Tiny Dark Ages Project Part 1: A Man With a Plan

 Hi!

Well somewhat surprisingly I've found myself with a bit of spare time to post a quick blog ramble! 

Our car passed its MOT with no faults which came as a bit of a surprise so I found myself with an actual hobby budget for once and decided to pick up some Lancashire Games Little Wars figures for my 10mm Lion Rampant army.

Having shopped around a bit, I settled on these little guys because they seemed to be just about the best value for money I could find and I liked how characterful the tiny guys looked!

Here's some pics of their painted Vikings from their website as an example:

I love how dynamic the figures appear and the mixture of weapons and gear which suits a bunch of pillaging Vikings!

The tiny figures literally ooze character and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the Saxons in the coming week or two!

I ended up placing an order for one of each of the following packs which should give me enough to put together a nice size warband for Lion Rampant.

Saxon Command

Thanes with Axes

Thanes with Swords

Greater Fyrd 

Lesser Fyrd

Now while I'm waiting for the figures to turn up, I've been reading my way through some inspiration to get myself into a Dark Age mindset!

First and foremost, I've been listening the Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy and absolutely loving listening to the quest of Dunston, a grizzled and aging loner who becomes embroiled in a quest for vengeance in 838AD. Matthew does a brilliant job of bringing the period to life and creating a gripping story as well as a cast of characters that are really enjoyable to read, especially Dunston himself.

Secondly, I'm reading my way through Bloodfeud by Richard Fletcher, an eminently readable history of a family feud that lasted three generations and saw a ridiculous amount of bloodletting and also brings the period vividly to life.

I've got a load of other bits and bobs to read and have ordered a couple of Osprey books to help with reference and they're always a great way to get to grips with a subject.

I've still not settled quite on what basing I'm going to go for but once I have the figures in hand, I'll have a better idea of what I'm working with and what will work best.

Once the figures arrive I'll post a mini review and then see if I can paint up some test pieces to see how I get on with things but until then, All the best!