Chevauchee bound for Edinburgh

The effect a course of good weather, practice and tinkering makes on your miniature photography is immense. For once haven't had to spend a couple of hours editing photo's for the best result. Hopefully this shows.

Sir Robert Davidson Bearing the Campbell banner. 28mm Irregular Miniatures.

Anyway the last week has seen a frenzy of medieval shenanigans, with a well fated battlefield walk on the field of Bannockburn, (followers of my other blog Traileth Thou the Puissant Pike, keep your eye's peeled in coming days), coupled with finishing off my retinue based on the forces of the Earl of Mar for the Claymore Rampant event, run by Claymore Castings of Fife next Sunday, has meant that the Anglo-Scot's Wars of the 14th century have very much been on my mind recently. Obviously having supported SBT's wargames event so well earlier in the year, I only felt it was kind enough to reciprocate in kind, while also persuading me to get some miniatures off the painting desk.


I've been playing a number of games of Lion Rampant in recent weeks, being slightly worried about getting back into the rules after a year, but it seems I have taken to it like a duck to water and am looking forward to a series of chevauchee's being waged next weekend. The following miniatures are a mix of Perry HYW plastics (originally intended for an Agincourt  project but financially recycled for a smaller campaign) and Irregular Miniatures, I think I have provided them with a fairly decent paint job. Inspiration and colour schemes were taken from a mix of Ian Heath's WRG Armies of the Middle Ages (1982) and Peter Armstrong's Osprey book on Otterburn (2007). Flags are a mix of the ever brilliant Flags of War and Ray Roussel's from his blog. Armour has been finished off in gloss varnish, while the flock for anyone asking is actually made out of dyed saw dust, from a past issue of Battlegames.

Anyway here for your delectation and delight is my retinue, representing the Earl of Mar's Forces at the battle of Harlaw 1411. It is my hope to soon extend this collection with a retinue to represent the forces of The Lord of the Isles, using new Perry HYW French MAA.

The Earl of Mar's Personal Schiltrom, 28mm Perry

A note of advise. Too often it gets commented on the fact that Scots were distinctly different from their southern neighbours. Certainly I have never seen any evidence to suggest this and just like the Welsh, the difference between the rest of the British Isles in clothing is often negligible. Only by going into the Highlands, with definite Irish and Norwegian influences, did clothing differ drastically.Certainly in terms of arms, documents from the 12th century Assize of Arms portray Scots armaments as being a generation behind the English. However, the fact that relative economic stability, with conflict becoming more infrequent except for clan disputes and with Scot's still being recruited as mercenaries to serve in the French Army, it is likely any lowland Scots force would look just the same as anyone else.

Irvine of the Drum's Schiltrom

 Scot's Archers-note a lack of difference between Scot's, Welsh and English Warbow's.

Armoured Sergeants of Sir Alexander Leslie

Note a preponderance of Gerry Embleton lookalike's within Perry Miniature's Sprue, far left.

Knight's Retinue under the flag of Hay, Earl of Erroll.

Armoured Retinue of Knights, under the guidons of The Earl Marischal.

I think the number of photo's taken speak for itself the pride I've taken in building this retinue. Hopefully it plays as well as it looks on the battlefield.

So onto the next project, where The Stanehouse's will go Border Reiving, using Hoka Hey. Reviews forthcoming

Objectives for 2016

So a bit late I know, but thought it would be a useful endeavour to cover what I actually plan to do wargaming wise and timetable projects for this year. Since the New Year a couple more projects have come to the fore, so this is expanding on existing projects.

1. Lion Rampant Army for Earl of Mar-Using Perry Miniatures Plastic HYW miniatures, this will be a lowland Scots late medieval force for the Claymore Rampant wargames day event being held by Claymore Castings. Predicted end of project 22nd March

2. ECW-With the spate of English Civil War rules being released including The Kingdom is Ours, Bicorne Miniatures, Baroque Impetus, The Pikeman's Lament, En Garde and the Pike and Shotte Supplement, a working army for the period is essential. Other projects keep on getting in the way, so a finishing preliminary date pushed back from originally is May 1st. 

3.May Zulu-Forming forces for the The Men Who Would be Kings rules for the Zulu Civil Wars, this has been on the painting books for some time, hopefully being expanded into the Zulu wars/Boer Wars at a later date. 7th October

4. 17^th century-Scots government Army for the Pentland/Covenanter Risings/Killing Times. Expected time for finishing, new year.

5. After this occasional work throughout the year will also be put into building a series of earthworks and other terrain features such as 4' walls, a gate and breech, minefields, Rommel's asparagus, vinyards, pontoon bridge, tank traps, marsh, Bulwarks 3’, Damaged sconce, Minehead, Industrial Complex, Winter trees, Winter bushes, ravelin and batteries.

In between, there is a thought towards building a small Border Reiver force. But I think this timetabling is a good way of keeping track of where projects are going.

Mini Mania-Napoleonics and WOTR

Apologies once again for lack of blog updates. The upcoming publication is taking up blogging time and not much has been happening. Hopefully in the coming weeks towards the Prestonpans Wargames show, blog posts might increase.

Anyway, quick update on what I'm up to. Currently finishing off Spitfire for some aerial cover for Bolt Action and just started painting a Lowland Scots Army based on the forces of Earl of Mar for The Battle of Harlaw 1411, for Lion Rampant for the Claymore Rampant event in April, run by the chaps at Claymore Castings. More photos naturally anon.

Anyway here is another selection of past painted materials.

I used to work as a Volunteer and Uniform assistant at the Royal Greenjackets Museum in Winchester, a goldmine with its Waterloo model for any military modeller and wargamer if there ever was one. Luckily they sold the old Suren Tradition of London 54mm figures, which are beautiful and are on my shopping list sometime in the future. Depicted on the Retreat to Corunna, it depicts the ragged nature of campaign uniform in Spain 1809. Again very pleased with the facial features, hope this is a project will return to imminently.

Part of the ongoing 1/72 scale Huge Napoleonic project, these are Italeri 1eme Dragoons, cracking sculpts. Although the image is not particularly good, am very pleased with the Eagle and Guidon, although naturally, these were not often carried on campaign.

Being Portsmouth born and bred, Nelson's naval campaign's were naturally going to pop up at some point. Forged in Battle's 1/3000 scale Napoleonic ships totally do the job. Hoping to expand to the British Navy sometime later this year, these depict the Franco-Spanish fleet of Villeneuve for Trafalgar. While the sculpts do not have the detail of say 1/1200 Langton's, they have a certain charm and the lack of having to rig anything is a bonus in my book. Probably going to be used for Osprey's recent "Fighting Sail Rules

Following on from this is my Army for Lion Rampant. Created for use in the Glasgow Phoenix Wargames Society club project last year, based upon the 1460 Towton campaign during the Wars of the Roses (untrue to form I lost more battles than won). Using a combination of Perry's 15th century Infantry (by far my favourite miniatures company, particular as some of the faces are quite familiar in the reenactment world) and Irregular Miniatures, my force was based around Warwick the Kingmaker's retinue. Called "The King Rat" by the likes of David Chandler, Richard Neville and his ilk Salisbury and Westmoreland basically acted as the powerbrokers in Machiavellian British 15th century politics, back sliding everyone and very much under their banner prelonging withdrawal from the Hundred Years War in France, while deposing, deposing and then reimposing the monarch in the form of Henry VI and Edward IV respectively at St Albans, Northampton, Towton and finally with his death and dismemberment at Barnet.  Certainly for a further painting reference, If you are not using either Osprey's or Europa Militaria books as painting guides, a top class further painting guide is the Kingmaker Exhibition at Warwick Castle, depicting Warwick's household and Retinue preparing for the battle of Barnet, the costuming and dummies being respectively done by Ninya Perry (the Perries wife) and Gerry Embleton, of Osprey and reenactment fame. Well worth a look.

Armour, where possible has been painted using gloss varnish, a military modelling technique I think works quite well. Above is pictured a captain holding aloft the family banner for the de Neville's, rather than the more apparent Bear and Ragged Staff

Richard Neville, the Earl of Warwick himself. The Gothic English harness he is wearing has not been painted at all. Instead the armour has been burnished using a pin head in a pin vice, to allow the base metal to shine, then briefly around edges, mail and gauntlets been washed to highlight and then coated liberally in gloss varnish-a technique I think will continue to be used due to how impressive it looks.

You might have noticed that not all the soldiers in my army actually wear the colours or livery coat of the Neville/Warwick Household. Serving as a means of differentiating within the rules for Lion Rampant army lists (2 retinued units, 2 yeomen units) as well as within real life, these soldiers in blue coats actually represent the Windrush Frei Compagnie, as often depicted within the Medieval Siege Society. Returning from the wars in France and the continent during the 1450's as a Free Company of Routiers, without employment (and certainly around the time of Jack Cade) they started ravaging the Suffolk lands under Warwick, who was forced to pay them to stop their excesses. I think this quite clearly matches the clear mercenary attitude towards the makeup of medieval armies. I am currently considering matching them with a further army (two is always better than one, means someone has something to play) for a game based around the 1480 second battle of Bannockburn/Sauchieburn/Richard III's failed campaign in Scotland, again using converted Perry's (ability to be used for later Flodden), watch this space/

Mini Mania pt.2 Military Modelling 54mm and Above

As well as being a wargamer, I am also trained as a historian and archaeologist and therefore also like delving into the minutiae and makeup of the details of soldiers equipment and clothing, a feature that 28mm and below really doesn't do justice. Often the kits are expensive or hard to comeby, hence my ability to work on them only happens occasionally. But I defy anyone who has read or picked up an issue of Military Modelling, not to be inspired to try their hand at more detailed larger scales. However the following are my attempts in plastic to replicate the look, feel and nature of period soldiers.

 English Man-at-Arms/Billman 1415, 54mm Italeri. The Hundred Years War has always been a conflict that has fascinated me, whether watching Henry V, reading Bernard Cornwell, or exploring the connected battlefields in The Scots Lowlands, but raising a wargames army doesn't appeal (whatever the Perries throw at us) because the idea of raising a French army of the period doesn't appeal. Maybe it is the style inherent, maybe it is continued losses until Carcassone and Castillone-maybe it is a set in stone English sensibility (they did raid and burn up and down the coastline from where I originate from). Anyway this was my limited commemoration of the Agincourt 500 and I'm rather proud of him. The armour has been finished off in gloss varnish and colour scheme has been taken from a contemporary livery coat.

The following two are my continued frustration at not being able to attend the 200th anniversary of the battle of Waterloo this past year. As such, I have a long term goal (as suggested in Arthur Taylor's 1972 Discovering Model Soldiers) of targeting part of my modelling towards painting every uniform of La Garde Imperiale (A Grenadier a Pied Tambor, officer and artillery team wait patiently on the desk). Naturally, this cuirassier wears the uniform of 1e Regimente Cuirassiere, 54mm A Call to Arms.

But the pride and joy of the past year has to be Sergeante de la Grenadiere de la Garde, 110mm from Miniart Figures. I wish more people did these still like Airfix, although this seems to be a dying fashion today, with interests naturally gravitating towards WW2 (although Tamiya are lovely). Clothed in dress uniform, on guard in the marble halls of Fontainebleau, the floor, plate, brocade, buttons and musket have been finished in Gloss Varnish, while the bearkskin and plume in Satin. One feature that I take great pride in all my models is painting faces, as it is here you can differentiate most between masses of troops, I feel because of my dark colour palette a feature too often missed. Here I have to blow my own trumpet and say I am really proud of the face and think it portrays a small level of emotion, even if under the rigours of service. The model is not quite done yet, the base I would like to give a coat of gloss varnish to and add a plaque, possibly with the Imperial Cipher or an Eagle in Chains. 

In a couple of weeks will also post up the start of my alternating modelling project, a rifleman.

Next up, my favourite period by far, the era of Pike and Shotte, the 17th century.