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Featured game for JOS16 - Saga in 6mm

30th May 2016

As part of the build up to this year's extravaganza, we'll be showcasing some of the games that you can expect to see.  We'll kick this off with a preview of Per Broden's 'Saga in 6mm' game.  

Per is now famous for this show-stopping productions of Great Northern War battles, but this year he has opted for a complete change albeit with a Scandanavian focus.  I an do now better than to hand to over to the man himself.

'I have been putting up 6mm wargames tables at the Joy of Six for the last four years with the Wyre Forest Wargames club (WFWC). They have been depicting various battles from the Great Northern War (GNW).  This year (to save me from tears) I have decided to do something else.  The main reason was actually due to the fact that my good friend (and authority on all things warfare in general and the Great Northern War in particular) Nick Dorrell could not make this show and it felt strange not having his guiding hand to oversee the practical matters of running the game.  But I hope we will be back with some GNW action next year and do the interesting battle of Lesnaya 1708 (but things have changed before). I will be back with some GNW postings once the Joy of Six 2016 and the 6mm Saga adventure have come and gone as there is still plenty to do before July.

Since Baccus released their early middle age range with Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans I have wanted to do a dark age project.  I noted a mention on the Meeples and Miniatures page about doing Saga in 6mm – it made me think for a second or two.  As many others I am better at buying figures than painting them and really wanted some kind of challenge and a clear deadline – so I decided to do Saga in 6mm.  Here is my blur I submitted to the Joy of Six show just before Christmas last year.

“This participation game allows the player to try out Studio Tomahawks Saga rules in 6mm, using one of the 12 factions from the basic rules and the first two supplements (Anglo-Danes, Norman, Viking, Welsh, Anglo-Saxons, Irish, Strathclyde Welsh, Norse Gael, Bretons, Jomsvikings, Scots or Capetian Franks).  The warbands are pre-selected and are all at 4 points.  Each individual model from the normal rules are replaced with a 25mm square base with 3 to 10 models, depending on type of unit.  The game is more or less played as normal apart for some changes to distances (movement and range combat).  Prior knowledge useful but not required.  We run each game to conclusion or an hour (whatever occurs first). We will play 3 or 4 games per table during the day – further details will follow. The terrain boards, although not historical, will be in line with what we normally do for the Great Northern War stuff.   There will be a few hills, forests and a small Viking or Saxon settlement somewhere in the background.”

Anglo-Danish

The Anglo-Danish Faction 4pt Starter Army

 

Since then I have completed all but one faction, done two 3 by 4 feet mats and have some terrain to complete.  In future parts I will go through the factions and what models I used, how I painted them, how I made the terrain mats we will use on the day and some of the terrain pieces.  All in all the project have resulted in 324 bases (the equivalent of over 100 Polemos bases) and a total of 2155 miniatures – they are small but many.

Being a long time listener of the Meeples and Miniatures Podcast and having had a chat or two with Neil Shuck over the years I decided to approach him and David Luff at Salute – knowing they liked the game. I asked them if they wanted to help out on the day and they said yes – I am not sure who was the happiest at the end of the day – my son who got to try out the new Halo Ground Command game or I.

When Mike Hobbs (as documented in the Meeples and Miniatures Podcast No. 170) decided to join and help it really made my day.  I just have to finish a few things and we should be good to go.'

Per has now started a blog detailing how he has built all of the various factions in his game and you can follow his progress if you click here.