Norman Paper Soldiers

My Norman paper army is almost complete. I plan to add two Breton cavalry units this coming week. Then I can start to play some small scale games between them and the completed Saxon army (pictures here).

Norman Army

Norman units currently completed are:

• 4 Norman Spearmen units
• 2 Archers units
• 2 Norman Cavalry

A closer view 

At sometime in the past I just have been thinking about Normans and Saxons as I had this Osprey title in my library.

I started building these paper armies as part of a challenge proposed on the blog wrong hammer.blogspot.com - where "The idea being you buy and paint an army with a view to gaming with it for £30 (or the local currency equivalent) or less in a set number of weeks."

The cost to date is $57 the Australian Dollar equivalent:

$24 for Peter Dennis Paper Armies 1066

$16.50 for the Saxon army (photocopying and cardboard)

$16.50 for the Norman army

Messing around with unit basing

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ready for a weekend game

Necromunda and Dark Ages

This week I completed five models from the Necromunda game I purchased last week. Just could not resist getting a few completed so I could have a small game soonish. It was quite a change in painting style from painting Spencer-Smith models, which I have been doing for a good six or more months now.

First few Necromunda figures painted

I was going to get back into my French Indian War campaign, but as I was packing away my Warhammer 40k models I happened upon my Dark Age flats (Saxon, Normans and Vikings) and thought it would be fun to have a game with those. A thought reinforced as I re-read the dark ages chapter of One Hour Wargames while waiting to pick up some takeaway fish and chips.

The rules used are from One Hour Wargames with modified activation rules mechanisms drawn from Dux Bellorum.

The game is setup

Saxons wait for the attack 

Normans prepare to advance

Last 3 Dark Age (Saxon vs Norman) games for 6x6 challenge

Three more Dark Ages games using Dux Bellorum were played out this week. This completes all six games of the 6x6 challenge for this period.  A reminder of my 6x6 selection and progress:

• One Hour Wargames (Tank on Tank) SciFi Variant - this will force me to work through the rules in a series of games. 3 Played

• Dark Ages with Dux Bellorum (Osprey) - my new project and with the rule book ordered and in the post. 6 Played - Complete

• WW2 Naval (Pz8 rules) - a good quick game I can use if struggling with the challenge.

• WW1 OHW - it has been a fair while since I played this period and a good excuse to get the old Peter Laing figures out again.

• Galleys and Galleons (Ganesha Games) - I purchased these rules a while back and have not got around to making the model ships, which should not take too long to build the 5-6 models required for a game.

• Hundred Years War using Lion Rampant (Osprey) - Recently completed the painting of these armies. Mini campaign mapped out ready to start.

The first three Dux Bellorum games I played used the rules without modification. During the games I was finding the use of leadership points to cancel hits was too powerful, even when reducing this to the cancellation of 1 hit (particularly when two shield walls going at it toe to teo). So for the last three games I tried reducing unit protection by one. So to hit a shieldwall was 5+ and a bowman unit 3+. All missile fire remained at 5+ as per the rules. To partly compensate for the increased likelihood of hits the cohesion factor  (number of hits before unit routs) was bumped up by one. I also stuck with the original approach to leaderships points with no restrictions.

The other area of consideration is where the combat loser is pushed back three inches. Not straight forward when using a 6 inch gridded tabletop to play on. During the games I tried a one square push back, ignoring the rule, and the losing unit taking a bravery test with a failure resulting in a push back. I ended sticking with the pushback rule as I had started allowing two units to occupy a 6 inch square.

After playing through the three games I was quite happy with these modifications and the last two games were most enjoyable.

Game 4 - was a quite a large game of 52 points a piece. The Normans were the aggressor and the Saxons as the repeller where positioned on the hill. The Norman cavalry moved around on both the Saxon flanks, while their bowmen attempted to soften up the centre before their spearmen units (Noble Shieldwall class of troops) pushed onto the hill.

Both sides lined up for battle

The Saxon second line of Housecarls prepares to enter the battle

The Norman attack loses momentum and is eventually thrown back by the Housecarls.

A Saxon victory! The game had been played ignoring the loser of combat being pushed back. It was after this game the decision was made to reintroduce the loser gets pushed back.

Game 5 - this game tried out a smaller Saxon force with additional leadership points. The Norman's pushed their cavalry around the Saxon left flank while their centre quickly ground down the first Saxon line of bowmen and Fyrd. The Housecarls were partially drawn into the centre battle and those remaining on the hill were eventually overpowered by the Norman cavalry. Additional leadership points are possibly better used for more mobile armies.

Normans see off the first Saxon line of defence

Norman cavalry attack the hill

Housecarls in their final defence just before the Norman centre joint the battle for the hill.

Game 6 - saw the surprising inclusion of some Saxon cavalry as I wanted to play a game with both sides having some mobility. The game was quite straight forward with cavalry attacks on opposite flanks. The Saxon shieldwall dealt better with the cavalry attack and soon after in the centre holes started to appear in the Norman shieldwall, which were exploited by the Saxons to win the game.

Saxon cavalry quickly move up while bowmen engage in missile fire.

Norman's counterattack on the Saxon left flank.

Saxons get the upper hand and Norman forces are whittled down

That's one 6x6 challenge successfully completed. The last few games have convinced me to stick with Dux Bellorum rules. I will be soon adding a Viking army to the Normans and Saxons - paper armies are quick to produce. I will be sticking with these paper armies and not buying any replacement Dark Age miniatures. I like them and am looking around for another opportunity to use some paper armies.

Third Dark Age game for 6x6 challenge

I managed to fit in another Dark Age game between the Norman and Saxon paper armies. Again using Dux Bellorum for game rules as I come to grips with the rule mechanisms and begin to commit them to memory.

My battle reports continue to be rather brief (apologies) as the games are a rather stop start affair as I am referencing rules. So I have not been making any turn by turn notes - only taking photos to remind me.

For this game I went with 29 point forces and thought I would try one side with some additional leadership points. I also tried out limiting the use of leadership points to offset a hit to one hit per unit (an option suggestion in the rules).

Saxon army:

• 2 x Noble Shieldwall units (10pts)
• 3 x Ordinary Shieldwall units (9pts)
• 2 x Bowmen (6pts)
• 8 x leadership points (+2pts)

Saxon forces rolled as the repeller in this game a setup for the defence of a hill

 Norman army:

• 1 x Noble Cavalry (5pts)
• 2 x Noble Shieldwall units (15pts)
• 3 x Bowmen (9pts)
• 6 x leadership points (0pts)

Norman forces prepare to assault as the aggressor

Saxons wait for the advancing Normans while bowmen exchanged missile file

Mixed results for both sides as their shieldwalls came to blows

Norman bowmen after eliminating their Saxon counterparts move in to support their shieldwall

Saxons lose half their units and survive the bravery tests, but the writing was on the wall.

I ended the game just after the Saxons had to take a bravery test when they had lost 50% of their units. While they did pass their bravery test, they were out numbered 2 to 1 with little opportunity to comeback from their predicament.

I have 3 more games to play as part of this particular 6 x 6 challenge. For the next game I am thinking of tailoring or modifying the rules in a couple of areas:

1. The use of leadership points (LP) to reduce hits is overly effective when compared to adding 1D6 to an attack with a 6+ hit chance on a shield wall. Even when allowing on one LP to be used for defence you tend to spread single LP across more units. One thought is to do the reverse of attacking LP which adds 1D6. Instead of reducing a rolled hit, a defencive LP reduces the attacker's D6 by 1D6.
2. The grid works well for most movement except for retreats from combat which in the rules are 3 inches. The move of one 6 inch square is too bigger step back. Not sure how to deal with this one - possibly there are no retreats. Anyway more pondering to do.

I find it interesting how some rule mechanisms seem to suit me as a solo player. For example, the allocation of LP in Dux Bellorum is great where there is an opponent and you are trying to out guess them. The rule creates a tension, but less so for a solo gamer. Generally I would say I prefer in most cases fast moving rules so when you are playing a solo game you get become more absorbed by the game.

Dark Ages game number 2 for 6x6 challenge

I have finished my second game using Dux Bellorum as part of the 6x6 challenge. I believe I now have a reasonable grasp of the rules in terms of not forgetting or overlooking a rule mechanism.

In this game the Normans were the aggressor again and the Saxons were defending a river crossing. I don't have a lot of photos of the game as I was rereading rules and the game was played of a few sessions. I did quite a bit of rereading of rules, not because the rules are overly complicated, but they are quite intricate.

The game was won by the Normans after a bit of a slug fest in the centre between Norman Spearmen and defending Saxon Fyrd. It was the flanking cavalry which were the difference drawing away and eventually defeating the Saxon second line.

In the next game I will only be allowing 1 leadership point per unit be used to reduce a casualty. It is one of the suggestions in the rules to make a quicker game. I must confess I did lose a bit of interest towards the end of the game, as most of the forces were engaged in combat. For a number of turns I was just rolling for combat between the same units with hits being cancelled out with leadership points.

A view from the Saxon side shows Norman spearmen advancing to engage Saxons defending the river

A view from the Norman side with their cavalry crossing the river on their right flank

A Norman view as the Saxon defence collapses and they flee the battlefield

Also, my preparation for my Hundred Years War mini-campaign is done with the completion of some scenery. A model ship and the goal for the English in the campaign as they try and escape across the Channel from the pursuing French.

Medieval Ship - Flat model made from MDF, balsa wood and cardboard

The campaign will be played out using Lion Rampant rules on a tabletop with a 6 inch square grid. I first plan another Dux Bellorum game.

Saxon vs Norman Paper Soldiers Game

This weekend I was able to play a game of Dux Bellorum using my recently completed Saxon and Norman paper armies. While the rules are technically for the period AD367-793, I thought I would still give them a go.

I was trying out the rules on a gridded wargame table. Having read the rules through they seemed to fit quite well to a 6 inch square grid. Foot units move 1 square and cavalry 2 squares.

Armies lined up

For my first game the Normans had...

3 x Foot bowmen
3 x Noble Shieldwall
1 x Mounted Companions
2 x Ordinary Riders

And Saxons...

1 x Foot Companions
3 x Noble Shieldwall
3 x Ordinary Shieldwall
2 x Foot bowmen

The Normans were the aggressor and the Saxons the repeller force defending the hill.

After initially exchanging a few volleys of arrows the Normans advanced

The Saxon Ordinary Shieldwall proved remarkably effective

The Saxon Noble Shieldwall waiting for the Norman assault on the hill

The first Saxon line had done its job and a weakened Norman attack was soon routed

I found the rules worked well for me. The decisions a player has to make with their leadership points to weigh up whether to assist units (or groups of units) with their movement, attack and defence made for an enjoyable game. Even for the first game which can be a bit stop-start as one gets used to the rules and have to look up rules.

This will be counting as my first game of Dux Bellorum 6x6 challenge.

Paper Armies and Rules

While I am still assembling my dark age forces (Saxons, Vikings and Normans) I am averaging 10 units of paper soldiers per week. The rule set I plan to use, Due Bellorum, arrived this week. I have yet to read them all the way through, but I see no reason why they cannot be adjusted to playing on a square grid.

Recent arrivals

Along with the rules I also purchased a physical copy of One-Hour Wargames by Neil Thomas. I have the eBook, which I am constantly referring to and also use the scenarios. I have found this book so refreshing I felt it deserved to by on the book shelf.

A few more Paper Figures completed

I took the opportunity this week to purchase some second hand WW2 vehicles and English Civil War (ECW) artillery from Hinds Figures. I received an email notification saying they were having 20% off in January, and the opportunity to pick up the odd model was too great. The WW2 vehicles are really just expanding the variety of models I have. While the ECW is to complete my artillery needs for my yet to be painted ECW figures. They will be my big project this year. I started collecting them (mostly Hinchcliffe) when I was 13 years old and made a number of attempts to paint them in my teens, all of which failed. So this year they will be eventually finished some 40 odd years later.

The World is Flat

This week has seen me continue with building up of my Saxon and Norman armies using paper soldiers. The method for making them is here. I now have enough for a One-Hour Wargame after just over a week of making them, but I do need to continue making them as my aim is for 25 to 30 stands per army. Not forgetting I have also to make up some Vikings.

Norman Army (enough for a OHW)

Norman Cavalry

Norman Spearmen and Crossbows

Saxon Army

Saxon Archers

The armies line up - a view from behind the Normans

One of the advantages of paper armies is they pack up quite compactly into one box. There is no need to be overly careful with them, plus they weigh next to nothing!

They pack up small

I am trying to make very quickly a medieval ship for a short campaign of 6 battles using Lion Rampant rules. This is to help complete one part of the 6 by 6 game challenge set out by Kaptain Kobold (here for details).

The beginnings of a Medieval ship

The ship is really only going to be used for scenery, but while the world if flat for my modelling I though I would continue the theme. There will be more on my success or failure with the ship in coming posts. So coming back to the medieval campaign. My intention is to use the Agincourt campaign described in Donald Featherstone's as background to creating a 6 battle campaign.

I intend to convert the associated map into a point to point campaign map where the English army try and make it back safely to there ships before being cut off my the French forces.

The original campaign map

Saxon, Viking and Norman Paper Soldiers

With no other modelling or figure painting in progress, I have been able to get working on my Saxon, Viking and Norman paper soldiers. I am using the "Battle of Britain - Wargame 1066" by Peter Dennis as the source book for these figures. The book allows you to photocopy the pictures and create your own paper army. Instructions are provided within the book on how to cut out and base your figures.

In my first tests I used the suggested approach and decided it was all a bit too flimsy for wargaming and would (in my clumsy hands) overtime become all bent out of shape. So I went with a simpler approach of decoupage with the cut out figures to make them look like a unit, then touch up the surrounds and flock the bases which would be geared to my normal basing of 3 to 4 inches.

Using 0.75mm balsa wood sheet (1.5mm will also work) I cut out and stuck two of the picture blocks onto the balsa sheet. These look like a very thin line of troops and more work is required to give the impression of a block of troops.

Stick on two pictures on side by side

Reverse pictures stuck on the other side

The next step is to cut out and around individual groups of troops, or even a whole block, and stick them on to the front and rear to give the impression of a block of troops. On my more recent units I have been cutting around the whole block rather than individuals or groups of figures. This seems to work best and is also the quickest.

Cut out individual or groups of men to add to the front and back

If you are wondering what glue I use, it is just the standard PVC glue from the hardware store which dries clear.

The decoupaged unit

Using white paint I touch up any lines which should not be there. Then I cut around the edges with a sharp craft knife before sticking the units on to MDF stands. When stick to the bases I use a thin strip of balsa wood to help strengthen the connection.

Tidy up any lines between the cut out blocks.

Base the units

Once all they glue is thoroughly dry, I paint in the white boarder around the edges using a watered down dark blue paint. This can be done very quickly and any mistakes are just wiped off. Having a mottled effect is fine, and in many ways is preferable.

Once the blue is dry a watered down white paint to break up the blue and highlight around the troops. I also use the same approach near the bottom with browns and sandy yellows to tie in with the rest of the picture.

Once all is dry I paint the base green and use flock. Finally, I paint on an acrylic varnish to seal the unit.

Background boarder painted and base flocked.

Ready for a game

While these will never look as impressive as units of painted figures, they do look pretty good from the right angle (always the case with flats). They allow me to try and wargame a period very cheaply as I expect to get three armies from the book: Saxons, Vikings and Normans. Each of about 20-30 stands in total of various troop types.

Cost of the book $20
Cost of balsa wood sheets $8
MDF sheet (for stands) $2
Cost of profession photocopying on weighted paper $40

Throwing in some paint costs, flock and a new sharp blade the cost per army will work out at about $25.

I do like the style these figures are painted in and will be getting a copy of the book covering the Roman Invasion (out in May 2017).