How I base for Bloody Barons

[Leman (Andy)]

This update is my final two command stands for First St Albans. They are the Duke of Somerset, using all the figures in the 3rd Duke's character pack, plus an extra couple of standard bearers from Ancient and Modern. The second is Henry VI - he should be visible at the folowing battles:1st and 2nd St Albans, Ludford Bridge and Northampton. In all cases he is just a pawn to be captured or rescued (depending on circumstances and the colour of your rose) but he does add a nice colourful touch. Please excuse the stray static grass on him. I didn't notice it until I expanded the photo. Luckily it was dry and just brushed off.













The Henry VI base unfortunately has no PP figures. Henry, the mounted knight and the foot standard bearer are from Ancient and Modern. The mounted Herald is a repainted Front Rank figure from at least 3 decades ago. The musician speaking to the king is a plastic Joan of Arc figure.

[martin goddard]

All that silver and flags looks great Andy.
There was a trend some years ago  for claiming armour was all blackened etc.  but silver looks accurate and enjoyable.


martin

[Leman (Andy)]

Apparently, as I have just written in Recently Read, Edward IV favoured blackened armour, although he is also shown in contemporary documents in white (polished metal) armour, so he could be in either. I am going to do a few Edward command figures - as Earl of March, as he may have appeared at Towton before his coronation, and in a crowned helmet at Barnet and Tewkesbury. Same with Richard
when he was Duke of Gloucester. I think the Earl of March will get the blackened armour. I also think a few more painted helmets scattered about might look good.

[Sean Clark]

Lovely work Andy, showing off the character packs beautifully and also evidence of how well they mix with other sculpts.

I have the Henry figure from Donnington. I think mine came with a Margaret figure too.

[Leman (Andy)]

I have two Margarets now, one A and M and one PP. I will paint one up as Margaret and one as a Lady-in-waiting. I can sit her off to the side for Blore Heath, Ludford, 2nd St Albans, and Tewkesbury.Also useful for an 'imaginative' scenario, such as capture the queen as she flees to Wales. She will also come in useful in a Kingmaker campaign. I have also come across another oddity. Apparently at Towton Edward, currently uncrowned, fought under the banner/standard of the Black Bull of Clarence. Anybody have any further info on that?

[Sean Clark]

Not heard that before  but how intriguing!

[Anatoli]

The beauty of these bases is a real temptation for me to buy and start painting an army from this period...

The work you did on these bases is brillant ! Each base is a mini scenery, with living figures on it !

I am starting to discover a period of History that I did not know at all, which is very fascinating...

Cheers

Xavier

[usagitsuki]

Freezywater has Edward's banner at Towton as having the black bull of Clarence, but I don't know their source for this. Edward's claim to the throne was based on his descent from Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, hence his use of the bull as a device. Edward also used the white lion of Mortimer as a badge, due to his descent from Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, heir presumptive to Richard II, giving him an alternate line of descent for his claim.

[Leman (Andy)]

Thanks for that information Usag - I have those standards available so will make use of them - the White Lion for Northampton and Mortimer's Cross, and the Black Bull for Towton.

Xavier - the figures are a real treat to paint, and are ideal for the later wars of Louis XI and Charles the Bold from 1450 onwards (possibly even a little earlier when the Henry VI marriage treaty with Louis XI broke down in the later 1440s). Martin makes some excellent crossbowmen of the period and A and M some useful Swiss and troops that can be  armed with a variety of weapons, as well as some excellent camp vignette models. I have plans for French and Irish mercenaries to be present at various battles.

[Sean Clark]

The beauty of these bases is a real temptation for me to buy and start painting an army from this period...

The work you did on these bases is brillant ! Each base is a mini scenery, with living figures on it !

I am starting to discover a period of History that I did not know at all, which is very fascinating...

Cheers

Xavier

Xavier,

I look forward to seeing pictures of some games of Bloody Barons. If your other games are anything to go by, they're going to be something special!

[Leman (Andy)]

Every so often I squeeze in some more terrain pieces to do. Not sure yet how to represent the town ditch but I do have barricades available in the form of logs from Time Cast. Also a couple of Joan of Arc bridges and a few boulders, bushes as grid markers. May also knock out a few concerned citizens and the odd felled cow. At some point I will have to make a nice tent scene for Henry at Northampton.

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

These are looking fab!

Re armour: Unless you expressed a particular preference the general rule of thumb was the richer you were the shinier your armour. After all YOU weren't the one cleaning the blood and crud off it. Unless of course you covered it in some form of garment. Munition quality armour could also be a dull gunmetal colour where the hammer work was not polished off, but the overlapping joints etc. still had to be smooth to function properly. Blackened armour was an application of soot and oil (lampblack) as a rust preventative measure. Bluing was a heat application which tended to wear off, ditto russet. Those could potentially affect the hardness of the lames. Most of my WotR period troops are in a gunmetal finish with only COs and hobnobs in the shiny stuff. Needless to say the grunts will be covered in a liberal amount of crud.

[Leman (Andy)]

At last back on track with this project. Spent an enjoyable afternoon completing the archers and some extra billmen for a Clifford unit. It could be levy or retinue, but it has been my personal Death by Brown, if anyone remembers that particular ECW thread. A few posh lads in with a load of figures wearing, or using, various shades of brown. I think that's what was putting me off getting it done, but finally the log jam has been broken. The next unit will have a Somerset allegience, so should involve more variety when painting - Retinue or Household. Once based up I'll post a photo of the brown and white Clifford chaps.

[martin goddard]

Looking good Andy


martin

[Leslie BT]

Xavier there was a lot of battles for the period around this area and Brittany.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ5bkawra-DjiRg-21spMEOsGyjpwutGo

Will give some ideas for the War of Breton Succession.