Old Glory ECW Artillery

These are the last major units/figures for the ECW project. All of these were part of the deal from my buddy last month - he actually threw these in for free. I stripped them of the old paint and repainted them - possibly a bit too colorful.

Speaking of stripping the paint - I found out that Simple Green simply doesn't work anymore. They must've changed or weakened the formula. I ended up using some wood finish striper that I had on hand - Citristrip. That worked great - but only on metals as it will soften/melt plastic if left on too long.

The figures aren't too bad - and have a lot of variety - but the cannon themselves are really nice, IMO. I like the raised sculpting on some of the gun barrels, as well as the nicely detailed wheels.

The gun carriages being pretty colorful, I tried to mute the clothing of the crews. They should look okay when spaced apart with foot regiments. From what I understand, guns weren't usually grouped together like in later periods - although they might've been during sieges and such. They were also usually brought up onto the battlefield and left there to be manhandled during the battle. That is, they weren't limbered up and moved around once the battle commenced. To reflect this in Pike and Shotte, heavy artillery are immovable; medium guns can be manhandled 3" per turn; and light guns can make up to two 6" moves per turn. Only two crew per gun as I only had 30 figures; which allowed the bases to be smaller overall to take up less space on the gaming table.

My first Pike & Shotte game is scheduled for this coming Friday - so, hope it goes well and will post an AAR with pictures afterwards. Thanks again for dropping by and wishing you all the best!

Warlord Games ECW Commanders

A few more commanders for the ECW project. From left to right: Lord Minimus, the Marquis of Newcastle and a Scots officer.

The figure used for Newcastle is actually sold as James Graham, the Marquis of Montrose; and the Scots officer is actually listed as Prince Maurice. The Scots fifer and Newcastle's standard bearer are Perry figures - left overs from the Scots foot command ordered previously.

The Lord Minimus figure is a single casting (horse & rider) and came with the To Kill a King

 supplement. That's a pet monkey he has on his left arm.

Lord Minimus was appointed a Captain of Horse by the Queen, and he liked to be known as Captain Jeffrey Hudson (his real name). He fled with the Queen to the Continent in 1643 and while in exile had killed another Royalist in duel. He was later captured by pirates and spent a quarter of a century as a slave in North Africa. He later died in England and buried in a paupers' grave. Whether he actually participated in any battle or not is not certain, however, the supplement has stats listed for his use.

Since I have a week or so before the Marston Moor game, I think I'll work on some of the Old Glory cannon that came along with the other figures from my buddy's sale. Until next time, wishing you all the best and thanks again for dropping by the blog.

Warlord Games ECW Dragoons - Mounted & Dismounted

Finished the last units for the ECW project. The ones in blue coats belong to Sir Henry Washington's regiment and the red coated ones are Colonel John Okey's regiment. One each for the Royalists and Parliamentarians. Both flags come with the Warlord Games set - two each for the mounted and dismounted troops.

As these fight as skirmish troops, most of the dismounted figures were based as singles. I used the larger two-figure bases for the standard bearer and leader figures since those might topple over more easily on a single base. The mounted figures were based in pairs and singles, for ease of movement as well as a more stable base for the standards.

Per the Pike and Shotte rules, they can only fire while dismounted, so the mounted guys firing are for show mostly; however, as harquebusiers in 30 Years War, I think they can fire while mounted.

Dragoons have a free mount and dismount move. As a charge reaction, if already dismounted, they can fire (after passing a command roll) and then remount and retire (evade) their basic 9" mounted distance. We'll see how much flavor they'll add, but I wanted to have as many bells and whistles for the players.

In fact, I've scheduled a game with a few of my buddies for later this month. I still have a couple of command figures to paint up, and maybe a few of the artillery (Old Glory pieces) that my buddy threw in with the deal. Although I don't think there was much artillery action at Marston Moor. Something like a few shots by the Parliamentarians before they rushed towards the unprepared Royalists.

Well, thanks again for stopping by and checking out the blog. Best wishes to you all.

ECW Scots Covenanters Pike and Shot Unit - Warlord Games and Perry Figures

Finished the last pike and shot unit - a second Scots Covenanters unit with a mix of mostly Warlord Games plastics and a few Perry metals. Half of the pikemen and the command are Perrys. The two makers mix well - although I did try to raise the Perrys a bit during basing. The metals figures' bases are thinner than the plastic ones.

There are now a total of 16 Pike and Shotte units (4 were painted in 2020). These along with the cavalry units should be more than enough units for the usual 8 x 6' table playing area I have.

I'm also thinking of forming the musketeers in 3 stands per side when formed next to pikes. Not ideal, but a compromise as it takes up less frontage and also they were formed more in blocks historically; at least from period illustrations. Have them in 3 ranks with a 4 man front would looks best, but then it would be problematic when trying to form into hedgehog formation. Also, keeping them 4 per 40mm square allows them to be used as commanded shot more easily, I think.

We'll see how the formations will work best once I finally get a game or two in. This should be soon, as I only have the dragoons (both foot and mounted) to work on. I do want to have dragoons included in the inaugural game as they should add some flavor to it.

So much for now - thanks again for stopping by and wishing you all the best!

Warlord Games ECW Cavalry Completed

Here are the 7 new units of cavalry, 3 units of Parliamentarians and 4 units of Royalist - including a unit of Cuirassiers. With the 4 units painted in 2020, there are now 11 units of cavalry; not counting the 2 Dragoon units still to be painted as they fight more as dismounted troops than cavalry.

Most of the flags are from downloads off the Warlord Games site. The one for the Cuirassiers is from the Warlord kit, and is a conjectural one for a Royalist Cuirassier unit.

The style of the period clothing, at least for rank and file, is pretty simple and paints up nicely. Specifically, there aren't any laces and buttons to worry about, as in later periods.

This range of figures from Warlord Games has become one of my favorites - for variety of troops and also ease of painting.

The clothing is colorful, but not complicated - so make for a nice look overall.

Next up are the Perry Scots Covenanters to finish up that unit - then on to the Dragoons. After those, there are a couple of character figures for leaders and also the artillery.

Well, thank you all very much for stopping by and checking out the blog and best wishes to you all.

Workbench Update - ECW Cavalry Painted & Stained - Also Arrival Of Another Perry Order

While awaiting the arrival of Perry Scots Pikemen to complete the last foot regiment, went ahead and worked on the cavalry. Managed to block paint and Minwax stain 7 units of cavalry.

Kept the paint scheme simple, the ones with blue horse blankets will be Royalists, and the ones with red blankets Parliamentarian - except for the one cuirassier unit - which has red blankets but will be Royalists. The ones I picked up from my buddy don't have pistol holsters, but I'll try to mix them up with the ones I put together which do have the holsters attached.

The Perry order did, in fact, arrive yesterday - and I will finish up the Scots Covenanter foot unit next. A couple packs of Chasseur a Pied from their new Franco-Prussian War range was added to the order. I was surprised to see that these are a bit larger/taller than their usual figures.

In any case, they size up quite nicely with the Eagles of Empire figures.

Thanks again for stopping by and checking out the blog. Wishing you all the best!

Workbench Update - Finishing Up ECW Foot And Starting On The Cavalry

Just a quick workbench update - still waiting on a Perry order of Scots pikemen and command, but managed to finish the musketeers for the unit. Also started on the cavalry - 9 regiments of 12 figs each. 4 of these units will be repaints - including a cuirassier unit; and 2 units are mounted dragoons (the foot will be painted afterward).

The Scots figures were sprayed with Rustoleum flat gray primer and then the clothing areas dry-brushed with Vallejo Stonewall Grey. A Minwax stain was brushed on over after the rest of the stuff were painted - leather equipment and muskets, etc. Quite a quick and simple paint scheme.

The new figures were sprayed with a flat brown primer - mainly to speed the painting of the horses. I may dry-brush some of the horses with a lighter brown; also will paint the manes and tails various colors.

Just wanted to show you all a quick update of what I'm working on. Thanks again for stopping by and checking out the blog. Best wishes to you all!

A Couple More Warlord Games ECW Foot Regiments

These two are the last of the figures I repainted from a recent acquisition from a buddy. Again, mostly the clothing (coats and breeches), as well as touching up other areas. The white coats are supposed to be Sir Thomas Tyldesley's Regiment of Foote. Some historical sources say the coats were probably red, but I went with the white which is used by this unit's reenactment group. I also painted the red gyronny crosses over a mostly white flag for this unit. This flag is also used by the group - however, a green flag was captured at Marston Moor which is believed to belong to this regiment. I just like the look of the flag and it contrasts nicely with the white coats. The green coats are supposed to be the Earl of Manchester's Regiment of Foote. The reenactment group of this unit now wears red coats, although they used to wear green ones. There are historical records showing the earl ordering green coats lined red and also red coats lined green.

Both of these units fought at Marston Moor - Sir Thomas being under the command of Prince Rupert. Tyldesley's ensign and drummer are Perry metals. Tyldesley's sergeant with the halberd and Manchester's ensign are both metal figures that came with the Covenanters set with plastic headgear.

Some period illustrations of pike and shot formations shows the musketeers in more of a block - not much smaller than the pikes. I don't think I'll rebase them, but I've seen some other folks basing them in three ranks which look pretty nice. I may put a stand of the musketeers behind the other two on each wing - at least for some games.

I have one more foot regiment to paint up - a box of Scots Covenanters that was included as a "freebie" in a recent Warlord Games order. I'm waiting on some Perry pike and command figures to add to this unit. Once done, I'll start on the cavalry - some repaints and also new ones. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the blog - and wishing you all the best!

More Pike and Shot Foot Regiments - Warlord Games and Perry Miniatures

Here are three more foot regiments - Sir Phillip Skippon's redcoats; Lord Brookes' in purple; and Lord Saye & Sele's bluecoats; all Parliamentarians.

Skippon's pikemen and command are Perry metals.

As with most of the previous foot regiments, these were chosen mainly for their coat colors and available flags. Not necessarily for participation in any particular battle or campaign.

The pikes for the Perry figures are from plastic broom bristles - which are very sturdy and flexible.

There more foot regiments remain to be painted - including another Scots Covenanter one. After they are done, the cavalry and dragoons will be worked on.

Just a quick update and thank you all for stopping by and wishing you all the best.

Warlord Games ECW Pike & Shotte Update

Finished up 6 regiments of pike and shot. Three regiments were from unpainted sets and the other three were repainted - mainly the clothing as I left the other areas like the leather equipment and muskets alone. From left to right, first rank: Newcastle's Whitecoats, Earl of Northampton's regiment in green; second rank: John Hutchinson's regiment in blue coats, Earl of Essex's regiment in orange/tawny coats; third rank: Sir Gilbert Talbot's regiment in yellow coats, Sir Ralph Hopton's regiment in blue coats.

Although I only think Newcastle's regiment fought at Marston Moor, they'll all be used in the game. I just like the variety of coat/jacket colors and the regimental flags as well.

The pike units are on movement trays for ease of play, as pikes can be a bear to handle otherwise.

There are 4 more units to repaint from the ones that were already painted by my buddy. Aldo 2 more new units, one being another Scots Covenanters regiment. I plan to paint up at least one as Lord Brookes' regiment of foot in purple. Again, not so much as their presence on any particular battlefield, but for the color of their coats and available flags. I also got some nice packages in the mailbox today too - an Osprey Marston Moor Campaign book and a small order from Perry - to flesh out another regiment. The Perry order only took 10 days to arrive - mailed out on 30 December.

Thanks again for swinging by the old blog and wishing you all a great start on the new year!

Workbench Update - Warlord Games ECW Foot - WIP

Here's a visual of the ECW foot in various stages of progress. Half of these were painted from bare plastic, and the others are being re-painted. The repainting is mostly the clothing and headgear. Also making movement trays for the pike units using plasticard and figure sprues for the edging.

With the previous four regiments painted the year before last, I should end up with about 15 or so regiments of pike and shot. After the foot, the cavalry and dragoons will be worked on. Just wanted to show you all that I'm slowly sorting out this mess of figures. Until next time, thanks for dropping by and wishing you all a great start to the year.

First Project of The New Year - ECW Pike & Shotte Revisited

Actually started on some of these before the end of last year. I ended up buying the rest of the Warlord Games Pike and Shotte figures my buddy had - although these were already painted by him years ago. He had intended to use them in TFL's "In The Buff", but no one else was interested at the time. This round of figures included 48 more cavalry (12 of which are metal cuirassiers) and 160 foot - enough pike and shotte to flesh out several more regiments. He also threw in 15 cannon and crew from Old Glory. The image below shows most of these new acquisitions as well as the ones previously painted - and just based with the newly arrived Litko bases. I plan to touch up or repaint the figures and mount them all on Litko bases. They are currently on card stock bases and easily removed off of them. The one minor issue is that my buddy used a very thick coat of wood stain on the figures so much of the details are now hidden or covered over. Not too big of a deal as these are all rank and file figures.

I added one of the new painted pike units to one with musketeers I pained with a can a light blue spray paint. The ones he had were pretty close in color, but being a bit retentive, I had to paint them the same blue to match the musketeers. I used an old tip and sprayed some of the paint into a foil make shift palette and brushed the paint on.

In addition to these figures, I also placed a Warlord Games order since I thought I needed 12 more horses for the riders I got from my buddy in the first purchase. Lo and behold he found the 12 horses with this second round of painted figures. Anyway, I added a box of Scots Covenanters to the order as it was a "freebie" add on with Warlord's order - which pretty much makes the $25 shipping a wash; in fact, the Covenanters go for $34, so, maybe I made out by $9? Oh, and I also ordered some Perry pikeman figures since again I didn't know about this second round of figures from my buddy and wanted more pikes. Oh, well, I should be pretty well occupied in the coming weeks to get all of these figures done. I am hoping to do a Marston Moor game once the figures are all ready. Thanks for dropping by and hope you're all having a great start to the new year.