Late 17thC Spanish Militia

[Paul Richardson]

Are Ebor Miniatures WSS figures too late for what you want? I don't have any but from looking at photos they look very nice.

[doctorphalanx]

I was intending to be selective about the Foundry pirates but if they're still too Hollywood, I'd be very happy to switch to using the Northstar 1672 figures as Spanish Militia of that era but then I'd need some figures of comparable size to act as their opponents.

Perhaps other Northstar 1672 figures would actually provide the most authentic look for contemporary freebooters?

[AdamPHayes]

I had heard that too Paul. I was told when Copplestone first did his Glory of the Sun range (Now North Star 1672), I should look at the Dixon Marlburian range because some of them ought to be compatible. But when I look at that range, I don’t really see anything that looks like the distinctive Copplestone style or quality... they all look very much like Dixon’s own work, which is, as I say, very old style - Minifigs, Hinchliffe and Lamming era. Great in their day of course, but nowhere near the quality of most wargames figures over the last 20+ years.
But it’s a matter of personal taste I appreciate. I know some people love the old school look

You cannot have looked hard enough! The Grand Alliance range is the one that includes Copplestone sculpts not the Marlburians. They have great detail and very characterful faces. Yes short and chunky compared to many ranges these days but so are the Perry sculpted Foundry Late 17th C. / Marlburians ( which is what the OP was asking for comparisons with...) I have never understood the idea that the Dixon figures might be compatible with the Glory of the Sun range. The later Copplestone sculpts are much taller and more proportionate outweighing any stylistic similarities to my mind.

[Paul Richardson]

AdamPHayes: what you say about the comparative height of the Dixon and the Glory of the Sun ranges does not surprise me. The Dixon figures were sculpted before anyone had thought of making 28mm figures and they were originally marketed as being 25mm figures.

[Captain Blood]

That’d be it then 

To be fair, it may not be entirely that I didn’t look hard enough... 
Because having looked again, there seem to be no pictures of the Grand Alliance range on the Dixon website? Apart from a grainy group shot, in which, yes, I can discern some Copplestone-looking poses and style pointers... I would hazard that his Glory of the Sun range was his improved remake of this early range for Dixon? In much the same way as he remade some of his other earlier ranges - like the ex-Grenadier (? - now em4) Future Skirmish figures - under his own brand.

As others have said before of other manufacturers, it seems a missed opportunity in this day an age to have a website selling miniatures, without pictures of said figures. But there you go... 

Interestingly, they do have pictures of the Marlburian figures...

[AdamPHayes]

That’d be it then 

To be fair, it may not be entirely that I didn’t look hard enough... 
Because having looked again, there seem to be no pictures of the Grand Alliance range on the Dixon website? Apart from a grainy group shot, in which, yes, I can discern some Copplestone-looking poses and style pointers... I would hazard that his Glory of the Sun range was his improved remake of this early range for Dixon? In much the same way as he remade some of his other earlier ranges - like the ex-Grenadier (? - now em4) Future Skirmish figures - under his own brand.

As others have said before of other manufacturers, it seems a missed opportunity in this day an age to have a website selling miniatures, without pictures of said figures. But there you go... 

Interestingly, they do have pictures of the Marlburian figures...

Me being a tiny bit glib perhaps 😉

It is strange. What other businesses so rely on opinion and descriptions from third parties for their potential customers to know what they are offering? And in a hobby where the visual appeal of the equipment is so integral to the purchasing decisions and choice of specification, it is truly bizarre to not have photographs in an online shop. All part of the quixotic charm of tabletop wargaming I suppose...

You are probably right about the Glory of the Sun range. I was surprised that Copplestone went for the much less well known earlier era for this range but maybe he deliberately did not want to directly clash with the earlier work. A slightly less Anglo-centric range than the norm is always to be applauded though I feel.

[warrenpeace]

Interesting choice of project, a very specific year, 1697, a mostly French raid. Certainly different from the attempt by the Dutch in 1683, or the potential for an attempted pirate raid in the 1660's.

If depicting the local militia companies, rather than the Spanish army garrison troops (who had a rather unique uniform for the period), one would expect more outdated and non-uniform clothing, along with some outdated weapons such as matchlocks and a greater number of pikes.

Another interesting aspect of Spanish defense in what is now Columbia, Venezuela, and Panama is the reliance on substantial numbers of converted local Indians. Not sure how they were armed. Also, the Spanish, at least in the 1660's during Morgan's raids, formed companies divided and distinguished by race: white, Indian, African, mestizo (white+indigenous), mulatto (white+black), & possibly zambo (black+indigenous).

For this varied militia, I'd suggest a mix of figures from the mid to late 1600's, along with a strong local Indian component. That would provide the flexibility to reflect Morgan's raids on Maracaibo, Portobello, and Panama City, along with the Dutch attempt on Cartagena in 1683. But then, I hate developing an army that I can only use for one battle. That's just too much work for one game. But you may be wired differently.

[doctorphalanx]

I was looking at Cartagena but I'm now looking at an earlier period, e.g. Henry Morgan's time.

I need two forces - typical Spanish militia or garrison troops and a force of Buccaneers. I'd want them to look as authentic as possible or at least reasonably convincing or just the best that can be achieved with good-looking, currently available models.

I'm not necessarily trying to create a specific battle. It's just a peg to hang the armies on. I'm not a rivet counter, but I want to be as realistic as possible without sweating blood.

Pikeman's Lament has a 1:1 scale so I'm not trying to represent the whole of a balanced, mass army in historical proportions, just two 'skirmish' forces that might have encountered one another.

I probably just need some fairly conventional pike and shot types for both sides, though I assume that Buccaneers are more likely to have been armed with half-pikes.

For this period I'm currently considering using the Northstar 1672 figures but also any other ranges which are compatible in size including more archaic figures, i.e. ECW ones.