A few more of Clifford’s retinue

It’s been way too hot to paint (again) so I got on with some assembly and a couple of conversions.

As I have posted before, I’m planning on a contingent of eight light cavalry, and eight mounted archers with their dismounted equivalents.

I’ve completed the horses and horse holder group, and one mounted and one dismounted archer. Now I have assembled two more archers and the first of the light cavalry.

One is a conversion joining a plastic tabard torso to legs with partial armour. I added mail and riding boots using Green Stuff and spurs using lead to match the mounted figures, and the result is alright.

These conversions take me ages, so I’m not sure if I’ll make matched pairs for all of them. Wait to see …

The front four figures are mounted and dismounted archers, with three mounted light cavalry behind. All these are from Perry Miniatures plastic sets.

French long spear armed mercenaries

Happy New Year to my readers, wherever you are in the world.

I had planned more progress with painting over the Christmas period, but influenza had other ideas. I am recovering, and now well enough to do a bit painting.

I have almost finished painting the first two ranks of the long spear (pike) armed French, with just a bit of detailing to do.

I have received another delivery from Steel Fist Miniatures, one of the figures – a flag bearer – is destined for Clifford’s company of dismounted archers. I am looking forward to starting these.

Slow but steady progress with the French mercenaries, a satisfying mix of Perry Miniatures and Steel Fist Miniatures.

Lancastrian limber ready for action

The Lancastrian cannon and limber are ready to join Margaret of Anjou’s army.

This model was inspired by Graham Turner’s painting The Hard Road to Tewkesbury in the fabulous The Wars of the Roses: The Medieval Art of Graham Turner, a similar model shown on the inspirational Full Harness blog, and informed by a bit of internet research looking at contemporary drawings and paintings.

The limber is from Perry Miniatures’ American War of Independence range (AW117), while the cannon is by Mark Copplestone. The figures are Perry Miniatures with one by Mark Copplestone holding the horse.

Graham Turner’s painting The Hard Road to Tewkesbury.

The model from the Full Harness blog.

My finished model, which isn’t as shiny as it looks here.

Lancastrian artillery: cannon and limber

The French cannon and limber in Lancastrian service is finally ready for basing.

The limber is from Perry Miniatures’ American War of Independence range (AW117), while the cannon is by Mark Copplestone.

The figures are Perry Miniatures with one by Mark Copplestone holding the horse.

French artillery on the move, and ready for basing.

My first finished figures

It seems to have taken me ages to get to this stage, while I thought about what I was going to model and represent, let alone which personalities and their retinues. I seem to have spent much of the period since my first post reading new books and re-reading books I bought when I first considered a foray into the late medieval period in the early 1990s.

I have finished the bulk of the artillery, with a ‘butterfly’ style limber planned for the Lancastrians at some point in the future. I’ll add some more gabions too.

I am really pleased with the limber for the Front Rank cannon, the first vignette that I finished, where I worked out how I wanted to detail the bases too.

Although Never Mind the Billhooks suggests six miniatures for ‘skirmishers’ (a misnomer, really) like hand gunners and crossbow men, I thought this looked a bit ‘light’, so added two figures. I also elected to base them in pairs.

Finally the Papal mission: Francesco Coppini and a Papal standard bearer. He may get a small Vatican retinue at some point.

As I mentioned in my last post, ready for painting I have two units of mercenary French armed with long spears (pikes), with hand gunners and crossbow men in support, all for the Lancastrian army. Margaret of Anjou, her son Edward Prince of Wales, and Edmund Earl of Rutland, all with standard bearers.

While I am painting these I’ll assemble figures for Clifford’s Flower of Craven.

The Yorkist artillery: Front Rank cannons with a mix of Perry Miniatures and Mark Copplestone figures.

Yorkist cannon emplaced with Empress Miniatures’ Builder’s Yard gabions, and a bit of scratch building.

The gabions are based separately to fit neatly around the front of the cannon’s base.

Yorkist cannon and limber, with some figures in Edward IV’s azure and murrey livery.

Yorkist Burgundian hand culverins; more Copplestone miniatures, with a slight fantasy vibe.

Yorkist Burgundian mercenary crossbow men, a mixture of Perry Miniatures and Steel Fist Miniatures figures.

Yorkist Flemish mercenary hand gunners, also a mixture of Perry Miniatures and Steel Fist Miniatures figures.

Lancastrian cannon with French mercenary crews, a mixture of Perry Miniatures, Mark Copplestone, and Steel Fist Miniatures figures.

Francesco Coppini and Papal standard bearer.

First based miniatures

I have finished basing the cannon and limber, an important milestone because it allowed me to work out how I wanted the bases to look, and which materials and techniques to use.

I wanted a muddy look to the ground, without overwhealming the figures, combined with a mix of earth and grass ground covers.

I made the mud using household filler (from a tube), fine sand and very small stones, all mixed with PVA and a household dark grey emulsion. Once dry I dry-brushed this with chocolate brown and dark grey acrylic.

I flocked the base with Footpath Scenes’ Grass Ground Cover Earth and Grass Blend (from Model Scenery Supplies), and added a few puddles with Vallejo Water Effects Still Water. It’s the first time I have used water effects, and I found that it was best to deposit a very small amount on a plastic palette, and then drip it into place with a small brush, gently spreading it into place. Finally, I added a few tufts.

I have to say that I have impressed myself with this, and I am looking forward to seeing how the various figures and equipment will look when finished.

On the work bench at the moment I have:

to base
– Francesco Coppini and Papal standard bearer
– 4 cannon and crews with associated stores

to finish painting
– 8 Flemish hand gunners
– 8 Burgundian crossbow men

undercoated and ready for painting
– Margaret of Anjou command vignette
– Edward Prince of Wales and standard bearer
– Edmund Earl of Rutland and standard bearer
– 8 French hand gunners
– 8 Breton crossbow men
– 24 French mercenaries armed with long spears

Based Yorkist cannon and limber, comprising a Front Rank cannon, converted Perry Miniatures cart, with Perry Miniatures metal and plastic figures, and a Steel Fist Miniatures dolly.

Yorkist cannon and limber based, and French mercenaries armed with long spears

I was making progress with cannon and crews for both sides, and the Yorkist cannon and limber, when I got distracted by the prolific Saxon Dog’s contingent of French mercenaries armed with long spears, recruited by Margaret of Anjou around the time of Tewkesbury, 4 May 1471.

I had enough figures and ‘pikes’ for 12 marching figures, but thought to add a bit of purposefulness with a further 12 in an offensive or a defensive posture. These are a combination of Steel Fist Miniatures’ L13 Late Medieval Front-Ranker dollies and Perry Miniatures’ Wars of the Roses Infantry, European Infantry, and Foot Knights sets.

I will present these as French to complement the small contingents of French hand gunners and Breton crossbow men.

Meanwhile, the 1459 Papal mission in the shape of Francesco Coppini and a standard bearer are ready for basing, about 20 artillery crew figures nearly ready for varnishing, eight hand gunners and eight crossbow men are in quite an advanced state of painting, with another eight hand gunners and eight crossbow men undercoated.

Yorkist cannon and limber, and two contingents of French mercenaries armed with long spears.

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).

Margaret of Anjou and Edward, Prince of Wales

I had a bit of time to organise myself and get a view of my project. Practically, this entailed setting out my main references, and all the personality miniatures along with their associated figures such as pages and standard bearers. I am thinking about including musicians.

As I cogitated on this I made some welcome progress preparing and assembling Margaret of Anjou and her son Edward, along with their standard bearers, a page, and a hound. Margaret needed a bit of work with a file and ProCreate to get a really good fit for the saddle and the reins, but the result is worth the effort.

I have a banner for Edward (included in Perry Miniatures’ Foot Knights plastic set), and will purchase Pete’s Flags Herny VI standard for Margaret’s standard bearer.

Athena Miniatures’ Margaret of Anjou with Perry Miniatures’ Edward, Prince of Wales, and Steel Fist Miniatures’s hound.

Perry Miniatures’ Standard bearer and page.

Happy New Year

As 2025 begins I am reading Desmond Seward’s The Wars of the Roses, which documents the lives of five people who lived – and in one case died – at the time: William Hastings, John De Vere, Margaret Beaufort, and Jane Shore.

As I finish my screw gun battery transport mules for a later era, I have restarted my attempt to ‘get my eye in’, continuing to paint anything other than an English retinue and its leader. Francesco Coppini, Papal legate to England and Scotland, and his standard bearer, serve here, then on to finish some mercenaries. I am attempting a different painting style for this project, with less use of Army Painter strong and soft tone shading, and more definite use of paint to define light and shade.

I am beginning to form ideas about which characters and their entourages I wish to represent. As noted in a previous post, John Clifford and the Flower of Craven are intended, with Clifford himself already begun. More of this in due course.

Meanwhile, I hope Santa delivered to you all of the toys you wanted, and that during the coming year all of your dice rolls are sixes!

Amidst mercenary artillery crews, hand gunners, and crossbowmen, Francesco Coppini and his Papal standard bearer, with John Clifford sneaking in to view, top right.

Ragged Staff Miniatures 3D resin prints

I’ve been interested in these characterful miniatures for a while, and curious to see the quality of 3D printed resin for myself I ordered four … and now they have arrived.

I ordered Watchful Lord, Captain of Archers, Knight Baronet with helm, and Loyal Standard Bearer. These are delicate, finely detailed prints, with no visible trace of the production process. The pole weapons are a little bit too flexible, so I will probably substitute these with plastic versions. They sit very well with my Steel Fist Miniatures and Perry Miniatures castings though, so I am looking forward to thinking about which retinues they will be recruited to.

Top: Watchful Lord, Captain of Archers, Loyal Standard Bearer, and Knight baronet with helm. Bottom: on the left Steel Fisst Miniatures dolly with Perry Miniatures plastic head and arms; on the right Perry Miniatures metal casting.

Flemish mercenaries

It’s been a bit too hot to paint so I got on with some more assembly. This took me much longer than I would have thought possible, simply because of the amount of time I spent considering the components for the standard bearer and captain.

Anyhow, my ideas for the organisation of the mercenaries have crystalised; there will be two companies, one Yorkist and one Lancastrian. Each will comprise a captain, standard bearer, and musician, two small contingents armed with hand guns and crossbows (eight figures each), and two hand culverins (two figures each).

Flemish command for the Yorkist mercenaries, and the Flemish hand gunners begin to take shape. All are a mix of Perry Miniatures’ metal and plastic, and Steel Fist Miniatures’ metal dollies.

More paint

Finally, I have got some more paint on. All the flesh has been applied, shaded, and highlighted, and those figures wearing mail have had it painted.

I have also added two figures for my first vignette, Francesco Coppini’s Papal mission of 1459. The fellow holding a staff topped with a cross will become the Papal standard bearer.

Two units of hand gunners, gun crews and, in yellow, John Clifford, a mix of Perry Miniatures metal and plastic, and Steel Fist Miniatures dollies.

Two units of mercenary crossbow men on the left and Francesco Coppini and a Papal standard bearer on the right.

More mercenary crossbow men

I’ve had a bit of time to finish assembling my mercenary crossbow men, and they are beginning to look the part.

Some of these fellows are really quite encumbered with bolt quivers, cranequin or windlass, swords and bucklers.

The joins between arms and torsos required a bit of filling, but they’re now ready for undercoating … then I have to decide on their liveries.

14 more crossbowmen assembled from Perry Miniatures’ plastics and Steel Fist Miniatures’ metal dollies. These will join the two I finished a while ago.

More mercenary crossbow men and first application of paint

I’ve made a bit of progress with the new project this week, while keeping an eye on the Sudan adventure.

I have assembled a few more mercenary crossbow men, although most still need helmets and some will get swords. I need to consider the style of helmet, since this should aline with these fellows’ regional origins.

I also got around to applying the first coat of flesh to the figures that I assembled over the past few weeks.

More mercenary crossbow men, utilising Perry Miniatures plastic parts and Steel Fist Miniatures dollies.

The first application of paint … mercenary hand gunners on the left and artillery crew figures on the right. One of the yellow fellows at the top is destined to become Lord John Clifford … the other is for practicing the tabard, which will be a check pattern of yellow and blue, with a red bar, or Chequy or et azure, a fess gules.

A few more gunners

I’ve added a couple more crew figures, one of which is a minor conversion of a Copplestone figure.

The handful of Copplestone figures I have are so distinct – in terms of their physical attitude – that I wanted to make them different enough from one another, but also to work with the Perry and Steel Fist figures.

The pointing figure holding a canon ball got a different head from one of the Perry plastic sprues, while one of the figures holding what I think is a rammer, had this removed and the left hand replaced with one gesturing something like ‘wait’.

Left-to-right: a comparison of Copplestone, Steel Fist, Perry metal, Copplestone, Perry plastic …

… and again.

Mercenary cannon crews

I’ve been making a few more crew figures for my four cannons, with a view to having three or four figures per gun, and a handful of extras.

It’s a slow process (for me, at any rate) … looking at references, thinking about poses, attire, head choices, additional tools such as mallets – carved off the Perry Miniatures’ archers stakes (AO7), looking for arms and hands to combine for the right attitude.

They are beginning to come together, and although I have basing arrangements in mind, I do need to arrange them around the cannon next to see how they will interact with one another in situ.

A few crew figures for the cannon, comprising Perry Miniatures’ metal and plastic figures and three Steel Fist Miniatures’ dollies, and mallets carved off archers stakes.

More mercenary hand gunners, and thoughts on unit sizes

I was looking at my first two units of ‘skirmishers’ (in Never Mind the Billhooks terms), and felt they looked a bit small … too small … not by much, but a bit mean.

I went through this thought process with my Sudan project: the recommended number of figures for a unit in a given rule set compared to how that looked and whether I was satisfied with the appearance. This is the modeller/collector in me rather than the gamer, of course.

Anyhow, thinking of the standard Never Mind the Billhooks company of 12 figures, and looking at my units of six skirmishers, I decided to scale up to 16 and eight figures respectively … I think.

Another four mercenary hand gunners to join their compatriots, comprising Perry Miniatures’ plastic figures and a Steel Fist Miniatures’ dolly. Once again I have added a pouch using ProCreate and the fellow with the soft hat gets a helmet to hang off of his belt.

Mercenary hand gunners

I have got around to finishing the assembly of two contingents of mercenary hand gunners. I augmented the Perry Miniatures’ plastic mercenary figures with a set of six Italian hand gunners from their European Armies range.

I liked the kneeling figure who looked as if he might make a captain, and thought he would be a good fit with a kneeling figure based on a Steel Fist Miniatures’ dolly. I selected heads from the plastic frames to compliment the metal figures, and the two fellows with soft hats got helmets hanging from their belts. I also fashioned a couple of pouches for the figures which were without them.

I have a similar number of crossbowmen in various stages of assembly, which will be the subject of a later post.

Two contingents of mercenary hand gunners comprising Perry Miniatures’ metal and plastic figures, and a couple of Steel Fist Miniatures’ dollies.

First assembly

Thank goodness for the long weekend! At last a chance to spend a few uninterrupted hours getting to grips with the plastic and metal miniatures I have, and begin to assemble them.

I have assembled a handful of crossbow men, hand gunners, and gun crew, all using a mix of Perry Miniatures plastic parts and Steel Fist Miniatures dollies. I have also assembled my first mounted figure, destined to be the vengeful John Clifford. I am thinking he will lead a light cavalry unit – The Flower of Craven. This will be my first  attempt at painting heraldic devices and patterns, so I am keen to see how I get on with it.

Hand gunners, crossbowmen, gun crew, and hand culverins,  with a cannon and limber in the background. The mounted figure will be John Clifford.