More Scots from Bloody Miniatures

There are eight figures again, so scrolling down will be required. First some dismounted troopers and a figure I see as an Intelligencer (smoking his pipe);

I particularly like the figure in the long red Dutch-style coat. He's clearly a leader or maybe a Scottish cavalryman who's been away fighting for the Protestant cause in the Rhineland?. Anyway, He's a great sculpt.

Below are my other attempts at doing a plaid, two more dismounted troopers and a nice officer figure, together with someone who's brought something to drink with him. Looking at the photo, I think that I've made his neckerchief look a bit too clean and gleaming white. I don't think I'll repaint it, though. I'm quite happy with the plaids. They aren't perfect by any standard but they'll pass the one or two metres away test on the table.

I've only got four more finished foot figures to post, and I'll keep them for another time. I'm currently working on some mounted figures, a few are finished but most are still in the early stages of painting. 

After that, I've got more Horse to prime and paint, some mounted command figures and then some more Foot figures and a couple of small guns.

After that, I shall move on to something different.

 

Sixteen 17th century musketeers finally completed.

You'll need to scroll down to see the lot. First for the Blue Regiment;

 And now the Green one;

These are all from Bicorne Miniatures and they match perfectly in terms of size with the growing range from Bloody Miniatures. Below you can see these two groups augmented to form two units of 12 figures by mixing them with some Bloody Miniatures figures;

I see the Blue regiment as being some kind of "elite" unit, maybe the lifeguard of a general or maybe the guards of a major town or city. The Green (and Brown) regiment is clearly a lesser formation, maybe a trained band, a regiment raised by a local landowner or a unit of militia. They have a much less uniform appearance but as we all know appearances can be deceptive. They could equally be experienced and battle-hardened mercenaries.

I've been working away on these for ages, but I kept putting them to one side to work on other things and, finally they are finished and I am really happy with how they have turned out. I think that they are of a reasonable gaming table standard and easily pass the "how do they look from a metre away test".

Anyway, I am now one step closer to have a small force for The Pikeman's Lament or some other Pike and Shot period set of rules. I have three units of Bicorne pikemen to work on now.

Oh No! Not more Bloody Miniatures!

Well, yes it is, actually and it is the last eight from sets Three and Four. Scroll down to see them all.

These six are from three different sets but I've painted them with a common palette so that they could be a group of Commanded Shot from a single regiment. I really like the red, blue and yellow combination, although I know that contrast colour cuffs might be somewhat anachronistic.

Next are two more figures painted in a similar colour scheme.

The chap on the left is another figure from the Looters set (as is the drinking figure in the first photo) and the other is from the Parliament Men set, but I've given him a more flamboyant uniform than your average sober Puritan gentleman. He will be the leader of a 12-man unit of musketeers, currently being painted.

So, that is the end of the first four sets of these excellent miniatures. I ordered sets Five and Six a week or so ago, and they are now in the queue waiting to be prepped.

In the meanwhile, I have 24 musketeers nearing completion and 36 pikemen primed ready to be painted.

I've also prepped and undercoated 34 Spanish 28mm Napoleonic guerillas and leaders for a Sharp Practice project and the eight figures from the Silver Bayonet Spanish set, some of whom might also be useful for SP.

Four women from Bloody Miniatures (plus two more men too)

The fourth release by Bloody Miniatures was called "A Chorus Of Disapproval" and contained four female figures, collectively "The Gallant Ladies", and here they are;

These made a nice change to paint, allowing for a more varied colour palette and they also provide options for smaller-scale skirmish games and ones with a RPG element. The bold young lady in high boots and breeches could also come in useful in games involving pirates or highway robbery.

The two male figures here come from the third release, "A Parcel Of Rogues", the halberdier coming from the quartet called "The Parliament Men" and the other from "All The King's Men", but I've chosen to paint them in the same colours, making them look like two members of the same regiment with a russet uniform and a blue sash;

I might have to buy some figures to create a russet-uniformed regiment now, but they could clearly work in small skirmish settings too.

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!"

Five more Bloody Miniatures - Flashing Blades and more

First, the three Flashing Blades and then two figures who could be leaders;

These three are from a group of four who are described as The King's Men, but I think that they look great as the kind of men who will willingly solve their problems with the point of a sword. I chose a predominantly blue palette for them as a change from all the buff coats, armour and uniforms I've mostly been using so far. Swashes are definitely going to be buckled, or maybe buckles will be swashed? Who knows?

The next two are less flamboyant but equally businesslike;

The figure on the left could quite easily be another Flashing Blade, except he looks a lot less flashy and somewhat more unforgiving. He has a definite tough officer look about him. I've painted the inside of his hat with a dark metallic colour, so that his hat looks like it is lined with a "secret", a head-protecting iron cap.

The guy on the right is a mysterious and sinister character, a spy or intelligencer, someone without scruples and an unswerving loyalty to The Cause, whatever it might be.

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.

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!

A bit of background on Orangenland, my 17th century imagi-nation.

In a previous post, I introduced Orangenland, a minor North German state of the 17th century. In this post, I will be describing the place in a bit more detail.

The origins of Orangenland lie in the early mediaeval Kingdom of Lotharingia, created out of the protracted period following the end of Charlemagne's Frankish Empire. Little is known about the early histories of the three component territories of Orangenstadt, Orangenwald and Orangenburg, although it is clear that the origins of Orangenstadt lie in the building of the Abbey of Saint Octavius the Martyr in the 12th century and the development of the town that grew up around the abbey. This town, originally known as Octadorf, grew in importance until it was recognised as the seat of the Prince-Bishop of Sankt Octavius in 1312. When the House of Chalon-Arnay acquired the three territories through marriage, they were known as Bisschoppenstadt, Osterwald and Nordburg. They were renamed following the acquisition of the Principality of Orange by the House of Chalon-Arnay. Bisschoppenstadt was renamed as Orangenstadt in 1473 when it was rebuilt following a disastrous fire in 1469 that destroyed much of the older city.

The population of Orangenland is split between Limburgish and Brabantian Dutch speakers in the east, speakers of the Rhenish Franconian dialect of German in the west and some Picard French speakers in the south.

The seat of the House of Orangen is the city of Orangenstadt, which is dominated by the late mediaeval Chalonerschloss and the Cathedral of Sankt Octav, which was rebuilt on the ruins of the earlier Abbey, destroyed in the Great Fire of 1469.

Other prominent towns and cities are Nordenstadt, Catieau-Arnay, Wijndorp, Druckerburg and Salzfischstadt.

The flag of Orangenland is a golden Lion Rampant bearing a sword, on a field of red, although a standard showing a red cross on a yellow field is also carried by some troops.

The House of Orangen has long maintained friendly relations with a number of other small dukedoms and counties in the region, most prominently the County of Pirlouit, whose ruling family, the House of Schtroumpf is related to the House of Orangen by marriage. Indeed, one member of the Schtroumpf family, Armin von Schtroumpf currently serves in the Orangenland army. Although he is young and a relatively junior officer, he has gained a reputation of being a brave, if occasionally hot-headed leader, who is loved by his troops, many of whom were recruited in his homeland. Troops under his command usually wear a blue sash and occasionally blue and white plumes on their hats and helmets, these being the colours of the House of Schtroumpf.

In other news, I have acquired enough figures now to create a variety of units for my Orangenland army for The Pikeman's Lament. These are all from Warlord Games and consist of;

From these boxes I will be able to build one unit of 12 Pikemen, two units of 12 Musketeers, a unit of six Gallopers, a unit of six Trotters and two elite units of Gallopers and Trotters in cuirassier three-quarter armour. I will also be able to build units representing a Forlorn Hope and Commanded Shot, so there will be plenty of variations for the troops that Armin von Schtroumpf will be able to call upon in his battles.

There will probably be a few spare figures that I can use for other things that I currently haven't even thought about, although I am definitely planning to do Armin von Schtroumpf in both mounted and foot versions.

Orangenland - a 17th century imagi-nation

 A couple of years ago, I received The Pikeman's Lament rules as a Christmas present. I liked the idea of using the rules for a Thirty Years' War project, originally planning to use the really nice Peter Pig ECW 15mm figures, with multiple figures on bases to make each unit look bigger, but I later thought about doing it in 28mm instead. I like the look of the Warlord Pike and Shotte figures, especially the plastic boxed sets. I worked out that I could probably put a nice starter army together from a single box of infantry and one of cavalry.

Anyway, to do a project, I would need some context, a backstory for the troops. So, I invented a North-western German state, the Duchy of Orangenland.

Orangenland is made up of three separate territories which were once feudal possessions of the House of Chalon-Arnay, which acquired the title to the Principality of Orange in the late 14th century. Sometime after 1500, the lands passed into the hands of an illegitimate son of the House of Chalon-Arnay. This son, Philibert of Orangenstadt, became a soldier of fortune in the armies of Emperor Charles V, who ennobled him as Herzog von Orangen, uniting the three Kreise of Orangenstadt, Orangenwald and Orangenburg into the Duchy of Orangenland.

Although Philibert was a Catholic, his son  Karl Adolph adopted the Lutheran religion in the 1540s, and the Duchy adopted Lutheranism following the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. Herzog Karl I died in 1584, leaving his son Karl Christoph as Herzog.

Orangenland remained a minor North German state, known mainly for brewing and pork products. Orangen Weissbier was and still is famous as far away as Ruritania The local wine made from the Elbling grape variety is, occasionally, drinkable.

The wine of Orangenland is the main reason why the ruling House of Orangen was an early investor in distilling. Orangenweinbrand is a much more popular drink than most of the wine produced in the Duchy, and is even exported to places as far away as Syldavia and the Duchy of Strackenz.

So, in 1618 on the eve of the terrible Thirty Years' War. Orangenland was a peaceful backwater, but Karl Christoph, Herzog von Orangen had grand expansionist designs and aspired to military glory. Unfortunately, his ambitions were greater than his Treasury permitted and he soon became heavily in debt and became unable to pay off his mercenary general, Willem van Metwoorst, who refused to leave the Duchy with his army unless the money he was owed was forthcoming. Karl Christoph's unscrupulous younger brother Georg Wilhelm had long harboured designs to replace his brother, and to that end began negotiations with several banking houses so that he could borrow enough money to buy the loyalty of Captain van Metwoorst for himself, and then arrange an accident for Karl.

Following the unfortunate hunting accident, Herzog Georg Wilhelm gained an alliance with the United Provinces, claiming an almost completely non-existent but artfully constructed familial relationship between the House of Orange-Nassau and the House of Orangen. This helped smooth the path between the Orangenland Treasury and the banking houses of Antwerp and Amsterdam.

Willem van Metwoorst, was granted the title of Captain General of Orangenland and the army became organised along Dutch lines. From the late 1620s onwards, the Swedish King, Gustavus sent military aides to the Duchy and Scottish recruits began to swell the ranks of the army. A stout defender of the Protestant religion, Georg Wilhelm deftly managed to steer a path between his somewhat dissolute and murky private life and the sterner demands of his professed faith.

So, there is the introduction to Orangenland, its ambitious Herzog and his hard-bitten Captain General Willem van Metwoorst. I shall return to the Duchy again in the future.