Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Medieval Adventures => Topic started by: Cubs on July 25, 2019, 05:13:30 PM
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I've been really interested in the Normans lately, specifically the de Hautevilles in Italy and on the First Crusade. I can't remember what first started me off on this latest jaunt but I have been devouring various titles (including some I'd already read, but now enjoying understanding the various participants in better context) and then remembered I had some old Citadel Normans knocking about on my shelf doing nothing.
So, here's part one of their journey to … well, perhaps just another cul-de-sac project, or perhaps something a little more long term, who knows.
First off, the poor fellas were all missing their shields and the leader (I think of him as the leader, he's certainly posing in management style) was missing his weapon. I decided to give him an axe from a Viking sprue and then ran into the problem of the shields. I could have bought shields I know, or used round ones from my Viking sprue, but I decided it would be more fun to make them. They're thin Forex plasticard - a light, almost spongy type of plastic sheet used in signage. It's great stuff if you can beg a company who is throwing out their old signs after an expired promotion and is really easy to cut, sand and paint. I cut to shape with a craft knife and sanded to smooth out, keeping them rimless. A hole was cut for the bosses, then the backs of the shield got their detailing - a greenstuff square pad and then card straps after they were glued on the arms. It was pretty fiddly and the back of the spearman's shield got minimal detailing because it was hard to get to, but I do like the effect so far and think they'll paint up really nicely.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/if4gKoiZrLEt/1k0.jpg)
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The Normans are an excellent army to collect as they fit into so many different lists . Norman obviously, Saxon , Early Crusades , Later Crusades as Sergeants , Sicilian Norman , Spanish , Early French ect . Just a few off the top of my head.
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Yeah, I have a smattering of Perry Hospitallers with very Norman-like kit, so they should fit in rather well as armed dudes lacking the most up-to-date kit.
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Glad to see some one else makes straps for shields!
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Glad to see some one else makes straps for shields!
In fairness I don't always bother, but since I was making them from scratch and they're just for me (plus that leader dude is deliberately showing the back of the shield) … I thought yeah, time well spent.
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I like those. :)
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Will follow with interest. Nice shields. :)
Did you read Jack Ludlow series Mercenaries?
Its about the Hauteville family.
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Will follow with interest. Nice shields. :)
Did you read Jack Ludlow series Mercenaries?
Its about the Hauteville family.
Yes! Now I'm embarking on both volumes of 'The Normans in Sicily' by John Julius Norwich. It's a hefty tome (it's both volumes in a single paperback copy) and goes for a hefty wedge when new, but I got a 2nd hand copy on eBay for a fiver, so I'm merrily grinding my way through it. It's actually a light read, aimed very much for entertaining education, but it's physically damn heavy to lift!
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I have to check 'The Normans in Sicily' by John Julius Norwich.
If you have other interesting tittles do please recomend.
I have almost nothing here in Portugal.
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I first read about the De Hauteville boys - in this case Bohemond and his nephew Tancred - in books about the First Crusade (first the BBC book with Terry Jones and then more in depth ones such as Thomas Asbridge's). It was great to be able to find their backstory and see how their family reshaped Italy and had such an enormous impact on history, fighting their way from relatively humble beginnings and obscurity in Normandy, to mercenaries, then warlords, then Princes. As JJ Norwich says, it's almost unbelieveable that such an important and influential family should have so little attention in (English language) historical literature.
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Really enjoyed reading John Julius Norwich’s books on the Normans in Sicily. He has the knack of turning the most complex historical issues into an enthralling and readable narrative.
I came across these books after reading his outstanding history of the Byzantine empire.
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Here we go, they're done. What lovely sculpts, they really do make it a doddle to paint them; the faces are so full of expression and the crisp detailing is a delight. I hope I get the time to keep going with this project, because it was lots of fun. The shields were hard work (front and back) but probably time well spent at the end of the day. All things considered, next time I might well keep the shields flat-faced without a boss and use a transfer.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/RbxiRcaBAeTv/1k0.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/nrPyTdvs2DuL/1k0.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/gatMXBhrR7B4/1k0.jpg)
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Corking :D
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Tasty Cubs, very tasty :-*
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Very nice indeed :-*
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Very nice indeed, Sir
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Lovely painting. :-* :-* :-*
We want more. :)
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Superb :o
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I managed to squeeze three more lovely old Citadel Normans onto the work desk and they're finally done! I deliberately went for round shields for two of these guys, just to shake things up a bit. Since Norman knights weren't happy about dismounting to fight for the most part, I figured these guys are on campaign and are feeling the pinch a bit, having to make do in less than ideal circumstances - hence they've lost their first (or second) choice shields. Or they just like their round shields, or whatever. The rest of the unit with all have the standard teardrop shaped ones and a little variety never hurt anyone!
First up the standard bearer - he was a spearman in a great pose for holding a flag, so I clipped off his spear, drilled out his hands and put in a wire pike, clipped down to size. The flag is homemade from paper and the design loosely based on a De Hauteville heraldry, but perhaps a cadet branch or cousin of one of the big boys, since it's blue and white check with red, instead of red and white check with blue. The shield is from a plastic sprue and the design a Battle Flags transfer, with added grime and battle damage.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/7ecpzzmYJs3i/1k0.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/g6526UwLKUZy/1k0.jpg)
This guy likes his coat of arms enough to go full-on coordinated with painted shield, helmet and matching clothing. The shield is hand-painted.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/jp5APxG5ACP2/1k0.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/WMzKGmo62xUX/1k0.jpg)
Finally, a duplicate of the earlier thrusting spearman, but this guy had lost his spear, so I drilled out his hand and replaced it with a plastic one from a Viking sprue. I thought about giving him a sword for variety, but kept it as a spear in the end. His crappy round shield is obviously pretty elderly and not his first choice, having been scrounged or looted from somewhere when things got desperate.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/Tuxgz7R7eQEH/1k0.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/X4jgdsiLu9nH/1k0.jpg)
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Great miniatures. :-* :-* :-*
That wooden shield is something. :o
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Oh my that painting is brilliant. The shields are superb!
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Boootiful Cubs 8) :-*
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Brilliant painting as seen above! I see what you mean with the expressive faces, they all look quite dynamic and different. I especially love how muted colours you have on the wood, bring bright without being super stark. How do you paint the shields to get that muted appearance?
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How do you paint the shields to get that muted appearance?
I keep the colours pretty plain - only a base coat and then a midtone, no highlighting or anything. Then I mess about with washes and inks to stain it all, dull the colours and basically dirty it up - making sure a bit more of the dark washes stay lower down. Then it gets a very very light drybrush with a pale beige colour to look like dust or the leather backing showing through - a bit more of this on the top part of the shield.
With the wood grain shields, it's a dark brown base, then I paint the shield colours on the surface, then it all gets progressively lighter drybrushing and more washes and inks at the end to add shade. It's a bit heart-breaking to see the shield design slowly being obscured (especially if it's taken you ages to do!) but it gets that tatty old decaying look I like.
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I love your painting style :-*. Very well done!
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Nice work! 8) 8) 8)
There are some real gems in the old Citadel/Wargames Foundry range and not just for Normans, there are some great Norse too :)
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Slow but beautiful project, sir !
I love your painting style, and on those old minis it really does the job very well. :-*
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When I look at those, it makes me realise mine are painted miniatures, but Cubs's look like real miniature people!
:-*
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you really make these minis gain a lot of character with your paint job! Well done!
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I love the way you’ve recycled these older figures and brought them back to the table . They look like they’ve rolled in the mud when their horse has fallen , discarded the cumbersome teardrop and picked up a handier shield . Figures are always interesting when they look like they have a backstory. I’m enjoying this ongoing thread . ✔️
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Some absolute gems... I particularly like the care you’ve shown to weather their kit (especially the shields) ...they look like they’ve just walked off of a battlefield.
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Agreed, saving those to the inspiration folder, they look superb.
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I'm holding out for the Victrix plastic Normans now to expand the project although I may snaffle up the odd Perry Norman/1st Crusade dude along the way.
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Hooray! A few more. The fella with the padded hauberk I'll probably use with the milites.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/pAX9XViHigYq/1k0.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/72E6SYPzerdS/1k0.jpg)
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Excellent always loved the citadel normans
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Impressive work and very close to my heart - I like to see Norman armies being raised! :D :D
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These are lovely, Cubs. Gritty, dingy and characterful.
But being such venerable (and therefore probably quite diminutive) figures, I’m a little sceptical they’re going to sit comfortably alongside those lovely looking new Victrix plastic Normans with their slightly exaggerated detail and dynamic poses... Well, we’ll see. Fingers crossed :)
I’ve just succumbed online to the Victrix Saxons, so will have a better idea once I have them in my sticky paws...
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They'll be fine, don't worry, everything's fine. Besides, I could always claim they're slightly shorter Italians.
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I’m a little sceptical they’re going to sit comfortably alongside those lovely looking new Victrix plastic Normans with their slightly exaggerated detail and dynamic poses... Well, we’ll see. Fingers crossed :)
15kg of mail armour and 5-10kg shield and side arms will most likely rather cause those depicted poses than dynamic shock troopers, I guess... :D
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I've been very ntrigued by this thread, as I have a SAGA Norman force composed of Perry Crusade figures, with some Crusader Miniatures characters and "swords for hire" Flemish spearmen (as Perry don't make any figures in akheton). I am - and have been for a few years now - in the process of painting them, and as a spiritual Geordie (now there's two words you seldom see next to each other!!!) I am going for a black and white theme for their shields and what passes for livery in the 11th Century, with the mercenaries being sponsored by Flemish & Newcastle Breweries and sporting the "Newcy Broon" blue star.
Very impressed by what you've done to the shields. Somebody (you?) put up a very good tutorial on the Workbench about "weathering" shields, which I intend to use, although I was thinking of using a tool to gouge out some sword/axe cuts, to make them look a bit more 3D.
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Very impressed by what you've done to the shields. Somebody (you?) put up a very good tutorial on the Workbench about "weathering" shields, which I intend to use, although I was thinking of using a tool to gouge out some sword/axe cuts, to make them look a bit more 3D.
I don't remember putting a tute on here, but I suppose I could have done and then forgotten about it! I don't want to take credit for someone else's good work mind. I did do an article for … I don't remember if it was WI or WS&S … about shields and banners a few years back though.
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Yes, I remember the shield weathering tutorial... Hmmm... I had a feeling it was one of our German pals. Moiterei or Lt Hazel perhaps?
Could well have been you though Cubs. You do paint a mean weathered shield 8)
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Just checked and it was indeed Lt Hazel. (Thanks, Captain Blood - love your Perry WotR figures, btw!)