fiddling about...

One of the great benefits of plastics is the potential for conversions. I can recall past days of 'Military Modelling' magazine when obscure figures were created from basic Historex or Airfix plastics. Well, whilst not truly conversions, I have been fiddling about to slightly alter some figures to make them a tad more 'continental' in appearance. Using Duro putty I've added some scarves tied on helmets and a 'bend' to one figure, all to be painted in ducal colours. On others, using the excellent Osprey 'English Longbowmen' as my guide, I've added bags to the arrows that hang from the waist belts, some which were opened at both ends to enable easy access to the arrows. Some Burgundian longbowmen (probably English in Charles service), are shown in Schilling's Chronicles, carrying large semi-rigid arrow bags, so I've had a go at a couple of these - whilst they seem over-large they are roughly to size. This is the extent of my current skills with putty, so I'll probably do a few more along similiar lines, if they look Ok when painted up.
I also want to add plumes to the sallets on my Household Guard figures, but I'll wait and see if the Perrys do separate heads such as this, as they have said they plan to do.
Any other ideas to 'Burgundianise' the figures are warmly welcomed.

Plastic WIPs

A renewal of activity; due to the long awaited, and much anticipated, first release of the late medieval range from Perry Miniatures. I'd not purchased any of the new generation of 28mm plastics until now and I am overwhelmed by both the detail of the sculpting and by the crispness of the moulding on these figures, every rivet on the brigandine is well defined and the figures in full harness are little works of art. Others have already reviewed the contents of the plastic bills and bows box, so I won't repeat that here. To me the figures seem more slender than previous Perry figures; whether this is a consequence of the 3-up sculpting, a result of the fineness which plastic production can give or merely an optical illusion I'm not sure. It will be interesting to stand them alongside the first metals for this range. Overall great value for money and surely they'll be a glut of Wars of the Roses games in 2010 and hopefully others who'll adapt he range for mainland European armies too.

Pictured above are the first ones I've done since they arrived last week, photo'd quickly under the desk lamp, and the start of the upgrade and replacement of my Burgundian Ordonnance army of Duke Charles. The figures wearing jacks have had sewn-on crosses of St Andrew added for recognition and I've attached wire bowstrings. Next step to finih and base up a couple of longbowmen units.