Been awhile since a 'Muppet Saga' update. Muppet Saga is my project to run the game Saga with the War of Ashes miniatures from Zombiesmith. The creatures remind me of Muppets, hence 'Muppet Saga'.
When they had their last sale I picked up some of the Vidaar, which are the enemy of the Elvorix.
The Elvorix I plan to run using the Welsh faction rules, to take advantage of the wild pig cavalry miniatures I converted. But they need an opposing force, so I have some Vidaar now ready to run as Vikings.
They all still need paint, but here's how the leaders & elites look opposed to each other:
Elvorix vrs. Vidaar
The warlords are on 25mm bases, to give room for each to have their bannerman.
Close up of the Vidaar warlord at right and a Vidaar soothsayer.
I have an Elvorix Augur and so I'm toying with ideas on how to add a simple magic system to Saga.
Elvorix 'Greybucks': the Hearthguard. Some great detail in these delicate minis.
Vidaar counterparts: Lungshyld, the Hearthguard.
I have enough for two 6pt armies, plus the option of a magic user each.
The Welsh Elvorix will have:
Warlord
Hearthguard foot
Warriors, mounted* (could divide into 2 hearthguard units)
Sometimes you find some minis you like so much you'd like to use them in any project you can squeeze them into. Such is the case for the excellent little Bushwhoolies from Thunderbolt Mountain. I was reminded of these little creatures several months back when Anne painted some, and thought "I really should find an excuse to get some of those." Then I thought of an excuse.. and another.. and another. Perfect!
Here they are with an Elvorix at the right.
They paint up fast and are a lot of fun to paint. I decided I'd give these a variety of colors, just for fun.
They're 98% done: just need some gloss on tongue & eyes.
I think they're a good stylistic fit for the Elvorix & the Vidaar for Zombiesmith's War of Ashes.
My Elvorix army has 2 types of skirmishers: Wildbucks & Savagebucks. The later, elite, are not very numerous. I think I could use these as the Elvorix version of 'wardogs' and fit the Savagebuck nicely.
Muppet Saga is my idea of using the War of Ashes minis for a 'Dark Ages muppet theme' with the Saga rules. Muppets must have had a history too after all...
I have my Elvorix set for the Welsh warband, but maybe the Vidaar, who will be the Vikings, would like to use them? Or maybe an Irish warband list with these for the wardogs?
I have a lot left over, so they'll also find homes with Brokentooth's Goblin Tribe.
My plan for the regiments of goblins is to have a lot of extra stuff on the element bases: broken fences, barrels, tree stumps, and critters that cling to the goblins. I have some GW Squigs, Black Hat Haggis, Russian Rotten Tomatoes and now some Bushwhoolies! I'm sure the goblins will like them!
So what's with the 'Ropmog' name?
I remember seeing a cartoon when I was little that used an old song 'Rag Mop' where the chorus spelled out "R-A-G-G-M-O-P-P... Ragg Mopp" (music pumps in: doo-do-dooo-do):repeat. Of course, being the dyslexic kid I was I had the lyrics down as "R-O-P-P-M-O-G-G" and that's how it stuck for me, so they'll be Ropmogs
Oh, don't forget the Zombiesmith sale ends soon! Check out code: summer for 15% off.
I found a Muppet Show episode with the song, so enjoy!
Earlier this year, when attending Kubla Con I visited the Zombiesmith booth, to see the new Quar and got hooked on a new range of miniatures, for 'War of Ashes' which could be described as the Dark Ages: dangerous and brutal, within the world of cute odd creatures. The faction I was most drawn to is the Elvorix: the protagonist of the setting (though I did get some of the big 'wookie trolls' their rivals use- had too! they're too cool, I can always use them in my army as reformed trolls).
This last week I did squeeze in a bit of time to paint up a mini to test the scheme I had in mind.
He still needs grass on the base, but I think I'm happy with it- I like the colors, and he was very fun to paint. Simple details, lots of character, and I enjoy the dark weathered wood and leather contrasted by brighter orangish fur & turquoise clothing.
War of Ashes is a unit based mass combat game, so I did use square bases. I went with right-angled edge mdf bases: I just prefer them over the beveled bases, so there is more surface area to work with, and when in a unit it has the appearance of solid ground instead of seeing a grid within of base edges.
This is a 20mm base, so you can see the mini is fairly small and delicate. A nice relief from miniatures that crowd and spill over the base and over-burdened with details.
I have a lot of these to paint, but they do paint up quickly.
20 sword & shield like this fellow,
20 with long spears (they rank so the spear attacks from behind the swords and shield wall. (but they also rank nice together if you'd like a pike block look)
16 skirmishers
5 command characters
2 trolls
1 big attack pig
I also have some for adapting them to Saga, where I'd expect to play them as Welsh:
1 warlord (leader & banner on one 25mm base)
8 cavalry: converted sword & shield warriors to ride wild pigs!
Earlier this year I participated in the Lead Painter's League challenge on the Lead Adventure Forum, and had a great time doing it. - If I do it again next eyar i'll have to go back and add a tag for 'LPL' to those updates, in the meantime you can use the search function for 'LPL Round' and find the entries.
One of my worthy clashmates was Lead Asbestos, who had some nice Gladiators pitted against my Angels, after the week's contest he sent me a PM and asked if I'd be willing to paint the 2006 special Salute mini, which was a Dark Ages Arthur vrs Mordred battle duel. He had got a few and wanted to get some painters he liked to paint them, which was quite flattering of course and I also liked the idea of getting to paint the minis, since they looked very fun to paint. He was also kind enough to send me a bag of useful minis along with these two for future projects which may appear here soon.
So here's my take on the Salute duel:
I've seen some very nice versions of these. I had the same idea as some: red cloak and trimmed tunic for Arthur, for that Romano-Brit look. I went with a darker simple scheme for Mordred than most I've seen, to make him look more somber and sinister, since he's a villain in the story. It is also why I made the face of his helmet iron rather than bronze, just to keep it more dreary. I also was aiming to have a cool tone on one side, warm tone on the other: blue vrs red.
This was very enjoyable to work on! And made me eagerly anticipate a time when I might get around to painting some of my Saga minis: both historical and 'muppet' Elvorix!
Good Evening Ladies & Gentlefrogs.
The year is 1066 and it's time for the Muppet Invasion!
...
Yaaaaaaay!
Zombiesmith's Sale ended today and I couldn't resist getting some more of the fun minis for 'War of Ashes'...
Think Shieldwall Vikings & Saxons, but with creatures that look like they'd not be out of place on the Muppet Show. I previewed some of them earlier this month in the Zombiesmith booth update.
A friend and I got hooked- I picked up the noble and inspiring Elvorix and he got some of the pitifully dimwitted and danger to themselves Vidaar. We discussed the idea of not only using them for the War of Ashes game, but having options to use them for SAGA. Nothing wrong with some whimsy in a historical game. So at the end of their sale I ordered what I'd need to have a good sized force for their game and enough for a 6 to 8 point Saga Force. I'll likely run the Elvorix with the Welsh list.
A quick w.i.p shot of the Warlord and a conversion for mounted Hearthguard: he's riding a pig!
I have 4 of these pig-cavalry now, and I'll be making 4 more.
Not a lot of time for this project, but they don't look difficult or time consuming to paint, and they do look fun, so more to come I am sure...
I tend to be drawn to unique, quirky independent mini ranges. Not that I don't like a lot from some of the big global spanning companies too, but there are a handful of uncommon ranges that reel me in, like World of Twilight, War Rocket, Eureka's Teddy Bears & Pond Wars, and Quar among others. Check the Label list at left for Quar and you'll find a lot of my past Quar.
If you still haven't checked out Quar, or the other fun ranges from Zombiesmith, you should.
I kept looking at the minis for years, considering getting into them, and when they released the cavalry, on those improbable guinea pig-like mounts, and the Royalist faction, I could resist no more. I still have far more unpainted Quar than painted, and last weekend didn't help that ratio.
Quar are a non-human species, descended from animals a bit like anteaters, with a world and culture similar to Europe around World War I. They have some very fun, quirky technology and the background is full of humor. They are infectious.
Here is a small look at what they have around the corner (with a sale starting early this month too, so not a bad time to consider purchases!)
To the right of the big Quar statue you can see one of the new factions: Fidwog. Shorter than average Quar, with a great new mini: 2 Quar on a cav mount, a driver and a machine gunner in back.
Here is a better picture from my friend Dan:
If you find you can't decide between Crusader & Royalist (the two main factions) then Toulmore might be right for you: Once Royalists, now fighting for the Crusade (the anti-royalist cause),they have helmets & uniforms in a Royalist fashion, but the more modern Bogun rifles of the Crusade:
If I hadn't already bought into Royalist so deeply I might have gone this route myself!
Speaking of Royalists, check out the awesome new beast they get! This has a driver and two gunners, one on each side. This one was the prototype, the current version has the gunners attached higher and at angles that don't look awkward.
A shot of two light tractors (tanks) for the Kryst faction:
Sorry for the slight blur, the glass made it hard to get a picture at some angles & the booth was crowded ;)
Check out this chap! A Quar regimental bagpiper! I picked one up, mine will likely join my Royalists, though here he is seen with Crusaders:
Another Quar I like- the Quar photographer! I'd waited a year to get one of these ;)
Zombiesmith also released a fourth book for the Quar, a book of scenarios, with many in a linked campaign system. Pretty cool! While there I left my 'Songs of Our Ancestors" Quar Rulebook, a skirmish game based on Songs of Blades & Heroes, with the talented Sequoia Blankenship who does illustrations for the books. He did an illustration in my book while I was playing in a Blood Bowl Tournament.
How cool is that?
This is worth the trip to Kubla Con right there. Nice to see the Royalist cause getting some resupply!
Zombiesmith had some other news outside of Quar. They are developing a new game, War of Ashes.
It is a ranked regiment fantasy game. For theme and style think Vikings. Now replace Vikings with Muppets. Have the image in your mind? Right... maybe not, but this will help:
There are four factions,
Elvorix:
The minis are thin and graceful. The detail is quite nice and not overdone. They are thin muppets.
The skirmishers, in the bottom picture of the two above are shorter than the others. They also use big armored pig-cow creatures in battle which they light on fire and send careening through the enemy ranks.
The Vidaar:
The same species as Elvorix, but a different culture. They have some tall furry creatures with giant weapons.
I really like the big guys:
Both Elvorix & Vidaar are designed to have spearmen fight from a second rank, over the shoulders of the shield troops.
The Jaarl:
The most hard militaristic of the factions. A lot like Romans, but looking like Ewok Gremlins.
The Kuld:
Cute and odd. Some ride giant snail creatures.
This range immediately grabbed my friend Dan, which erased whatever resistance I might have had.
I couldn't decide which I liked most. I was very torn between Elvorix & Vidaar. In the Elvorix favor: the cute little skirmish troops and I liked the round shields better than rectangular shields, also there are some really cool helmets with brush-crests. In the Vidaar favor: the big muppet trolls are so very cool, I like them more than the pig creatures, since they are fuzzy muppets ;) and the troops are very similar to the Elvorix. The Kuld are also appealing, but I thought they'd probably end up as a second faction after one of the other two, but which? Well, when my friend went to get his book with illustration, and I was still playing a Blood Bowl game, he went and bought some Vidaar! Betrayal or Helping me with a decision? ;) So I got some Elvorix, one pig and I got a pack of 2 'wookie big muppets' (their real name is Nhilde) to add to my Elvorix!
I like the minis, so they can defect and join my side!
Why deny myself the ability to pick all the ones I like best?
We got to try out the game on the demo table, and it looks promising.
We also discussed using these for Saga skirmish! So expect to see some Muppet Saga someday.
Dan is looking to run the Vidaar as Vikings and I am thinking the Elvorix would work well as Welsh.
Come to think of it, those Kuld have a lot of double-handed weapons... could make for some interesting Anglo-Danes? Could be.
This got to be long- there was a lot of stuff to admire and buy! But I think it will be best to save the report of the Songs of Our Ancestors Quar battle for another update.
One of my slow-burn projects right now is SAGA. I have about half of the Vikings built, but the Normans went much faster since the only plastic kits I used was the Conquest Games plastic Norman Knights, the rest are all metal, which get assembled much faster.
I am really impressed with the Conquest Norman Knights- I'll do an update of them later, but this will focus on the leader of the warhost. The Conquest set comes with 12 knights, and a fallen injured knight. The thing is, SAGA uses unit sizes of 4 or 8 for mounted Normans. So a box is ideal for 3 units of elites, or a unit of elites & a unit of standard troops, but what about the leader? Not wanting to move a dying guy around the battlefield, that left me with either buying another box just for 1 mini, or to find an alternative. Looking around, I really liked the look of the Perry First Crusaders, so I ordered a blister of them and picked the one I liked the best to be the leader of my Normans.
The style is similar, and the pose is great, but there is a problem: the metal mini is a bit more gracile than the plastic. A pretty common thing really: plastic is cheap so not a problem to make the horse wide in the hips, etc. The metal mini is thinner and a bit smaller, and while it's nice, it'll be just enough smaller that it will bother me, especially since he'll be the leader.
Solution? Give him some elevation by way of a more dynamic base.
Here he is:
The white texture will be earth, while the beige texture is a sand finish that will be the bottom of a river that he'll be leaping over. The water will be done after it's painted of course.
How he stacks up alongside a Conquest plastic Norman:
The difference in size isn't as easy to spot now I think.
And now I have a more dynamic leader so he'll be easy to spot out as the commander.
Continuing on with the very slow progress on SAGA, squeezing in 15 minutes here & there, and another unit is assembled. The Viking list's elite, the Hearthguard can have a unit be Berzerkers instead of standard Hearthguard. They die easier, but they kill easier too. The vikings I'm going 'on the cheap', so I stuck to kitbashing from the Wargames Factory boxes I have. The weapons & heads are from the vikings, but the bodies (except for one) are from the celt box. One warrior is armored, but he doesn't have a shield, and swinging that axe in a two-handed chop over his head looked pretty berzerking to me, and I wanted the overhead Dane Axe for variety sake.
When I first hear about SAGA I was very interested. From first hints on the Gripping Beast site, it sounded good to me for many reasons:
1. Skirmish gaming: Don't need a horde of minis, so it's easier to complete a faction, and not a big chore to start a second (or third) which is a habit of mine.
2. One of my favorite time periods. Set in 'Dark Ages' or Early Medieval Britain and surrounding areas. I've always loved this time period. I've read Bede, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, History of the Franks, Njal's Saga and others. People like Penda and Raedwald and Clovis are very interesting.. their clever, crafty and conniving lives would make amazing movies if modern viewers found the time period accessible.
3. The game mechanics sounded (and confirmed after I read them) both innovative and tactical. I like that army lists are simple but in-game tactics are varied and complex. Too many games feel like the most important decisions are made in list-building, before your soldiers even hit the table, but not in this game.
Unfortunately, I have very little free time for my own gaming projects, and it looks unlikely to let up for many months, so this will be a slow-grow & simmer project. I've been assembling some miniatures for 20-30 minutes a night, in the very late hours after work, to relax and make a bit of progress on the SAGA project.
Knowing I suffer from CSFS, Compulsive Secondary Faction Syndrome, I went ahead and ordered miniatures for two factions straight away. I chose Normans and Vikings. The other two factions in the rules, Anglo-Danish (Saxons) and Welsh I find just as compelling, so why Normans and Vikings?
Normans: I've wanted an excuse to pick up the Conquest Games plastic Norman knights for a long time.. now I have that excuse.
Vikings: I figured I could do a large Viking force from just 2 inexpensive boxes of Vikings from Wargames Factory.
So today, I'll show the progress so far with the Vikings.
I started with one box of armored and one box of unarmored Vikings. And I'll be using a few other plastic kit bits to spruce them up. I also picked up a dynamic metal mini from Gripping Beast to use as the Warlord.
First up: Viking Hearthguard.
These are the elite warriors, so come 4 to a unit. Armored warriors was a must, and I chose to give them all swords. Swords were more expensive than axes or spears, which makes obvious sense: it has a lot more metal. So the warriors higher up on the social scale would have access to swords... plus it will make a very easy method of visual identification on the battlefield.
You can get some nice poses with these. Sometimes a bit of filing on the neck is needed, but it's not too hard to do.
Vikings may also have Berzerker Heathguard. I will probably give them double weapons or two-handed weapons to show this, and I may use some of the shirtless bodies from the celts to further sell the idea.
Warriors: These come 8 to a unit. I decided to go with a mix of armored & unarmored and a mix of axes & spears, but no swords. Here is a sample of the ones I've made so far:
Lastly is Levies. Vikings can have bows or slings and come 12 to a unit.
The WF box sets only have 8 bows and I must admit, the arms are not really designed for the bows.
It takes selective hunting to find decent arms to use. I'm quite proud of the 'drawing an arrow' pose: that took some angle-shaving of the arms to pull off right, but I think it adds a lot to the unit.
I doubt I'd ever want more than 1 unit of Levy in a force, so the two boxes gives plenty of bows, but for variety, I dug up the sample sprues of Numidians that WF sent me, and found it had 4 slings... excellent!
Here are the slings next to a bowman for comparison. The unit has 8 bows, 4 slings.
More vikings to come, and Normans to show as well.
