The Covenanters!

I've just finished the cavalry for my DBA-RRR Covenanter army. Here's a sight to strike fear into any heart - heavily armed Presbyterians. All figures are 1/72 metal from Tumbling Dice.

First up, the Covenanter general, who is based as a single figure under the DBA-RRR rules.

'After yon Papist!'

Next, three elements of horse, using slightly different basing rules to DBA-RRR to make them consistent with the rest of my ECW figures.

The banner is a simplified attempt at a Covenanter flag captured by Cromwell's troops at Dunbar in 1650. While looking for flags I found this excellent reference.

Finally, an element of lancers. These are converted from Tumbling Dice figures holding muskets, and the helmeted head is from a figure in the A Call To Arms command set. The lances are broom bristles.

Next up - musketeers.

ECW Parliamentary Cavalry

This is just a quick update with my first figures finished for 2010 - a unit of Parliamentary horse. The riders are from Tumbling Dice (with one from SHQ). The horses are mainly Tumbling Dice, but with a few Revell horses thrown in for variety. I think they match up pretty well.

Now that these chaps are finished I'm concentrating on my first big project for the year - making a Covenanter army for DBA-RRR.

Wargaming the English Civil War in 1/72 Scale Part 3: Artillery

3. Artillery

So, you have your cavalry and infantry for your ECW army, but what about the artillery? Fear not, you are well served.

Revell Imperial Artillery

See the review here:

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=310

A great set. Three guns, a surfeit of crew figures and a horse team to pull one of your guns. Sadly this set has been out of production for some time, and attracts crazy prices on Ebay. Mars has pirated the set, but their effort only includes some of the crew and leaves out the horse team. As usual with Mars the quality of the moulding is awful. Grab the Revell set if you can.

Revell guns and crew

Revell horse team

A Call to Arms Royalist Artillery

See the review here:

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=20

Ignore the title. As with all of ACTA sets this is equally appropriate for Royalists, Parliamentarians or Scots too for that matter. Four guns and nicely moulded crew figures in four poses. Nothing like the variety of figures that Revell offers, but good enough for wargamers.

Mars Swedish Army with Culverin

This new release appears to be an original effort from Mars, and it looks promising. See images of the figures here:

http://www.marsfigures.com/

The horses are awful, but the gun, crew and mounted officers look quite useful. I will be getting this at some stage.

Tumbling Dice

Tumbling Dice have a number of guns and crew for the ECW, from very light falcons and volley guns to demi-culverins. I have two of these (unpainted) and they are excellent. The crew figures as usual with TD come with separate heads, there is a good range of poses, and the guns also come with accessories (barrels etc). Highly recommended.

Light gun and crew from Tumbling Dice

That pretty much concludes this little survey of what’s available for the ECW in 1/72 scale. There is far more variety than one might expect, especially if you are prepared to use metal figures as well.

Wargaming the English Civil War in 1/72 Scale Part 2: Cavalry

Revell 30YW Swedes painted as Parliamentarian horse

Cavalry and Dragoons

There are fewer options for ECW horse in 1/72 than for infantry, but it is still quite possible to build up varied and accurate units of cavalry and dragoons. Here are the possibilities.

Revell Swedish Cavalry

Read the review here:

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=311

This is a beautiful set of cavalry for the 30YW that contains possibly the best horses ever made in this scale. The figures are quite suitable for the ECW (apart from some minor quibbles about swords), and include cuirassiers, harquebusiers and unarmoured horse suitable for dragoons. The Revell set of Swedish infantry also incidentally includes some kneeling figures armed with flintlocks who make great dismounted dragoons.

Dragoons (Revell figures)

You could easily just use this set to provide the cavalry for a Royalist or Parliamentarian army, but there is one problem – availability. In its wisdom Revell has not produced the set for years, although it seems to have just been re-released as a limited edition and is advertised on the Michigan Toy Soldier site. My advice is to grab some while you can. Another alternative, depending on your scruples and tolerance for carving off flash, is to buy the pirated copies of the set produced by Mars. They have released badly moulded and quite illegal copies split into two boxes – cuirassiers and dragoons.

If you can’t get hold of this set, there are some other possibilities.

Strelets Reitars of Charles XII

Read the review here:

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=825

These figures are for the Great Northern War. However, they can be converted into pretty reasonable ECW cavalry. They don’t mix well with Revell though, being the usual Strelets ‘chunky’ style. To convert them, cut off the heads of any figures wearing tricorne hats and replace them with heads from A Call To Arms. The Reitars aren’t wearing backplates, but this can easily be disguised with a good paint job. It would also probably be more realistic to carve off some or all of the holster covers on the horses, as they look a bit too ‘18^th Century’. I quite like the effect of these figures, particularly for the New Model Army.

SHQ

SHQ have some 20mm ECW cavalry in metal. They didn’t impress me as much as their infantry. Poses are few, and the horses are too small. Some of the riders can be used in a unit on different horses.

From left to right: Three Tumbling Dice riders, a TD 'heavy' horse, a SHQ horse, SHQ rider, ACTA pikeman

Tumbling Dice

Tumbling Dice riders compared to Mars copies of Revell figures

TD have a good range of cavalry and dragoons with separate heads. This allows for more variation in a unit, and also allows figures to be used as Covenanters. The main problem with TD figures is the lack of variety in the horse poses. They have two – one with pistol holsters and one without. If. Like me, you don’t want your cavalry to appear to me trotting in step, you will have to source your horses from elsewhere. I have mounted a few on Revell horses, and like their look.

TD (and one SHQ) riders on TD and Revell horses

Next time - the artillery.

Wargaming the English Civil War in 1/72 Scale

My latest project is to do some work on my ECW armies. Painting ECW armies in 1/72 scale takes some ingenuity, as it requires mixing some plastic and metal figures, and doing some conversions. For me this is part of the appeal.

Rules

De Bellis Renationis (DBR)

DBA-RRR. This is a free supplement to DBA for the 16^th-17^th centuries designed by Tony Aguilar. I haven’t played it yet but it looks good, and Mr Aguilar has also thoughtfully provided army lists. They are all here: http://www.scribd.com/group/82216-dba-rrr-renaissance-reformation-and-restoration

Lion of the North. I haven’t played these either, but they have some features I like. The sequence of events (move, fire etc) is random, which makes battles less predictable. The rules also avoid some of the backwards-forwards nature of DBA by having units suffer ‘steps’ of damage. They are also free! Find them here:

http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/index.php?page=renaissance

All my troops are based on elements 5cm wide. Horse are always mounted 2 to a base, and infantry 3 to a base (or 2 if skirmishers). This basing is different to DBR, but since I usually have to provide both armies to have a game it doesn’t matter, and it means less painting.

Figures

There are few 1/72 scale plastic or metal figures available for the ECW. Here is a survey of what is available or can be adapted. I’d like to know if there are others I’ve missed.

Command figures from A Call to Arms

1. Infantry

1. A Call to Arms Parliamentary Infantry

2. A Call to Arms Royalist Infantry

3. A Call to Arms Command Set

See them all reviewed here: http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/PeriodList.aspx?period=12

When the infantry from all 3 sets are mixed together it is possible to get a good range of figures for an army. In particular, mixing the pikemen from both infantry sets allows the creation of a good pike unit. They are realistic and nicely moulded, but there are a couple of problems. The pikemen are wearing a lot of armour that was steadily abandoned as the wars went on. In particular, the tassets (thigh protectors) worn by all but one of the pikemen would have been increasingly rare by 1645. The musketeers don’t look so great as a group. There are too many figures doing too many different things to really look like they belong together in a drilled unit. Only one figure in any of the sets is using his musket, and he is found in the Command Set.

4. Revell Swedish Infantry

5. Revell Imperial Infantry

See them reviewed here: http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/PeriodList.aspx?period=10

These are great figures for the Thirty Years War. Unlike A Call to Arms the musketeers look great together. For the ECW they have some problems. The Imperial Infantry are all wearing helmets, which would have been rare for English musketeers. Some aspects of the clothing also look too old fashioned and Continental to be convincing for the ECW. In particular, the baggy breeches (pluderhosen) don’t look right. The musketeers are all using rests, which again became quite outmoded as lighter muskets were introduced during the ECW.

These figures can certainly be mixed in with those from ACTA, and are certainly good for the first year or so of the war, and perhaps for regiments that were drawing on the stocks of old armouries. Some head swapping (eg replacing some helmets with caps from ACTA figures) makes them even better. They would look quite wrong for the New Model Army.

Pikes for both Revell and ACTA should be replaced by wire or broom bristles – the Revell pikes don’t have points and are variable lengths and the ACTA pikes are much too short. Here is a block of pikemen from a 'green' regiment. Figures are a mix of Revell and ACTA, with a couple of Zvezda.

And here is a 'red' regiment.

6. Zvezda Austrian Musketeers and Pikemen

See them reviewed here:

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=1600

Why Zvezda? Why? These are beautiful figures, look great for the ECW (especially for the early stages), but are much too big for 1/72 scale. They don’t look right mixed with ACTA or Revell figures. I have sneaked a couple of pikemen from the set into my units, but they stand out, and the musketeers would do so even more. The options are either to make your infantry completely from this set, use the figures to make separate regiments, or not use it at all. Damn.

7. Mars Arquebusiers (30 YW)

8. Mars 30 YW Imperial Army (30 YW)

9. Mars Scots Mercenaries (30 YW)

These sets haven’t been reviewed by Plastic Soldier Review yet (and the Scots haven’t been released). See the box art here: http://www.marsfigures.com/ and some idea of the contents of the Arquebusiers here: http://www.michtoy.com/MTSCnewSite/newplastic_folder/mars_russia/2009_adds/MAR-72027.html

There is lots to dislike about Mars. Most of their sets are pirated versions of figures from Revell and Esci and others, and are often really badly done. That being said, some of these figures may be useful, such as the mounted officers…

10. Strelets Jacobites (Sets 1&2)

11. GerMan Jacobites

See them reviewed here: http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/PeriodList.aspx?period=18

Although these figures are really suitable for the period 1688-1746, they may be usable for the army of Montrose, or for Highlanders in Covenanter armies. I haven’t tried this yet, but some figures can probably be adapted by sing a hobby knife to remove any traces of short jackets and paint them as buff coats etc.

12. SHQ

http://www.shqminiatures.co.uk/Ranges/20mmECW/20mmECWmain.php?UID=20091231230038115.30.42.11

13. Tumbling Dice

http://tumblingdiceuk.com/

From left to right: Tumbling Dice musketeer, two SHQ Covenanters, SHQ pikeman, ACTA pikeman, Revell Swedish pikeman

There are two main manufacturers that I know of who make metal 1/72 figures for the ECW. These are a great way to add variety to your plastic army and to avoid it looking too much like a Continental 30YW army. In particular, both manufacturers make figures suitable for the New Model Army. SHQ make Covenanter infantry and Tumbling Dice make light cavalry and militia infantry that you can ‘customise’ with different heads. I’m working on a Covenanter army, so I bought a bag full of heads with Scots bonnets.

Pikemen with 3 different helmet variants from SHQ with a pikeman from ACTA

Not all the metal figures work equally well with the plastics. As you can see from the size comparisons the SHQ Covenanters are a little short – more 1/76 than 1/72. This isn’t so much a problem, but the size of their muskets are quite different to those from Tumbling Dice. I think I will probably end up making my Covenanter army for DBA-RRR from mainly Tumbling Dice figures, with some SHQ and plastics for variety. My Parliamentarian army will be the opposite – mainly plastics with a scattering of metal.

Next time - the cavalry.

III/65 Fatimid Egyptian DBA Army

OK, so I'm feeling a bit pleased with myself. I've finished my DBA Fatimid Army, that has been on the go since July. They aren't the best painted figures ever, but they are the first project I've finished since the twins were born in August, so hence the feeling of satisfaction.

The army contains 4 Elements of Cavalry, one of which is the General's element. That's him on the left with a mace. These figures are all from one box of Strelets Arab Cavalry.

The mobile part of the army is completed with an element of Light Horse. These figures are from Italeri, and one of them is a conversion, being made with the torso of a kneeling foot archer.

The main foot component is made up of 3 Elements of 8Bw. These are annoying elements to paint, being double-based elements of spearmen and archers, but behaving no differently in DBA than any other Bows. All the infantry are from HaT. Mainly their Almoravid infantry set, but with some Andalusians as well.

The army is completed with 2 Elements of 3 Bw, an element of Auxilia and one of Psiloi. All the foot apart from the 3 Bw are painted as Sudanese mercenaries, whereas the cavalry and 3 Bw are North African (and thus have lighter skin).

These Fatimids are the second in a series of 11th Century armies I want to paint (after my Normans). Next up may be Andalusians, but I think I'll be doing some work on my English Civil War armies first.

II/33 Polybian Roman DBA Army

Today for your delectation I offer a Polybian Roman army for DBA that I finished earlier this year. All the figures are from Zvezda. Here is the army arrayed:

The army is made up of a 3Cv General's element:

Another 3Cv element. I'm pretty proud of the shield with the horse on it. But here's a thing - horses' eyes. Being an urban person I rarely see horses, and I've been merrily painting them with white irises like human eyes. But now I think that is probably wrong, and the whole eye should be a dark browny black. Has anyone got an opinion on this?

Here is the core of the Polybian army - 6 elements of 4 Bd (blades). I love the detail of these Zvezda figures, but these Hastati/Principes figures aren't very realistic. Far too many have full muscled cuirasses. I've given them a quite uniform appearance as these are troops from late in the 2nd Punic War, when equipment was being increasingly supplied by the state.

The DBA army list calls for 2 elements of 4Sp (Spears), representing the Triarii of the Republican Roman legion. I painted 4 elements because I liked the figures so much.

And finally, 2 elements of Velites (2Ps in DBA terms).

I look forward to painting a Carthaginian army at some stage. And a later Macedonian army... so many armies, so little time.

Valete!