Northampton (6) - Shrewsbury

The last of the command bases I'm doing for the game - hurray!! John Talbot, second earl of Shrewsbury leader of the Lancastrian main 'battle'. He had been in the king's government, holding the posts of Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Treasurer to the king and was killed in the fighting on 10 July 1460.

The model for the earl is another quick conversion of a Perry metal - this time the 'duke of York' - who 'sacrificed' his head for a swop on the earl of March base and so has had a plastic one reattached, with a little Procreate putty to fill the gap to his mail collar. The rest of the figures are pretty much out of the box and dipped again. Although I do prefer figures that have been completely handpainted to dipped, I'm tempted to carry on with part-dipping for other medievals I'll be doing after this project; probably restricted just to jacks/padded coats and as shading on faces/hands, where the dip catches the fine sculpting lines and can be highlighted up and then matted down with varnish - we'll see.

Now am moving on to the scenic items I need to visually locate the battle in the right place - all purchased and now in need of undercoat and paint - these will be part of the De La Pre Abbey, a wall and gatehouse for the abbey & an orchard and the Lancastrian field defences.

Northampton (5) - Buckingham

Thomas Stafford, first duke of Buckingham was a loyal servant to the Lancastrian government of Henry VI. He had been prominent in the French wars of Henry VI's reign, defending the English possessions in Normandy. He had fought for the King at the first battle of St Albans in 1455; trying to mediate before the battle and being wounded as the Yorkist lords broke through the town defences (possibly whilst he was still arming). At Northampton he probably commanded the main battle and was killed in the fighting that ensued once Warwick had been allowed into the royal encampment following Ruthin's treachery.

Buckingham's figure is a slightly altered Perry metal commander - Henry Tudor - with a plastic sallet added and then metal plumes added to that. I have tried to give him a dark burnished harness with gold edging, to befit his status as the Lancastrian leader. The standard bearer on foot is an old Citadel Alcatini 'dogs of War' figure with a plastic helm added - these are useful figures as they're broadly based on late fifteenth centry armour, except for the helms, which can now be easily swopped for plastic Perry spares! You can usually pick them, as I did, on flea-bay.

Livery colours for Buckingham were black and red and his livery badges seem to have included a flaming wheel, white swan and stafford knot and so I have included elements of all of these in the command base, either on flags, standards or livery coats, just for good measure. Flags by Freezywater.

Now to make the short trip west - to complete Shrewsbury...

Northampton (4) - March

Edward, earl of March leading his household into the fray.

One of the highlights of the Perry's Salute Tewkesbury game were figures that Dave Andrews had done - one being Edward IV, using mainly the plastic men at arms sprue figures with conversions to form a vignette that tells a story and where all the figure seem to interact. As imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and with my lesser abilities for figure conversion, I've used it as a template for this command stand (I really hope you don't mind Dave?) and plan to do a similiar one for one of my Burgundian commands at a future date, perhaps including some of the forthcoming metal command figures.

The figure holding his sallet aloft has had the head from one of the metals added (York, I think) and the rest is achieved with a repositioning of arms, pinned and then any unsightly gaps filled with green stuff.

Figures all dipped and faces have been retouched with highlights. Edward's horse handpainted. Pics snapped outside rather than the indoor 'studio' set. Flags are from the Perry box.

All the Yorkist leaders are now done... on to Buckingham..

Northampton - promo

As requested, (or if it's not been requested then an indulgent moment of self-promotion!) some info on the Battlefield Trust's 550th Anniversary of Northampton event on 10th July, in case anyone has an interest to come along. Some good speakers lined up and a worthy organisation to support.

I'm told that there's plenty of time after a circa 4pm finish to get home, in case England are in the third place play-off of the World Cup (unlikely, I appreciate)!

Also on the Sunday 11th, I believe some guided walks of the battlefield are being arranged by Mike Ingram, starting off from Delapre Abbey - I can find out more info if you're in need of combining physical exercise with some healthy mental stimulation.