Off the Workbench: 28mm Marian Wars

Completed group of eight fighters

Its been a while since I last did some figures for my Marian Wars collection but with a number of boxes of Conquistadors & Landschneckts sitting under my workbench - I feel the urge to get moving on these.

For those not aware the Marian Wars ran from 1568 to 1573 and was a period of conflict which followed the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her escape from Lochleven Castle in May 1568. Those who ruled in the name of her infant son James VI fought against the supporters of the Queen, who was exiled in England. Edinburgh Castle, which was garrisoned in her name, became the focus of the conflict and surrendered only after an English intervention in May 1573. 

Two Musketeers

Most of these figures are Wargames Atlantic Conquistadors, who come with a wide range of alternative weapons options, including pikes / spears, muskets, crossbows and swords & bucklers. Two figures are mash-ups of Warlord Games ECW and Wargames Atlantic Conquistadors.

Another view of the musketeers, the one on the right is a Warlord Games ECW figure with head,
arms & weapons replaced by Wargames Atlantic options,
this figure also needs to have a sword added to it to finish it off correctly!

The remaining six figures are five pike / spear men and a sword and buckler man. All figures were undercoated in white and then painted with a mixture of speed and regular paints with suitable ink washes added prior to a matt varnish.

Pikemen and Swordsman! Figure front right is a Warlord Games armoured ECW figure with head, arms and weapon swapped out for Wargames Atlantic alternatives

Hopefully more to come next week, if I get around to doing these. Also on the workbench are some Warlord Games Epic TYW Swedes, currently just waiting to be based!

Same again but with the rear rank moved forwards.

Off the Workbench: Salute models and others

Finished figure - a good looking Jarl for the Viking Army

Nigel was kind enough to give me two of the Salute models (from 2020 & 2023) to bring home and paint, here are the results!

The 2023 figure has been put onto a round mdf base so that it can be integrated into my Viking army, as such he will be representing a Viking Jarl, who is celebrating a successful raid, having looted what appears to be a local King's treasure chest.

The blinged-up Jarl. A horn of foaming ale,
a King's crown and  other looted treasures

I opted t give this portly guys a red tunic, arguably he could have been bare chested but I went for the big colour splash for dramatic effect. The fur cloak was done using, rather aptly,   Citadel 'Ogre Grunta Fur', the lining and belts were rendered in a buff colour to represent natural leather.

With Green trousers and brown calf bindings and boots the figure was nearly complete

Rear view, Speed Paints make doing these type of fur cloaks so easy these days.
No more dry-brushing required!

I finished it off with Oily Steel for the weapons, lashings of gold bling and then some appropriate washes to at depth an shading.

The second Salute figure was a small boy, playing with a toy Spitfire, as he runs across an bomb-site, this was from 2020. 

I'm quite pleased with the outcome, 

I opted for a light grey school uniform, trimmed in maroon. As usual I did a white undercoat and then used a mixed white / black speed paint to do the uniform and regular paints to do the flesh. I then highlighted the uniform with Ash Grey and spent some time on the model aeroplane and the rubble base to finish t off.

Rear view.

Next up is an old Night Goblin standard bearer that I found in my drawers, painted it up and it turned out OK, another model to add to the Goblin Hordes!

I was always a sucker for the toadstools on the Night Golblin figures

Finally, again on the Warhammer theme is an old Empire Huntsman, that I found lying around. I added a head from the Wargames Atlantic Conquistador set and then gave him a couple pistols.

The Wargames Atlantic Head seems to fit in well with the Games Workshop body.

Shame I sold my Empire Army on eBay a month or so ago!

Rear view.

Off the Workbench: Gladiator and Marian Wars Scots Horse

28mm 3D printed Gladiator

As advertised last week, I have been working on a couple of figures as I've been easing myself back into painting again after a bit of a lay off as I set-up our ongoing 'To Topple a King' ECW campaign.

First up is a figure of a Gladiator that is actually a 28mm 3D print. I don't remember the manufacturer but it turned out to be a joy to paint.

Mostly rendered in Speed Paints

I used Army Painter flesh for the skin tones and then regular acrylic metalics for the steel & brass weapons and armour, the rest of the figure was completed with Speed / Contrast Paints over the white undercoat.

The skin was then given a Flesh Wash to add shading & toning and the weapons and armour also got an ink wash for the same reason!

Based on an mdf 'penny' which was painted with my pot of brown gloop and then sand applied before a turf of dried grass added to finish it off.

Next up are three Scots Horse from the Marian Wars period but who could be used for most Tudor and later games, in my opinion.

The riders are metal figures i just found in the spares box and so I acquired some Wargames Atlantic horses and mounted the figures accordingly. The initial fix was not great but by adding paper saddle cloths and using putty to make some additional blanket rolls etc they worked out well.

As well as Wargames Atlantic Horses being used,
I pressed into service three small shields from their Conquistador range.

Undercoated in white, I used the same approach as above for these guys, Speed Paint working really well for a quick, shaded horse flesh finish. Flesh & metalics were again regular acrylics as were the horse's saddlery, reins etc.

The sword hand came from an Oathmark 'Human Infantry' plastic boxed set and allows me to create another command figure.

A good view of some of the additional blanket rolls / bags added to the horse to help make the metal figure fit better

If all goes well I'll look to get these two figures completed in the coming week, thanks to Nigel for donating these Salute figures 

As you would expect the left hand figure will be destined for the Viking collection, the model of the young lad will need to find a deserving home!

Off the Workbench: Viking Shield Maidens and Medieval Artillery

Well its the first 'Off the Workbench' submission for quite some time! Currently tied up with the ongoing ECW Campaign, so it has taken quite some time getting these little guys (and girls) completed.

The first batch of figures are 11 x 28mm Shield Maidens that I acquired form eBay, I continue to experiment with Contrast / Speed Paints and feel that I'm gradually understanding how to use these to their best. As with everything they have their good and bad points...

Ultimately I'll be using a mix of traditional and Speed paints moving forwards.

The completed group

The Speed Paints are particularly good for figures with long hair - such as these women, it gives a lovely shaded feel with a single coat.

The sky blue colours on the right most figures are traditional paints with a blue ink
wash for shading. The red undershirt for the figure with an axe is speed paint

I decided to replace the metal shields and spears where possible with plastic ones, sourced from the spares box - likely mostly Gripping Beast items. I also added a helmet to the waist belt of the figure second right, see below

All of these figures completed using speed paints. The skin tones on the figure second right is not great, I used regular Army Painter flesh and then washed with Sepia ink, the results seem much better on the other figures.

Final group of three figures below, includes the unit leader in chainmail and a red (Speed Paint) cloak

All speed painted again!

And now for something slightly different! Medieval Artillery - I forget who the figure manufacturer is but the moulds are nice and crisp.

Both figures were painted using Speed paints - whilst the gun was a mixture of traditional and Speed Paints.

Business end of the gun!

Again figures undercoated white and pretty much painted straight from the Speed Paint pots. Metalics is traditional Vallejo 'Oily Sleel' and then a coat of Army Painter 'Graveyard Grey' speed paint for shading.

A side view to see the detail on the gun carriage.

Overall pleased with e results - its a learning process. Hopefully next post will be three Elizabethan Border Lancers and some Wargames Atlantic Conquistadors - converted for the Anglo-Scots Marian Wars.

To Topple a King: Prince Wilhelm closes out the 1642 Campaign Season

 

Prince Wilhelm of the Rine

1642: December

And so the 1642 campaign season comes to a close with Prince Wilhelm marching his forces out of eth South West region to occupy Cornwall, leaving behind key garrisons in Salisbury & Exeter to thwart any Parliamentary designs of  a quick smash and grab in taking control of the South West without a fight!

Prince Wilhelm now has control over the only key Cornwall location - namely Plymouth which like the rest of Cornwall is strongly pro-Royalist with their sympathies.  

As ever, they have no indication of his relative strength or if the Prince has garrisoned Plymouth but as noted above the map now reflects the fact that there are know known Royalist garrisons in the South West region. It must be assumed that the Prince's army  remains in the field in Cornwall.

With the closing of the campaign season, players may now regroup and plan for the 1643 season, details will be distributed shortly.

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Campaign Materials sourced from Steven Bagalan / Map by Peter Davies

To Topple a King: Solemn League and Covenant

 

In 1638, tens of thousands of Scots signed the National Covenant, pledging to resist changes imposed by Charles I on the organisation of the Presbyterian church and it's Kirk hierarchy. Following victory in the 1639-40 Bishop's War, the Covenanters came into power in Scotland. 

With the outbreak of the English Civil War negotiations began between the English & Scots Parliaments, culminating in an agreement known as the Solemn League and Covenant which brought the Scots into the war south of the border on the side of Parliament.

Meantime the Royalists are looking to make contacts with potential Catholic allies in Ireland.

To Topple a King: Parliament's Fifth Strategic Move

 

Sir Bevill Dedge and Sir Osborne Black-D'eath discuss next moves
on a bench beside the Thames in London

1642: November

In a somewhat expected response recent moves by the Royalists in Wales, attention now switches back to the Parliamentary cause and the opening gambit to be played by the Sir Osborne Black-De'arth, who is being steered by  Mark through out the campaign.

Sir Osborne opts to move his forces out of London and boards friendly naval vessels and they are transported to the Lancashire region.

Sir Osborne now has control over the key Lancashire locations in Lancashire - Carlisle, Hulme and Preston, which are neutral but wiling to help the Parliamentary cause.

With this move their have been clear noises coming form north of the border to indicate that the Scots Covenanter Government is actively considering raising a force to intervene in the Civil War raging south of the border...

As ever, they have no indication of his relative strength or if he or Sir Osborne has garrisoned any location in the Lancashire region, as far as is known at present the  entire enemy force remains in the field.

Campaign initiative now returns to the Royalist team and it loops back to Steve who controls Prince Wilhelm of the Rine, who is currently based in the South West region of England, after this move the Campaign move son to 1643 and a potentially more active phase as all 'free' regions are now taken.

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Campaign Materials sourced from Steven Bagalan / Map by Peter Davies