Categories
saxons

Saxon intermission!

So no normans in this post instead a base of Saxons for your delectation!
These guys have painted up nicely
Strelets do some nice poses and again a suggestion of motion lifts these figures. I need to finish the basing and get on with a few more.
Categories
Carolingians

Carolingians complete

So I will complete my Carolingian cavalry with my Mediterranean style basing

I use gloss partly because it gives protection as these figures are to be handled and partly because at 3 feet away on a game table it lifts the colours

The budgie grit bases will get a 3 stage paint job and some tufted plants!So that’s it for these chaps, next up are some strelets normans

Despite a bad plastic soldier review which I follow avidly Charlie and his guard have a decent look about them
I am quite pleased with my light cavalry unit
Categories
wargaming

Carolingians varnished

Made some good progress with my Carolingian cavalry after the PVA primer problems. Even coat d’arms horse colours fell victim to some cracking.

Charlemagne not quite majestic
The horses that plastic soldier review detested
After some care and attention and yes shiny gloss they are beginning to look quite nice
The two light horse I chose actually look ok on their dynamic horses
Another view of the grand national contenders!
If nothing else this set creates motion
I have two heavy cavalry bases for my Carolingian or Frankish army plus a light base from one pack.
Categories
Carolingians

Carolingian cavalry started

So next up on the painting table are some Carolingian cavalry. Plastic soldier review (http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com) slated the horses but beggars can’t be choosers as they say. Carolingian cavalry are less loved than the infantry and even those have to be nicked off your Saxons somehow.

Here are my primer choices again persisting with PVA versus VJ grey primer on soap washed and scrubbed 1/72 strelets medium plastic.

These Carolingians will double up as Franks as well. I also painted a few Normans (on the left above) into the bargain, again Strelets 1/72, being from some of their original sets.

As you can see the VJ primer shows up the detail straight away which I like.

So first I cleaned the flash – not too bad and then matched the figures as per the photo on the box art, pinning and gluing the horsemen to the horses. After priming and white undercoating, I painted the horses with coat d’arms horse colours – looking good already – followed by blacking out the metallics.

Categories
basing normans in the south

Plants for your figure bases

My Norman bases have an arid appearance so to offset the desert image I added some planting. I opted to use individual plants rather than “scatter” or “flock”. This ties in better with the more arid look. I did do a few bases with some bush flock and they look ok. I used three product types. Bush flock, grass tufts and plants. I also tried a couple of seasonal variants for the grass tufts.

I used gaugemaster NOCH plants of two types – stalky on left and on the right stalks with heads with large tufts at the bottom.


I used Frome Model Centre small green tufts to add variety of height

I did a couple of bases with US based company Woodland Scenics light green bush material just laid on the ground.

More crumb based than discrete stalks I am pleased with the outcome.

Categories
metal miniatures

Garrison Vikings and Normans

Having got the 1/72 strelets Normans going, I decided to search out my old 20/25mm metal figures from long ago. The idea was to see whether they could be used alongside my plastics.

Specifically I was looking for some small Garrisons Normans. These were bought in the late 1970’s. At the time it was Garrisons new 25mm Viking’s which caught my eye. I bought the Normans at the same time all on impulse. They were actually for dungeons and dragons gaming as well as skirmish gaming. Big battles were in theory Macedonia versus Persia although the armies were never completed.

Garrison Vikings painted plus their Normans bought together in the late 1970’s

So it just happened that the Garrison Normans were shorter than their new Viking mates. I think this was the moment when 20mm, 1/72 and 25mm were going their separate ways. Well 20 mm had already stayed where it was while 1/72 and 25mm just about lived with each other yet 25mm was getting taller. But in these photos you can see the height, bulk and style difference within the same makers existing ranges. There is nothing new under sun – least of all scale creep!

The norman figures came with loose weapons and the design seemed to lend itself to less flash.
The vikings were more open although the Norman spearman was far less contrived yet still a classic stance.
The vikings did have one weakness – they were quite two dimensional – good as they rush forward but again probably designed to help the casting

For my money the garrison Vikings were up there with Citadel castings. Top notch on detail. And probably heading towards the few well painted skirmish figures collection or D&D idea.

Spot the citadel knight and yes mounted vikings – just what you need for D&D – our games ranged over the countryside fairly early on!
I really like the citadel horse, less so the Garrison one
As you can see I had primer confusion going on. Actually I painted my horses in artists gouche or washed out enamels over white. I used black for the predominantly armoured soldiers.
These have made it to a painting stick a mere 40 years late! I might even finish them although sadly the vikings will just not match up with the strelets plastics. I might do better with the normans.

The normans though were from the mid seventies figure style – a good wargame figure for army games.

ok so I can’t explain the soldiers being in different primer styles!
These chaps will make it into a unit as giants amongst their strelets cousins
ok these two axemen look classic 1970’s – slight bodies with large heads. And whats that monster on the right – yes its a Lamming Norman – but thats another story.
I really will have to sort out the priming………….

As it happened the Vikings never made the D&D games while the Normans were parked after undercoating. My wargaming days ended – well for about 15 years.

When I returned in the mid 1990’s it was all DBA, acrylics and 15mm.

Categories
normans in the south

Progress on Normans and some Saxons

I have started my Normans in the South project by painting up some Strelets figures. These are a bit chunky but on the whole a likeable set of figures. I used the figures from the big Stamford Bridge set and the mini sets for Normans

i have opted for an arid south mediterranean look rather than a dark earthy northern europe one
in slightly different light the ground does not look quite like a desert!
so a few archers and now a few spearmen – i have opted for a more open look with the shieldwall not formed
I quite like some of the before battle poses strelets have done although figures do vary in size. I am not looking for the regimented look anyway.
I am quite happy with the look including the vegetation. the bases are all 80mm x 60mm and I shall use them for either AMW, DBA or Impetus games amongst others.
Categories
life

COVID-19 ? Will it make me blog more?

It has been a while since I wrote on this blog and in that time the world has literally turned upside down. Back then, actually only February, the Chinese were wrestling with their outbreak while in Italy the first signs of a serious European outbreak were just appearing. Since then it has begun to spread everywhere and most of Europe is locking down to try to avoid following Italy into significant loss of life.

Society is in collective shock and it appears relying heavily on the world wide web to help the isolation and separation that we must now all encounter.

So I hope this will be the last time I write about COVID-19 and that this blog will focus instead on the distraction of the simple hobby of table-top wargaming.

I hope that what I share you will enjoy.

Categories
lance and longbow society

Tannenberg 1410 at Vapnartak

A good visit to Vapnartak which including playing in the participation game laid on by the Lance and Longbow society (LLS). The battle of was fought in 1410 between the teutonic order and the polish lithuanians and is variously now known as Grunwald, 1st Tannenberg or Zalgiris according to the useful LLS table guide provided on the day.

The Teutons mass to attack
Th Lithuanians are up for a fight
More Commonwealth Troops
In the centre the Poles are pressing home their attacks
the beginning of the end as the polish left wing is driven from the field

Many thanks to the guys who ran this participation game which used a house rules version of big battle lion rampant and also their advice on painting plastics. The figures were all 1/72 or 20mm from various manaufacturers medieval ranges. They might be considered small in these 28mm days but they looked good to me.

Categories
battle anniversaries

Two 21st Century decades! Where did they go?

Neil Rennoldson editor successively of Arquesbusier (journal of the pike and shot society) and Hobilar (journal of the lance and longbow society) sometimes used his editorials to review centenaries and anniversaries in a bid to inspire articles written by members.

Looking back through history at the numerous wars and battles fought has two impacts on me. The sheer number of events that occurred and have been recorded and then what a distraction they can be from my current wargame projects.

I will start this post with a reflection. The first two decades of the 21st century have seen multi century anniversaries.

War of the Spanish Succession

Great Northern War

War of the Quadruple Alliance

War of the League of Cambrai

Jacobite Rebellion

The Ottoman Venetian war

Numerous Anglo Norman (1202) Anglo French (1214) wars not to mention Anglo Scottish (1400-1420) Anglo Welsh (1211) wars. Plus the Barons War (1215-1217 – Magna Carta and all that)

Then there have been the Polish Teutonic wars (1409-1411) and the Umayyad wars in Iberia and eastern Mediterranean (700-718).

I should say that my reflections only concern European and Middle Eastern history including those lands bordering the Mediterranean and Black seas during the period 3000BC to the early 1700’s.

Turning to earlier times things seemed a lot quieter although I would single out 400-419 AD as one of immense change for the Western Roman Empire as the Suevi, Alans, Vandals and Visigoths swept across Gaul and Italy sacking Rome in the process and drawing away the last great roman armies of fortress Britain.

I might also mention some of the battles from the medieval and early modern periods like Clontarf 1014, Bouvines 1214, Morgarten 1315, Agincourt 1415, Ravenna 1512, Novara 1513, Flodden 1513, while in the east the Umayyad siege of Constantinople in 717/18.

That’s an impressive list so what do the roaring 20’s promise the historical gamer looking for inspiration, or simply a backdrop to the next wargames project?

War in the “roaring 20’s”

In my preferred periods in question not a lot jumps out prior to 1550BC so here are some that caught my eye since then.

Egyptians conquer the Hyksos 1523-1517

Nubian Campaigns of Thutmose III 1429-1428

First Messenia War with Sparta 740-720BC

Nubian conquest of Egypt 732-721BC

Colchis – Scythian War 725BC

Revolt of Babylon against the Neo Assyrians 626BC

Peloponnesian War 431-404BC

2nd Samian War with Rome 327-304BC

Lamian War with Macedon 323BC

Barcid conquest of Hispania 237-219BC

Greco Bactrian wars of Diodotus II and Euthydemus I 230-220BC

Cloemenean War 229-222BC

Gallic wars with Rome 225- 222BC

Greek Lyttian War 220BC

Rome defeats the pirates of the Balearics 123 – 121BC

Jurgurthen War with Rome 122-105BC

Cantabrian Wars with Rome 29-19BC

Tacfarina Numidia Rebellion from Rome 17-24AD

Constantine versus Licinius 314-324AD

Roman Sassanian Wars 421-422AD

Now for some battle anniversaries coming up this decade

320’s – Chrysopolis

420’s – Aetius and the Visigoths (426) and Franks (428)

520’s – Vezeronce

620’s – Siege of Constantiploe and Nineveh (Byzantine/Sassanid)

720’s – Toulouse and Ravenna

820’s – Ellendun (Mercia/Wessex)

920’s – Battle of the Highlands 926(Bosnia and Bulgaria)

1020’s – Shirimni & Svindux (Byzantine/Georgian) and Lemnos (Byzantine/Rus)

1120’s – Didgori(Tbilisi)(Georgian/SeljukTurks),

1220’s – Lihula, Trebizond, Estonia

1320’s – Boroughbridge, Muldorf, Zuppolino, Cassel

1420’s – Hussite Wars, Arbedo, L’Aquila, Zagonara, Maclodio, Patay, French recovery in the Hundred Years War

1520’s – Belgrade, Bicocca, Frakenhause Peasant War, Pavia, Mohacs, Vienne, Siege of Florence

1620’s – White Mountain and the Thirty Years War, Cossack Raid on Istanbul, Cecora, and Ottoman Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth Wars

1720’s – Russo Swedish Naval War and Russo Persian War

The 1720’s look a bit empty after the numerous wars of the first two decades of the 1700’s. Elsewhere the decisive battles are Pavia, Mohacs, White Mountain and Nineveh.

One stand out battle anniversary for 2020 has to be White Mountain. The 400th anniversary of the battle between the Empire and Bohemia was one of the most significant in the wars that lasted from 1618 until 1648. The only rub is that my pike and shot armies have never got going so I would need a miracle to field the armies by the anniversary day in November.

So plenty to go at if my current interest in Normans and Saxons takes a wrong turn.