So, to catch up... (Wofun 18mm Wars of the Roses and Vacation)

Yeeash. It's been almost two full seasons since I last posted. I find that spring and summer demand being outdoors to soak up the sun. That being said, I did manage to putter along with a few things during the warm weather. The most significant of these was a return to the Wars of the Roses. I love this period and have eked out a small collection of singly-based 28mm figures for skirmish gaming, but I've always wanted forces large enough to play the larger battles. That's all well and good, but I am also quite aware of my time and patience for taking on a project that would require hundreds of figures. After several Napoleonic armies, Italian Wars, WWII, WWI,  etc, etc, I just don't think I have it in me anymore. 

As a bit of a rewind, about 10 years ago I picked up a few of Peter Dennis' books featuring his cutout paper soldiers. I was immediately charmed, especially his WotR book. I duly made colour copies on thick cardstock and began to scissor them out. And I scissored. And scissored. It didn't take long for me to discover that the time I was saving in painting was being quickly absorbed by having to carefully cut out the intricate serried ranks of archers and men-at-arms. I managed to get a few units done, but the blush quickly came off the rose and I abandoned the project.

Now, fast forward to this past year where I discovered that Peter Dennis had partnered with WoFun Miniatures to print his WotR flats on plexiglass. The units come vibrantly printed on neat little plexi sheets and are an absolute breeze to punch out. 

I ordered a bunch of the 18mm frames and came up with some basing designs on Inkscape that would fit with my 'To the Strongest' and 'Strength & Honour' collections. My good friend Byron over at Northern Lights Terrain was good enough to cut them for me. Here are some of my efforts with the first batch.

incorporated unit identifiers etched on the bases

Archers waiting to do archery things

The Heavy Hitters, but also great arrowstorm targets

Light cavalry to sow confusion on the flanks

Archers with stakes arrayed in front.

Assorted commanders

'A horse! A horse!'  Here's Richard III chasing for a remount. 

Men-at-arms

A few units of billmen

For fun I put in red flowers for the Lancastrians, red for the Yorkists and a combination for those cads who flipped sides (Boo! Hiss!).

Finally, a shot of where the collection is at now. 

Not bad, but I still have quite a few units to base. Hopefully by the end of it I should have enough to do some of the larger battles of the period.  

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Moving on, we recently returned from a great vacation meeting up with hobby friends in Toronto, Holland and Belgium. 

While we were in our stopover in Toronto, my good friend Greg treated me to a wonderful game of Warmaster featuring his beautiful Empire and Orc collections. 

I think the battle came down to the last stand between us, which always is a sign of a great time.

We arrived in Holland and met up with Nick from 'Moiterei's Bunte Welt'. To escape the congestion of Amsterdam we stayed in nearby Hilversum which we highly recommend. The three of us spent a few great days hanging out and taking in the Rijksmuseum. Nick brought out his copy of 'Undaunted: Battle of Britain' which was excellent. I think we played around 8 games of that in total! Terrific time.

Nick paying homage to that curious Corsican artillery officer...

Nick, Sarah and I enjoying 'The Best Apple Pie in Amsterdam' at the Rijksmuseum restaurant.

Next we were off to Belgium where we met up with Martijn and his lovely family.

Martijn and I had a great game of SAGA featuring his excellent collection of Vikings and Bretons(?).  Even thought I tried to snatch a win by going after his warlord, the dice were not with me and he saw me off to my longships. A great game with wonderful company.

We also had the delightful pleasure to meet up with Sander and Arthur in Antwerp's city center. We had a wonderful visit with lots of stories and laughs. 

Otherwise, the majority of the trip involved eating and drinking lots of decadent things, while walking and cycling in the vain hope of burning it all off. A great way to spend a few weeks!

Next Up: I dunno, who's up for a group paint thing this winter? :)

Entry #6 to AHPC VIII: Wars of the Roses Archers and Casualty Stand

Ever since I was a kid I've been fascinated by the Wars of the Roses, and for the past few years I've tried to complete a handful of models relating to this colourful (and bloody) period of English history.

First up in this group are seven longbowmen wearing the livery of the Earl of Northumberland, who fought on the side of the Lancastrians (Boo! Hiss!!). 

Nothing much to say about these fellows. They are all stock 28mm plastic figures assembled from the excellent 'Wars of the Roses Infantry' box offered by the Perry twins.

Next up is the first in a new series of casualty markers I'm making for my Late Medieval / Renaissance collection.

This particular marker shows two men-at-arms who have found themselves at the rude end of a well-aimed flight of arrows. Yes, the much feared 'arrowstorm' that levelled the field between the well-armoured nobility and the lower classes. Apparently there was little place for social standing when you had a yard of goose-fletched poplar sticking in you.

These two poor chaps are also from Perry Miniatures, specifically their 'Agincourt to Orleans' range. They work reasonably well together, and since they're not wearing tabards I thought (with a squint of the eyes) they could stretch into the late medieval, or even Renaissance period.

The spent arrows were bits of brass rod with cut paper for fletching. They were a complete swine to make, but I knew I needed a few of them to dress the base properly.

These fellows have been mounted on a D-shaped base that I've come up with for these upcoming casualty markers (thanks Byron!). The reasoning behind this is that they should be able to fit snug against their associated units to help aid players in keeping track of which status-markers go with which unit.

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Thanks for dropping in!

Entry #1 to the 9th Lead Painters' League - 'You want it? Come, pick it up.' Bosworth 1485

'You want it? Come, pick it up.'  Bosworth 1485

Now that my administrative duties for the Painting Challenge are more or less wrapped up I can get back to some of my neglected projects.

One event that helps me get back into gear is the Lead Painters' League, an annual event hosted over at The Lead Adventure Forum. As in previous years, this season will be made up of 10 matched submissions, one per week, with extra points being awarded for new work, specific themes, etc. The participants are paired off for duels utilizing a random draw. 

To be perfectly honest I have some issues with the format of the League (the single picture limit, the over-use of backgrounds which distract attention from the figures, the feeling that one's competing amongst a clique, etc.) but it always proves to be a nice distraction and gets me back in that saddle with my own work. 

Anyway, the opening theme of this year's League was 'armour' and so, as a nod to Richard III's recent reinterment, I decided to enter some Wars of the Roses figures as a Bosworth vignette

I chose to go with figures from the Perry's excellent Wars of the Roses plastic infantry set. I wanted to do something which depicted Richard after his all-or-nothing charge against Henry and his retainers, where he is ultimately unhorsed and has become surrounded by a tightening ring of Lancastrians. For inspiration, I drew upon Graham Turner's evocative illustrations which he did for the Osprey title on Bosworth.

The envisioned a scene where Richard has finally run his course, where he is separated from his retinue,  knowing all is lost, but he nonetheless fights on - choosing to go down swinging. As it turns out this 'hopeless stand' theme conformed to the match results as these lads were soundly trounced when exhibited last week. Life indeed does follow 'art'.  ;)

I selected parts from the plastic set that, with a bit of cutting, repositioning and the strategic use of sculpting putty, would depict Richard pointing to his fallen crown (still attached to his sallet helm), challenging his enemies to come forward and take it.

In order to aid players in keeping track of who is who on the tabletop I've simply placed red or white roses on the bases, depending on the allegiance of the figure.  

Richard's heraldry is a bit impressionistic but serves well enough.

While these are my first attempts at some Wars of the Roses figures  I do have a few more waiting in the wings, namely some Welsh retinue archers. I also wanted to do a figure conversion of Richard's ill-fated banner bearer, Sir Percival Thirlwall, but the figure I wanted to use as a basis did not arrive in time so I was forced to submit without him. I'll do a follow-up of these figures in a later post.

This weeks round (the second of the 10-round series) is now up over at The Lead Painters' League. For my part, I've submitted some more figures for my 1812 Winter Retreat collection - it's somehow easier to work on these when it's not 20 below zero, go figure.

Please drop over to the League and check out the work by all the participants. I'll be keeping a weekly update on my progress through the League so come back to chart my march of folly.

Thanks for visiting!

From KevH: 28mm WotR Infantry and Cavalry, Crusader Cavalry and Command & Saracen Archers (205 points)

From Kev:

First up are more WotR. All 28mm Perry's and a mix of metal and plastic.

This time we have the Earl of Oxfords MAA retinue on foot. 12 figures with command.

I decided to go with the blue star instead of the blue boar on these.

Followed by one of the few mounted units in the current army. This is a small unit of Mounted MAA that form part of the Duke of Exeter's Retinue. 4 mounted figures with livery banner.

Then we are back onto the Crusades. All 1/72 Plastics from Strelets, Italeri and Hat. Once again a mix from both sides, We have 6 mounted crusader knights first. These are generic knights and belong to no particular military order, they add a bit of colour to the Crusader force.

I have nearly finished the Crusader mounted element. A unit or two of Sergeants to go. Then we have a Divisional Command stand. This consists of 2 foot and 1 mounted. I decided to give this a Christian feel without it belonging to a particular military order.

The Knight in a plain blue surcoat and the addition of the Monk and a standard bearer fit the bill I think. Instead of the usual cross on the banner, I went for a crucifix. I left it as a simple representation as it is quite small.

Finally, some more Saracens. A unit of Light infantry with bows. Simple figures from the Hat El Cid range again. These are actually Andalusians, but fit the part.

I will be using some of the El Cid Almoravids for the Ghazi Warbands.

The Crusader forces are coming along fine, with the Crusaders nearing completion and the Saracens (Ayubids) growing slowly.

More to follow..

Another impressive entry Kev! Oxford and Exeter's retinues look suitably ferocious in their heavy plate. This is a period I know I'm going to get into in a big way soon.  Right Greg?  The mounted Crusaders are great but the pick of the litter is that lovely command stand. Gorgeous. The banner is just brilliant.

This varied group of WotR warriors, Crusaders and Saracens will give Kev 205 points (which includes a few bonus points for the excellent heraldry and banners).  Great work Kev!