A gang of pikes and bill hooks

The pikemen are now based and ready to join the rest.

Some pics of the gang.

Not 100% finished, as i might make a fully harnessed leader, and i have a trumpeter basecoated.

I also had a small bash using the militia, just a couple of images to show the new boys in action.

Dux Bellorum also arrived in the post as i was uploading the pictures, so a battle is imminent to give them a go. Rather looking forward to it!

CLEARANCE SALE - Adler Austrains

Going through my lead pile the other day, i discovered i had a lot of miniatures that i bought ages ago and will never use again, so, to save space for new stuff, i decided to clear them out.

First up is a bunch of Adler Austrians, Napoleonic era. They are sold as 6mm but are more like 10mm (maybe a Baccus sort of size?). Casting is nice but my paintwork is rather simple.

Bases are double thick cardboard (ie, 2 layers stuck together).

As this is a clearance sale, i will ask 25 euros for the lot (all the infantry, cavalry, guns and unpainted stuff) as well as postage. If you're interested, leave a comment will contact information (the comment will then be removed so no one else can see your information) and i'm happy to negotiate.

The bases are 60mmx30mm and there are 20 men to an infantry base, as well as an officer, banner bearer and drummer. The officers are on 30x30 bases.

Lancers, on 60x30 bases.

5 guns and 2 limbers. The guns are on 30x30 bases, the limbers on 60x30 bases.

I also have 30 unpainted infantry and 6 half finished lancers. The infantry include an officer, drummer and banner bearer.

Next on the clearance list are some Warhammer ogres, Warhammer 40 000 Eldar and some other stuff.

Incoming!

New on the Perry Miniatures workbench, some 3 ups of their new light cavalry and foot knights.

Photos from their site.

These look great, and apparently (according to chatter on the Lead Advnture Forum) one box might be released later this year. I wouldn't mind which one comes out first, but light cavalry might be nice. I'll be buying both anyway when they come out.

A new Dux

I recently bought Dux Bellorum, the other Dux that was released around the same time as Dux Britanniarum. I have not bought it until now as i had Impetus for my battles (elements instead of single figures) but after seeing an interesting post about using these rules for the Wars fo the Roses and having a neat idea while writing a message on the Lead Adventure Forum, i decided to buy them and give them a go.

It wasn't expensive either, 11 euros with p&p.

As the cover says, these rules are made for the 'Arthurian' period in England, the same time as Dux Britanniarum. Although geared towards this period, i think they can be modified (as this blogger has for his HYW) as, if you think about it, there wasn't much different between Briton and Saxon armies that slogged it out in a shieldwall with some cavalry and two later English armies hacking at each other in combat. Minus armour and weapon differences, you have more archery in the 15th century. Most of the army of both eras fought dismounted, and leadership was essential (as it was in all eras). Tactics weren't fancy in the 15th century either, as a lot of English troops had little experience and battles were decided by combat.

So i think it will work. If i can get the archers to 'cancel each other out' and battles decided on a long slog in hand to hand, i've got it bang on i think.

The idea

This made me quite happy this morning, as it just came to me instantly. Basically, i thought to use the Dux Britanniarum campaign system (simple and just great), beginning with some raids and skirmishes using the Dux Brit rules (or Sharp Practice, depending on preference) and went the skirmishes become battles switching to Dux Bellorum. Success in the skirmishes could give you bonuses/more troops in a battle, and the leadership could be judged by earlier success (or failures!) and some of the pre battle events could be used too.

Of course, i would need to read through the rules when they arrive, next week hopefully. Until then i shall paint and think of my Double Dux plan.

Pikemen done (ish)

Except for the bases, the ten pikemen are finished and ready to join their comrades in defending the Lowlands against the French invaders!

These will (definatly!) be the last for the time being of my white coated militia, because they have enough men and i don't like painting white! Such a pain at times, especially when doing the belts as any tiny mistake is easy to see on white. So any other Lowlanders will be in different livery.

A group shot will follow soon, once i've made a leader (one day...)

I also decided to get the miliput out again and try some sculpting. I made this after thinking about my alternative medieval world (Runissia) and was thinking of making a few more men (in 28mm, because in 15mm i can't find the figures). This will also work for a later gothic-ish plate, as i've seen one or two German suits with skirts of mail (only at the back, but what the hell?!).

A handul of Walkers

Something of a record for me; i painted and based 15 men in a week! I normally do three a week if i'm up to it, but i've been really in the swing of it lately. I also needed to lower the unpainted pile a bit.

First off, the Walker retinue. 9 archers, 7 men at arms and a mounted man. It's not finished yet but i've got a good foundation now.

The stabby element. I noticed i have quite a few heavily armoured men, so the next builds will be lighter. The fully harnessed man with the glaive and dulled armour is the second brother, the mounted is the third and i have yet to build the first. I need a really good idea and build an excellent conversion for the leader.

The shooty part. A couple of conversions but mostly out of the box.

I'm aiming for a retinue of between 20-25 men, half archers or maybe slightly more.

I've also finished off the Danes, adding the leader and three hand gonners. I did forget to add a quarrel bag to the leader (!!!) so that will be added later.

I have 10 Danes, perfect for a Group in SP or some mercenary crossbowmen and harassing troops for DB.

Also did some Maston men, 2 archers and Richard Maston himself in his shining Italian plate. The mounted man at arms next to him has blued armour.

The man, out of focus but proud anyway.

Next on the painting table are the Lowlands pikemen to change the colour rythem a bit. Once they're done it's back to the English, most likely the Mastons to bring them up to strength a bit.

Craft knives and brushes

After a few weeks of not painting, i decided my plastic pile needed a lick of colour so i got cracking on 9 men. But first, a little modelling.

Ok, this idea has already been done before, taking the mounted legs and sticking them on a lesser armoured body, but how about the other way around? I hate wasteing figures, so i decided to make a scourer/prickler and a foot man at arms (without leg armour) that has mounted his nag to pursue the enemy.

I began by cutting away the legs. I managed to save the tassets on the harnessed man, damaging them only slightly. At this point i prayed it would work...

Knight and henchman about to be eaten by the big purple bear

Plenty of glue was applied and i sat them on the horses to see if they would stay...

Oh yeah! It worked!

Here they are, basking in the sun.

The prickler/whatever. I used pike arms, with the pike shortened slightly. Not sure on the left arm, might change the arms to make it look like he's actually holding the reins properly. The legs went on a treat, and didn't require and miliput!

The man at arms. I'm glad the tassets stayed on, helps cover the gap. I also shaved away the horse trappings over the rump, as he's only got a horse for riding to battle. I have added stirups since the picture was taken.

As for painting, i've started properly on the Walker retinue. I chose a stag's head for the badge, and think it came out well on them. The billman has a badge on his plakart and the man at arms has one on both shoulders, but the camera thought it would be funny to run out of battery and tell the spare batteries not the work. It wasn't even April 1st!

I did get some photos of the archers though. The man on the right has had his chain mail trimmed back, turning it into a livery jacket.

You can see the mentioned jacket better here.

Red and blue has been done a lot (on several real retinues in fact) but i like the colours and it helps tie my forces together; all English have either red or green on them, the French are blue and the Flemmings are white.

I have also done the bases, but today the weather is cold and rainy, no good for taking good photos.

There are some Danish handgunners and a couple of mounted men that need pictures taken, so that's for another post.

Finally, this is my final post before my bithday, tomorrow. I'll be a big 19, and any money i might get will go towards an order to the Perrys for some metal figures (light cavalry, more horses to make some wagons and perhaps a box of mercenaries, which will be the last in a while or i'll get obsessive).