Back in the saddle

Quick post, I am still alive and have set about working on my project. I have had time to think about how I'm working on this too. I had been painting the miniatures to a fairly high standard, which whilst was satisfying it wasn't getting enough models on to the table.

In the time I have been away I have been looking closely at Simon Chicks basing methods, his blog sites have been truly inspirational - Je Lay Emprins and Harness and Array. I have rebased most of the singular miniatures onto large 60mm square bases from Warbases. With respect to painting the miniatures I read Aly Morrison's blog and am using his wash method, made from GW washes. This is giving great results and means I am not waiting too long for it to dry as opposed to the dip method using the Army Painter Strong Tone Dip. So far I have managed three stands of crossbowmen with another three to follow.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos - something that I need to rectify so I can share the full fruits of my progress.

As an aside and in keeping with my magpie attitude to wargaming I have seen that Blue Moon are now releasing a Crusade range in 15mm which I may well indulge in, but that's for another time.

A Pilgrimage of sorts

Early last month I travelled to the north of England to take in the RWC 2015, watch a couple of the games at St. James' Park and see family I hadn't seen for some time. Amongst all this my wife, Andrea and I were able to travel down to Leicester to see the new Visitor centre and the tomb of Richard III.

The visitor centre is really well laid out, with the ground floor set out with the events leading to King Richard's death at the Battle of Bosworth Field, whilst the first floor presents the remarkable story of the excavation of his bones.

Afterwards we walked across to the Cathedral to see his tomb. I really enjoyed the centre, even though I knew the story and I think it is fitting that King Richard's bones have been interred in Leicester Cathedral.

Surprisingly I didn't take that many pictures as I was engrossed in what I was seeing. However, here are a few of the better photos I took. If you have been to the cathedral and visitor centre it would be good to hear your feedback.

Back in business!

The last time I picked up a paintbrush that was smaller than half an inch was back in August of last year. A lot has happened in that time, but very little with my War of the Roses project. However today I was able to get hold of some free timber and have constructed a rudimentary bench/table from which to work from in my studio/workshop. It's a bit of a shambles at the moment but I have clear space to work. The lighting of the photograph isn't great as I took the photo this evening (keen as mustard me!).

I now have to meet my deadline of completing 15 miniatures a week which I know is going to be a challenge at times, but hey it's just good to know that I have a permanent place setup to paint my miniatures.

The Battle of Exeter 1483

For some time I have been reading the book Buckingham's Rebellion. The rebellion took place in 1483 not long after Richard had ascended the throne. Henry Stafford the Duke of Buckingham through in his lot with Henry Tudor. The rebellion did not last long, for although it had political clout, especially in the south of the country it did not have the military backing it needed in order to force Richard into open battle.

With this in mind I have thought about 'what if it did have the military support?' To this end I am re-focussing my direction for my late period War of the Roses on this fictitious battle which took place outside the walls of Exeter on the 9th November 1483.

I will update soon with the orders of battle for the three factions with a timeline of the events leading up to the battle.

Plastic Men-At-Arms on the Horizon

I saw this picture over on the TMP website. I am glad Perry Miniatures are progressing with this kit. Even though I have plenty of billmen and bowmen, I do still need some more Men At Arms. I do find them the easiest and quickest to paint!

It's going to be a little while before these miniatures are released, which is just as well, the lead/plastic pile is diminishing at an incredibly slow rate at the moment.

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.

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.

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?

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!

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.

Painting the Pile

Having finally settled on the games system I intend to use I have organised myself a painting schedule! I am going to try and get twenty models painted a month. Now that may not seem that many but real life gets in the way quite frequently and I have other responsibilities.

I have 272 infantry, 108 cavalry and 3 'gonnes' and crew to paint for refighting the Battle of Bosworth Field, At this rate which to be fair is quite slow, should be ready by the end of the year which means I might be able to get the game in at the Christmas club meet! I am not holding my breath as these types of deadlines usually fall away for various reasons but I remain very hopeful.

In terms of the miniatures I have this represents a fifth of my infantry, virtually all the cavalry and about a quarter of the cannons within my lead and plastic pile.

Currently I am part way through painting William Stanley's retinue and I have started Oxford's too. I hope to have these stands completed by the end of this month.

I am still working on the basing, for now I am using Gale Force 9 'grit'. I will probly leave it at that for now. Once I have painted an entire ward I will paint the bases, apply static grass and some of the silfour grass I purchased from Salute this year.

War of the Roses Library

Well I have just finished reading 'Richard III and the Bosworth Campaign' by Peter Hammond and my initial feeling from reading the book is that Richard really went out in a blaze of glory. It's interesting to think what drives a man when he has lost his wife and child. Not only had he lost his own family but his three brothers and his father as well. I suppose it was a sign of the times and we shouldn't put twenty first century ideas in the minds and bodies of those living and fighting at the end of the fifteenth century. Being a converted Ricardian I feel a sense of 'what if.' I think it was a sad loss for England. Richard had tried to establish so many positive steps in his short reign. His downfall was that he was not his brother, the late King Edward IV.

My next book to read is 'The Red Rose and the White' by John Sadler. The book promises to give a comprehensive account of the campaigns, battles and sieges of the conflict and it also discusses the men involved, the tactics they employed and the weapons used.

Bosworth Orbats - Second Revision

Having played a game of A Coat of Steel I have decided to revise the Orbats for the respective sides. This hasn't adversely affected the size of the units, but it has allowed me to base miniatures according to their quality. MAA/pike - 4 models to a stand Retinue Bowmen/levy billmen/crossbowmen - 3 models to a stand Levy bowmen/hand gunners - 2 models to a base This also means that I'll have more miniatures to go round which means that in time I'll be able to put on the Battle of Towron as a large club game...hopefully! One aspect of A Coat of Steel is that Men At Arms and Retinue Billmen are not discreet units, rather they are combined on a stand. This will allow me to be a little more creative with how I want the models to look on their bases.

Revised Orbats for Bosworth Field

I have spent the last few nights reviewing the Poleaxed orbats by Lance and Longbow and the orbats from Medieval Warfare. what I like about the Poleaxed rules is that they give a breakdown of the contingent commanders who took the field, not just the lord who commanded the battle. So with that in mind I have kept the contingent commanders and adapted the orbats to use the Hail Caesar ruleset.

I am basing the models on 40mm x 40mm for infantry and 75mm x 50mm for cavalry. So they are usable for 'A Crown of Steel' and Medieval Warfare. Reading the Hail Caesar message board on the Yahoo Group page Rick Priestly played a game a while ago where they used mixed formations of Billmen and Bowmen. To this end I put together standard sized contingents. Anyhow, here are the orbats in a revised form for Hail Caesar;

The Tudor Host

Henry Tudor - 4 x Mtd M-A-A (4 stands)

Jasper Tudor - 1 x Dismtd M-A-A, 3 x Billmen, 4 x Bowmen (8 stands)

John De Vere - 2 x Dismtd M-A-A, 2 x Billmen, 4 x Bowmen (8 stands)

Rhys ap Thomas - 1 x Dismtd M-A-A, 3 x Billmen, 4 x Bowmen (8 stands)

Viscount Welles - 1 x Dismtd M-A-A, 3 x Billmen, 4 x Bowmen (8 stands)

Poynings - 8 x Pike, 4 x Hand Gunners (12 stands)

Guildford - 8 x Pike, 4 x Hand Gunners (12 stands)

 

Savage - 2 x Scurrours (2 stands)

Talbot - 2 x Scurrours (2 stands)

The Yorkist Host

Richard III - 2 x Mtd M-A-A (2 stands)

Robert Percy - 2 x Mtd M-A-A (2 stands)

Duke of Norfolk/Earl of Shrewsbury - 4 x Dismtd M-A-A, 4 Bowmen (8 stands)

Zouch - 4 x Bowmen, 4 x Hand Gunners (8 stands)

Surrey - 2 Mtd M-A-A (2 stands)

Brackenbury/Scrope - 4 x Dismtd M-A-A, 4 Bowmen (8 stands)

Greystoke - 1 x Dismtd M-A-A, 1 x Billmen, 3 x Bowmen (5 stands)

Devereux - 1 x Dismtd M-A-A, 1 x Billmen, 3 x Bowmen (5 stands)

 

Northumberland - 2 x Dismtd M-A-A, 2 x Billmen, 4 x Bowmen (8 stands)

 

Pudsey - 2 x Mtd M-A-A (2 stands)

Manners - 2 x Mtd M-A-A (2 stands)

 

The Treacherous Stanleys

 

Lord Thomas Stanley/Peshall - 2 x Dismtd M-A-A, 2 x Billmen, 4 x Bowmen (8 stands)

Digby - 1 Dismtd M-A-A, 1 x Billmen, 3 x Bowmen (5 stands)

 

Sir William Stanley - 2 x Mtd M-A-A (2 stands)

Legh - 2 x Scurrours (2 stands)

Holford - 2 x Scurrours (2 stands)

 

Depending on how I am set I may up the size of the cavalry regiments. I can only hope that Michael and Alan Perry can get their plastic late medieval knights miniatures out on general release soon.

 

 

The Battle of Bosworth Field - Orbats

Well here is the first post of 2012! I have been sifting through some of my info and have found the Poleaxed orbats for Bosworth Field. Poleaxed is a cheap set of rules published by those fellows at the Lance and Longbow Society.

I have also provided some information as to the abbreviations in the orbats.
AC (Army Commander), BC (Battle commander), CC (Contingent Commander), FHC (Fully Harnessed Cavalry), Ac (Armoured cavalry), FHI (Fully Harnessed Infantry), PHI (Partially Harnessed Infantry), AI (Armoured Infantry), AI LBOW (Armoured Infantry with Longbow), UI LBOW (Unarmoured Infantry with Longbow), AI Pike (Armoured Infantry with Pike), HG (Hand Gunners)

Tudor Army
AC - Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond (6 FHC)
CC - Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke (8 PHI, 16 AI, 16 AI LBOW, 6 FHC)

BC - John de Vere, Earl of Oxford (8 FHI, 8 AI, 16 LBOW)
CC - Rhys ap Thomas (8 PHI, 8 AI, 16 LBOW)
CC - Viscount Welles (8 PHI, 8 AI, 16 LBOW)
CC - Poynings (16 AI Pike, 8 HG)
CC - Guildford (16 AI Pike, 8 HG)

CC - Savage (6 Ac)
CC - Talbot (6 Ac)

Yorkist Army
AC - Richard III (6 FHC)
CC - Robert Percy (12 FHC)

BC - Duke of Norfolk (8 FHI)
CC - Earl of Shrewsbury ( 8 PHI, 16 AI LBOW)
CC - Zouch (16 AI LBOW, 8 HG)
CC - Surrey (6 FHC)

BC - Robert Brackenbury (8 FHI)
CC - John, Lord Scrope (8 FHI, 16 AI LBOW)
CC - Lord Greystoke (8 PHI, 16 AI LBOW)
CC - Baron Devereux (8 PHI, 16 AI LBOW)

BC - Northumberland ( 8 FHI)
CC - Henry Percy ( 6 FHC)
CC - Widdrington (8 AI, 16 UI LBOW)

CC - Pudsey (12 FHC)
CC - Manners (12 FHC)

The Stanleys

BC - Thomas, Lord Stanley (8 FHI)
CC - Peshall (8 PHI, 16 AI LBOW)
CC - Digby (8AI, 16 AI LBOW)

BC - Sir William Stanley (6 FHC)
CC - Stanley (6 FHC, 6 Ac)
CC - Legh (12 Ac)
CC - Holford (12 Ac)

Although I have these orbats they do slightly change with the orbats for the wargame rules Medieval Warfare. I think that I will lean heavily on these orbats when making up the minatures.

All I have to do now is to decide which army I am going to start with. My plan is to paint a contingent at a time, that way I can keep a clear track of how I am getting on.

Coming Full Circle

I would like to begin this blog with a piece of text from Shakespeare's Richard III. It is a reminder that history is written by the victor.

    But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks,
    Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass;
    I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty
    To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
    I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,
    Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
    Deformed, unfinish'd, sent before my time
    Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
    And that so lamely and unfashionable
    That dogs bark at me as I halt by them; 

The purpose of this site is to blog my War of the Roses project and to post interesting links about the War of the Roses and Richard III, a much misaligned king and the last English king to die in battle.

 

I have been fascinated by that period we know as the War of the Roses for much of my wargaming life. As a teenager I got involved in a 15mm medieval  wargame using the old WRG 6th ed. It was entertaining and good fun to play as I remember it. I even went out and bought some Essex 15mm War of the Roses armies. I didn't get very far with the painting. No surprises there. Time moved on. Over the years I involved myself with other periods and scales. 

A couple of years ago I dug out my old 15mm miniatures and began painting them in an attempt to finish the armies. I added to the collection with some of Peter Pig's miniatures. Having doubled what I started with I set about building a Tudor and Yorkist army for the Battle of Bosworth Field. That was until I had a chat with an old wargaming friend. He explained to me that those talented Perry Brothers were going to be producing plastic late medieval models. I managed to resist the urge to buy some of these models as y lead/plastic pile was big enough...and besides I had a growing collection of late medieval models in 15mm. Of course, that all changed.

I am a fan of 28mm miniatures and succumbing to that collector's curse (Oh they look good, I must get those) I have purchased a small mountain of lead and plastic from the Perry Brothers!