Charlie's 15th century - Some long-overdue Burgundians! (Feb 28)

[OSHIROmodels]

Cracking work and soooo many 

The flag is great and certainly looks the part 

[HappyChappy439]

Excellent work! That's a great swarm o' Swiss!

The combination of arms looks excellent in formation, and the boar standard looks great! Definitely fits the late 15th century feel!

[Big Martin Back]

Missed this before somehow. Excellent work and I love those building bases.

[SirGromit1879]

Wow!! That looks amazing Charlie. Looking at those figures there are quite a few that look like they are from a brand new range as i cannot work out what bits are used from which manufacturer because they look so seemless and natural with your conversions. Top work!!

Very interested in how you have used the foundy figures with the perry ones, that opens up a lot of opportunities

[Griefbringer]

That's a honking big pike block!

I have to say that those yellow jackets really stand out compared to the more muted colours on the other figures. Is this by design, or have you not yet found a duller yellow shade? I think something similar to the shade on the new boar flag would look great on the jackets. Another way to get a particularly Swiss/German look would be combine that bright yellow with black - one half of the jacket in each colour - makes painting more time consuming but might be of interest e.g. on a standard bearer.

[painterman]

They are great Chris - nice to see the Steel Fist ones in there!
I have also thought of using Foundry and I must admit that I've found it harder than I expected to spot them - so they blend Ok and I'm convinced to add a few.
I guess it maybe relevant to the rules you're using, but I may have expected to see more depth in a pike block? I spend too long chewing these things over, re frontage, depth and basing in general when it comes to pikes!
This is a useful 'prod' for me to get mine done too.
Great work..
Cheers simon

[Charlie_]

I have to say that those yellow jackets really stand out compared to the more muted colours on the other figures. Is this by design, or have you not yet found a duller yellow shade? I think something similar to the shade on the new boar flag would look great on the jackets. Another way to get a particularly Swiss/German look would be combine that bright yellow with black - one half of the jacket in each colour - makes painting more time consuming but might be of interest e.g. on a standard bearer.

Yes, they do stand out a bit... they're not quite so vivid in real life, though they do still stand out. It would have been nice if the yellow clothing and the flag matched, but the flag was the last thing I did... it's printed, not painted, and it's next to impossible to get the printed colours to match the models. I would definitely agree the warmer yellow of the flag is nicer though - I might try and go more in that direction next time I paint yellow clothing.

As for parti-coloured clothing - I've done that before and for some reason it just doesn't sit right with me. I don't like the look.... Do you mean the yellow and black would make them look more Swiss as these colours were used as 'uniforms' for some of the Swiss Cantons? If so, I'd actively like to avoid that, as, these guys aren't Cantonal troops! Or.. do you mean that parti-coloured clothing was a notably Swiss fashion statement, regardless of colours and Cantons?

I guess it maybe relevant to the rules you're using, but I may have expected to see more depth in a pike block? I spend too long chewing these things over, re frontage, depth and basing in general when it comes to pikes!

I can always add another rank or two at a later date. The advantage of having single based models (except the front two ranks of pike blocks) is the units can always be re-arranged and re-organized. Perhaps this unit will grow in the future to get more of a true 'block' look to it.

However you mention rules - I use my own rules, and the games are supposed to represent small-scale battles, so rather than this unit representing a 3,000 strong pike block, it's something closer to what you see - perhaps a 1:5 ratio? So it's not really supposed to be a massive square formation.
As you can see on the pictures with the two pike units together, I am all about forming battlelines of multiple close order units. So the end result on the gaming table should not be lots of little squares dotted across the battlefield, bur rather big strong battlelines, made of up units of various widths and depths side by side (the rules basically mean two 30-strong units side by side will have the exact same effect as a single 60-strong unit). The depth of these battlelines may well be increased in the future.

[Captain Harlock]

I think that the best method with difficult colors such as red or yellow is to use the desired color as final highlight over a muted base tone.

[Griefbringer]

As for parti-coloured clothing - I've done that before and for some reason it just doesn't sit right with me. I don't like the look.... Do you mean the yellow and black would make them look more Swiss as these colours were used as 'uniforms' for some of the Swiss Cantons? If so, I'd actively like to avoid that, as, these guys aren't Cantonal troops! Or.. do you mean that parti-coloured clothing was a notably Swiss fashion statement, regardless of colours and Cantons?

I would consider parti-coloured clothing and livery a popular fashion across 15th century western Europe, and not specific to any certain location. I find it interesting, but if you are not comfortable with the look then it probably better that you steer away from it - especially since you are not (to my understanding) trying to depict specific historical retinues or urban contingents.

As for the combination of yellow and black, I tend to strongly associate that with German-speaking Europe of the time, since the colour combination seems to appear particularly commonly in heraldry from that area, and even forms part of the modern German flag. It is not particularly strongly associated with most Swiss cantons (like red/white or blue/white combinations), except possibly with Uri (whose flag features a black bull's head on yellow background), though there is a very famous hornblower illustrated in Schilling chronicles in yellow/black clothing - this one has been frequently reproduced in miniature, too.

As for the black clothing, it is worth keeping in mind that back in the medieval times it was expensive, due to requiring most dyeing material to produce. Full length black robes, requiring lots of expensive clothing, would be a clear indication of wealth and social standing; these appear as civilian clothing in this period, but luckily were not a battlefield fashion - purely black clothing tends to be a pain to paint, as usual shading techniques do not apply.

As for options for a darker yellow, I am not sure what paints you are using, but the shade of the flag reminds me a little bit of Vallejo colour Desert Yellow, though that would probably be a lot duller. You may need to try experimenting mixing various yellows (and maybe even oranges) to find a shade that you are comfortable with - yellows can be a bit tricky to work with, especially since some of them do not easily provide good coverage.

[Klingula]

These pikemen are very good! I like how the Perry brothers ' miniatures and the Steel Fist are combined. Surprisingly, you managed to include in this squad and miniatures from Foundry

[Breazer]

The pike unit is looking awesome Charlie. I really like the banner too, would love to do a similar thing for my guys. The colours seem awesome.
also your collection is becoming beyond impressive.

[Anselm van Helsing]

Superb work! Where do you find the energy to paint so many minis so consistently?

-Z

[Charlie_]

The other day I had a game with my friend Joe, who is new to wargaming. He likes a good game though, especially if it involves rolling dice, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy having to make tactical decisions.

I wanted to come up with a simple scenario that would be more interesting than the standard pitched battle, with some elements of randomness and surprise.... That would give Joe some choices to make, but wouldn't require any in depth knowledge of battlefield tactics or history.

Here's the layout, with Joe's army on the right, defending. I would be attacking, and the 'random' factor would be where my units enter from. I said that my vanguard had hurried on ahead and attacked rashly - they would enter on turn 1 from a random point (A, B or C). I set up the centre of Joe's army for him, with his artillery, crossbowmen and halberdiers in good positions inside the village - I then let him choose which flanks to place his cavalry and two pike units on - not knowing where I'd be coming from, he opted for pikes on each flank, and his right flank being the strongest with both the larger Swiss unit and the heavy cavalry.





On turn one my vanguard (one heavy cavalry unit and one light cavalry unit) entered from the far end of the table, near to Joe's strong right flank. I made sure to play to fit the rash character I'd given them, and they headed straight for Joe's battleline, intending to charge. He could counter charge with his own heavy cavalry, but acted cautiously and waited, wary of my light unit outflanking him.



On turn 2, I rolled secretly to see where my main infantry force would be coming on... but that wouldn't be until turn 3. With that knowledge, I was now allowed to put my third cavalry unit on the table, entering from the point of my choice... The idea being that my general had sent them on ahead to avert the potential catastrophe of my vanguard's rash attack! I put them on the far right to act as a diversion.... unknown to Joe, my main infantry force would also be entering on my far left behind my vanguard. Joe sent his left-flank pike unit forward, which perhaps wasn't the wisest move. His crossbowmen and artillery were managing to weaken my units sufficiently.



On turn three my large infantry division entered, led by my general, on my left flank... So I was throwing all my weight against Joe's strong right.



Meanwhile my diversionary cavalry on my right flank avoided his pikemen and had a go at charging his guns. His halberdier unit stepped forward to defend them, and his crossbowmen inflicted severe casualties with their cross-fire as my cavalry charged in...



And were driven off....



On my left flank, the cavalry of my vanguard charged Joe's own cavalry, who countercharged..... It was tense, as they were evenly matched.... Whoever won this combat could determine how the game progressed next.....



It was a draw!!!! Their formations broke up as a swirling melee got under way, and my light cavalry joined in.



My infantry advanced, and my right-wing cavalry regrouped. Joe's crossbowmen were proving effective, and he moved his artillery forward to get into a better position for next turn.





The cavalry melee actually went on for several turns... But eventually Joe's side got the upper hand. My two cavalry units were sent running.... But suddenly Joe's victorious unit found themselves about to be caught by my infantry. One of my units charged, and Joe's cavalry retreated out of the way. It was now time for his Swiss pike to step up.



As my infantry and Joe's Swiss closed on eachother, I sent the remnants of my cavalry units to harass his other pike unit, but they formed square and dared me to charge... I didn't take the bait.



So it came down to the newly painted Swiss pikemen to carry the day.... They swept into my infantry, and despite being outnumbered pushed them back... and broke them! That included my general, who I like to think was captured as his men fled in disarray in the face of the Swiss onslaught.



And with that the game was over! Joe won, which is good as nobody wants to lose their first ever game. But it was very close throughout, and there were difficult decisions for both of us to make. The game ran very smoothly....

However, despite this game being a success, I've bizarrely found my post-game thoughts leading to me wanting to completely rethink my rules and how I've based my units!!!

[Hincmar]

Superb looking game - your armies and terrain are awesome.

[DintheDin]

Very nice presentation! And your minis are top notch!