Earl of Oxford's Yeomen

Ordered another box each of Perry WotR Infantry and Foot Knights. Here are most the infantry painted up as yeomen for a retinue belonging to the Earl of Oxford. Granted their livery coats should have a blue star (or boar), but I was too lazy to paint the badges. In fact, I have a pack of Citadel Six blue star "decals", but they are too fiddly for me.

The color of the livery coats is termed by some as "Tawny Orange." This is a kind of dull orange which I made by mixing Vallejo Game Color Orange Fire (72.008) and Bronze Fleshtone (72.036) - mostly because these were the closest colors in the starter pack I have. The color seems pretty close to what I would think "Tawny Orange" should be.

These are 36 of the 40 figures - broken down into three mixed units of bows and spears for Lion Rampant. The four other figures are the fully-armored guys who'll be used in Foot Men at Arms units along with the figures from the Foot Knights set.

In retrospect, I now wish I ordered the Army deal of 5 boxes of WotR Infantry - seeing how I painted up 4 boxes. Next time I start a project I think I'll go big - at least if there are "Army" deals like the Perry's offer.

The Foot Knights are pretty much done too, but the guys wearing the jupons/tabards need some thought. Hopefully have them done soon too. Best regards to you all!

Rhys ap Thomas and John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk

These are the command figures from the Perry Foot Knights box. The figure on the left is painted up as Rhys ap Thomas, a Welsh supporter of Henry Tudor who fought at Bosworth. The figure on the right is painted up as John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, who fought and died for Richard III at Bosworth.

The Rhys figure is supposed to be the standard bearer; the feathered sallet head is from the Light Cavalry set.

The arms for Rhys ap Thomas include a chevron with three black crows - which are painted for effect rather than accuracy. John Howard's arms are bit more elaborate: Quarterly: 1 and 4, gules a bend between six cross crosslets fitchée argent (for HOWARD); 2, England with a label of three points argent; 3, gules a lion rampant argent.

According to some sources, it was Rhys ap Thomas who countered the attack by the Duke of Norfolk in the opening phase of Bosworth.

Heraldry charges are painted for effect rather than accuracy.

These plastic kits are great for customizing with head and arm swaps.

Rhys ap Thomas was knighted on the field of battle at Bosworth and continued to be a loyal supporter of King Henry VII. The Duke of Norfolk was killed by an arrow to the face - after his visor was torn off fighting against the Earl of Oxford. Incidentally, the Duke was the great-grandfather of Anne Boleyn. According to Shakespeare, the night before the battle a note was left in the Duke's tent which read, "Jack of Norfolk, be not too bold, For Dickon, thy master, is bought and sold."

An English Army Arrayed (Mid to Late-15th C.)

“This knight…brought with him…men who had been hardened in certain civil wars which had raged in their country. They were huge feeders, and deep carousers…often unruly and noisy in their wassail. Though from a remote and somewhat barbarous island, they yet believed themselves to be the most perfect of men on earth.”

Just a group photo of the Perry figures recently completed. These are the contents of 3 boxes of Infantry and a box each of Foot Knights, Light Cavalry and Mounted Men at Arms. Also, a metal cannon and Yorkist foot command included as a freebie with the 3 boxes of Infantry "Army Deal."

Some close ups of the troops by type.

Foot Knights with the metal Yorkist Foot Command on the two center stands.

Mounted Men at Arms

Infantry with pole arms

Bows

Light Cavalry

Metal cannon and crew

Coincidentally, a book I won off of ebay arrived from England today.

Someday, I will need to playtest the First St Albans and Bosworth scenarios. However, after "counting the fighting men," so to speak, it appears a couple more boxes of foot should be added. Best wishes to you all!

Perry WotR Cannon Completed + Henry VI and Entourage Rebased

This cannon and crew are the last of an order I placed a month or so ago. They are liveried in Murrey and Blue to represent the House of York - particularly Richard III. This metal set was a freebie included in an order of 3 boxes of WotR Infantry.

The Battle of First St Albans didn't have any cannon, or handguns, as far as I know. They will be used in the Bosworth game.

In addition to the artillery, the previously painted Henry VI and entourage were rebased. The capture of these figures will be a major victory in the First St Albans game.

On the king's left is the Duke of Buckingham; Queen Margaret flanks the king's right. I should add that these figures were a prize from a giveaway contest Anne O'Leary held a fews years ago on her blog.

 

With the cannon and crew set all of the WotR figures have been painted.

Perry WotR Mounted Men at Arms - Completed

Here are the 12 mounted Men at Arms with standards for Richard III and Henry Tudor, as well as a generic royal banner.

These will be used in 6-figure units for Lion Rampant.

As with the previous Light Cavalrymen, the right arms are attached with magnets. This allows the arms to swing up or down - to fit in a shallow storage case. The Richard III figure, with the crowned sallet from the Foot Knights set, can be swapped with a different head wearing a plain sallet. He also has two different arms holding a warhammer, as well as one arm holding a lance. His standard bearer also has an arm with a sword.

The center front stand with the swapped out head and arms.

The figures were sprayed with silver and then given a black ink wash, followed by highlighting with silver. The tabards are painted in generic livery colors to be used for different factions.

Lances lowered.

Lances upright.

Plate barding for the horses were probably used only by a very few, but they looked too cool not to add onto about half of the horses.

Note the figures on the far right - the crowned Richard III head has been swapped out for a plain sallet, as well as his warhammer being replaced by a lance. The standard bearer's arm switched out with one holding a sword.

All the boxes of plastics are now completed. There is a metal artillery and crew remaining - this was another freebie with the Army deal. Thank you for visiting the blog and best wishes to all!

Perry WotR Light Cavalry - Completed

The box actually is titled, "Light Cavalry 1450-1500," but they'll be used in Wars of the Roses games - particularly Bosworth. A bit of highlighting was added to the riders after a Minwax stain and shot of Testors Dullcote.

Once again, the lighting is a little too bright and the colors a bit washed out.

As noted in the previous post, I went a bit over the top and added magnets to the right arms. Not that I plan on swapping the arms out for crossbow or longbow arms, but wanted to ensure the figures fit in low profile drawers for storage and transport.

Lances in the upright position.

The horses would've benefited from some highlighting too, but I was too lazy.

Lances lowered.

Lances swung upright.

Next up are the Mounted Men at Arms - the horses are already painted. The riders themselves will require a little bit more work than the Light Cavalry guy as their hands are separate from the arms - allowing them to hold hand weapons or lances. Thank you all very much for following this project!

Minwax Stain: Not Just for People (in miniature), Horses Like It Too

Just a little update on the Wars of the Roses Project. Here are 24 horses - 12 each for the Light Cavalry and Mounted Men-at-Arms. The horses were given a basic block paint job, followed by Minwax Tudor Satin stain brushed on. They'll be sprayed with Testors Dullcote once completely dried.

Except for some of neck/head options, the horses from both boxes are the same. As the bodies come in several different halves, varied poses can be achieved.

The horses block painted, before the staining.

These are the Light Cavalry figures. They've been a bit "over-engineered" with removable/poseable right arms using magnets (arrows). The arms with lances could be swapped out for crossbow or longbow arms.

So much for now. Thanks again for checking out the blog.

Perry WotR Yorkist Command on Foot

These are the freebies from the "Yorkist Battle" Army deal (3 boxes of WotR Infantry). Even though Edward IV was not at First St Albans, and had died two years before Bosworth, he'll be on the gaming table for both scenarios. "Golden" armor is too cool not to paint him up as such. The guy holding his standard is in generic Yorkist blue and red livery. The guy with the warhammer to his right (front rank) has his tabard painted up as Sir John Say.

The images are a bit washed out, as I'm still trying to get the lighting right.

Except for Edward, who was sprayed with gold, the rest were undercoated with silver spray paint as the previously painted plastic men-at-arms.

I added flowers and grass tufts to these bases as I felt they needed a bit more bling being "character" sculpts in metal.

Next up are the cavalry - a box each of Mounted Men at Arms and Light Cavalry. Thanks for stopping by!

Perry WotR Infantry and Foot Knights Completed

After a couple of false starts and setbacks, here are the core foot troops for Wars of the Roses games. Intending to use Lion Rampant as the set of rules, there are 10 Foot Yeomen units (12 figures each). These can be used as separate bow and spear units, or they can be combined in Mixed weapons units. There are also 6 units of Foot Men at Arms (6 figures each); one more unit of Foot Men at Arms will be added using the free metal command figures that came with the Army deal.

Note the banners on brass rods on either side of the front ranks - these can replace the ones held as the standard bearer hands have been drilled out.

The delays mentioned above included my failed attempt at adding Citadel Six livery badge "decals" - and the non-arrival of Dom's Decals (which he kindly refunded my payment for). Also, part of the delay was the basing and re-basing of the figures themselves. This was due to me using a handful of existing 40mm Litko bases I had and then what I thought were more 40mm bases which I had ordered. It was only after basing the figures (using acrylic caulking) and painting the bases that I found out the new bases were actually 1.5 inch bases. Ken apologized for the mix up and quickly sent out the correctly sized 40mm bases. As far as not using livery badges, I think this actually works out better, as the figures can be used for different retinues more easily. For instance, the blue and white livery was used by many families, both York and Lancaster. To identify units, the flags supplied with the kits can be switched out as the hands of the standard bearers were drilled out. The flags themselves are attached to brass rods.

Yorkist troops; the banners of Lord Fauconberg, Edward IV and the Earl of Warwick with Foot Men at Arms in the foreground.

These red liveried troops can be used for the Earl of Warwick (currently represented by the large standard), or the Earl of Oxford. For the First St Albans game they will be with Warwick; for the Bosworth game, they will switch to Oxford's.

Henry Beaufort's standard lead these troops for now, but for the St Albans game they will be Henry VI's soldiers, and for the Bosworth game they will belong to the Stanleys.

The white and green livery is mostly associated with Henry Tudor, who was not even born when the Battle of First St Albans was fought. However, these troops will be used for that game, as well as for Bosworth, of course.

The remaining figures for this project in my possession are the 6 metal command figures, a box each of Mounted Men at Arms and Light Cavalry, and a cannon and crew (also included as a freebie with the Army deal). The Light Cavalry and cannon will be used for the Bosworth game. In fact, I may even get a box of European Mercenaries for the Bosworth game too. Heck, I still have an almost full can of Minwax stain. Until my next post, best wishes to you all!