Lizard-folk Ready For Action

I'm not sure if I'm happier that the figures are ready or that the terrain pieces look really great for a "jungle-type" background. Anyway.....

In the fantasy genre, Lizard-folk are commonly regarded as one of the draconic races, of which the mighty dragons themselves are the most prominent. So these folk will be part of a larger "Draconic Races" army for larger battles, although they might also feature independently in smaller actions. They tend to stick to small raids on human communities (in search of food) before disappearing again into their watery or jungle hideouts, so they would mainly be useful for ambush or hit-and-run style battle scenarios.

(Above) My Lizard-folk chieftain and his bodyguard emerge from the jungle to survey the troops. Yes, that's a friendly crocodile watching proceedings in anticipation of lunch being served just as soon as the fighting starts!

(Above) The tribes Archers emerge from the jungle scouting ahead of the main force; again those hungry crocodiles are lurking about.

(Above) The tribe's main warband is ready for action.

(Above) The tribe's young "whelps", armed with blow darts, help with scouting duties until they are old enough to join the main warband.

Unexpected addition......

Three of my Amazons got a bit of a surprise while they were walking through the woods this afternoon - attacked by a group of Lizard Men!

I hadn't planned to build an army of those, but when they appeared, I figured "why not?"

The "forest vegetation" is actually bits and pieces from the aquarium section at Walmart. Mixed in with my trees and river sections, I think I can get some nice woodland/jungle shots now.

Maybe a larger battle between the two groups to follow......

Dwarf Warband (Non-historical)

Given that I now have goblin and orc forces, I thought it might be appropriate to gather the old (metal) Dwarf figures I used to use for Dungeons and Dragons and see what sort of a force I could make from them.

Not enough for a stand-alone army, but a useful little band of allies for any human force looking to take on the "nasties".

Orcs (from fantasy literature - not historical figures)

Intended for Halloween as part of an army of "nasties", but they may get a run before then.

Pictured above, Orc Chieftain/king and bodyguard mounted on wargs (more vicious than normal wolves) and an Orc warband on foot. Not a lot of special troops in this lot - They were kind of the "mass heavy foot" mercenaries, while goblins and smaller creatures handled the light infantry chores and hill giants and trolls provided the extra "shock" troops in fantasy "giant race" armies.

Or they could join an army of barbarian humans, I guess, with my various Celtic and Germanic tribes providing human fighters.

Lots of possibilities, and I'm sure they will find themselves in all sorts of scenarios.

Early Rus

My Early Rus army is now ready for action. Most of the figures are by Zvezda, although there are a few others thrown in.

The Rus Prince and his bodyguard ride into battle. Traditionally, they deployed at the rear during the early stages of the battle, only joining the fray for the decisive charge to put the enemy to flight (and hog the glory!). These are actually from the Italeri set of Rus.

Archers (with composite bow) deployed here in front of the main position, screening the main force and shooting at the enemy as it advances to weaken it before the close-up action begins.

Crossbowmen deployed in a similar fashion. The leader (slightly taller and in a different pose, is actually a lead figure I had lying around doing nothing from my old Dungeons and Dragons role-playing days. (Manufacturer unknown). Trying to find him a new "cause" to fight for.

Men with slingshots, again deployed as a screening force. Not sure if the picture angle shows the slingshots very well.

The main infantry contingent with spearmen in the front rank and assorted weapons behind. The commander (next to the flag, leaning on his two-handed sword in a thoughtful pose) is actually another metal figure from the world of D&D - again, manufacturer unknown.


I'm planning to give them their first run this coming weekend in my "Battle of Hastings 950th Anniversary" battle, although not as Rus. They dressed pretty much the same as the Saxons and Normans of the era(Saxon King Harold's sister or daughter was married to a Rus prince at the time of Hastings, so what the heck!), so they will kind of fit in.

I haven't decided which side they will be on, but will probably be one of the mercenary units on the Norman side as that army appears to be a bit short of troops at the moment.

(Japanese) nobushi Archers

I painted these guys a little earlier in the year but have only now got around to photographing them.

nobushi atrchers fought in the various armies that contested the Sengoku Jidai period civil wars in Japan, between 1467-1650. They came from all social backgrounds, but were grouped into units based on skill alone - social class was not a factor.

The vegetation in the background is actually scenery I picked up in the aquarium department at Walmart. I figured it might fit with the trees etc I currently have to help make a nice forest or jungle display. I'm looking forward to actually setting up a battlefield to see if this works as well as I think it might.

Hopefully they will get their first tryout in either November or December. I still have a few more of these guys to do (for a different faction), and a bunch of ashigaru (peasant class soldiers) and hopefully my Japanese collection will be complete.

French Vs Russians

The first semi-final of my "Horse and Musket" era Tournament pitted my Revolutionary French against my Napoleonic Wars Russians, battling for possession of a small village surrounding a strategically important crossroads.

Despite both armies fielding quite sizeable forces, this amounted to little more than a skirmish with almost no casualties.

Speed of deployment proved to be decisive, as the French arrived first and were able to establish a strong defensive position north of the river, forcing the Russians to approach from the south, with the bridge then acting as a choke point.

While the dragoons leading the Russian column did make it across the bridge, they immediately found their path blocked by a rapidly increasing number of French forces. They succeeded in destroying a squadron of French scouts that was sent forward in an effort to persuade them to turn back, and inflicted some casualties on the supporting French infantry that was following up.

But with overwhelming numbers of French now pouring through the village from the north, east and west, the Russian commander decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and withdrew across the river, determined to find another point of attack.

The French now meet the winner of the clash between my Seven Years War Prussians and my Napoleonic Wars British in the tournament final.