Pict War Dogs

28mm Pict war dogs from Footsore Miniatures, well mostly...one dog was short when I came to paint them up and I managed to find a stray from Gripping Beast to join the pack.

Managed to play a game of Lion Rampant last weekend where my Picts and Early Saxons joined forces to take on a Viking force. I'll add pictures next post.

Currently on the painting table are some 15mm Jacobite Rebellion. I'm painting two armies up, very quickly to use with Warfare in the Age of Reason. I have 2 weeks off work coming up, and the plan is to have both armies complete. 

 

Pict Chieftain in Chariot

 

Every army needs a commander. 28mm Pictish Chieftain in a chariot by Gripping Beast. Despite best plans I haven't managed to have a game this month. 

On the painting table currently is the mystery project and some  28mm WWII American infantry for Chain of Command 2.

Pict Warriors I

A small group of Pictish Warriors, 28mm figures from Footsore Miniatures. I've opted for a simple painting style for the  plaid and a limited palette. 

Other news, I've found a box of painted WWII American infantry that I'd forgotten I'd painted. I think it must have been back in 2017? A few additions and I will have an opponent to field against my Germans in Chain of Command 2.

I've also been slightly distracted from my Picts by a mini project, and the first batch of figures are underway. No details as yet, but I will say these are old miniatures from a classic range from a very well known manufacturer. In their day they were the go to figures for this particular subject and I've always wanted to paint some. So, all in all good news as I've got a gaming table set up and I'm back painting!

 

Pict Cavalry 1

 

It's been a hectic time since my last post; this has prevented me from taking photos for the blog and having any hobby time. Apologies to everyone who kindly commented on the blog, I will reply now. I've managed to have  a few hours to sit down over the weekend take photos and even set up a table for games in the house! Here I present the first batch of 28mm Pictish cavalry from Footsore Miniatures. 

There will be regular content added to the blog and hopefully some game reports, well that's the intention. My initial games will be solo affairs with my 1866 Prussians v Austrians using the lovely Northstar Miniatures. The rules will be A Gentleman's War or, Glossy Coats and Tin Bayonets. The chosen forces are on the table as I type this entry, I just have to read through the rules and set the terrain up. That's my plan for this week. 

Pict Hunters

28mm Pict Hunters, from Footsore Miniatures. Interestingly, I've received results this week from a DNA test, and it appears that when compared to the reference samples I return 29.4% Pict (AD 300-500). Not sure of the accuracy but it maybe goes some way to explaining my affinity for this army. Anyhow, I'll accept it for now and let loose my inner Pict on the tabletop! 

I've included the reference samples and article below for those interested. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing how future research reveals our distant ancestry. 

The reference sample used to determine Pictish DNA were VK201, VK202, VK203 and VK207. 

303. Magaryan, A., Lawson, D.J., Sikora, M.et al. stated that, 

     "... four (VK201, VK202, VK203 and VK207) of these

304. samples have over 85% “UK” ancestry and are genetically similar to present-day Irish and Scottish populations (Figs 3a and S10.1, Supplementary Table 6), which is in contrast to the isotopic evidence43. Haplotype-based analyses corroborate that four of these samples possessed local genetic ancestries, with little Scandinavian contribution. Only two individuals - VK204 and VK205 - displayed c. 50% Norwegian and Danish ancestries (Supplementary Table 6), respectively, which may indicate admixture between the locals and Scandinavians on the Orkney Islands during the VA. The four ancient genomes of Orkney individuals with little Scandinavian ancestry may be the first ones of Pictish people published to date (Supplementary Note 12). Yet a similar (>80% “UK” ancestry) individual was found in Ireland (VK545) and five in Scandinavia, implying that Pictish populations were integrated into Scandinavian culture by the Viking Age."

305. 
     

     Magaryan, A., Lawson, D.J., Sikora, M.et al. Population genomicsof the Viking world. Nature 585, 390-396 (2020).

     https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/703405v1.full.pdf

Pict Warriors with Javelins

A little bit later than planned, the Picts have arrived. The are Pict warriors with javelins from Footsore Miniatures. I've chosen to base these individually on 25mm bases with the intention of playing SAGA, Dux Britanniarum and Lion Rampant. I can't speak highly enough about how lovely these miniatures are, and an absolute joy to paint. The only downside I have is drilling out the hands, but I can easily get over that (I'm just lazy!). I've lots of Picts to show but will mix other figures into the posts rather than dominate the next few weeks with Picts. Just to keep things interesting I've some Early Saxons, Late Romans and Arthurian to show in 28mm and more 15mm that I need to get photographed. 

The painting table sees more Picts, then I've prepped Late Romans and Early Saxons.