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[Image] 28mm Crusading troops from Perry Miniatures
The Crusades have always fascinated me, and the notion of gaming the period has captivated me for a long time. But I have avoided diving into the period for a variety of reasons over the years - the more I studied, it felt like the less I knew, and I wasn't sure where or how to get started figure wise, and the hesitation was enough to keep me avoiding it.  Some cool submissions in this edition of Painting Challenge (like Stephen S's Hospitallers), however, finally inspired me and decided to jump in.  After pondering some different scales and rules, I figured the quickest route to getting a game in would be a skirmish game.  With that in mind I thought I would start with SAGA.  For figures, I opted for the wonderful 28mm sculpts from the Perry twins.


These figures represent the beginnings of a four-point Crusader warband for SAGA. There are eight warriors and one knight (the test model).  These figures arrived on a Friday night two weeks ago and I was pretty keen to get started so I spent that night and the next day preparing and priming the figures, with paint beginning on the Sunday.  For the foot troops I used some flattened steel spears I had lying around, while the Knight retains the cast pewter lance which came with him.  I love the steel spears, and I can see why folks go for them...


While SAGA is a skirmish game, I based the figures on squares/rectangles so they could slot into movement trays to take part in games of "Hail Caesar" that I hope to do sometime well down the road.  That will be a long, long time away, but a guy can daydream, right? :) In the meantime, my focus will be to get enough stuff painted so we can try SAGA with the Thursday night gang at Dallas' place.


[Image] Some fun freehand painting on the shields - tried to do some very simple mono-coloured ones to match some more complex ones as well
Painting fellows wearing chain mail is relatively straightforward, but as I had been contemplating this project one major stumbling block in my mind has always been the shields - specifically the patterns on them.  I hoped to work around that using decals from LBMS, but my order of shield transfers had not yet arrived and I was so fired up by the surprising success of the Winnipeg Jets two weeks ago I didn't want to wait to get started, so I just did the best I could by panting freehand.  It turned out OK.  I have still have no idea what the story is with the patterns on the shields, but for now, I'm trying to "fake it till I make it."


[Image] How did this happen? The Jets racked up a rare win a couple weeks ago against the struggling Habs...good for painting movtivation, but bad for the Habs...
I find preparing the Perry castings can be a chore, but as Curt has often said to me it's worth it in the end, as these were a real joy to paint and I absolutely love the sculpts.  It's always a great feeling when a new project offers such a nice jolt.


[Image] The spears are flattened steel - this is the first time I have used them, and I see why people prefer them...
While these figures are meant to take part in games set in the Crusades, I suspect they might do for a variety of different settings where Normans were involved, from battles in Italy and Sicily to service as mercenaries for a later Byzantine force, among a few options.


[Image] The star of any Crusading setting - a Knight! Can't wait to finish more of these fellows. This submission has eight 28mm foot figures and one mounted 28mm figure. The painting minions kindly chipped in a few extra for the hand painted shields, so I netted 54 points in total for this submission. This assortment represents about one third of the Crusader Warband and I have been working to finish the balance during this Challenge. I hope I can make a start on their Saracen opponents as well.  The Hobby Gods will it!