From the workbench of the esteemed Horati0nosebl0wer

Its a vanity project plain and simple. I could field a historical army of Spanish with a name near and dear to me (my own). There is so much already on the backburner I would be willing to trade painted Age of Magic armies. In lieu of buying this all myself and having it sit naked on my shelf I will share a dream with everyone. Considering the fact I have Arabian Knights this would fit well with being a juxtaposition using the Reconquista.

Instead of doing all sorts of freehand on shields, there are 3D models for easy shield conversions. I can spice it all up with some fancy fantasy figures to make it an Age of Magic army as well. This was all before I found a producer of custom Playmobil stickers. I will stick with metal model and not go off on the deep end of silliness.

Maybe using Trench Crusade for weirdness could be helpful and wrangled the backstory to be an early response to the forces of Hell. I’m experimenting here without the aid of safety harnesses or hallucinagens.

For the core historical bits, while the stock is still available, I’d go with a starter Spanish army from Gripping Beast. I’d then supplement with a unit of Warriors on foot. Thinking of this in terms of fantasy I’d add flames beneath the hooves of the horses. The basing material would also be normal and then be partially “burned” by the passing animals. My inspiration here are the Fire Mares from the 1980s movie Krull. What better movie to wrap your head around the idea of fighting a Big Bad Evil without the grimdark body horror of Trench Crusade? Perhaps I should throw in a cyclops like Rell or a sorcerer like Ergo the Magnificent if I kept with this theme.

As there are options for firearms in SAGA: Age of Magic lists some zealots brandishing flintlocks might be easy conversions. This would be early firearms so it can pass with fantasy. Now, Is it heresy to use the Frostrgrave cultists for this unit? Paper miter or sack cloth hood? Both end up with questions being asked.

On a whim, as there is the famed Holy Handgrenade of Antioch, I looked up if there was a patron saint for artillery. Of course there was. So, it is with a laugh, I include some sort of insane idea for there to be a warmachine of St. Barbara, patroness saint of armorers; architects; artillerymen; firemen; firework makers; mathematicians; miners; tunnelers; lightning; chemical engineers; and prisoners. A statue or reliquary adorning some sort of model makes me giggle as it fits in easily if someone can accept the modeled aesthetic of Space Nuns With Guns From the Far Flung Future.

With regard to Monsters or other Creatures I’m at a bit of a loss besides Rell. The recently showcase pre-order of Tainted Heralds from Parabellum seem like good additions to an Otherworld army with an angelic host. I just think that instead of having them be close to human scale upside some seraphs to be as terrible as the fluff in Trench Crusade makes them out to be. Having an angel instill terror the likes of witnessing an atom bomb and hearing thunder that you feel move through you is the kind of monster I want to put on the table. Its a bit much for me to process all ay once right now. As I had the same kind of wizbanh inspiration for the Thinkah I’ll let this sit for a bit and percolate.

I’ve returned home after spending a month with my father and helping him clear out decades of collected stuff in his home. I feel gross in my own collection of things and I am moved to reconsider my minis. In looking at helping my dad I looked up why he might’ve gained so much. It could be rooted in the sense of not having enough. As a mirror for myself I think that might be true. I have not felt I have enough finished painted figures. I collect more with the aim of having that. I sabotage my own goal of getting done with getting more. I have enough figures to paint and give away without issue. I do not need more unfinished projects that will sit, collect dust and stand by as I feel guilty in not getting them painted for play or display.

It has been a moment of reflection to see where I come from and the emotional attachment which keeps things around. Detachment may sound cold here but it is a skill in the sense of Buddhism for relief of suffering. I remove my own suffering in thinking I possess enough. I remove the suffering of trying to make space and maintain for things. I’m reminded of Chuck Palahniuk, “The things you own end up owning you”. I can see the goblin hags in the junkyard from the movie “Labyrinth” in my head as well.

I’m seeing what a life of things collected without passing on ends up being right now. I think I need to share the love of minis with more people and divest myself of a bit of my collection. I’m debating on whether I should shed some books as well. I will take the example of others committing to painting their entire collection as a malleable goal. I will go and paint the majority of my minis. There are just some that have fallen out of interest for me and I won’t go back to which I will give away without issue. Passing down the culture of miniatures and painting, I think, is where the future lies for the hobby.

Being on the path to try and get people into SAGA quickly with minimal effort for visual interest I have painted up some Wargames Atlantic satyr brutes. Mythology made easy as far as getting figures out there with plastic is good by me. If anyone is absolutely ham fisted in starting up and drops a figure these won’t be likely to break. I’ve already dropped the hoplites from waist height, absent mindedly running into a chair in moving them around, and they only busted a couple of shields loose.

I’ve yet to nail down the next unit but I want to try and keep to plastic. The downside to my idea is that there are few models that fulfill my desire to do so. As I’m looking for cavalry and missile troops with the motif of Greek mythology it might be time to switch over to regular historics or change material. I’ll keep my eyes open and see what I can find.

Thinking that I can’t get attached to this force I decided to just go the easy route for paint. I’ve used Army Painter Speedpaint, Vallejo Xpress and AK Quickgen for all the color. I put on some Little Big Men Studio decals for interest on the hoplons since they cover the front of all the figures. My aim is playable level and not my personal standard. The Lloyd shot is more of interest to the player as each one is a single Warrior unit of eight with little white shields.

This decision is not only for speed of coverage but to show anyone beginning in the hobby that you can get passable results for gaming without much hassle. If asked, I can explain that model detail level is key for these paints and effort to make figures look more involved is up to the player.

With ‘The Junket’, a not copyright infringing  and size appropriate title for a game played on a 3’x4′ space, being a mad idea I will charge onward with a quick build plan. A bag of Victrix Mercenary Armored Hoplites with assorted odds and ends of mythological sorts. I will slide some of my Harryhausen Hellenics monsters (the hydra and minotaur) over to avoid the need for more work and trim down my collection on their movement tray. This can also keep a Harryhausen theme going between armies. As an aside to match bases I will need to pick up another bottle of Vallejo Red Leather (70.818).

Thinking about a mirror of Greeks I think a Warlord on Beast will be useful. I found a file to field a Bronze Bull to be ridden opposite the chimera. I have an extra Bubo that I promised to someone and it just makes me think I need to get another flyer on the board. I’ve done one Pegasus for the Shieldmaidens so I need to get some harpies in the air. “Jason and the Argonauts” succeeds in the assist and I’ll use files I found from Wargames Atlantic digital. Going nuts with the 1s and 0s I’ll add in some dryads and satyrs for fantastic elements not quite covered elsewhere. Yes, I did have female satyrs but I am purposely aiming not to have exact matches. I’ll see what else I can do to make this go beyond historicals.

I’ve been asked to teach SAGA Age of Magic at a convention in November. OMGWTFZBBQ!!! Ok, this I can handle. I’ve been layed off again so I have the time to hobby. I have tentatively agreed to do so as I look for work again. Hobby helps me process stress and relieve tension with focusing on the moment of doing something I love and achieve a state of No Mind.

I was inspired to do something related to the convention and most of what I see is grognard greybeard historical gamers. I think I will appeal to that and elbow in some fantasy to try and make room for imagination. In that vein I think I’ll capitalize on the Sturm und Drang of “The Odyssey” and laugh at the ridiculous nature of it all with a Trojan Pig. If we can have Spider Ham there is no stopping me on the matter.

Considering I can only build and keep so many armies myself I think that I will start to build armies for tournament prizes and just plain old gifts. I love the assembly of these things as much as when I used to do single figure RPG figures. This just means I need to get better at painting at scale. To give away my handiwork and have others enjoy it with games of their own really is a treasure. To make those better with good paint is a dream come true for me.

I got to thinking about the recent sale by Gripping Beast for their 30th anniversary and their 30% off sale for plastics. I imagined how I might build and sell starter armies for games of SAGA. This, of course, lead me to look at starter armies and then the stroke of creativity. Rest assured the left side of my face is fine, my mental faculties are intact (sanity check passed) and my anorexic bank account is still where I left it. I started down the track of the metal starter sets and saw the Huns and was inspired to match it with Conan the Barbarian. The army of Thulsa Doom and his snake cult was something to play with in my head.

The entire starter army is mounted. Yes, all 25 men are on horses and the sculpts are fully disheveled in a manner appropriate for a 1980s film that has barbarian raids taking place. I’m sure that if one wanted to keep to the historical side that would work fine. As much as I hate to put forth Games Workshop product I feel that the addition of their Chaos Knights from Slaves to Darkness would be a great fit for mounted Hearthguard should the Gripping Beast ones be too plain for this fantasy. It could also lend the fifth rider to be open to convert to a proper screen innacurate Thulsa Doom. You might go about scraping away all the Chaos star crap as the Snake Cult needs none of that. Painting, applying custom waterside transfers or handsculpting the double headed snake motif would work , though the digital kitbash of the emblem is an option with a bannerpole topper available.

Of course any rabbithole deep dive isn’t complete without going off the deep end. Here is a file for your very own Snake Cult amulet

To keep the theme of evil cult Myminifactory has some additions that could be of use for sorcerers.

• Male 1
• Male 2
• Female

Depending on if you want to make the leader of this Chaotic army a figure larger than life you could print a Thulsa Doom of your very own for monster scale.

Then again if you want a figure that is better suited to play at 28mm you can get a copy of the man in smaller versions.

• Helmeted 1
• Helmeted 2
• Unhelmeted

If you wanted to create some variance to the army then the stl for a helmet by itself is available as well.

With that all out of my head I think this has been a fun romp into barbarian adjacent thought that lovers of the Cimmerians can make an appropriate foe for their forces.

So I’ve sat for a bit and mulled the thoughts on how to build this army. I’ve pulled together the crazy idea of mechanized natives and magic to build a list as follows.

Pull the following from Foundry’s catalog:

• INC014 Inca Spearmen
• INC016 Inca Warriors
• INC011 Atahaulpa Inca Command

This will give two units of eight Warriors ( two figures from the command to each of the other units of six) and a Warlord command

Playing with the idea of super technology, an addition of Mechanical Close Combat Weapon arms and Mechanical Legs would fill in nicely.

If one wanted to 3D print and get more versatility from positioning Liber Daemonica on Myminifactory has great files (arms and legs) at a reasonable price to get that.

The Mythic Americas Sapa Warlord and Spirit Jaguar can get you a couple of units but it depends on what box you buy. If you get one from Warlord Games it provides a Warlord on Beast and four mounted Hearthguard (5 figures). If you purchase the box from Mythicos Studios you can field the Warlord on Beast and two Quadroped Creatures (3 figures). You’ll pay for your figures and it will all boil down to what you wish to build.

Not to forget flying units, there are Condor Riders available as well

In a completely different direction, since the Inca held hummingbirds in high regard, I found Tallulah and Tulip (a hummingbird gryphon and rider) from Dragon Trapper’s Lodge that could make for a fun addition for a unique model.

Finding archers/slingers for missile weapons is pretty much a bust so it could be done with using Wargames Atlantic Inca Warrior stls and throw on some bare arms with bows/slings.

To add any other options I found a list of unique Inca weapons

As far as a monster Paymaster has that covered with Cherufe Lava Monster of the Andes

I didn’t want to explore the silliness of the Ducktales episode of using a feathered dinosaur and putting a toothy goose head on it (find it yourself).