Some Archers

.. to whet the appetite whilst I sort out a post on the next batch of cuirassiers.

These form part of my project to convert two HYW armies to Hail Caesar rules, which requires the sixteen figure archer units to be bolstered by a further four figures.

Onwards and upwards ...

Honda Redux

Those who follow the Lead Painters League may be aware that I signed up for 'It's Alive!' - a collaborative task in which we try to finish off abandoned projects. In my case, a late sixteenth century Samurai army.

So first up were the last of the dismounted samurai, as well as refreshing those already completed.

Lion Rampant Group Shot

Well,  pretty much as described:

Two, twenty-four point retinues with civpop for gaming the War of the Roses!

Valois light horse

A small unit (in Hail Caesar terms) of Valois light horse.

I might add the odd crossbow in time to allow them to be used as mounted crossbowmen.

Perry Minis painted as part of the Constable of France's retinue c.1415 (flag to follow).

Onwards to Agincourt

Some more pieces for my 1415 armies - 28mm Perry metals as usual.

Plantagenet archers:

 Valois MAA:

And a disordered marker:

Hundred Years War Revisited

This weekend I dropped back from the WotR to do some long overdue work on the final units of my Plantagenet and Valois Hundred Years War armies:

The last of the Valois Knights:

And three more Border Horse to allow the nine man unit to work properly under Hail Caesar Rules:

Mostly Medieval - More news on the Perry HYW Plastics

Hot off the press from the Twins: '...first shots of the Men at Arms for the English Army( Agincourt to Orleans) frame back from Renedra.'

Another batch of revolting peasants from me this week, as well as a random Death Guard Apothecary!

Good news for medieval fans!

I've still enough unpainted metal versions to keep me going for a while yet, but this can only help those looking to build a new and quality medieval army at a competitive price. Then there are all the conversion opportunities :-)

Pricklers

A unit of light horse for my growing Wars of the Roses forces for Lion Rampant. These are metals by the twins and were a joy to paint (I actually finished them last week and they've seen some action now, but life got in the way of taking photos!)

The lack a livery badge as yet, but the red coats make them suitable for either Devon or Warwick :-)

More Men-at-Arms

Some reinforcements for the houses of Northumberland and Somerset for an upcoming Wars of the Roses game with the new Lion Rampant rules.

Bog standard Perry metals:

Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset

Steady progress on the Late Medieval front with another ten Perry's:

Next up are some more villagers, but first something completely different...

Back to 1812 and even further!

The first squadron of my next Chasseur á Cheval Regiment (4th). Again by Elite Miniatures:

And the first batch of ten civilians to live in my medieval village (Perry Miniatures):

Horisont V - Kingdom of Heaven

Fresh from a couple of days gaming at Horisont V with some photos of the Third Crusade game I hosted. Each army came in around 2750 points with two to three players aside.

First the Ayyubids. Two big units of Syrian halqa, two units of arab infantry (half with bows), two units of Turcoman light horse, some Mamluk cavalry and a gaggle of skirmishers - all Musketeer Miniatures, painted by Howard Gray (oblivion@cix.co.uk), and based by me:

Then the Third Crusaders. two units of MO knights, and another of Crusader (mounted) knights, with dismounted crusaders, some mercenary Italian crossbowmen and allied Kingdom of Jerusalem foot (half with crossbows) - all Perry Miniatures, painted and based by me:

Mostly positive response with only one announcing the rules/lists were broke after his Syrian halqa received take a right kicking off some Templars and then get cut down when they eventually broke!

So obviously it's something we'll have to address in a future errata - or not :-)))

To be fair, the Ayyubids are not an easy army to play. Even for experienced players they may present a bit of a challenge. I'd planned on a 8x4, but ended up on a shorter board, which didn't help. These guys certainly need the space.

Anyway, looks like we'll be doing a re-run at Aalborg sometime soon and maybe another location yet to be confirmed ;-)

First Blood

As Cadwallen sought to peer through the sea mist, the sound of church bells echoed over his shoulder. He looked at Yvor, ‘Have I missed a saint’s day?’. In truth, he didn’t expect a reply from his gruff champion. The son of a women from Kernow, Yvor’s version of Christianity was as close to pagan as their wild Saxon foes. Their collection of local saints Cadwallon could barely pronounce, never mind remember. No, this meant trouble, and his gut told him the Saxons were at the heart of it.

The heathen had landed further up the coast and marched swiftly inland, as the parish priest was heading outside to tend to his pigs, he caught sight of the glint of armour as heathens crossed the hill south of the village. He quickly called for his flock to head for the woods and tuned to hide the few items of worth his church held.

Within minutes the Saxons were swarming through the village, like bloated flies feasting on an open sore. There was little point searching the muddy hovels of the villagers, the Saxon Warlord was not here for pigs or slaves. So he led two groups of his warriors into the church. Here at least there was gold to be had, but the priest had clearly had time to hide it well.

Cadwallen had deployed his forces well. Although caught off-guard, troops were well-placed to cover various eventualities. As his Centurion father had drummed into him, ‘Failing to prepare is preparing to fail’. Morcant was quartered in the next village with a band of trained warriors and Iago with Cadwallen’s household troops and another band of warriors only a short march away. The British lord put his trust in his subordinates to hold the heathen at bay whilst he gathered more men. The Saxons wretches would pay dearly for their blasphemy.

Morcant quickly drove some Saxon bowmen hovering on the outskirts of the village back and formed his men to cover the arrival of Iago and his troops. Seeing the British appear on his western flank, the Saxon warlord dispatched his Hearthguard under a warrior dressed in fur-lined robes to confront them. As the Saxon jogged forwards a hulking, black clad warrior emerged from their midst. Not so good, thought Morcant. Thankfully Iago and his men had arrived to bolster his line. Now we shall see the mettle of these men.

As the heathen screamed obscenities in their guttural tongue, the British line stoically formed line. ‘Look at me’, spoke Iago, ‘This is the land of our fathers, they have bled for it and so shall we. Do not step back, do not look to your fellows, but kill the pagan scum that infest our land. They shall not pass’.

Led by their mighty champion, the Saxon wedge struck the British line like an enraged bull. Shields were shattered and spears sundered in the first shocking exchange. The British held. Again came the Saxons, their champion standing tall and swinging his great sword against the enemy line. The British held. Gradually, their superior numbers allowed them to slip men around the ends of the Hearthguard’s line. As the battle hung in the balance, Cadwallon emerged from the dark forest surrounded by those villagers collected on his march north. Rallying Iago’s battered companions, Cadwallon sent a group left to bypass the battle and threaten the Saxon party sacking the church. Meanwhile he led the other into the fray. Overwhelmed, the heathen line collapsed and fled.

However, even as the night-clad champion fell to a Morcant's blade, shouts of joy were heard from the church. The Saxon Lord had found what he had come for and quickly led the remains of his force from the field. Victory, but at a cost. The British harried the retreating raiders back to their boats and it would take some months for both sides to recover. As he looked at the loot, the Saxon Warlord signed, barely enough to cover his expenses. They would have to come again and this time he would not underestimate the might of the British warriors.

Last of the Warriors ... and Gothmog

As promised, the last 12 warriors for my Dux starter force, leaving just the general and champion to crack :-)

and Gothmog - enough said!

Next and somewhat ignoble character for Dux and some LotR

So with the last 12 Warriors at various stages of completion. Here's another character, short and wiry, cruel, lustful and a noble-born exile (hence the pink trousers!):

and some recent LotR pieces for my Mordor army:

I have Gothmog close to completion, some Uruk-hai to finish off and then some Warg Riders and 6 more Uruk-hai to make-up. However, the Rohirrim are calling me ;-)

The last of the Pueri

It took a while to get the shields finished off - even with LBMS transfers, you still have to do some work ;-)

Next in the queue we have 12 warriors including a commander and standard bearer, as well as two characters. Unfortunately, it seems the tricksy Dane is almost finished, but I'm still on line to meet the end of the month deadline.

There's just the small matter of 15,000 words for the PhD to crack by end of play Monday... Oh and an article of Philip of Dreux for Medieval Warfare Magazine. I hope you all enjoy the one on the Black Prince in Spain that will be coming out shortly. There's a cracking painting of the main man himself by Jason Juta, as well as some fine maps.

Dux in a row...

Some of you may have picked up on Thorbjörn and my thread on the Lead Adventure Forum. However, at the risk of repeating things, here is my work to date:

Noble 1 - the son of a centurion, Iago is a man mountain with the constitution of an ox.

Iago (now with his shield) leading the Commitatus

Pueri 1

Pueri 2

Archers

 Priest