Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Medieval Adventures => Topic started by: Iain R on February 07, 2021, 05:11:51 PM
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I wasn't kidding when I said I'd be bringing you more niche and obscure Lion Rampant retinues!
I'd fancied doing the Battle of Largs for a while, as in scope and scale the above "war" was perfect for Lion Rampant scenarios. There were no cataclysmic clashes of grand hosts, with Largs itself being barely more than an extended skirmish, before it all fizzled out to nothing. When Footsore released the Barons War stuff, it got really hard to resist! While meant for 50 years before, the bulk of the wargear won't look massively out of place for either side, though I'll try to keep the faceplated nasal and open-faced flat top helms to a bare minimum.
I'd originally planned just to do both sides, but my regular opponent has dived in with full enthusiasm to do the Norwegians, leaving me to do the Scots. I will of course do some Norwegians to add to his, but may err towards more of a Hebridean flavour, for a bit of variation (and the fact that they could join either side...)
Some research managed to establish a few Scots knights who were there, and I added a few more who were likely to have been due to the location of their lands or status. With rhe exception of the Earl of March (who is recorded to have commanded the left wing at Largs), the knights in his unit I made up of thise with lands around Loch Lomond, which was raided by the Norwegians prior to the battle at Largs; they probably weren't there, but they seemed an apropriate choice, especially as it meant I could also use them for engagements around that area. The Norwegians were a harder task, and most of the arms I'll end up painting were just those of roughly the right era that I could identify....
Here's my painting/force composition plan for the Scots...
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And the projected knights I intend to do for the Norwegian side...
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Ooh nice! Lots of lovely new minis coming out that would be suitable too.
This is something I’ve toyed with so these new minis might tempt me.
Following with interest.
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First Scots figures finished, 3 infantrymen and a knight, Sir Henry de Cunninghame of Kilmaurs.
The infantry will all be painted to represent men in the service of the Stewarts, as Ayrshire was their heartland at this point, with Walter "Bailloch" Stewart being Sheriff of Ayrshire at the time, and thus responsible for raising the forces, and the High Steward Alexander Stewart of Dundonald being the joint commander alongside Walter. The fact they're in a basic form of yellow livery is probably a bit anachronistic; the men were called out by Crown officials rather than individual lords, however there are extant records showing the Stewarts paid men for the campaign, as they didn't trust the local burgesses to do their duty, and given the size of the forces I'll be doing, I decided to represent these paid men. It's still arguable as to whether they'd have worn any form of livery, but I felt that to a family like the Stewarts, prestige and show was everything, so men in livery might not be outwith the realms of possibility... it also makes painting a bit quicker!
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Lovely painting,and fascinating subject. Will be watching this develop keenly. :)
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Nice piece of research to kick yourselves off. All hail to the obscure. What a great little project and wonderful example of how skirmish rules like these can satiate divergent fancies. I haven't yet stepped into skirmish gaming but I can see the attraction.
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Great idea for a project and lovely painting.
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I will follow with great interest.
Great painting. :-* :-*
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Great project and will follow with interest. As an Ayrshire man, whose ancestors who were ‘planted’ by the Eglingtons in Derry and came back to work for them in the early 18th century I am looking forward to seeing how this unfolds. I must admit to being a little dismissive of the Battle of Largs-a few half drowned Norwegians getting the proverbial doing on the beach-but age has mellowed me.
Stephen
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Thanks all, very kind!
Great project and will follow with interest. As an Ayrshire man, whose ancestors who were ‘planted’ by the Eglingtons in Derry and came back to work for them in the early 18th century I am looking forward to seeing how this unfolds. I must admit to being a little dismissive of the Battle of Largs-a few half drowned Norwegians getting the proverbial doing on the beach-but age has mellowed me.
Stephen
Yeah, Largs often gets overblown in terms of scale and importance (thanks in part to the tourist industry, who do nothing to discourage the common idea of it being "Scots vs. Vikings... ::) ::) ::) ) but the detail of it is perfect for the sort of scenarios LR seeks to represent. The Norwegians weren't really half-drowned, as they had come ashore the morning after the boats were blown across, with subsequent reinforcements also landed when it became clear the Scots were trying to prevent the boats being recovered. They ended up fighting a very successful rearguard action against superior numbers and equipment. I also like the idea of them raiding up Loch Long to Arrochar, then dragging the boats overland to then sail up and down Loch Lomond and terrorise the locals. That must have come as something of a shock!
Some WIP on some archers...
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Thanks all, very kind!
Yeah, Largs often gets overblown in terms of scale and importance (thanks in part to the tourist industry, who do nothing to discourage the common idea of it being "Scots vs. Vikings... ::) ::) ::) ) but the detail of it is perfect for the sort of scenarios LR seeks to represent. The Norwegians weren't really half-drowned, as they had come ashore the morning after the boats were blown across, with subsequent reinforcements also landed when it became clear the Scots were trying to prevent the boats being recovered. They ended up fighting a very successful rearguard action against superior numbers and equipment. I also like the idea of them raiding up Loch Long to Arrochar, then dragging the boats overland to then sail up and down Loch Lomond and terrorise the locals. That must have come as something of a shock!
Some WIP on some archers...
Iain
Very interesting, particularly the hauling of boats from Arrochar to Lomond! Was trying to recall today how that dismissive view (beach brawl) had formed and I feel it must have (in the late sixties) come from my Father-a Historian- who was neither interested either the period or particularly Scottish History. So I shall be following this thread with great interest.
Stephen
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Some actual pictures of Sir Henry de Cunninghame of Kilmaurs. Thought I'd posted these, but clearly not.... o_o
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Nice work! What would the Norwegian boats have looked like - knarr with fore and stern castles?
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I was wondering the same thing; from what I've gathered though, they were the same as viking longships but bigger.
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I really like blogs like this. I am looking forward to more!
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Really nice work and a very interesting projectv 8)
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Not sure if you have seen these, but they might fit into your project... I think they are inspired by the Lewis Chess pieces so perhaps slightly too early.
(https://antediluvianminiatures.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/120540559_2620801518232873_4797886144072520718_o.jpg)
https://antediluvianminiatures.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/shop-historical-range/
I suspect there may be a few other minis in there that you could rope into service.
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Yeah, I've seen them, lovely sculpts! My plan was initially to feed them in (even though they're a bit anachronistic, one or two in a unit would work fine). However, when I got my Footsore stuff through, I found they are noticably small 28s, considerably different sizes to Hicks' previous work for Claymore; so I will wait and see how these guys scale out ('cos let's face it, I'm buying them anyway)- if they're FS scale, they'll get added to the leidang, if not, guess I'm doing Renfrew 1164 next... lol
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The size difference is interesting, do you have any comparison pics?
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The Antediluvian figures mix Well with the Claymore ones. I dont know about Footsore.
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The size difference is interesting, do you have any comparison pics?
Not right now, but I'll try and take some tomorrow.
The Antediluvian figures mix Well with the Claymore ones. I dont know about Footsore.
The Claymore and Antediluvian Otterburn/Harlaw stuff by Paul Hicks was originally all the same range under the Claymore banner; the Antediluvian Wars of The Bruces and Claymore Crecy range mixes well because again it's the same sculptor (Matt Bickley) who does both.
I'm not sure if it was a conscious decision for Hicks to sculpt the figures for Andy Hobday/Footsore at a smaller scale than his previous work, or if they just came out that way.
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Love what you have done so far! I don't know if you have any of the Footsore figures from the second kickstarter but I noticed that the crossbowmen seem a bit larger. I am not sure if it is the pose or scale creep.
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Love what you have done so far! I don't know if you have any of the Footsore figures from the second kickstarter but I noticed that the crossbowmen seem a bit larger. I am not sure if it is the pose or scale creep.
I had to check it myself and you are correct! It's strange, as all the other BW2 mini's are the same size as the BW1 mini's. Only the crossbowmen are bigger and more in scale with Normans Paul Hicks sculpted for Footsore.
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The size difference is interesting, do you have any comparison pics?
Okay, there must be a bit of variation between the sculpts, because when I first compared them before Christmas, the FS ones definitely looked smaller.
Here, while looking maybe slightly taller, the FS ones are noticably more slender and less "robust" than the Claymore ones. More evident in the hand than in the picture, and probably not an issue to most.
(https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/924/Cr9Eth.jpg) (https://imageshack.com/i/poCr9Ethj)
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Very helpful thanks. I think that I’d be happy mixing between suppliers/ranges.
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Stunning painting Iain and can't wait to see more. Where did you get the pics of the heraldry?
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Stunning painting Iain and can't wait to see more. Where did you get the pics of the heraldry?
Cheers! Mainly from Wappenwiki, and I think a few came from Wikipedia.