Spanish for the Great Italian Wars

Here's another experiment from earlier in the year.

For wargaming the Great Italian Wars in 1/72 scale we now have the Landsknechts and cavalry from Dark Dream Studios. We also have Conquistadors from Revell and Caesar. Nice figures, but a whole lot of sword and bucklers but only a few pikemen in the Revell set. As an experiment, I took one of the Caesar figures, cut away the bucker and sword, and replaces his head so that he looks in the opposite direction. The figure on the right was converted from the one on the left.

I then stuck a pin through both hands, so that they would stay in alignment for holding a pike, and stuck the figure in boiling water, all of which sounds like something that the Spanish were no doubt doing to people in the early C16th. The Caesar plastic goes very bendy in hot water, and stays in its new position after it cools down.

Here's the finished product.



Result. Conquistadors can be converted into other figures suitable for the Great Italian Wars. I've also seen some converted into cavalry over on Benno's Figures. The Swiss are a tougher prospect...

Montrose in 1/72 Scale

Earlier in the year I set out to convert a figure suitable to lead the Scots Royalist army that I didn't get to complete. I used this mounted figure from the Strelets Jacobite set, and made a few modifications:

I carved away the foppish 18th century wig and lace and used greenstuff to give Montrose a cuirass. I also remade the sword and scabbard, and replaced the pistol holsters with pistol buckets more suitable for the C17th. This was my first real attempt at working with Greenstuff, and I'm pretty pleased with the result.

I'm Back

Apologies that it has been so long between posts. I started a new job, and what with that and 15 month old twins things have been busy at Dux Homunculorum Towers. Looking at my 'Projects for 2010' list, it looks like I have managed to complete just one: the Maximilian army for DBA-RRR. Most of the Landsknechts have already appeared on the blog, but in the interest of closure here are some pics of the completed army.

Irregular Wars - Scotland 1, Spain 0

Met up last night with Paul the Galloglaigh to try out the Irregular Wars rules. Paul fielded a Border Reiver army, intent on plunder, while I had the Spanish Expeditionary Force. The beer war Dark Lord, a great wargaming ale with Black Tom Fairfax on the label.

I started strongly, charging a company of border horse with my pikes. Then everything went wrong. I allowed my companies of shot to get involved in melees, and by the end Paul ripped a whole through my centre and surrounded my pikes and one company of cavalry. Disaster!

The rules were fun and simple, although I think there were a couple of melee rules we got wrong. We'll definitely be playing it again.

Covenanter Flags Part 4

Here's a couple more Covenanter cavalry standards (cornets) that might be of use to someone.

First up - A cornet of Lord Mauchline's regiment, captured at Dunbar in 1650:

...and this one was surrendered on 25 August 1648 at Uttoxeter. It belonged to one of the troops of the Duke of Hamilton's life guard of horse. The slogan means 'give unto Caesar', referring to Matthew 22:21.

Enjoy!

Irregular Wars

It's been a rough couple of months with the family sick, so this is the first post in ages. I've taken a break from my usual projects to make a couple of armies for Irregular Wars, a nice little set of free rules for minor battles in the C16th which is available here. The rules are written for 15mm, so I set my principles aside for once and bought a bunch of little metal men.

The first army (or 'battle' as they are called in the rules) are Border Reivers. Figures are Essex and West Riding Miniatures.

My second battle is a Spanish expeditionary force, supported by Irish kerns. Figures are by Essex.

I have to say, painting my first 1/72 figures in years didn't make me like 1/72 any less. The WRM border reivers in particular were a bit of a disappointment, with some of the figures being incredibly flat. At some stage I'll make some armies for Irregular Wars in God's own scale of 1/72....

English Civil War Clubmen

'Clubmen' was the name given to locally-organised militias during the English Civil Wars who were usually motivated by the desire to defend their lands against depredations by the armies of either side. For a good summary of the Clubmen uprisings of 1644-6, see: http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/glossary/clubmen.htm

The banner is based on the only known flag carried by Clubmen, which was captured by Cromwell's troops on 4 August 1644 in a skirmish at Hambleton Hill, near Shrawton in Dorset. There is no surviving image of the flag, but the motto was recorded. I have guessed at a possible design.

The Clubmen figures are mainly conversions from the Imex set of Pilgrims, with one man wielding a quarterstaff converted from the ACTA Royalist Artillery set. The Imex Pilgrims set has all sorts of interesting conversion possibilities, as Andrew has already pointed out over on his 'Ferrous Lands' blog (http://www.ferrouslands.com/2010/02/painted-imex-pilgrims.html). The only reference I know of to any sort of uniform worn by Clubmen is a reference to a group near Salisbury in 1645 wearing white 'ribbands in their hats' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clubmen). However, this was likely just a local distinction, so I have given my figures a mix of hat bands.

Here they are!