Stories of animated skeletons have been around foe aeons.

This Animated skeletons in The Dance of Death (1493), a woodcut by Michael Wolgemut, from Hartmann Schedel’s the Liber chronicarum.

One of the oldest sources for animated skeletons, is the story of Jason and the Argonauts is the Argonautica, written by Apollonius of Rhodes. This was an epic poem, much like the Iliad and the Odyssey, however, instead of focusing on the Trojan War and the aftermath, the Argonautica follows the adventures of the young prince Jason. The fight with animated skeletons has been graphically displayed on the big screen in the 1963 epic of the same name (photo above).

Once upon a time (I am an old guy so I can use it!) I used to have a large WFB Undead army, but it has long since “departed” (yes pun intended!). I searched around the “cave” and couldn’t initially find anything and then I realised I had won a box of Wargames Atlantic Skeletons at a Con some time ago.

These will do nicley for my purposes which is to have just a few for games Like “The Silver Bayonet”.

The skeleton can be equipped with bow, side arm, or spear and can have hoplite like shields which I have not used as I want them to be more generic.

As the boxset has 32 figures I decided to make up ten of each with an officer, standard bearer and musician, starting with some bowmen.

The Officer

The Standard bearer

Musician

Some of the bowmen

I will put together the other two units over the next three days.