Metals, plastics and some putty

Just a quick update, as it's been a while.

The original intention was to get back to my Burgundians as soon as a certain London show was done and dusted. However, I've decided to complete my HYW armies, so it'll be slow progress here for a few more weeks.

I've decided to follow duke Charles lead and employ some extra resources from foreign parts - namely Archiduke's excellent painting services. I can really recommend Rafa's work, he has a neat and very detailed style and great use of the colour pallette. Pictured above are some longbowmen he has already completed for me and some metals that I've converted prior to being sent off for his brushwork. For added variety, I've utilised some of the Perry Swiss and EA range metals, to have some different poses as well as a couple wearing coats instead of livery jackets. I've simply removed their left hands and heads with a hacksaw and replaced with some from the Perry plastic boxes. With my limited sculpting skills have then added some scarves and an arrow bag with putty. The figure in the middle originates from the Perry HYW range, and although his kit is a little out-dated for the 1470s, he does have a contemporary visored sallet.

These will give me two more Ordonnance longbow units and I'll post them up when painted and based.

Pavises

Just a quick post, to show the really lovely Burgundian pavise transfers from Little Big Men Studios, which I recieved this week and who's products I'm always really impressed with. I was aware that Stephen Hales was working on these , to use with the plastic pavises in the Perry 'Mercenaries' box. He's produced four versions with the same St Andrews cross, steel and sparks emblem of Charles the Bold. One from each sheet are pictured here. Swiss versions are to follow I understand.

The quality of the transfers is excellent and each one is slightly different in terms of the distress and dirt on them. They need careful cutting with a scalpel or scissors. The transfer design for the smooth pavise has a cut-out to align it with the proud metal spike at the base; the only marginal issue is that it really needs to be about2mm larger to cover the plastic pavise - consequently some careful painting is needed to match in the edges. Perhaps this will be remedied with the next sheets? The transfer for the pavise with the proud spine fits much better, once carefully eased over and firmy pressed down.

I will now be arming my crossbowmen with them, as I need an excuse to show them off. Some medieval books state that pavise use was on the wain by the 1470s, which maybe the case. However the Schilling Bern Chronicle illustrations show them in use by the Burgundians, in both seige and battle scenes.

Also pictured is a recent conversion, using plastic torso and arms from the Mercenaries box, attached to the metal legs of the kneeling gunner from one of the Perry WotR artillery sets. I needed someone to be using the pavises as intended; sheltering whilst spanning his crossbow. Some putty has been used to add a bag and lengthen the scarf at the back of the sallet. Hope this remains an 'original' and that Michael doesn't bring out some metal crossbowmen!

Last post on here I anticipate for a few weeks, as HYW stuff needs attention for the Salute Verneuil game - so keep a watch on 'Harness and Array' blog....

Basing basics

A few people have asked how I do my basing, so here's a pictorial demonstration.

It's the same way that I've approach it, on a number of armies of different periods (the exception being Biblicals) for at least the last 25 years. It's a process I've just got accustomed to using and there are really no 'dark arts' that are going to be exposed in showing this step-thru. So, if you're happy with your own approach, you may want to stop reading right now! What I'm sure about is that are probably quicker and better methods out there, but this one works for me and as I need all my figures to blend with my terrain and 'hang together' as a coherent group, it'll be the technique I carry on with for now.

So first up the figures are attached to the base. This is always with Superglue gel. For this basing I've used plasticard, which I've cut to required size, as in this case. Recently I've switched to thin mdf pre-cuts. The main thing is that the material is warp-free and I've not experienced any issues with my basing method. The plasticard is scored lightly, with an nail file, to give the glue something to grip to. The figure bases are then blended and landscaped. Here I've used pre-mixed tile grout with about 10% PVA woodglue added for adhesion. I've also used Polyfilla mix or similiar. Where I know that painting the base will be difficult to access, for instance on more crowded base, I have added the paint that I use to shade the base to pre-colour the grout mix, as this helps at a later stage.

When dry, I add a mix of stones and gravel in the areas that'll not be grassed over. Firstly a few larger stones are glued with mix of 4 parts PVA and 1 part water, then a sprinkling of smaller ones and finally sand. This is Games Workshop sand, but from a tub I purchased a year or so ago. I purchased a new one only last week and they've changed supplier and the new mix is too much fine in my opinion; it sinks into the glue and loses definition, which means highlighting it later is ineffective. So I've got some Hornby model railway fine gravel to try out instead.

Again, when fully dried and fixed, it's all painted in a base colour. This is GW 'Graveyard Earth', which I've recently switched to, only on the basis that I can get it locally. For years I'd used Humbrol 'Dark Earth' in either enamel or acrylic - the former being a little more hard wearing. Both are a very similiar colour, which when the base is finished you'd be hard pushed to tell apart.

Now a fun stage - drybrushing the base - when it seems to 'come alive' a bit more. I build up three layers of highlights, using Pelikan Plaka 'Yellow Brown' and any acrylic white; initially in a 80:20 ratio, then a 50:50 one and finally, just trying to pick out the larger and more prominent stones in a 20:80 mix. The base is now ready for adding vegetation.

Static grass is glued where needed with a 50:50 mix of PVA and water. When dry I then drybrush it, to lighten the colour. I use Plaka 'Yellow Ochre', which is a tip I got from Kev Dallimore is one of his first published painting articles and which seems odd at the time, as it's quite a bright tone to add to the grass, but for me it works and gives a summer-tone to the bases (if it is a wintery feel you need, I'd probaly skip this step and leave the grass as is).

Final step, to add some foliage. These days the easiest and most effective are pre-made Silfor tufts (here the 6mm high ones) which come in differing shades - and the flowering plants are recommended too. I superglue these on. Gone are the previous solutions of sisal string coloured with green fabric dyes or cutting and glueing bunches of Woodland Scenic rushes. I also add small cut down pieces from a K&M tree for variety.

I'll post pictures of the finished base soon, as I have boxes and other artillery-related items to add on, as well as a small artillery command base to compliment it.

Ordonnance Handgunners (I)

First unit of hangunners completed, relatively quick to do as only nine figures. All are Perry plastics from the new 'Mercenaries' box, with one exception of a metal figure - an artillery assistant who's had the chamber removed that he was holding and a plastic handgun added, I thought he'd fit in well as he has a powder horn slung over his shoulder. I'm sure they'll be more of these straightforward conversons that can be done, using parts from the plastic boxes, as more metals get released.

No flag on this unit as they are skirmishers. Not much else to add; other than the new plastics are a delight to assemble and are really excellent figures. A couple of the new heads on the command sprue are attached at the chin, rather than the neck plug, which means you need to be careful with the scalpel when removing, but I'm guessing this maybe to lessen any mould lines? But hey, with this quality of late medieval figures, I'm not complaining - I'm celebrating!

Next I need to decide on either starting a bigger pike unit or completing the artillery? Where's that coin....?

Burgundian Flags

There is a considerable amount of information on Burgundian flags compared to other contemporary fiifteenth century armies.

I've decided on my approach for using flags based on my researches, however I appreciate that it's probably applying a structure thats too rigid in relation to a practice that was probably not univerally applied to Charles' army. However the use of flags does help identify unit types on the wargames table.

In essence, it's possible to summarise Charles the Bold's flags into 5 broad categories:

Burgundian arms - the complex and visually attractive arms adopted by Charles as duke of Burgundy (2 on the above picture). These will be used with my command figures, as well as in vignettes, camps and as a general sprinkling among larger units.

Ordonnance flags - these are the flags assigned to each of the 27 Ordonnance companies, which Charles first established at the Ordinances of St Maxim de Treves in 1473. Most of the flags follow a similiar design; the image of the saint adopted by the company, Charles personal motto 'Je Lay Emprins', and the images he used of a steel flint and sparks, all embroidered on a single or two colour background (see 3 & 4 above). From surviving records there appear to be two types - a 'guidon' which tapered to a single or double points ( numbered 7 & 8 above) and a 'cornet' which was oblong (number 3 & 4 in the illustration). It appears that each company would have had both guidons and cornets. Indeed some of them are marked with roman numerals to indicate the squadron they were attached to - so each company of ordonnance would have had a quite a plethora of flags flying. However wargaming necessities simplification when miniaturising everthing and so my application will simply be:

- a guidon for each mounted Ordonnance company,

- a cornet for each foot Ordonnance company.

These will be placed on the middle base of the three that will make up all my units, alongside the command figures and occassional musician.

Personal flags - of the leaders and conductors of the Ordonnance Companies, who had the right to bear arms as a consequence of their social status. Many of these are known and a great reference is Freezywater's publication 'The Burgundian Army of Charles the Bold' by McGill, Pacou & Riddell, which includes the arms of most leaders as well as other flags. My approach is to add one to each mounted Ordonnance unit, alongside the Company Guidon.

Other Infantry and regional flags - according to the Swiss records of burgundian flags, other types were used, which don't seem to conform to the Ordonnance pattern. These include images above numbered 6, regional flags (such as the Flemish urban arms) and flags which combined the St Andrews cross with a mix of colours and patterns. These flag types I'll use either on vignettes, as markers or in larger units (such as Flemish pikemen).

Bannerols - these were small pennons attached to the helms of Conductors and Chief de Chambre; men who led the squadrons within each Company. Evidence suggests that these included a numbering system for each squadron (see picture 1) and the 'Master WA' drawings of Burgundian troops shows them being quite plentiful among foot and mounted formations. The Perry Mercenaries box contains two heads with bannerols and it's not too tricky with pin and foil to add some to metal figures, to mix into each Company base. In addition smaller flags denoting the squadrons also appeared (illustration number 5) but it's too micro level to include these.

Currently the best quality flags for Burgunidan Ordonnance in my personal opinion, are the free ones from Kriggspil site, http://www.krigsspil.dk/download/download_2.html

I'm hopeful that the new Perry figures will spur other flag producers into covering.

The illustration is copyright Osprey Publishing, from 'Armies of Medieval Burgundy' and used without permission.

Burgundian Ordonnance longbowmen (II)

Ok, so back on track with some pics of completed work - more Burgundian longbowmen (a year on from the first longbows, I'm a tad embarrased to say). Apologies that the images are a little 'bluish' as the daylight today is a bit dull & wintry.

These are Perry plastics, which I've been waiting to finish off, so I could use some of the new heads from the 'Mercenaries' pack for variety. I've also added a couple of arrow bags (from putty) and included one of my two-finger gesture modifications too. The flag is from Krigsspil site (free downloads ) which are really high quality for the Burgundy range. It shows a flag with an image of Saint Jude, but it's not known which Ordonnance Company this flag was associated with, so they'll remain anonymous for the time being. There is an embarassment of riches with Burgundian flags and banners, largely due to the Swiss keeping and then recording most of those they captured at Grandson, Morat and Nancy. I've been looking at how I utilise them with my planned army and I'll post more on that soon (...when I've settled on a system).

The figures are based on three 60mm square bases, effectively a 'central' base which will include commanders, flags etc and two 'wings', to form a gaming unit. This appraoch will be replicated across all the units - foot and mounted - intended to support Impetus rules, but should be flexible enough for other rule systems and could allow me to create more units by simply using only 2 bases together.
Over the holiday period I've had a modest spike in new followers, not sure why this was in a period of no posts, but it's very pleasing all the same and so welcome to you all; I hope that they'll be something of interest coming along in 2011. The Perry WotR range that I'm using for these armies, has had some great new recent releases, including Swiss metals heads, so I'm very enthused re this collection at the moment. Currently I have a first unit of Burgundian Ordonnance handgunners are at the construction/prep stage.

Betwixt days

This is just a quick post betwixt Christmas and the New Year. I thought that this period must have a name, but it appears not. So I thought that the 28th of December would have a medieval Saint's day that I could use for the title of this blog entry, but suprisingly it's one of the few that doesn't. So lets just say it's a betwixt day - one to look forward and back on (a little Janus-like).

So, looking back - a good Christmas Day for family and friends. Personally I was delighted to unwrap some books that were on my Santa list. These included the catalogue from the 'Splendour of Burgundy' exhibition of 2009-10, which despite being in three cities over many months , I'd (regretably) failed to get to. The catalogue is excellent and indeed more than just a list of the items nicely reproduced in colour, as it includes some short essays on the Burgundian politics, court and art, as well as many items that I've not seen before.

Second up, the Calais Garrison, which seems (until now) to be a suprisingly neglected topic, but I think this book will fix that. Was lucky enough to make use of a 40% off one-day deal at the publishers when getting this one, as academic books are almost priced by the page and so out of reach for a casual purchase.

Finally, a visual treat and very useful reference for north european dress and armour in the last quarter of fifteenth century, the Beauchamp Pageant.

Looking forward, I now have opened the first boxes of Perry 'Mercenaries' and they do not disappoint; the castings on the crossbows, handguns, new heads and especially the two new captain figures are truly fantastic.

New heads are now being added to longbowmen from the previous box, to add variety. These are now my WIP on the painting table. Planned for the short term are Burgundian Ordonance longbows and handgunners. Also a group of dismounted men at arms; I keep picking up the sprues each time to consider different options that could be obtained with a swift cut of the scalpel, filler and glue - am sure others will find better ideas that I will.

Here's to a peaceful, healthy and prosperous 2011 to everyone.