Sir George Cholmondeley-Featherstonehaugh,

and his Irish wolfhound,Clontarf.
Rather old  1st edition Front Rank saved from the garbage bin..literally.

Vikings, for Impetus, 28mm

A mix of Wargames Factory and Gripping Beast plastics, often with bits from  each  on the one figure.Extra hair by me and my pyragrauve.

BEWARE BROTHER BRIAN

Here is Brother Brian the terror of all unbelievers and heretics. Brian first appeared in a medieval campaign some buddies and I ran thirty years ago set in the mythical realm of Neustria. Brian led an army of peasants against the corrupt Lords who ruled the lands and made a thorough pest of himself. Eventually Brian was assailed by all the Lords around him and he retreated into the mountains where he established a stronghold called Brion. From there his acolytes launched raids against the evil that Brian preached had ensnared the outside world. The campaign has been resurrected briefly a few times over the years and Brian is still a feature of it. Legend has it that Brian is still in his mountain fastness, awaiting the time when he will lead his avenging disciples down into the valleys to cleanse the world of corruption and those who have strayed from the true path. The figure is a Reaper figure and great one it is too. The golden hand on the staff is the symbol of Brian. It refers to an incident in the early campaign when a city was at the point of being overrun by enemies and a monk named Edmund ran forward, severed his left hand and threw it at the invaders. The players who were defending the city then drew one card from a full deck of cards to see if they survived. The card they had to draw to survive was the two of hearts - and they did! It was a miracle - truly - and the invading hordes fled in terror. Since that day the severed left hand of Edmund became the symbol of Brian and is carried at the head of his hosts when they sally out to do battle.   

DEFEND THE SHIPS - VIKINGS AND FRANKS - A HAIL CAESAR GAME

 Here are some photos of the Hail Caesar game we played on Friday night. The battle was between a Viking host that had been trapped with its back to the sea and a vengeful Carolingian Frank army closing in for the kill. The Vikings needed to defend their ships.

 Here is the Viking host lined up with their ships on the beach behind them. The long ships are beautiful hand crafted models made for me by a fellow I know. They are real works of art.

 The table with the Frankish army closest to the camera.

 The Frankish host.

 Frankish cavalry - eager to get at the Heathen Vikings.

The battle begins. The Vikings have surged forward on the far flank driving into the Frankish peasants who held that part of the line. The Viking center holds its ground while the Viking left flank is refused. The Franks begin an advance with their cavalry.

 The Frankish commander (Steve) contemplates events.

 The Frankish horse strike home. In the far distance the Vikings have routed the Frankish peasants.

 Despite a desperate struggle the Frankish horse could not overcome the Viking numbers and are beaten off.

 The battle ends with the Franks having lost more than half their army. The Vikings who have lost one quarter of their army thank Odin for their victory.

 Bother Cuthbert and his loyal flock. We rated the peasants as slightly weaker than mainstream Frank infantry but made them 'fanatics' because of their religious zeal. They actually did quite well considering, managing to hold their ground against the Viking assault for two turns before it all got too much for them.

LORD HAIDRIC AND HIS HOST

 Lord Haidric and his loyal warriors

 Some of Lord Haidric's unwashed Fyrd

 Lord Haidric's Host

 Lord Haidric himself

 Brother Pestus and his followers

 Druic the Soothsayer and his followers

The Common Folk assembled

The figures are all 28mm. There are a mix a makes. The warriors and Fyrd are Musketeer miniatures, Lord Haidric is unknown, the peasants are Perry, Foundry and Black Tree. Brother Pestus is Eureka from their Conquistador line, Druic is Garrison.

40mm FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION AND AFRICAN MILITIA

Here are some of my modern wars 40mm minis. These depict an African militia leader wearing his Panama hat to denote his rank and two French Legionaries. The raw figures are from the HLBS modern range which are sadly no longer available. The Panama comes from a 40mm cowboy mini and I added it the give that figure some style.
 

1/72 BUFFEL APCS

Here a some photos of my scratch built 1/72 scale Buffel MPV APCs. These very distinctive South African APCs saw a lot of service in the wars in Southern Africa during the 1980s. They were also used in Sri Lanka during their civil war. The only commercially available model of a Buffel available in 1/72 scale costs $50 and is a highly detailed resin kit. It is thus for reasons of price and fragility unsuitable for gaming which is what I want my Buffels for. Luckily I found someone who could scratch build these for me and the end result are really little works of art.