Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Medieval Adventures => Topic started by: bigredbat on October 30, 2020, 11:16:56 AM
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(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Exmow-UAC5w/X5asG5eIIFI/AAAAAAABA4s/0CN4RIy_hK0QbhEk7Dq_tDse4tcatqQ0wCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/20201023_213545.jpg])
I'm plugging away at producing a Swiss army of four, perhaps five, keils for To the Strongest!* Here's the first, Uri canton. Most of the minis were painted by chum Shaun McTague and finished by me, except for the front rank which are mostly painted by David Imrie. I'll take some proper closeup pics later, when the basing is finished.
There's stuff about the project on my blog https://bigredbat.blogspot.com/search/label/Swiss (https://bigredbat.blogspot.com/search/label/Swiss)
I'm currently working on the Schwyz, Solothurn and Basel contingents- no photos of those yet, though.
*n.b. there is no need to have anything like this many minis in a TtS! unit; I am just doing it this way, because I choose to. :-)
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:o That's great work! I definitely didn't expect almost(?) 100 Uri Pikemen when I clicked the thread!
The yellow you've chosen has turned out fantastic too, great painting!
(Also I did like the use of Jenga blocks on the blog to hold miniatures! lol)
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Seriously nice work! :-*
Even if you put them out by numbers, they look very sharp and come with great variety of colours.
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Incredible work! Very inspirational!
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Spectacular :-*
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They look stunning Simon and exactly the part :-* :-* :-*
Big units of pike are the way to go in the Late 15th C, especially with the Swiss 8)
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Thanks all! I am really pleased with the unit.
I'm also working on some Low Countries pike, as opponents. Small units, though- only 48's. ;-)
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That, my friend, is a proper pike square. I like it. ;)
Typically, the Swiss fought in three divisions, though not all necessarily the same size.
At Novara, they fought in three keil of 1000, 2000, and 6000. Your squares would allow this kind of versatility, it appears.
But, for the biggest Swiss battles, if I were planning to do five keil, I'd actually do six. That way, for something like Marginano where they fought in three divisions of 5000, you could use two for each - each keil being a couple of 'fahnlein' fighting side by side, thus allowing some scope for manoeuvre (see plate H, Landsknecht Soldier, Osprey, for how this would look). The Swiss have very little else for this battle, so a six box pike frontage would probably be very useful.
If I were doing Marignano again, that's how I'd do it. In the pictures below, the first shows the Swiss on their start line waiting for the off. The second shows the three Swiss keil having smashed through the first line of French holding the ditch and engaging with French and Landsknecht pike beyond. It was at this point that, being able to split a keil in two would have been useful.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vmtza5NohYc/VhJmbymsN1I/AAAAAAAAJ58/WraktTiLWPE/s640/IMG_0036.JPG)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B47R-n2c384/VhJn0ntC9sI/AAAAAAAAJ7Y/FVpHJEXXl74/s640/IMG_0045.JPG)
This is a shot of a different game of the same battle just after the Swiss have crossed the ditch but the French have been more aggressive - it's when surrounded that the versatility multi-fahnlein keil becomes apparent, and I think they would make the battle a better game. In TtS terms, I would allow each 2 box keil's 'general' to activate both halves of the keil on a single no penalty activation, providing they are both ordered to do the same thing, using his ability to redraw for failure on both if necessary. I'd allow the same for Landsknechts too, but not French or Italian.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UvWUad1Ws3g/VJxnZECDB7I/AAAAAAAAI2o/QAcYe5ItmVw/s1600/IMG_9195.JPG)
Just a thought.
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But, for the biggest Swiss battles, if I were planning to do five keil, I'd actually do six
LOL James, now you have said it that will almost invariably happen. I have most of the required minis- it's just getting them painted and organising them. I currently only have enough painted minis for 3 blocks.
It's great to see images of your inspirational Italian battles again; they are one of the main reasons that I am (finally) getting into the Renaissance. When I get around to scenarios I will drop you a line. Your suggestion for the special rule for the three Swiss divisions is a really good one! I could see that working very well as a special scenario rule.
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(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6gojh0q8hBM/X6kcl4gWIQI/AAAAAAABBJg/8sBH8CAcwPobh-W6Zj8TbrjDRnXsyWXCQCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/20201109_090439.jpg)
I recently finished the second pike block - Solothurn - Schwyz- Bern. I particularly like the red/black of Bern, and the bear flag - so much so that I've decided to do another contingent of them for the third block, not shown. There will eventually be six such block (per James, above) which I can group in pairs or in three commands of 3 - 2 - 1 .
Oh- this week I bought a load of Swiss halberdiers, and I might also do a pre-pike block (or several! ;-) ).
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:-* :-* :-*
Superb stuff Simon.
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:o Amazing work!
Silly question but is that red hood on the middle chap in the front rank with the kettle helm sculpted on?
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It's a conversion of a Perry plastic- it came to me painted. Probably green stuff.
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very impressive pike blocks, will you be painting cavalry as well, for both sides you must be going to
have a thousand minis or more !
Brian
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Yes I'll be doing cavalry- lots of cavalry. :-) Not many Swiss cavalry though.
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Excellent stuff - glad to see the megalomania carried into another period!
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Awesome work, very inspirational! makes me want to start my 15mm project for this period but I have that down for next year! lol
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As always with the scale and quality of your armies...wow...what we all dream of but cannot afford in time or hard earned cash. Lovely to see and the finished project will have the Bigredbat trade mark ‘awesome’ (and it’s always a pleasure to see Olicana’s fantastic collection).
Keep it up sir!
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Thanks all. I'm plugging away towards the half-way mark, more slowly now because I'm repainting/highlighting the additional minis to bring them up to spec. I should have the third block done by the end of the month, though.
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Both big and beautiful.
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Splendid! There is something quite satisfying about large Swiss pike blocks with lots of flags :-*
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(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MYxV70mxWk4/X8jSvRepn5I/AAAAAAABBi4/ePF0I2axcI8CB91BtdEFN6dHPxDyq2hVQCPcBGAsYHg/w594-h447/20201203_115348.jpg)
A new contingent joins the Swiss, above, blue-clad Freiburgers, temporarily joining the Uri keil.
The combined minis so far, below.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VkfCtpmYm-Q/X8jUR3nKzDI/AAAAAAABBjQ/n9gUTALj3jEFY_XtbWvFkG6eLTM4fjmzQCPcBGAsYHg/w586-h439/20201203_115305.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2OXO-DUxqvg/X8jUR9Of7VI/AAAAAAABBjQ/u2atQN4m804KMNkAUZHUP-k8VL0PbGUxwCPcBGAsYHg/w588-h441/20201203_115312.jpg)
There's more about them on my blog at https://bigredbat.blogspot.com/2020/12/switzers-x-almost-half-way.html (https://bigredbat.blogspot.com/2020/12/switzers-x-almost-half-way.html)
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Class Simon :-*
What an impact they will have on the table top! :o
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Thanks Darrell
I find myself wondering whether there was some sort of order of precedence as to how the Swiss deployed. Oldest cantons on the right? I must look at some paintings.
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Thanks Darrell
I find myself wondering whether there was some sort of order of precedence as to how the Swiss deployed. Oldest cantons on the right? I must look at some paintings.
Hmmm.... something I have never even considered! ???
Well worth looking into as there was bound to have been inter-canton rivalry. Let us know what you manage to work out- could be very useful.
You will almost certainly be familiar with Schilling Chronicle, Grandson:
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Fantastic looking units, really inspiring, especially the size of the units, which battles
would these be suitable for ? i was thinking of getting some Artizan figs to fight my Landsknechts
Brian
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Fantastic looking units, really inspiring, especially the size of the units, which battles
would these be suitable for ? i was thinking of getting some Artizan figs to fight my Landsknechts
Brian
With the fashions in clothing and armours, plus the way they have been painted in the colours of the Swiss Cantons you're basically looking at anything from the outbreak of The Burgundian Wars in 1474 to the Battle of Cerignola 1503, perhaps a little beyond.
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ok thanks Atheling, i was thinking maybe 1515 to the battle of Pavia
Brian
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ok thanks Atheling, i was thinking maybe 1515 to the battle of Pavia
Brian
The Perry stuff is too early, though if you were to add bits and bobs of the Warlord plastic Landsknecht's you could create something passable. Or just use the Founrdy, Steel Fist [recommended] and/or WL stuff. If you look at our very own Stuart's Army Royal blog (link below) you will get a much clearer picture of the 1515 or thereabouts fashions in clothing and armours:
Army Royal
https://stuartsworkbench.blogspot.com/ (https://stuartsworkbench.blogspot.com/)
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Coming along nicely :-*
Interesting choice to use blue for Freiburg. I stuck to the banners for the main colours, i.e. black and white for Freiburg, leaving blue for Zurich, Luzern and Zug.
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Thanks chaps- I have mostly been using the clothing colours from the stained glass window on the Wikipedia page, although you are right that the colours for Friborg shown on the table below are black and white, and presumably more correct. But I'm not repainting them! :-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_and_arms_of_cantons_of_Switzerland#:~:text=From%20this%2C%20the%20white%20and,also%20briefly%20used%20by%20Aargau. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_and_arms_of_cantons_of_Switzerland#:~:text=From%20this%2C%20the%20white%20and,also%20briefly%20used%20by%20Aargau.)
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Thanks chaps- I have mostly been using the clothing colours from the stained glass window on the Wikipedia page, although you are right that the colours for Friborg shown on the table below are black and white, and presumably more correct. But I'm not repainting them! :-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_and_arms_of_cantons_of_Switzerland#:~:text=From%20this%2C%20the%20white%20and,also%20briefly%20used%20by%20Aargau. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_and_arms_of_cantons_of_Switzerland#:~:text=From%20this%2C%20the%20white%20and,also%20briefly%20used%20by%20Aargau.)
I don't blame you mate. It's the same with the Gonzaga vignette pic I sent you recently on FB Simon. Since it was painted, we have clearer info but there's utterly no chance of me going back and repainting it. It's staying in one of my cabinets and sitting pretty :)
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Instead of repainting you could also switch the banner to Zurich ;)
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Ah but my Fribourgers are black and blue (mostly) and Zurich is blue and white. I will be tackling Zunich in due course.
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All fair game as long as it’s looking good 8)
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I won't lose sleep over it. :-)
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Yes....for Friborg blue/black. For Schaffhausen blue/red/white . For Basel black/White...
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From one who knows, Happy Basing.
Best,
James
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(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lTbpqQ8obf4/YBPuTJmxl_I/AAAAAAABCSc/9M7ge71JNBsCoyPdNxSiAsMrKC2hY95qwCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/20210129_110020.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1DWq4uHI0VE/YBPvsDAALpI/AAAAAAABCSo/mR1cw-VTR1c2LKhSnxis7hvhVStlcWNZwCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/20210129_110154.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-599BVRwBReQ/YBPvsFsYAHI/AAAAAAABCSo/b5CAjwFjUd0h4qptq_XNQHVK0vP_-zfQgCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/20210129_110148.jpg])
My Swiss army build continues; more about it on t'blog! https://bigredbat.blogspot.com/search/label/Swiss (https://bigredbat.blogspot.com/search/label/Swiss)
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Well Done - Swiss armies in cantonal colours look great. :-* :-*
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Excellent work Simon! 8)
Christopher
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Bravo ! really great force for ? burgundian wars ?
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They look great!
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Brilliant Simon :-*
They are going to be quite a sight on the table- you just cannot beat huge units of massed ranks of pike 8)
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Wow, they look great. Excellent work.
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You are making great progress, who will be opposing the Swiss and what
figures will you be using ?
Brian
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This is an insane and lovely project.
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(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H7IWy-rkquY/YGWp9Mo2zCI/AAAAAAABC8g/AXc2YZUfBYEg7jIE9vM83vMbI_5XOqwHQCPcBGAsYHg/s4002/20210401_112702.jpg)
...so I realised I forgot to post my last update, here. The army is coming along really well, but I've had to postpone the final push until October, as I have another pike army to tackle in the meanwhile.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0T7dZXBW4kU/YGWqAw8c6zI/AAAAAAABC8k/SuTazk6mkqsahXlMimyluJgOQKzBSJFOACPcBGAsYHg/w640-h400/20210401_112754.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3ahWuiUOSoQ/YGWqA-Rb1DI/AAAAAAABC8k/hyOhiIbOysgTr_7I_JRWpjsuesu8w0kUgCPcBGAsYHg/w640-h454/20210401_112745.jpg)
There's more on t'blog! https://bigredbat.blogspot.com/2021/04/swiss-army-progress.html
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The Swiss alone are going to be a truly awesome sight Simon!! :-* :-* :-*
Roll on whenever the display game is to take place! :D
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Wow :o :-*
What a sight.
You don’t do things by halves ;)
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Ta! Salute '22, perhaps, Darrell? I'm slowly assembling some Burgundian foes. Will need a few!
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In awe of the collection, stunning stuff! :o
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Impressive!
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Ta! Salute '22, perhaps, Darrell?
I hope so. I'm quite convinced that anything large scale will have to wait until 2022, as disappointing and frustrating as that might be.
I'm slowly assembling some Burgundian foes. Will need a few!
You bet you will lol This has the makings of the greatest (literally) Late Med game I have ever had the pleasure to behold. Keep it up Simon and do keep posting please :)
Are you going for a specific battle or is that all "hush, hush" for now?
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Atheling et al, I share your pessimism about large shows this year. I understand Hammerhead or Partizan is still planned for late July but I fear the worst. It will be ironic if it is Hammerhead as from memory Hammerhead 2020 was just a few days before lockdown 1.
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Atheling et al, I share your pessimism about large shows this year. I understand Hammerhead or Partizan is still planned for late July but I fear the worst. It will be ironic if it is Hammerhead as from memory Hammerhead 2020 was just a few days before lockdown 1.
I'm with you on that one. Large gatherings are going to be a no-no for a while yet. Sad but true.
Simon, how is it going on the Burgundian front miniature wise?
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Hi chaps, I'm working on the basis that the shows will go ahead. At least that way, I will have the games ready. If they don't, but smaller groups can get together, then I'll hire a private room to run some big games. For the first outing, I'm thinking about Morat (Murten).
Burgundians- I now have six or seven infantry units but haven't had a chance to take photos of all of them, yet. I'll start a separate thread for them.
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Hi chaps, I'm working on the basis that the shows will go ahead. At least that way, I will have the games ready. If they don't, but smaller groups can get together, then I'll hire a private room to run some big games. For the first outing, I'm thinking about Morat (Murten).
Yeah, me too with my Byzantines and Anglo Danes. I've got a display game planned with a good mate with the Byzantines so the impetus is there to keep chipping away at them. I did have a bit of a dead stop moment a while ago but managed to slowly getting back into the swing of painting, even though it took some time.
Burgundians- I now have six or seven infantry units but haven't had a chance to take photos of all of them, yet. I'll start a separate thread for them.
Can't wait! 8)
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Hi Darrell, your Byzantines are inspiring!
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Hi Darrell, your Byzantines are inspiring!
Cheers Simon. Ditto with your Swiss and Burgundians 8)
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(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjz6GREC5sOxcstP9sj7n15ntYaIEVt4SNy5DJ4XXQZ6EnQCPFW2oySW5nYkKX07nOGQD0Nm_RycW3VYM4G1yR4g6n5YsUR_-YfXzECmqcAdcWe149TiYVvbvaEEEcREWHAu5YuZ7NEo3gK22O7KLtyA3bCngD8t7xDYj3l5MWRrWChpyTja89GowXr8Q=s3851)
It's been a while on this project! Here's a new stand, Adrian von Bubenberg, beautifully painted by chum Andres Amian Fernandes.
I will be coming back to the Swiss, quite likely next month, to get the remainder based. I'm juggling projects.
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That is very nice - well done :-* :-*