Even more Wars of the Roses

 Normal service has been resumed and I am still on project! Those who know me will tell you that this is a miracle, but the Wars of the Roses itch has still not been fully scratched.

So, forty more foot figures have joined the ever increasing throng. Some pikemen and skirmishers this time. Another six handgunners and six archers to be dismounts for my previously painted mounted archers. 

To make a change from Bills and Bows I have also done two units of pikemen, along with some more command and standard bearer figures.

Again, these are all Perry Miniatures plastics, as that is the cheapest way of doing this period. All told I now have 36 mounted and 249 foot painted, all done since Christmas. All I have left to do is base the two cannons and crew I have sat on the table.

I now have more than enough for a game of Billhooks, with enough to give both sides some options and some variety. I think I will call it done there, based on space, time and money I will have to move on to something else. I am thinking I need to get back to my 15mm Cold War project, I still have to play a game of Battlegroup:Northag at some point and I have a lot of unpainted vehicles sat in a box calling my name.

Catch you all later, stay safe folks.

The end is here, at least for now.

 Don't panic, it's just that I have painted all the Wars of the Roses figures I have, everything is done and there are no more. At least until my Perrys order for a pair of cannons turns up.

The last unit I had to do was some Claymore Castings crossbowmen with pavises. These figures are absolutely lovely and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Plus the service was excellent too, 2 days from order to arrival. I ordered three packs, one of crossbowmen, one of pavise and crossbow teams and one of crossbowmen hiding behind pavises. One slight issue was some of the figures are lying down which made them too big for my usual penny bases, so I decided to do some multiple skirmisher bases, with two men trying to hide behind one pavise.  Each six man unit has two multibases and two single figures. I think they came out alright, I like them anyway.

12 Crossbowmen taking cover 

Having taken this picture I decided they could have some extra detail added, so I cut off some arrows, drilled some holes and voila, the reason why these mercenary Frenchies are hiding behind their big shields.

Added arrows just for some fun

Like any self-respecting wargamer, I decided to get the whole force out and take a group shot. So here they are arrayed for battle. 36 mounted and 221 foot, ready for battle. That'll do for a small scale skirmish game I think. The whole lot has been painted between Christmas and now, so that's pretty good for my own stuff.

My army deployed for battle

So now I need to find something else to focus on. Maybe some of the WW2 desert figures will be next? Or some Persians? Who knows.

Take care folks and I'll catch you next time.

Still on project, which is a miracle!

I am still getting on with my Wars of the Roses project, which makes a change. Normally by now I would be on to a third project leaving partially finished figures behind me. So here are the latest offerings. First up are another two foot blocks, each with 12 archers, 12 billmen and 3 command figures.

That gives me six blocks each of a similar make up, which should be enough for a decent sized game.

I also finished another unit of mounted Men-at-Arms, giving me two units of them as well now. 

The total force is now 168 foot and 32 mounted. All I have left to do now are four mounted figures as commanders and 12 crossbow men. I made a slip yesterday and ordered two Perrys cannons as well though. 

I may need to get some Irish kerns just to give some other options. 

Anyway, there they are. I am going to set up and play a game tomorrow, just so I can get all the figures out on the table. 

Stay safe folks

More Wars of the Roses

 January is rapidly passing and I have finally got some more painting done. No gaming except online, but staying in is the least I can do during this pandemic.

Anyway, painting. Firstly I made and painted up some stakes for my archers to hide behind use when enemy cavalry threaten. Just toothpicks cut to size, hot glued to a spare plastic base and then painted and based. I think they will do the trick when I finally do get some gaming in and they have the added bonus of being cheap.

Ten bases of stakes

Now onto the figures. All these are plastic Perrys Miniatures figures. Firstly some mounted archers, an 8 man unit for Never Mind the Billhooks. A light horse unit which has the option to dismount as a skirmish archer unit, at least they will do once I paint some figures up for them.

8 Mounted Archers

Then some Hobilars, 8 light cavalry again but with spears this time. 

Hobilars

Finally some mounted Men-at-Arms, again 8 strong and much heavier armoured than the others. 

Mounted Men-at-Arms

That's the lot for now, I am hoping to get some more done soon but real life keeps getting in the way. I have some more mounted MaA to paint, then it's back to the foot troops with some more bows and bills. At some point I will get some crossbows too, but not just yet.

Take care folks, stay safe.

First post and painting of 2021

 Happy New Year to you all, I hope it's better than last year. Although it's not off to a great start with a new national lockdown here in the UK. 

Anyway, fingers crossed and all that. I have been a bit productive over the Christmas break, cracking on with the Wars of the Roses figures I mentioned last time. The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that I painted a few of the Perry Miniatures figures back in 2012 for a Christmas game at Devon Wargames, sadly they were sold on some time ago due to lack of use. So now I am painting more of the same again. 

So, here we go. Just the infantry done so far but there will be some cavalry done at some point. All these figures are Perry Miniatures plastics, bought 2nd hand at one show or another over the last few years. The revival in the period for me has been caused by the arrival of the Never Mind the Billhooks rules. These rules use units of 6 foot for skirmishers, 12 foot for everything else and 8 cavalry for mounted units.

First we have 24 foot men-at-arms, 6 hand-gunners , 4commanders and 2 standard bearers. That's enough for 2 units of men-at-arms, a unit of skirmishers and up to 4 leaders. 

Next we have the blues, blue and yellow on the left with blue and white on the right. Each group has 12 archers and 12 billmen, along with a 3 man command group with matching flag. I do need another musician for the blue and white unit though. An extra man-at-arms has stood in for now.

Finally, for now, we have the red and black/yellow units. Again each has 12 archers and 12 billmen with a command group of 3 men, both with musicians this time. That lot gives me about 150 points worth of units, so most of the way to a 100 points per side game.

All told that is 144 figures finished so far, with another 52 foot and 40 odd mounted waiting to be painted. The extras will add another bill and bow combined block, an extra unit of archers, some crossbowmen and a couple of units each of light horse and mounted men-at-arms. That should be enough for a small scale skirmish I hope.

Adios for now folks, stay safe and I will catch you next time.