Tale of Saga Painters: 2nd Goals

July 1st Goals!

Rob Pierce

I have a tournament coming up in late June (my first in saga) so I'm going to get as much painted as I can and have set myself quite a steep target. unpainted models are allowed but I'd prefer not to use them. This month I'm going to try for a warrior priest, bard, and 12 archers. I doubt I'll make it but worth a go.




Dustin Vogel

Since I'm moving at the end of June my July goal will again be humble: 4 points of warriors painted and another point each of hearthguard and warriors converted assembled. After that I expect to kick things into gear.




Charles McCall

The goal for July 1 are the warriors in the pic. Most are base painted and those that aren't will give the practice I need moving forward. If these go well, I'll move on the second unit of warriors. Admittedly, I tend to be something of a splurge painter where I will get loads of work done then take breaks. I hope to solve that by doing this challenge. One way will be to attempt to do something everyday, even if it is minor.
I hope everyone is doing well and good luck! A couple of the updates so far have been impressive!






Kjell Dwellström

Painting up 12 models from this pile of minis is my 1st of July pledge. The minis assorted are:
6 Mutatawwi'ah Warriors
8 Islamic light horsemen (javelin mounted Warriors)
1 Female Warrior poet (War priest)

2 Byzantine hearthguard
3 Byzantine carts for escort scenario

Anglo Saxon Warlord
8 Anglosaxon Warriors

Being a person who likes to paint individual miniatures, I don't like to batch paint units or stick to a certain paint schemes. I have to be mindful of my Islamic and byzantine colour palettes somewhat, the completed armies shouldn't look an Jackson Pollock painting. The big challenge for this pledge is going to be the horsemen, there is a lot of them and painting a realistic horse coat is hard. I picked up the Painting War Dark Age magazine some time ago and will try out some simplified techniques from there.

Dan Gleason

Well, to be honest, by the time I posted this, I had already finished my July 1st goal of 4 points of Salian Franks! Had a good amount of spare time and really pressed it. Here's what they were at the beginning of the month. The final product will be in the August 1st report!

Tale of Saga Painters: 1st Goal Results

Goal set 2: Due July 1st, 2017


Rob Pierce

May goal complete!






May target went well surprised myself by getting it done despite being a slow painter. Really pleased with how unit looks and had my first experiment with lbm transfers. After a couple rage quits while figuring out how to apply them I'm now a big fan.


Dustin Vogel

My June 1st goal was to start organizing minis as they arrived and to build and base at least two points of my Pagan Rus/Vikings/Joms mega-warband.

Stauts: completed and exceeded: 1 point warriors, 1 point hearthguard, 1 point warrior priest, a bard, and a warlord all assembled, converted, and based! This besides the fact that I'm still (3.5 weeks later) waiting on my orders from Old Glory and VnV (with the Warhansa order having arrived on the 30th). Overall I'm digging the Rus/Joms look, and having fun adding little details like fur, pointy helmets, and poofy pants.





Charles McCall

So my initial plan fell apart a bit as I had many time demands the last two weeks. This was coupled with the realisation that I have been away from painting for a bit and need to ramp up to doing the detail the hearthguard require. They are the ones in front on the left. The red lining in preparation for a more complex pattern was more than I could muster though it did turn out well. And it wasn't a complete loss as some bits such as hair and weapons needed touch up or base painting having been in storage for a bit. Depending on progress before July 1, these might be goal for August 1.

Andrew Parker

I didn't quite finish my May target (week holiday got in the way) so 2 points of Saracens this month, with possibly the warlord as well depending.








Kjell Dwellström

Together with the wall seen in another post, my May-June pledge of painting 5 minis is complete. While working through the Saxons is a breeze, the Islamic warriors require a lot more inspiration and are much more demanding in technique.




Back view, the Mutatawwi with the dark purple-yellow robe was quite a challenge to paint. I am not 100% satisfied with his pattern, which inspired from the book cover of Kitab al Aghani (Book of Songs). Wanted to do more plain brown clothes initially, fitting for the background of these warrior ascetics but making things complicated is what I like to do.





Mark Evans

So my goal changed slightly and I ended up building 3 pts of warriors & 1 pt hearthguard (front left). Still undecided whether going to run Anglo Saxons or Anglo Danes, but this way I have the flexibility to run two units of 12 warriors for A-S, as their board works better with units of 10+.

Used all GB plastics, however there are no dane axes on the sprues so need to source some to make my hearthguard A-D. Also not yet seen a model I really like for my warlord.

Next month goal is to get 2pts painted - I have no doubts this will be a slow process as not painted for years, so will need to ease myself back in!

In case you're wondering, shields will be added after painting.




Dan Gleason

So, I didn't have a June 1st goal as I was waiting for my "really Frankish Franks" to arrive. Well, they are here and I got a head start. Here's my July 1st Goal. 4 points of Salian Franks, already started and hoping to paint them to basic speed painting quality. I will probably need to add more to the goal as I will probably get these done well before July 1st.

Stay tuned for more updates as we work toward our July 1st goals!

Tale of Saga Painters: 1st Goals

Here we go!


Goal set 1: Due June 1st, 2017

1. Mark Evans

2. I've been gaming on & off since WHFB 2nd ed, but new to Saga (not even played a game yet). However, it's been a very long time since I painted anything, so hopefully this group will help motivate me & keep me going when my first few attempts at painting look rubbish!

3. My goal for 1st June is purely to get 2 pts of Anglo Dane warriors & 2 pts of Hearthguard built and undercoated. Using GB plastics.

1. Kjell Dwellström, Sweden

2. Been doing the SAGA for 2 years. Before that I played Flames of War and 40k.

3. The goal for 1st of June is to paint an finish 5 models from this pile. The wall included.

1 - Kevin Toole, Atlanta, Georgia USA

2 - I started with 40k and WHF when I was much younger, left the hobby, then returned in about 2013 for Bolt Action. I've been all historical since then with a little bit of Frostgrave. I play Vikings, Irish, Moors, and Picts!

3 - Pictish Warlord & Standard Bearer, 8 Pictish Warriors

I'm Conor Jackson, 21 years old from the South Coast of England. I've been painting/collecting stuff on and off for a few years but only got into Saga about 3 months ago. My pledge for the 1st of June is to finish this simple point of 8 warriors for my Anglo Danish warband. I'm hoping to headswap them with helmets.

Charles McCall

Hello, for my first post to be done by June 1, are these Jomsviking hearthguard. They have had most of their base coat done for about two years. Using this group to get back into the swing of things. If I am successful, I'll get back to the warriors also pictured, but the main goal are the hearthguard.

1. Dustin Vogel, from Wisconsin, USA.

2. 27 years old, been gaming and painting (mostly GW games) for ~16 of those. I'm new to Saga, having been introduced to it at Adepticon a couple of months ago by some friends. I'm going to be building a giant hybrid Pagan Rus/Viking/Jomsviking warband, with a starting focus on the Pagan Rus. Miniatures have arrived or are on their way from: Gripping Beast, Fireforge, Saxon Miniatures, Drabant Miniatures, Footsore Miniatures, Warhansa, V&V Miniatures, CMON, Mierce Miniatures, and Redbox Games. I'm also starting up some Irish, but those won't be a part of this endeavor.

3. My June 1st goal is simply to organize minis as they arrive and get at least 2 points assembled and based.

1. Rob Pierce, based in Reading in UK

2. GW exile. started whfb almost 20 years ago, dabbled very loosely in 40k. left gw entirely with age of sigmar, introduced to saga, haven't looked back. play normans, moors, vikings. skraelings will be next. currently running an age of the wolf campaign with normans, enjoying it. more of a gamer than painter but have started to enjoy painting a lot momore now focused on historicals. Norman army nearly finished, moors to be painted next.

3. by june 1st aiming to finish my unit of Norman foot warriors. 4 done, 4 in flight. shields need finishing.

1) Andrew Parker from Reading, UK (clubmate of Rob Pierce)

2) I started with Warhammer fantasy battle back in 1995, and played and painted it pretty much exclusively (with the odd dabble in 40K). I started Saga in early 2016 after giving up on Warhammer with its change to Age of Sigmar. I also started Bolt Action and Kings of War and I greater interest in historical miniatures or all periods, however, Saga is my main interest gaming and painting wise.

3) 1 point of Saracen Warriors (on foot) for the July target. I've already made a start but on holiday so will only have a day or two to finish them.

4) Stock photo of the Perry Miniatures Arab spearmen I'm working on.

More goals to come! Stay tuned for future updates! If you want to jump in with us, just let us know on Facebook by commenting on one of our posts. 

Tale of Saga Painters: Beginning

Hello all! A group of Saga gamers and myself have started off an a quest to get those pewter, plastic, and resin miniatures painted and looking good. We have been calling it the "Tale of Saga Painters." Here are our basic rules so far so you know what we are aiming for:

1. On each first of the month, goals are announced and also due.
2. Participants will update photos of their progress to the private Tale of Saga Painters page for updates to be grouped and posted.

It's that simple! So far, we have 11 participants who either have goals due on June 1st or July 1st, a couple even later on! Stay tuned for posts, follow along with us and enjoy, and jump on in if you are interested!

ANGRY MONKS! Part 1

I figured out a way to make my own angry monks. I really don't like the models that are out there and I think this is a nice cheap way to do it. Before I knew that Norman infantry was pretty useless for a Norman list, I bought the Conquest Games box of them. Get 12 of the simple tunic bodies and clean them up. Get spears for them from the same box. Also, there are a bunch of crude wooden shields that won't look too good for Normans. Perfect! Give them those too. I also used a bunch of heads from the Conquest Games Medieval Archers box. Ones with weird hair, skullets, scars, nothing with helms or anything. Use those.





BAM. Angry Monks. Update you later after painting them!

Smoothing Over Bases

I've noticed that almost all miniatures for the Dark Ages time period come on a little mound that looks a little weird and could use some more gradual entry to blend it in. Here's how it do it!



First, sand the bottom of the miniature to make it perfectly flat. Then, use any sort of PVA glue and put a whole bunch on there, covering the entire bottom.



Then, when you put it on the base, smear it around a little so glue sticks out too much.



Now, sand the glue that is sticking out.



Here's a batch of them ready for full sanding now! All you have to do it sand the whole base now, including the already sanded area. It will add a nice enough gradient to smooth it over and look much less weird.

DIY Saga Dice! Make Your Own = Save Money

Saga dice at about $21 each pack is a bit steep but you need them for your games. I saw some people make their own and decided to do it also! I ordered blank dice from Indented Blank Dice. They took about a week before shipping them and then that took about a week to get here (2 weeks feels like forever). Then, I downloaded a sheet someone made that has perfectly sized decal pieces for these dice.

Here's a screen shot of the document. You will need to print two pages of these on decal sheets. You need 8 dice of each type.

Here's a link to it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qoxbl2xd6zvq4dt/Symbole_saga.pdf?dl=0
I don't know who to give credit to for it but I would if someone tells me who made it!

Here they are printed! Fedex Office printed them for me on these decal sheets for super cheap (like less than $5 total).

I decided I actually wanted some of the decals to have color so I photoshopped up my own page.

Here's my own print! WARNING: The yellow probably won't show up well and the brown is sort of faint and translucent. I would take it and darken the brown and make the yellow something dark or a better yellow for printing. 

Here's a link to the print I posted just above: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bhc7nqzwlv1jz50/Saga%20Colored%20Symbols%20Print%203.png?dl=0

It takes a while to cut them out and get the decals pulled off the backing paper. Cut them into strips per die, peel the backing paper off just enough to cut off the first side's decal. This helps you not have to peel the paper off at a clean cut each time. You'll know what I mean when you try it. When you go to put the decal on, you probably won't be able to place them exactly where you want them. When they are on, you can press your thumb on the decal pretty hard and, with a lot of force, scoot them to where you want them.

Here's the progress. Notice the strips. This is the easiest way to cut them. I got an extra Gold one and wrote with black permanent marker on it 1 through 6 to use to mark the turn number.

Here are my sets! I have 8 of each of these. Notice the Viking off-white dice on the bottom. Those were made without the black outlines. I think they look cleaner on some of them.

This is my pile of Saga dice!

This Saga decal came from the first page I printed with all black decals.

PRICE COMPARISON:

Official Saga Dice: 6 sets = $126 plus tax and/or shipping

Home Made Saga Dice = ~$5 for the decals and $25 for 50 Indented Blank Dice. Make sure you indicate which colors and amounts you want. $30. That's about 76% off. Nice!

Show me your home made dice!!