As I plan my Saxon and Norman paper armies as part of the $60 armies challenge (see previous post
here). I thought it would be worthwhile starting with a test Saxon Housecarls unit. I was being a bit lazy and had only cut out and have 6 bases, but the unit just did not look quite right to my eyes - not wide enough.
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| Three rows. |
Determined not to have to cut out figures for another three bases. I tried two rows and the increased width which certainly improved the look. However, the 2D figures do benefit with three rows to give a unit some depth.
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| Two rows. |
In desperation I went with three rows. A row of three bases, a second row of two bases, and a third row of one base. The unit has depth and does look a little more like a mob of warlike Saxons, and not so ordered into rows. So my units will be kept to 6 bases and I use this approach to basing for all units.
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| The final option - just need to finish off the bases with green paint and flock. |
In defence of my laziness the Bayeux Tapestry has units that do not look that neat and tidy...
This weekend I am planning to refight the battle of Falkirk 1756.
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Ready for a weekend game
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I like the 'mob' look and think for Dark Age armies it's probably just as representative as the appearance of the standard wargame unit. Your picture of the Bayeux Tapestry reminds of a long shelved idea to do a 2D set of soldiers for Hastings for 'sideways' battles using a collapsed depth scale to fit smaller tables.
ReplyDeleteI assume you are using rules that come with the figures for your games. How do they fight? I have 15mm 1745 armies which I started using DBJ for and then moved on to Maurice - the card play stops the games becoming too stylistic.
Thank you. For the Saxons and Normans I am unsure of the rules. While the paper soldiers book does come with rules, I am also considering Dux Bellorum or Lion Rampant. As for the 1745 games I tried the book's beginners rules and did enjoy them.
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