Sunday, December 14, 2014

Sir Henry Percy aka Harry Hotspur

Here's an old GW Bretonnian knight painted up as Sir Henry Percy, called Hotspur by the Scots for his eagerness on the battlefield. He was knighted by King Edward III in 1377, the same year the king died. He served under King Richard II and campaigned in Scotland and France. He was captured by James Douglas at the Battle of Otterburn in 1388, and later ransomed by King Richard II. After Richard II was deposed, he served under Henry IV and fought at Homildon Hill in 1402, where he captured Archibald Douglas. Sir Henry died at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 while leading a rebel army against Henry IV.
The horse's armored head is from a GW Empire knights set. This is actually the first Bretonnian knight I've painted up - although I've used parts of them for various other projects, including helmet crests for Mycenaean standards,
Sir Henry's horse trapper has the quartered arms of Percy (blue lion rampant on a gold/yellow field) and de Luci (three white lucies, or pikes, on a red field). His tabard and shield bear just the Percy arms with a red label as the eldest son.
Although I've seen Sir Henry's helmet crest depicted as a lion standing as the one belonging to the Black Prince, I figured the upper half of a lion rampant would be appropriate as that is type of his coat of arms. Besides that's the way the GW helmet is made :)
I was inspired to paint up Sir Henry after a stein I just picked up off a ebay which has a depiction of him. I need to get some dark beer to test out the stein.
Finally, here's a nice 19th C. illustration of Sir Henry at the Battle of Shrewsbury, after receiving a mortal wound to his head or neck.

48 comments:

  1. Stunning...
    And it´s always a pleasure to see some old GW figures :-)

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    1. Thanks! They are a bit larger than most 28mm, so makes painting them a bit more enjoyable sometimes.

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  2. Absolutely amazing work on the bardings, and the best use I've seen for a long time of this GW figure. Great work Dean!

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    1. Thanks, Soren! Appreciate the kind words. Best, Dean

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  3. Outstanding job on this new one...I really like him, you've done so many beautiful details...

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    1. Thank you very much, Phil. Warm regards, Dean

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  4. Fabulous painting again. I'm always impressed by your freehand heraldry.

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    1. Thanks for the visit and kind comments, Martin. Best, Dean

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    1. Appreciate the visit and comments, Rodger! Best, Dean

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  6. awesome looking figure and stunning brush work...well done Dean!
    marvelous!!

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    1. Thanks, Robert! Appreciate the visit and comment. Best, Dean

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  8. Thanks, Jonathan! Warm regards, Dean

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  9. That is fabulous Dean. Job well done!

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  10. You did a great job of using the mug as inspiration for this model. Very effective!

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    1. Appreciate the visit and nice words, Anne. Best, Dean

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  11. Absolutely stunning.
    Yes, 1: 1 is mug and figure exactly the same

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    1. Thanks as always, MM. Appreciate the visit and comments. Best, Dean

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  12. Wow, this must be my favourite knight so far. The mix of the two GW horses is a real winner and the trappings are all kinds of awesome!

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    1. Thanks, Michael. The larger "canvas" of these GW horses makes them perfect for heraldry. Warm regards, Dean

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    1. Thanks, Mike! Appreciate the kind words. Best, Dean

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  14. Lovely work Dean! What an exciting, colourful model.

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    1. Thanks, Simon! I finally found a use for the few Bretonnian knights I picked up from ebay many years ago - when I first got into 28mm. They've sat unpainted all this time. Warm regards, Dean

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  15. Ok, this fellow beats all! I don't know how you can do heraldry on a trapper but you've nailed it. It is simply spectacular to look at, Dean.

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    1. Thanks a lot, Monty. Once I figured out where the folds were for the trapper, I sketched the general designs of the heraldry to see how they'd fit. The areas were the cloth folded over actually helps as I don't have to paint the entire charge :) Best, Dean

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  16. Brilliant. Loads of colour and detail. Top work. cheers Now celebrate with a well earned black beer. cheers

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  17. Thanks again, Gents! Yes, some Guinness is on the list. Regards, Dean

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  18. WOW !!! beautiful painting work !!
    no more to say ...

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  19. Amazing! He looks better than the mug. Perhaps you should start a Bretonnian army.

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  20. Very Nice Dean. I think the Bretonnians are one of the few GW armies that looks great- and can be used as historicals. The work looks great and we need to play some Lion Rampant soon, perhaps after the holidays.

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  21. Amazing work, Dean- you have a real talent for painting medieval heraldry.

    Great to see that mug- I've a whole set that my parent's bought years ago from a trip back to the UK, and we still have them in Vancouver.

    They included John de Warrene, the Black Prince, and of course Percy among others.

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  22. Hi Dean, A slow comment from me - sorry was just looking back through to see what I missed and I spotted this beauty! What can I say but simply amazing. Your attention to detail is incredible. I think the thing I would have the biggest difficulty in painting would be the spiraling on the lance and you have that absolutely spot on!
    Best wishes,
    Jason

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  23. My 16x Great grandfather. Love your models & the mug. Have downloaded the photos. Many thanks

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    1. You're most welcomed. And I am very honored by your visit and kind words. Your ancestor is well-renowned. Regards, Dean

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  24. Hi..how much would you charge to make one of these in same Percy format?

    Jon

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    1. Jon: Thank you so much for your interest, but I have to admit that I haven't picked up a brush in a very long time. I don't think I would be up to the task. As I'm not a professional painter, I really don't have a price range either. So sorry, but again I really appreciate your comments and interest. Warm regards, Dean

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