Following on from last month's 1540s games with Stuart for this month's post we are staying in the mid 16th century. To bolster the ranks of my 1540s English infantry,
https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2017/11/1540s-tudor-english-rebased.html, here are another 46 English troops armed with polearms. The figures are all from the Assault Group except for a couple of figures on the command bases which are old Redoubt Enterprises sculpts. The figures are armed with polearms from a variety of different manufacturers but only a few have been converted, there are just a couple of head swaps.
These figures will join my 1540s English army for games set during the English siege of Boulogne in 1544 and the subsequent attempt by the Tudor Government to hold onto the town, the 1549 rebellions in Norfolk and the south west of England and the Anglo-Scots war known as the Rough Wooing. You will notice that only the command bases include miniatures wearing the characteristic English coats of this decade. This means that with a simple swap of the command bases and the flags the unit can be used to represent troops with polearms from other armies, for example they could represent troops assaulting or defending fortifications in a siege that might be using polearms instead of their pikes. The last photo below shows the unit in French service.
The first four photos below show the new unit whilst the ones after show the new figures mixed in with some of the 1540s English I painted some years back as well as the command bases in more detail. I still have some more English infantry to work on for this collection and will hopefully be able to show them on the blog soon.
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| Tudor soldiers armed with bills, spears, halberds and glaives for the 1540s. |
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| Mid 16th Century Tudor Billmen. |
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| English Infantry c.1540-1550. |
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| A view of the unit from behind. |
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| The newly painted bill combined with my previous Tudor billmen. |
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| English bow and bill c.1540. |
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| An English captain and his command group for the mid 16th century. The figures are all from the Assault Group apart from the Captain in the centre of the base who is from Redoubt Enterprises. |
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| A view of the same command base, note the holes cut in the Captain's coat to show the mail underneath. |
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| Another English command base with a captain carrying a target. The standard bearer is from Redoubt Enterprises whilst the rest of the figures are from the Assault Group. |
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| One of the polearm bases including a drummer and officer. |
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| By swapping out the command bases and changing the flags the unit becomes one of French infantry armed with polearms. |
Superb looking unit, top notch work on them Oli, TAG makes some great figures and you have done them justice big style!
ReplyDeleteCheers Donnie, I agree TAG make some superb figures. They are also the only manufacturer who really do the Mid 16th century justice with their range.
DeleteAs always, superb rendition of the excellent TAG range of figures, Oli!
ReplyDeleteThank you Keith, there should be some more on the way.
DeleteWhat’s your painting method? I’ve always liked its sort of grungy roughness, but I’ve never been able to figure how you accomplish it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I feel I use a bit of a painting cheat rather than a method!
DeleteI use acrylics and always start with a black undercoat. I then drybrush the entire figure in white so it looks like a ghost. For the black and white paint I buy massive art pots of cheap acrylic.
If there are then any large areas of colour like horse flesh, cloaks, padded jacks or armour I paint, wash and dry brush those areas first. I then fill in the other areas with colour which I wash and dry brush/highlight. I often wait right until the end to paint any fine detail or colours like white and yellow.
I dont think I could change from this style now and it also has the advantage of being pretty quick. Handy if you want to paint up big armies.
Lovely looking figures.
ReplyDeleteCheers Nundanket, hopefully I will get them on the table for some games soon.
DeleteA nice array and I'm sure a very useful addition. The ability to change the command figures must really add to the versatility of this unit. I have some Assault Group figures for Eastern Europe and have always been pleased with them. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteStephen
Cheers Stephen - I was hoping TAG would do some earlier Eastern European renaissance figures, like Hungarian Hussars based on the battle of Orsha paintings, but I don't think it is something we will see.
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