Here come the infantry...

I have been concentrating on my Empire of the Dead miniatures recently so to make up for it is a piece of artwork my brother created in Photoshop, taken from a photo when we were involved in the re-opening of Gorey castle in Jersey, back in 2006. The artwork is by Noel Mallet and the original photograph was taken by Keith Renouard.

Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond WIP

My wife and I have now moved into our new flat and although there is still some sorting to be done ( not too much) I have been able to sort out some time for building and painting collection. To kick off the autumnal painting season I have chosen to paint some more cavalry, this time the infamous Earl of Richmond, Henry Tudor.

The models behind the Earl are more of the mounted men-at-arms. I started them quite some time ago, so they have been picked out for completion. I am a little unsure as to what to paint on the herald, I suppose technically I should paint the heraldic arms of Henry, however, having come from France I may paint him in the livery colours of Henry Tudor. If I go for the heraldic coat of arms, I'll need a steady hand and some new eyes, it's achievable but I am a little concerned about the end results. I don't want blobs of colour to represent the coat of arms of the Richmond!

As for standards and flags, the men-at-arms will carry the heraldic flags of the Earl of Richmond, and sir William Brandon, Henry's standard bearer at the the Battle of Bosworth Field. I have the Freezywater flags which I will overpaint to keep the colour balance with the miniatures themselves.

My next step is to finish undercoating the rest of the models and then proceed with painting the horses before moving onto the men themselves. I recently took a look at the work of Captain Blood's War of the Roses miniatures and I do like the way he has painted his lances. I may attempt to do these lances in a similar fashion, so as to add to the pageantry.

A few pictures...at last!

Things have been very hectic of late, they usually are. My wife and I have moved from one flat to another and I have had a career change, all in one month! Although I haven't been able to do any painting I have been able to take a couple of pictures of some my growing painted collection. I put this mob together to represent the Duke of Buckingham's entourage.

Well here are the pictures.

Finally I have just bought Bosworth Revisited by Glenn Foard and Ann Curry. I have taken a quick look at the book and have finished the introduction. It's going to make for an interesting read. I let you know how I get on.

Carry cases and bases

Well after some rejigging I have managed to organise carry cases for the cavalry, majority of the infantry and wagons. As well as this the bases from Oshiro Model Terrain came down recently. The movement trays are made of clear acrylic and fit 2p pieces, the cavalry bases fit the oval bases which are 25mm wide and 50mm long. The edges are rounded as I am trying to reduce the number of sharp corners as I want a more aesthetically pleasing finish.

As I have now organised the carry cases I can start painting again as I needed to put the finished models somewhere. I met Keith Ainslie from Empress Miniatures at my local wargames club here in Jersey. It was lovely to meet him and I look forward to seeing his wares at Salute 2014.

Back on track...

Well it has been some time since the last post. Nothing new there! Real life has been extremely demanding of late and I have had to concentrate on other things. However, I have had a week off and have been able to spend a little time trying to finish off bits and pieces.

I am still working towards painting Buckingham's retinue. If you take a look at my counter I have completed the billmen and all the Men-At-Arms I'll need. In between painting the models required for the skirmish I have rebased Oxford's retinue of bowmen, including the man himself and his retinue of billmen.

What I need to acquire  next is a carry case for the cavalry, more bases and movement trays. I have a clear goal, it's just a case of finding the time. As for photographing the models, I will have to sort something out, the facilities I have just aren't good enough here at home. As soon as I get some more photos I'll post them up.

Buckingham's Retinue WIP

Here are some WIP pictures. The miniatures are predominantly old Wargames Foundry models that I have revitalised. I have also included a picture of the rebased cavalry. I have opted for the oval base rather than rectangular. At a later date I'll buy some movement trays, or make them.

Painting badges

My eyes are too old and my hand isn't steady enough! I have just received some transfers from Citadel Six. I will let you know how I get on with them. I am hoping they will work out well as the miniatures will really benefit from that extra detail.

A basing odyssey

Over the last ten years my approach to basing miniatures has developed. As you can see from the last post I have now found a method which is aesthetically pleasing, well to my eyes anyway. However this really has been a trial and error approach with plenty of research mixed in.

The old days...

I then developed my basing style to this only a few years ago...

So you see it has been a well trodden path of experimentation. I have now finally arrived at the 2p bases which not only provides as decent base for these models but it quite a lot cheaper than many commercial bases.

That said I will need to shell out some money to acquire some movement trays. This will be achieved in one of two ways; the first will be to buy 2p movement trays from Warbases.co.uk. The alternative is contact James from http://www.oshiromodelterrain.co.uk/index.html. He has fabricated some Perspex rings for Captain Blood to create his own, streamlined movement trays. Which ever way I use I will be much happier as I feel the way the models will be presented on the tabletop will feel far more authentic. The other positive of basing the miniatures individually is I have several carry cases with foam for individual models lying dormant.

The final basing dilemma is what should I do with basing my cavalry on single bases?

Tudor bowmen

I have been inspired by Captain Blood, and Pat from his own blog site, Wargaming with the Silver Whistle to begin basing my skirmish models on 2p coins. I'll get in touch with those jolly chaps from Warbases and order some of the movement trays in the near future.

This is the third time I have based these particular bowmen and I am very pleased with the results. I hope there will be more to follow.

Sharp Practise - Arraying for battle.

Having spent a couple of nights looking at some skirmish battles on the Lead adventurers forum and Wargaming with the Silver Whistle I have embarked on a process to get a heap of metal and plastic miniatures onto a wargames table.
Back in 2010 I painted up some miniatures I found skulking away in a bits box. I painted up a few and stuck them onto some square bases. The basing of these models has been influenced by what I have seen on the web...so I have decided to rebase these models....again! I have opted to glue them to the faithful circular base we all know and love. Now I know why I have been keeping these coins.
The original scatter and static grass I used had a wintry theme, however this time round I am going to keep them in line with the basing for my Bosworth project. When these models are completed I will want to use them with the 40mm square stands. For this I will get hold of some of the 2p stand bases from Warbases.co.uk These movement trays are excellent. The only downside is the size of these bases, but I'm not going to get too hung up with that.
The focus for my skirmish games will centre around the rebellion led by Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham against Richard III. It's an interesting period leading up to the Battle of Bosworth with many Yorkist nobles choosing where their loyalties lay. At the same time Henry Tudor and his court sat in waiting across the channel. Although the rebellion ended in disaster for the Duke of Buckingham the great thing about wargames is history does not always repeat itself.

War of the roses - Sharp Practise

Whilst I am building and painting the miniatures for my Bosworth Field project I have been looking for a good set of skirmish rules. Over at the blog Wargaming with Silver whistle, Pat adapted the rules Sharp Practise by Too Fat Lardies and he's started a trend with those who use the rules by these jolly fellows.

I have to say I am chomping at the bit to try this out. Unfortunately I will need to paint up  two forces. So I have another project to do, still it's all within the fold of my War of the Roses project. I may start a list of how I am getting on so the world can see my progress. It may keep me going too!

Still, onwards and upwards!

Richard III...the King in the Car Park

Well that's it then. They have finally found him! I have to say I was speechless when I heard the news. I am looking forward to the Richard III centre when it finally gets built in Leicster. It's also spurred me on to get my project finished!

Salute Painting Competition Part 2

It has been a little while since my last post, and it'll probably be a while before the next. However, I have cleaned all the flash of the models and have begun to start painting the models. I have drawn up this loose plan of my entry into the competition. This is just a rough guide but gives some indication of what I am trying to achieve. I want the pieces to be used in games too, so they'll be on 2/3mm MDF bases. I haven't worked out the base sizes yet but that will happen very shortly. I have a week's holiday coming up so I intend to blitz  the project.  If I don't get it finished in that week then I'll have to dedicate some time over Easter.

Salute Painting Competition 2013

I have been thinking about what to enter into the painting competition for Salute this year and after some deliberation I have decided to put together a diorama. If I get the time I will put another entry in too. The diorama is going to be based on the retreat from Ludford.

The idea for the diorama will feature a baggage train winding its way along a medieval track under the watchful eyes of the Earl of Salisbury. I will be using some of my Perry Miniatures collection to achieve this work. I hope to be able to use the same models in future games so I am going to have to be creative about the basing. When I get the chance I will post some pictures as the work progresses.

The following information has been taken from www.waroftheroses.com.

'After winning the battle of Blore Heath, the Yorkist faction regrouped at Ludford bridge at the town of Ludlow and started to advance towards Worcester. They quickly fell back when they encountered a larger enemy force led by Henry VI. The Lancastrians ended up taking a position opposite the Yorkists across the Teme river. That night a significant amount of the Yorkist army deserted which led to a full scale retreat the next morning. The catalyst of the defections was Andrew Trollope, captain of the Calais troops. Trollope switched sides after accepting the king's pardon. After the engagement Richard returned to Ireland and the earl of Salisbury fled to Calais.'

2013 and beyond

Well, things have been slack in the last of 2012. Fortunately the world didn't end on the 21st December but it did give me the impetus to get working on the project. I have built the entire Tudor and Stanley hosts, which I am really pleased about. Painting of these units will be sporadic as my work is going to be unbelievably busy for the foreseeable future.

It's highly likely that I will be attending Salute this year with a couple of friends. We are planning to put something into the painting competition. I am looking at something medieval. Should I have the opportunity I'll post something up here.

For 2014 we are planning to take a demo game to Salute, hopefully it'll be Bosworth Field. Well that's it for now, I wish you all a Happy New Year and I look forward to what this year has in store.