Which figures for a dark ages scottish army ?

[Sussex.john]

Can anyone recommend some figure codes for a Scottish dark age army?

I've just finished some Viking and Norman armies for Saga and the Scottish would be a nice addition.

I believe these should be mainly spear armed rather than pike armed. But please correct me if I have that wrong.

Thanks for your help.

[GordonY]

Would have to be spear armed, after all didnt Willie Wallace invent the pike in Braveheart. 

[Sussex.john]

Anyone?

[Phobos]

Take a look to the irish in the medieval range, maybe they work for scots

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Only difference between Irish and Picts is the sheild shape, round for Irish, rectangular for Picts. Give Phill a simple conversion to do ? And add a Irish Chariot.

IanS 

[Derek H]

If he's got Normans as opponents the Picts would be a at least a century too early to act as opponents. 

[Sussex.john]

My plan is to paint up all the Saga armies - so my current armies aren't an issue. These are really good fun and quick to paint as I only need around 70 figures for an army.

[julesav]

Use unarmoured Saxon spearmen, paint as 'bare-legged Scots'?

[Phobos]

What about some Dacians?

[Sussex.john]

Good suggestion about the Saxons - I think that would work

[sunjester]

How about the saxon militia in the Late Roman range?

[Luddite]

'Dark Age Scottish'?  

There weren't any were there?

Maybe the Irish 'Scotti' from Dal Riada would count?  In which case maybe a mix of Anglo-Saxons and Norse might do?  You could use the Kerns and Gallowglass from the Medieval range too of course, but these are equipped for about 800-1000 years after the 'Dark Ages'.

'Dark Age Scottish' will be:

Picts (actually a collection of iron age tribes; the Cait, Ce, Circinn, Fib, Fidach, Fotla, and
Fortriu) in the north and the Highlands.  Pendraken don't do a range with their distinctive dress and appearance, but you could certainly 'get by' with Anglo-Saxon Fyrdmen and perhaps a few Viking Bondi.  They appear to have been mostly spearmen, with a few light horse, and the highly contentious 'crossbowmen'.

Attecotti in the south, the lowlands, and in northern England, north of Hadrian's wall.  Very little is actually known about them, other than their mention in Roman sources from the 5thC as 'raiders' into Roman Britain alongside the likes of the Irish Scotti, the Picts and the Saxons.  I'd suggest these would look OK represented like either the Irish, Picts or (less likely) Saxons.

Given the recent release of several 'Dark Age' rules, Pendraken could do with some extra ranges in this period!

Post-Roman British ('Arthurian')
Welsh
Picts
Saxons / Angles / Jutes
Irish
Attecotti
Franks

[Sussex.john]

I agree, this could be a real opportunity for Pendraken. Who wants a couple of 28mm figures when you can have a really nice warband in lovely 10mm, for a fraction of the price I'm delighted with my Vikings.

The Dark Ages is a growing period.

[Sussex.john]

These are the Dal-Riada scots. Including Kenneth Mac Alpin and later army of Macbeth (1040) who fought the viking armies from the Orkneys.