Clifford’s Flower of Craven

I stalled with this retinue because I became unhappy with the appearance of the wyverns.

Call me fussy (I’ll be fine with it), but even when I was applying the Little Big Men transfers I had a sense I wouldn’t be happy with the result.

The problem is the thickness of the carrier film: it’s somewhat thicker than a conventional water slide transfer (decal to our American cousins), and doesn’t really respond to Micro Sol.

I’ve used a few for Edward IV’s cannon crews and hand gunners, and the result wasn’t too bad. These were applied to the left hand side of livery jackets or tabards, where there weren’t too many creases.

When applied to the backs of the four archer figures I have painted, the result was very much appliqué … and I came to dislike it every time I looked at them.

More recently I had a look at The Mighty Brush’s web site (I have some of Luther’s transfers, and they are sharp, and delicate, and thin) and I discovered a new sheet of wyverns. Brilliant! Ordered in red. Problem solved.

Then, the tricky part: could I remove the LBM wyverns without making a terrible mess of the figures, since they had been varnished by now, and some were based.

A new #11 blade in my scalpel, a steady hand, a bit of retouching … and the result is not too shabby.

Now I have a bit of emotional energy for the Flower of Craven again.

The Mighty Brush wyvern transfers, with gold fleur-de-lis destined for Margaret of Anjou.

These transfers are so much better. I’ll probably use this size and one smaller size for the remainder of the retinue.

Standards, flags, and livery badges

A bit of excitement on my return from the supermarket this morning – an envelope from Pete’s Flags!

On opening, the contents are neatly packaged in a cellophane envelope with a card backing.

I haven’t seen any comparisons with other flags, so I thought to present one here. I already had the flags which come in the information booklet in Perry Miniatures’ plastic sets, and a couple of Little Big Men Studios sets. (I bought the LBM sets for the livery badge transfers, having always intended to use Pete’s Flags and Perry Miniatures for the standards and flags.)

Pete’s Flags are just as lovely as I expected them to be, and the style is compatible with the Perry Miniatures’ square flags that I plan to use. I bought sets for Edward IV, Lord Hastings, Lord Fauconberg, Herny VI, Earl of Northumberland, and Lord Clifford. My first use will be Henry VI’s standard for my Margaret of Anjou command vignette. I am looking forward to getting on with this.

Nicely presented … Pete’s Flags.

I bought sets for Edward IV, Lord Hastings (the Manticore sporting impressive genitalia and Maunch or lady‘s sleeve), Lord Fauconberg, Herny VI, Earl of Northumberland, and Lord Clifford.

A comparison: Pete’s Flags (at the back), Little Big Men Studios (top right), and Perry Miniatures (bottom).