complete.

Here they all are in all the awesomeness:

 (Warlord, front view and base detail - the rock is actual slate from my garden. Its clean.)

 (Rear view of Warlord, showing off his furry cloak. He spent so much on it he could not afford trousers...)

 (Huscarl with spears. They favour their own skin and so dont use a Dane Axe, like a real man).

(Huscarl with Dane Axe. Real men).

 (Rear veiw of Dane Axe Huscarls. Try stabbing them in the back).

 (Warlord with his Huscarls. Look mean, don't they? They are).

 (Warriors advancing with their spears at the ready. Except the guy hiding behind his big shield; he's scared).

 (Warriors standing with spears. They are bored, the battle should have started an hour ago...)

(The shieldwall, bristling with spears! And moustaches....)

 (The shieldwall from a jaunty angle...)

 (And again)

(What the shieldwall might look like from a helicopter...)

So, there you have it; my Anglo-Danish Warband.

Thanks for reading (or just looking at the pictures). See you in the next update.