... in which I inventory my workload.

I am resolved now to hit that 50%, and to do it quickly. The first step in this challenge is to take inventory of what I have, and come up with a plan.

I'm just waiting for the glue to dry on the frame for the army board, then it will be 100%. I'll post on that probably later tonight or tomorrow.

Here's where I stand, all models included, even those partially done:

1 Witchfate Tor - top floor
1 Bretonnian Damsel on Horse
1 Hook Mountain Ogre
1 LotR Ent
52 Greatcoat Troopers
10 Vampire Counts Skeletons
1 Necron Destroyer
1 Araknarok Spider
3 Leman Russ Tanks
4 Discworld minis (nobby, Death w/guitar, Carrot, and Moist)
4 "Fighter" Knights
1 Pegasus Knight
31 Knights of the Realm
11 Archers
6 Battle Pilgrims
6 Grail Knights
2 Questing Knights
14 Men at Arms
21 Mouselings
1 Chaos Death Knight
4 Bretonnian Lords
1 Battle Standard Bearer
1 Succubus
3 Orcs
1 Warlord Crom
1 Storm Lord
1 Prince Altharin
1 Warlord Spinetail
1 Chupacabra
1 Zomie Hitler
1 Xanthos Mech
5 "Old" Knights of the Realm
1 Wolflord Marraig
3 Horsemen of the Apocalypse (War, Pestilence, and Famine)
2 Phoenix Hawks
1 Construction Mech
8 Scout Cars
2 Tanks
9 DnD Heroes
1 Wyvern
1 Rotpatch
1 Space Captain
1 Action Jackson
4 Trebuchet Crew
1 Mantis Assassin
1 High Elf Prince on Griffin
1 Elf Mage
10 Sea Guard
10 sword masters of Hoeth
5 Reavers
1 Skaven Warlord
1 Warlock Engineer
40 Clanrats
1 Master Moulder
2 Rat Ogres
1 Warfire Thrower
1 Poison Wind Mortar
12 Dwarf Warriors
10 THunderers
8 Miners
1 Thane
1 Dragonslayer
1 Cannon
3 Crew
40 Night Goblins
20 Archers Goblins
10 SPider riders
1 Big Boss
1 Shaman
1 Troll

*AND* 1 Custom Bretonnian Lord Mod

For a sickening total of:













wait for it.........













412!!!!

Sheesh. I see her point. That's a bit more than I expected. Let's see.... 1/2 of that would be 206.... and if I do that over 30 days, that's an average of 6.86666~ a day... Just to get to my mods.

Let the challenge begin! Painting will start at 5 pm, April 30th. I'll post regularly my progress.

... in which I dicuss a rare eBay treasure.

Ok, so I may be exaggerating. I only spent $15 on it, so it may not exactly be a "treasure" but I am thrilled with it. I found a listing on eBay for "Old Bretonnian Questing Knights x4" and it was going for $6 at the time. I figured, why not? I can always use more nights.

The package arrived after about 4 days, and enclosed was a strange box. It was a hard plastic shell, the type you would see on collectible cases.

At first I was concerned I got ripped off with some bootleg mini's, since the horses looked like they were made out of white plastic resin. Upon closer inspection of the package, sure enough, this was made by Citadel Miniatures, and the GW logo was at the bottom of the card.

About this time was when just how "old" these knights were. The foam padding inside the box had long since deteriorated, leaving some stuff behind on the minis. Upon inspection, it was no big deal, scraped right off. Inside was 2 different knights, with 2 different weapons, so a combination of 4 knights could be made. When I removed the spears (They didn't actually come with lances), the metal immediately felt different. I can't be sure, but I am pretty confident these guys are actually lead. The metal is extremely pliable, and the horses are a sturdy plastic.

The horses aren't the barded warhorses either. They look like regular horses, similar to the ones the damsels ride.

The coolest part about this set, in my opinion, is the shields. They have 4 sheilds, each with a different shape. The shields have a hole in the center, so that they can fit over a peg on the knights arm. I'll have to use some green stuff to even out the shield, so I can have a smooth surface to paint the heraldry on.






The torsos look really good. Two have crests like knights of the realm, and the other two have the flat tops like the knights errant. I figure I'll put one with a sword, and one with a spear, so all four knights are as different as possible.

The crest on top of the helmet is the lady holding a sword. Very unique look to them.





Overall, I'm really excited about these minis. They may be old, but unlike the other "old" Bretonnians I've seen, these look like they would fit into the modern army, and the crests aren't too flamboyant. I'll post pics as I paint them up.

... in which I discuss Bretonnian Tactica - The Knights

The noble Knights of the Realm of Bretonnia are truly the heart and soul of the Bretonnian Army. As a core unit and being calvary, they are a bit more expensive point wise, but used correctly, they can be ten times as devastating as any unit on the board.

In this article, we will look at the 5 types of Knights, their strengths and weaknesses, and the best way to utilize them.

Lets start with a breakdown of a typical knight of the realm. He is on a barded warhorse, which suffers no penalty for being barded, as it is a pure bred warhorse. This gives the knights the swiftstride special rule. Swiftstride: If all units in the group have the swiftstride special rule, when charging, fleeing or pursuing, roll 3d6 and discard the lowest result. This is one of the lynchpins of the knights, in any form. A charge from the knights is devastating, and swiftstride makes it so you can accomplish this with great success.

The knight is equipped with  hand weapon, lance, heavy armor and shield. This makes the knights armor save 2+, as he gets the 4+ from the heavy armor and shield, an additional +1 from being calvary, and another +1 from the horse being barded. And yes, all of these stack to give the knights an impressive 2+ armor save. (Pg. 83 WFB, 8th ed.)

The hand weapon is nothing special. The Lance, which 4 out of the 5 types of Knights is equipped with (Questing Knights are not, more on them later) is where it's at. The Lance grants +2 Strength on the charge attack. I will go into more about this in each Knight type description.

Speaking of the Lance, all Bretonnian Knights but Pegasus Knights can use The Lance Formation. This is a powerhouse for the Bretonnian Army. Any unit of Knights may begin the game in the Lance formation, or may reform into it. What the Lance formtion does: instead of having to be 4 units wide for a rank bonus, the knights only need to be 3 wide. In addition to this, the charge attack gets really nasty. All knights in the first rank fight as normal, and all knights in the second rank may give their supporting attacks. AND, all knights on the flanks may attack as well, no matter how deep. For example, you have a unit of 15 knights, arranged 3 wide and 5 deep. All 3 in the front rank get to attack, all 3 three in the second rank, and the 3 from EACH flank get to attack as well, for a total of 12 attacks on the charge! Dont forget: that the charge only does this work, that you are striking at +2 strength, and that your mounts get to attack as well! That's another 12 attacks from your horses. This is why it is imperitive to charge with the knights, and to eliminate your opponent. If they survive the charge and stay locked in combat, Only the front rank of knights can fight as normal, with the second rank giving their supporting attacks, and they lose the +2 strength of the lance.

A couple other notes about the lance formation: Characters must always go in the front rank, displacing chmpions, standard bearers, and musicians to the second or third rank, as needed. This is OK though, as they still operate as normal even though they are not in the front rank. A Damsel or Prophetess of the Lady may ride in the second rank of the knights, and still be able to cast their magic. And lastly, and this is kind of a biggy, casualties. Casualties inflicted on the lance formation are taken from the rear middle rank, leaving the flanks, then the flanks are removed. Going back to our example of 15 Knights, if you lose 4 to casualties, you would remove the back rank entirely, and then the one in the MIDDLE of the 4th rank, so that you still get the flnk attack bonuses on the next charge.

Calculating the combat result is a monster for a Knight unit on a charge. For example, our 15 Knights charge 30 Orcs and kill 6. The orcs retaliate and kill 2 knights. The Orcs get 3 points for ranks and one for a standard bearer, and 1 for kills, for a total of 5. The knights get 1 for charging, 6 for kills, one for a standard bearer, and 3 for ranks, for a total of 11. (I also suggest any unit of knights taking the Magic Banner War Banner, +1 to combat resolution) Also, get into the ememies flanks or rear since you have the movement to do so!!! The orcs fail by 6, and take a Ld test at -6. Now, you want them to fail, obviously, as they will break and flee, and remember, as being calvary, you get to roll 3d6 and discard the lowest to persue and cut them down! This is particularly effective, as they are taking a -6 penalty on their 7 Ld, meaning that they must roll a 2 or break. Sounds like some Orcs are going to get trampled.

Now, let us look at the Knight units individually.

Knight Errant - 20 pts.
The brash young new Knights. Their stat line is identical to the Knight of the Realm, with the exception of their weapon skill is 3, compared to the 4 of the Knight of the Realm's 4, and their Ld is 7, compared to an 8. They also have the special rules Impetuous and the Knights Vow. The Knights Vow lets them ignore Panic, and any unit with the Peasant's Duty. Impetuous states that if they could charge, and they did not, they must make a Ld test or charge anyway. This is the trade off for the points really. Unit size of 5-15

Knight of the Realm, the core troop. - 24 pts.
They have the Knight's Vow special rule.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
8   4     3   3  3  1  3 1  8
Unit size of 5-15

Questing Knight - 28 pts.
Questing Knights have the Questing Vow. This states that they can NOT use a magical or mundane lance. Instead they get a Great Weapon. Still +2 Strength, but not as effective because great weapons always strike last. They also get to ignore Panic and re-roll failed psycology tests. They may not be joined by a unit that has the Knights vow. Their S and I are 1 better than a Knight of the Realm. Unit size 5-12

Grail Knight - My favorite unit - 38 pts
Grail Knights have the 0-1 restriction, and a unit size of 3-12.
They have the Grail Vow and the Living Saint Special rule. Living Saint lets any Grail Knight issue and accept challenges like a Champion. The Grail Vow makes these Knights Immune to psycology, they get to ingore Panic, Fear, and Terror.
Their stat line is impressive.
M  WS BS  S T W I A Ld
8     5     3    4 3  1  5 2  8
There are ways to get more of these units on the table. They Fey Emchantress my come with a retinue of "Grail Guardians" of 2-8. These Guardians are identical to the Grail Knights. King Louen also only rides with the best, and the 0-1 restriction is lifted if he is your General.

Pegasus Knight - 55 pts.
Pegsus Knights have one more Toughness and Wound compared to a Knight of the Realm. They are also flying calvary.This gives them all the rules as fast calvary with the fly specil rule. Fly lets them ignore terrain and move 10'. The fast calvary part lets them use the vanguard for deployment (12' move after deployment). They still get their swiftstride on charge, flee and persue, but they do not get to use the lance formation. They also get to reform for free. They can also use feigned flight. This lets them flee from a charge, and automatically regroup next turn, no roll needed. They can still get chased down, but this is unlikely with the swiftstride. Unit size is 3-10, with a 0-1 restriction. This restriction can be lifted but having a Lord mounted on a Pegausus in command of your army.

In my next article, I will go into more depth with how these units fit into the scheme of an army.

For the Lady! For the King! FOR BRETONNIA!!!