Ricks Great English Civil War Painting Quest - Part 3

Time for a Royalist update, and I made a slight error – I kept buying and building more troops that I wanted to use for the Gauntlet ‘Relief of Hawarden’ game!  Limbers, storming parties, extra men for dragoon units etc….  However, despite this, and with less than a week to go until the Deeside gaming show, I have nearly finished! 

The primary chunk of painting to be done in June was the dragoons; 19 men on foot, and a further 12 to represent the two units on horseback.  This was the third main chunk after my foote (April) and horse (May), and I added a few additional models to it in the form of a bunch of civilians and animals which I had picked up at Triples.  I was pleasantly surprised when I succeeded in finished (paint, dip, flock, varnish, even flags!) 50 models in total by the middle of the month!  The dragoons were included, along with the civilians, an officer, and even an unrelated bunch of 4 hearthguard for my Saga welsh – to give some variety to the job.  I also made and painted the additional warhammer fortress gatehouse needed for the scenario.

I had only one unit which specifically needed doing in the rest of the month, and that was the second ox and powder cart (to make up the third supply unit needed for the scenario), and I tagged along with this my artillery limber for my saker so it could keep up with my foote, a Warlord Games storming party and some chickens(!). 

The storming party presented a challenge in terms of basing because I quite liked the idea of it being a skirmishing unit, but recognised the opposition might want it to be a formed up one, so I based the models on 25mm circular bases which could then slot onto the warbases movement tray I had bought at Triples.  Some spare renegade musketeers and pikemen made up the numbers, and the petard crew were based separately on a bigger round base.  It all looks fairly good (I think).  I also did something completely new in making a couple of fortifications for my artillery to reside behind.  These were based on plasticard, have resin gabions at each side with a balsa wood parapet, and the surrounding earth was built up using wood-filler (as recommended by Dennis from Deeside Defenders) on top of a balsa wood platform to give it height.  Its very much an experiment, and it’ll either go well, or fall apart – 50/50!

The current situation; I’ve finished painting everything!  They are now sitting to one side waiting for my 8 Saga horsemen to be finished (who are only short their shields now), then they will be Dipped etc, and the entire project will be finished.  And to celebrate (prematurely) I’ve taken a few pictures.  Particularly prematurely because my Dip has gone solid and run out!  Trip to the shop I think.

The whole bally army.

Sir Henry Buxton's baggage division and all-sorted civilians next to Sir Hugh of Beeston's foote battalia. 

Lord Flashearts foote battalia behind an, as yet unnamed, grouping of senior officers.

Sir Peter Wolfes horse battalia, inclusive of 4 horse regiments and the mounted/dismounted dragoons.

Closer look at Sir Buxton's baggage bunch.

The civilians.

Commander of one of the two dragoon regiments.

The senior officers.

Ricks Great English Civil War Painting Quest - Part 2

Time for a Royalist Update.  Its been a while, and the last two months I have been fairly busy in my spare time painting as many Royalists in a semi-organised way so I will be able to use them at the Deeside Gauntlet show on the 7^th July.  With the ECW game organiser, Dave, striving for high standards of presentation (and also of entertainment and bizarre shouting) I realised that anything not completely painted was going to miss out completely, and set too with a will.

I broke my large pile of models into three main sections; the foote (a foote regiment – Talbots – of 40 models), the horse (4 horse regiments and their CO – 33 models – possibly the most challenging), and the dragoons (28 models, mounted and dismounted), with the remaining models for the command and supply units to be stuck in wherever possible.  I had three months to do all this painting, and so the split into 3 achievable chunks seemed logical. 

I chose the foote to do first as Aprils chunk, partly because they already had a lot of paint on them so looked like a quick start, and I added in the supply units and the civilians (pigs and a farmer) for a total of 59 models.  These were just about finished at the beginning of May, with the Dipping process done around the 5-6^th.  In May I got a sudden unexpected urge and enthusiasm to work on the horse.   This died out around three quarters of the way through, but I’ve finished them with 4 days to spare, along with my officer command scene, and their CO on his white horse.  In truth they still need the final spray of matt varnish but the weather has turned damp so I’m not risking it yet, no rush.

That leaves the third chunk of the dragoons, who have acquired a few more models to the foot elements (my efforts to find a couple of musketeers holding horses to give them character failed at Triples – waiting on Empress Miniatures later this year I think).  There are also a number more hangers on, with a number of civilians purchased, an officer, and I’ll be ordering the oxen and a cannon limber to transport my Saker, and to finish a third supply unit – two looks good, but three should finish it off.  I’ve also a fortress gatehouse to paint for Chester city walls. 

Plenty done, and plenty to get on with, and I’ve included a few shots, plus a ‘whats left’ shot at the bottom.

Models Finished: 92

To be done: 48

Ricks Great English Civil War Painting Quest - Part 1

With the aim of having all of my Royalists painted for a big ECW bash on the weekend of Gauntlet (6/7th July) I thought I'd take stock, make a list of what needs doing, and how long I've got to get it done.  So firstly the list of the unpainted/unfinished models:

32 x cavalry men (and their nags of course)
40 x Talbots regiment of foote (24 muskets and 16 pike)
28 x Dragoons (16 on foot and 12 on horse)
13 x supply train
9 x command models
6 x pigs & farmer & tavern owner

All in all 128 models.  Crap.  And now 82 days to paint them in.  So thats an average of just over a model and a half a day.  Double crap.  Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.  Luckily some are already partly painted, and only around 35 are totally without undercoat.  Maybe the revised target should be to finish most of the army!  Plus it doesn't include the two collapsed fortress wall pieces I need for the scenario I was thinking of.  This could be fun.

Declaring for the King - Part 5

Its been a mere month since my last  English Civil War update, but a long time since I decided to move from 8 figure musket sleeves to 12 figure sleeves, and thus rendered every unit in the army unfinished apart from 2 artillery pieces and a commander.  However, in a blitz of painting and sudden dipping motions (well, painting the Dip stuff on) I have completed not one, not two, but three foote regiments!  Admittedly the Kings Lifeguard and Stradlings foot needed only 8 musketeers apiece, but Sir Ralph Hopton’s foote were a total of 40 models in musket and shot, and to cap it off I finished the army commander; Lord Derek Tiberius Flasheart!  Oh, and the three foote regiments even have bigger and better (historically accurate) flags!  I have now started painted one of the horse regiments.

There has also been action in terms of purchases and modelling; I picked up another box of Warlord cavalry and a blister of mounted officers at Vapnartek 2013 which will be used to provide the dragoons with a mounted version (currently they walk everywhere!).  There was even 2 horsemen spare to finish off a horse regiment, taking my horse wing to 4 regiments.  I’ve completed these two (but not painted) but the mounted dragoons are awaiting a couple of modelling additions before they are complete. 

The full army list now looks like:

Commander: Lord Derek Tiberius Flashearts

Foote - Sir Hugh of Beeston

Regiment of Foot (Stradlings; Blue jackets) - Standard - 16 pike, 24 muskets

Regiment of Foot - (The King’s Lifeguard; Red jackets/Red Flag) - 16 pike, 24 muskets

Saker Battery - 1 gun

Foote - Bishop of Bath & Wells

Regiment of Foot (Talbots; White jackets/White Flag) - Standard -16 pike, 24 muskets

Regiment of Foote – (Sir Ralph Hopton’s; Blue jackets/Red Flag) – 16 pike, 24 muskets

Mortar Battery - 1 gun

Horse - Brigadier Wolfe

Regiment of Horse (Sir Horatio Carys Horse) - 8 horsemen 

Regiment of Horse - 8 horsemen

Regiment of Horse (Sir Richard Astleys Horse) - 8 horsemen 

Regiment of Horse - 8 horsemen 

Regiment of Dragoons – 6 mounted (unmade), or 8 dismounted

Regiment of Dragoons – 6 mounted (unmade), or 8 dismounted

All the units are standard in size as agreed at the RGMB club for the Pike & Shotte rules, and this gives me a painted to unpainted (cannons count as 1, with 1 for each crew member, horse count as 1 model per rider and horse together) for ECW as:

Painted – 131

Unpainted - 102

The King's Lifeguard & Stradling's foote regiments, plus Sir Hugh.

The foote and ordinance.

The ordinance.

Sir Hugh of Beeston.

The whole bally lot.

Lord Flasheart.

The foote in their preferred Terico formation - pike in the centre, shotte around the edges.

Brigadier Wolfe and his horse brigade - 4 regiments of gallopers and 2 of dragoons (shown unmounted and praying for horses).

Sir Ralph Hopton's foote regiment.

Declaring for the King - Part 4

Three days and three posts – just like buses.  Update time for my Royalists who I’ve reorganised slightly (yes, again) to fit into the unit size of the Pike & Shotte armies which we’re using at the RGMB.  I had to expand my shotte sleeves to do this, from 8 men each to 12, which matches what everyone else is using, and also does look much more impressive on the battlefield.  To do this I had to purchase some Warlord musketeers, which I did last year, and combine them with the Renegade ones which were previously forming my Forlorn Hope.  This worked nicely, and I used the rest of the Warlord musketeers to form two units of 8 Dragoons on foot.

To make the most of the Dragoons I’m going to do what I said I wouldn’t do, and add more troops to the army.  A box of Warlord cavalry, and a couple of extra officers to lead them, will go with my spare troops (not pictured below) to create a fourth horse regiment, and mounted versions of the dragoons. 

In addition to the military side I’m also looking to get a number of characterful additions to the battlefields, including adding to my scenery collection (I need water features and roads, plus fences and buildings – a church would be good).  The first of these is pictured below; sheep, a minister, some pack animals and a companion for Lord Flasheart!  More another time.

The foote regiments, lead by Sir Hugh of Beeston, and the ordinance at the end.

Characterful pieces to be added too.

The whole army.

Brigadier Wolfe and his horse brigade, including the 2 dragoon units on foot.

The devil himself - Lord Derek Tiberius Flasheart!

Declaring for the King - Part 3

A quick nod towards my Royalists and an update on my plans for them.  This is brought about by my purchase of a box of warlord horse, which I hope to use to bring my number of horse regiments up to 3 standard and 1 small.

Reorganisation - During the final battle of the ‘Winter of Discontent’ campaign I fielded just my infantry, with a total of 4 regiments of foot and two artillery pieces being lead by Lord Flasheart.  This often lead to my troops moving little or not at all once I’d failed my first command roll, however, using such big regiments felt true to the whole Blackpowder rules set, and I heartily enjoyed it!  This is compared to the usual 2 regiments and a cannon per brigade.

As such I’ve decided to scale down my middle-management (ironic when that’s the reason I’m soon to be unemployed) and field two brigades in games.  The first will be of my four foot regiments and two artillery pieces (plus possibly the forlorn hope), and the second of the 3-4 horse regiments.  This will leave me with a spare officer who could prove useful for scenario purposes.

Future modelling plans - With the extra horsemen in the fold I’ve decided to limit my army to the models already purchased, and aim to complete that in terms of painting.  Only the new horsemen need making, but only two regiments of foot and the artillery are painted.  Given the current focus on job hunting and Romans it could be a while before I begin painting again.  Might even have the ECW Blackpowder book by then!

Total models:  197
Painted:  74

Declaring for the King - Part 2

An update! I've been working on my Kings Lifeguard foot regiment for rather a long time, and following a coat of matt varnish they are joined by my saker battery in being finally finished! I even found a picture on the PC of when I started painting the red in 2009, so this is definately a landmark occasion.

They were being done while I awaited the arrival of the next part of my roman army, and so there may be a fair gap until the next one is finished. Torn between trying a horse regiment or another foot one. No interest artillery left to do sadly.

Declaring for the King - Part 1

A new start to an old subject; I began my English Civil War Royalist army, both in 28mm scale and in earnest, in early 2009 and have put some bits about it on both editions of the RGMB forum, but the first vanished and the second doesn’t have any room for more pictures so its moving onto the blog, especially now I’ve a progress report!

Better start at the very beginning, a very good place to start……..All to be played using Blackpowder etc rules.........

The Army List:

Lord Flashearts Army of the West

Foote - Sir Hugh of Beeston

Regiment of Foot (Stradlings; Blue jackets) - Standard -16 pike, 16 muskets

Regiment of Foot - (The King’s Lifeguard; Red jackets) - Standard -16 pike, 16 muskets

Mortar Battery - 1 gun

Foote - Bishop of Bath & Wells

Regiment of Foot (Talbots; White jackets) - Standard -16 pike, 16 muskets

Regiment of Foot - (Hopton’s; more Blue jackets) - Large -16 pike, 24 muskets

Forlorn Hope - Standard - 18 musketeers

Saker Battery - 1 gun

Horse - Brigadier Wolfe

Regiment of Horse (Sir Marmaduke Langdale) - Standard - 8 horsemen 

Regiment of Horse (The Duke of Dorchester; aka ‘Mad Frank’) - Standard - 8 horsemen

The less interesting ‘who, what and why‘ part:

Most of my troops are Renegade miniatures models, with the exception of Lord Flasheart (Warlords Charles I model) and Hopton’s foote (more Warlord pike and shotte).  This makes them reassuringly heavy, and they have a nice level of detail on them.

Onto the tricky part; making and painting.  Basing is the key to the making, all but the Warlord lot are already one-piece metal models (except the cavalry which are two piece, and the guns which are a few more).  Having originally tried moving my (individually based for Warhammer) regiments around, and found they annoyingly fall over everywhere, I decided to base up my infantry in fours (a square 4cm by 4cm base), and my horse in twos (on a square 5cm by 5cm base), all based up on plastic card - so much cheaper and better than GW slotta bases.  The artillery have a base per gun and team, which depends on their size.  Here Blackpowder is handy because I don’t have to remove any models until the entire regiment is destroyed!

The Whole Damn Process:

This is all remarkably identical to my process for painting my Roman army, those who have already seen this might want to skip to the pretty pictures.  On the bases are stuck the models, then the bases have sand stuck on with PVA glue, then the whole thing is sprayed black (GW Chaos Black spray paint).  Following this the model is painted a brown (paints are primarily Vallejo, much easier to use than GW), then dry-brushed two more shades of a slightly lighter brown, before the main colours are picked out (coats, flesh, guns etc) very roughly.  After the base painting is complete the model’s off for a dip in the Army Painter Dip tin, then after drying it gets the flock treatment, and finally a coating of matt varnish to take the gloss of the dip off it.  The object is speed painting, something which I normally fail in miserably, being a stickler for details even if I‘m hopeless at picking them out!  This will leave most of them looking quite rough around the edges, but hopefully will help me finish the army once and for all!  I must at this point aim a finger squarely at Aidan because this is his style of painting, and I’m hoping it works for me to a similar standard as it works for him.

A last mention to some men I had already painted in a previous effort; the 18 musketeers will form the forlorn hope foot regiment and stick with their paint scheme and basing so they can skirmish and I don’t feel it was all wasted time!  

Update time!

On to the current day and the picture of the entire army below is a bit out of date. 

The red bunch are indeed still the same colour but no more work has been done, while the Saker cannon and horse are still more black than anything else, and finally the officers/commanders are all sprayed black.  Everything has had its base painted a nice brown and lined with green, but the big improvement is that of the black sprayed regiments one has its coats painted white, one medium blue, and the fourth (Stradlings) is quite stunningly finished!  I know, amazing or what?  To add to this heady mix I have also finished the mortar and an officer (Sir Hugh of Beeston).  All good stuff.  

The next step, should I ever get round to it, is to carry on where I left off doing the King’s Lifeguard (red coats).  Don’t watch this space, you might die from boredom.


Oh, and this chap kept popping up, so I painted him as well.