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| Bad War - Clash between Swiss and German Mercenaries |
This is a post I have wanted to do since I started this blog. It has however taken me ages to paint up and convert enough Swiss Pikemen to do the pictures justice. I think the clash between the Swiss Reisläufer and German Landsknecht Pike blocks is one of the most iconic images of the Italian Wars. Holbein the Youngers sketch, shown below, captures the ferocity of these clashes. During "Bad War" no mercy would be shown, with extremely bloody conflicts ensuing when the blocks of men fought hand to hand.
The photos show a block of 120 Landsknecht about to clash with an equal number of Swiss Pikemen. The Swiss block is made up of the Artizan Swiss combined with the old Foundry Landsknechts and Old Glory Swiss. The Old Glory and Foundry figures have had weapon and head swaps as shown in my previous posts (this is the last post on the Swiss for a while!). I am really happy with how they look as a block. They are similar to the Landsknechts but subtly different, I think all the ostrich feathers help in particular. I am sure I will return to doing more Reisläufer conversions at some point but below are some pictures of the 120 I have done so far.
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| Bad War, Hans Holbein the Younger |
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| Swiss Pike Block |
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| Swiss Pikemen |
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| Swiss Pike |
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| Reisläufer clash with Landsknechts |
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| Landsknechts |
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| Swiss and German Pike Clash |
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| The Pike blocks from above |
