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.

Sir Rhys ap Thomas

The other Men-At-Arms stand for Oxford's retinue is Sir Rhys ap Thomas. I hope you enjoy my efforts!

Oxford's Billmen

I have only the one stand of Billmen at the moment. I have three more to paint up. Once I have assembled and painted the other three stands Oxford and his retinue will be completed and I will move onto completing Sir William Stanley's riding retinue.

Oxford's Bowmen

I have finished Oxford's bowmen, although I do need to complete the bases, but as you can see from the previous post I think I have decided on a course of action for completing the bases.

Scurrours

First up on the update are these three scurrours. I have painted them in the colours of Sir William Stanley. I am reasonably pleased with the outcome. As you can see I have started to work on the base. I have used Gale Force 9 medium sand. I have then painted over with the Citadel colour Baneblade Brown. I have then used their brown wash to darken the base and finally drybrushed over the top with Base sand from the Foundry paint scheme. The miniatures are painted using the Foundry paint scheme, although I have used Citadel metallics and washes on the metal armour.

WIP - Oxford's Retinue

I have been busy working on Oxford's retinue. I have completed the Retinue Bowmen and the additional Men at Arms stands. This means I am achieving the target of twenty models a month. I have also completed a stand of scurrours for William Stanley's retinue. I will post pictures tomorrow...hopefully!

John De Vere 13th Earl of Oxford

Well I have finally got something to really post about. It has taken some time to get to this stage, however I would like to present my version of the Earl of Oxford. The models are all plastic bar the Earl himself. I have used a mix of foundry and citadel colours.

The flags are from Freezywater. Originally I was just going to cut them out and stick them onto the models but having seen some other blogger's work I decided to overpaint them to give them a better overall look. I am really pleased with the results.

I know I haven't based the models but I am going to wait until the rest of the retinue is finished before I go through that process.

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.

A Coat of Steel - First Play

I had the opportunity to get a first play of the rules today at my local war games club. I kept it simple and my opponent was most helpful with the interpretation of the rules.I must say that they were easy to follow and they play really well. I was using my 15mm miniatures based on 30mm square stands. The game flowed really well. Shooting and close combat were resolved easily. I even used the Black Shield cards rather than dice. The game lasted around 3 hours with a narrow Yorkist victory. We did make a few mistakes but that's to be expected. I look forward to the next game. The rules are ideal for a club set and I am keen to get the rest of my 15mm minis finished. I think I will base the levy troops according to how the rules suggest, 2 levy bowmen to a base. I'll have to check on the levy billmen.