Down On The Farm With Bloody Miniatures

Four of these figures are farm labourers and the fifth (smoking a pipe and holding a blunderbuss) is from the BM Militant Tendency quartet;

I am sure that figures like these will find a place in all sorts of scenarios, possibly ones involving allegations of Witchcraft and consorting with Dark Spirits, as well as more mundane affairs. I think that the chap with the pipe looks like a farmer accompanied by four of his workers confronting a bunch of marauders or looters or maybe even just a group of passing dragoons who may or may not be up to No Good. You can just hear him; "Oi! You! Get orf moi land!"

Bloody miniatures Looters and Ranters

My next four figures from Bloody Miniatures are two staples of the ECW (and other 17th century wars). First two looters;

There are actually four figures in the Looters set, but I am using the other two for something else. I've gone back to a green uniform and buff coat colour scheme that I've used on other figures previously, so they will fit in nicely.

The next two are from a set BM calls The Militant Tendency, but once again, I have other plans for the remaining two figures. I've chosen to call them Ranters after the English anti-Church and anti-State sectarians of the Commonwealth period. The Ranters denied the authority of churches, of scripture, of the current ministry and of services, instead calling on men to listen to the divine within them. (thanks, Wikipedia). I'm not intending to use them as Ranters, just as nice characterful additions to whatever forces I put together.

With the guy on the right, brandishing his bible I've gone with the green uniform again. The one on the left could quite easily be an officer urging his troops forward into the attack.

As ever, these are a joy to paint and I really cannot praise the qiality of both sculpts and casts highly enough.

Finally, I'm getting back to painting my Bloody Miniatures backlog

I am a huge fan of Bloody Miniatures small, but growing range of 17th century characters. I've already completed their first two sets of figures and now I am working on the third and fourth sets. Here are the first four;

As you can see these are four dismounted cuirassiers in their distinctive three-quarter armour. I think that these are terrific figures and I've painted them to be four troopers from a single regiment. I've given them "blackened" armour, because a) I like the look of it and b) it seems to have been a pretty common thing in the 17th century, supposedly to rustproof the steel plate. I chose blue sashes and red breeches because I think that the colours really help set off the armour nicely.

I've based them up with some Gamer's Grass tufts and my usual mix of grassy flock.

It is about a year since I last painted any of these lovely figures and it has been really enjoyable getting back to them. I've got another 28 to complete and them I will be up to date with all the ones I've bought. There is another set of 16 figures available on the Bloody Miniatures website. They are all Scots, lovely figures again, but I'm very worried about painting all that plaid! I will probably buy them, though. I'll just have to work on my painting technique. After that, there is another set in the pipeline which I really want to get my hands on. You can see them here.

The Night Watch

Here are my final four figures from the Bloody Miniatures Company of Wolves set.

They are collectively called The Night Watch, presumably as a reference to the famous Rembrandt painting, which is actually called "Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq", but it also reminds me of the King Crimson song.

These four musketeers are suitable for lots of things, camp guards, a colour party, a town Watch, part of a unit of musket-armed troops and so on. 

I decided to paint one in a green and tan palette because I thought that he would look good as an additional figure for my previous four musketeers and gave the other three a blue and red uniform appearance because I thought that the cassocks looked like something that a rich town council or a regimental colonel might equip officers with, so that they would stand out. The other chap on the left could be from the rank and file of the same unit. I have a couple of packs of Bicorne musketeers in my painting queue, some of whom are also going to get the red/blue treatment. The rest will be, unsurprisingly, green and tan.

I need to crack on with those pretty soon, and I also have Bicorne pikemen to paint up as well.

Four Musketeers

These are called "The Squire's Men" on the Bloody Miniatures website;

The idea here is that they are the retainers of some local magnate who have been called upon to defend their master's property. Therefore, it seemed logical to me to give them a matching livery theme and green seemed perfect. To make an even stronger link, I have given them yellow trimmings on their clothes too.

Obviously, as gamekeepers and suchlike, these men might be considered as expert shots and I like the way that they are posed. My favourite is the kneeling chap with feathers in his hat.

I have four more figures to post, and I will get them up on the blog tomorrow.

More good news from Bloody Miniatures too. The next tranche of 16 figures is now available on their website. Collectively, they are called "A Parcel of Rogues", but the four sets of figures can also be bought separately,

Once more unto the breach dear friends .......................................

 .......... well, sort of. 

More of my Bloody Miniatures 17th century figures. These are called The Storming Party. From left to right we have a trooper carrying a barrel of gunpowder, another trooper wrapped with a long length of rope and a grapple, carrying a pick-axe and a pistol, a heavily-armoured guy to hold off defenders and a grenadier with an axe. They are definitely going to be trouble for someone.

Finally getting back to my 17th century skirmishers

Yes, at last I am finishing off my second set of Bloody Miniatures figures.

This second set of 16 is collectively known as A Company Of Wolves and these four are called "The Moss Troopers".

The website describes these four as;

"A rapacious gang of brigands, freebooters, broken men, or discharged and destitute soldiers turned to banditry and ambuscades.

Hard-bitten irreconcilables for whom the war never ended - like the notorious Doones of Badgworthy Vale. This disreputable crew are attired in Dutch coats and boots, their hair worn long under broad brimmed hats. They’re well armed with pistols, swords and carbines."

I really love these guys, their poses are terrific and their long Dutch coats have a nice distinctive look too.

I started blocking in the base colours on these figures before Christmas but I packed them away safely and only got round to them recently because I had a lot of 15mm things that jumped the queue. I got seriously fed up with painting 15mm figures and it was a pleasant change to go back to bigger things to work on.

I have another 12 figures to finish off and hopefully I'll be posting them throughout the week.

My final four 17th century skirmishers.

The final four figures are all brandishing pistols, although three of them are prepared to attack with their mortuary swords once they have fired;

There isn't really much to say about these guys, except that I am really pleased with how they have turned out. The figure on the right, with a plume in his hatband is giving off strong leader vibes, the other one in green is clearly a dismounted trooper and the remaining two are clearly foot soldiers, due to them not wearing top boots.

I am really looking forward to getting my hands on the next sixteen figures from Bloody Miniatures as soon as they are on sale.

My third group of 17th century skirmishers

Here is my latest group of Bloody Miniatures lovely 17th century figures.

Clearly, these are all carrying polearms of some kind, which would be more useful in a skirmish than a pike. Perhaps a couple of them are dismounted troopers who have decided to get stuck in with something lethal on the end of a stick? As can be seen, three of them are wearing boots and spurs while the fourth figure in green is clearly a foot soldier.  Of course, they could also be useful for sergeants in a larger unit of Pike and Shot. Anyway, regardless of that, they are definitely useful chaps to have around in a tight spot.

More 17th century skirmish miniatures

Here are four more of the excellent Bloody Miniatures figures, this time some dismounted Horse troopers;

Now, these guys are far more likely to be from the Civil Wars in the British Isles than from the Thirty Years' War, because the three-barred face protection was very much associated with these islands, with a single nasal bar being much more the standard across mainland Europe.

Three of them are armed with their carbines and the fourth is using a pistol and sword combination, with his carbine still slung from his crossed belts at his back. It is a lovely piece of modelling.

These are the kind of Horse troops that were the standard for cavalry for much of the 17th century, known variously as Harquebusiers, Ringerpferde, Reiters or simply just Horse. The Swedes used these troops a lot and in Sweden they were apparently known as  lätta ryttare i.e. Light Riders. The Swedish influence became more and more the norm by the end of the Thirty Years' War.

Originally, such cavalry used their carbines or pistols as their main weapon, often using the complicated caracole manoeuvre to maintain fire on a target unit but, over time charging the enemy with the sword became more and more the standard, possibly discharging one of more pistols before impact.

During the first half of the 17th century, this kind of cavalry became the dominant type on the battlefield, replacing the heavier and more expensive to equip Cuirassiers. 

These are really excellent figures and I am pretty pleased with how they have turned out.

A small side project: 17th century skirmish miniatures

I have a thing about the wars of the 17th century. I've always been interested in the Thirty Years' War and the various Civil Wars of the British Isles, which are popularly, but inaccurately lumped together as "the English Civil War". When I discovered the excellent small range of figures being produced by Bloody Miniatures, I had to buy them. Here are the first four out of a total of 16;

These are going to be ideal for skirmish games or swashbuckling games, but could also play a role in games like The Pikeman's Lament or Donnybrook. These four are equipped with the classic straight-bladed Mortuary Sword of the period. 

I really enjoyed painting these minis. They are lovely sculpts and cleanly cast with nice crisp details. 

I have twelve more figures to paint and post, so keep watching!