Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Medieval Adventures => Topic started by: JollyBob on April 11, 2010, 11:51:23 AM
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Before I get into it, I'd just like to say - Captain Blood, this is all your fault... ;)
After seeing the Captain's wonderful Wars of the Roses figures and reading the back stories for all his characters, I was inspired to have a go at my own. But, not being as gifted as him, I decided to have a look at some local history instead.
Turns out, the town I live in (Workington, Cumbria, England) has a tradition of sending its best and bravest off to fight for the King, with the local lordlings, the Curwen family, leading the charge.
Some of the notable battles they were involved in were Falkirk in 1298 (where Sir Gilbert deCurwen arrived late as he did not want to commit because of familiy ties on both the English and Scottish sides. Seeing that the battle was already going in favour of the English, he came in on Edward I's side, later claiming credit for a "last minute victory" and deriving the family motto - Si je n'estoy or "If I had not been there" - from this event.)...
Agincourt in 1415 (A John Werkyngton was mentioned in the lists, and is presumed to be a cousin of the Curwens and Gentleman of a Company)...
And of course, the Wars of the Roses. In 1454, Sir Thomas Curwen answered Henry VI's call to provide men to quell the rebellion of Richard of York. You can see him here, ready to lead his men on campaign:
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/SirThomas.jpg)
And here, with his captains and drummer, displaying the unicorn banner of the Curwens:
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/Command.jpg)
Typical of the time, Sir Thomas' forces would have been mainly made up of Bowmen:
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/Bows.jpg)
And Billmen:
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/Bills.jpg)
With a central core of men at arms to strengthen the line:
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/MenatArms.jpg)
You may have noticed that not all of the soldiery are sporting the Curwen red and white. This is because I couldn't resist inventing an ancestor for myself after I found out that my family has a coat of arms of its own. So, I came up with Sir William Bright, a "cousin" of Sir Thomas, and his retainers, who sport the yellow star on a blue field.
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/Brights.jpg)
Sir William leads the men at arms, and displays a smaller pennant with his livery, as befits his subordinate status.
Although the Curwens began as Lancastrian loyalists, they were later rewarded by the Yorkist Edward IV for "good works and support" so had obviously switched sides in the conflict. This was not to last, as when Henry Tudor made his claim for the throne, they returned to their original allegiance to the House of Lancaster - obviously favouring whichever side was in the ascendant at any given time.
So from this we can gather that my local noblemen were shifty, treacherous, disloyal, self-agrandising opportunists, who no doubt went on to enjoy a little light Reiving during Elizabeth's reign (and had Mary, Queen of Scots to stay on her way to London to get her neck shortened).
But lets remember them as they were on that day in 1454, as big a bunch of cut-throat bastards who ever roamed the Borders!
Cry "Havoc!", and get their sheep while we fire the barn!
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/Havoc.jpg)
Figures are mainly the new Perry plastics, with their metal "Lord Hastings" as Sir Thomas, and a couple of old Foundry figures and a Front Rank drummer thrown in for variety. Pictures are a bit yellow and fuzzy, sorry. All C&C welcomed as ever.
Thanks for looking, especially if you bothered to read that mountain of text.
Cheers,
JB
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Outstanding in every single way! Hats off.
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Wonderful stuff. Whilst we were all under the impression you were mucking about with halflings you have actually been creating an uber project. :-*
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Nice JB,backstory makes it all happen :)
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Thanks chaps, I'm glad that you like them. :)
...backstory makes it all happen :)
Its even better 'cos its true. All verifiable historical fact.
Except the Bright family anyway, we're originally from Cheshire apparenty, not Cumberland, and the Curwens may not have actually become Reivers. At least, there's no proof...
Everything else is straight out of the books. :)
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Wonderful Rob! :-*
Love the backstory and the paintwork. (Right down to piping on the livery coats - you little monkey!)
How did you enjoy making and painting the figures? I find them strangely addictive. How was it for you? ;)
Looks like a quick N v S WOTR skirmish at BLAM 2010 if you're coming down? :D
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Excellent work JB. I enjoyed reading the background.
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Good Gods, I like those!!! Great job :-* :-* :-* :-* :-* :-* :-* :-*
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What a cracking little idea, and the fact it's real makes it even more so :)
Who new that Workington actually had some history (coming from Barrow ;D )
cheers
James
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How did you enjoy making and painting the figures? I find them strangely addictive. How was it for you? ;)
Looks like a quick N v S WOTR skirmish at BLAM 2010 if you're coming down? :D
I enjoyed painting them, but they are fiddly little sods. Although they were a lot cleaner than many other plastics I've seen, I still found it hard to get some of the tiny mouldlines off without spoiling the details and they came back with a vengeange once I started painting them. But yeah, the cutting, sticking and posing were oddly addictive - I'd only planned to do ten or so.
Still not sure if I can make it to BLAM this year, but in principle - ye're claimed, mate! :D
I'll stick up some back views as well later tonight if I get chance.
Who new that Workington actually had some history (coming from Barrow ;D )
Really? I had no idea. How very, very unpleasant for you. We shall be down to set fire to you shortly. ;)
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Ok, some close ups and rear-views. Photography seems to have gone south today, but I think you can still get the idea.
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/SWB.jpg)
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/cbanner.jpg)
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/Bpennant.jpg)
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/cbill3.jpg)
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/bbow3.jpg)
(http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb155/GrunterPulpit/Wars%20of%20the%20Roses/cbow3.jpg)
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Really? I had no idea. How very, very unpleasant for you. We shall be down to set fire to you shortly. ;)
Be my guest my guest, I live in London now ;D
I like the face of the armoured chappy in the last post. How 'multi-pose' are they. Can you mix and match pretty much all of them?
cheers
James
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They aren't actually that versatile - its only the arms and heads that are separate, and you have to use pairs of arms that match the bodies most of the time. The pposes for the Bills are quite restrictive too, with them being two handed.
That said, if you don't mind cutting and reshaping a few bits its not too much of a problem. The only one I did that with was the guy carrying the pennant, but Richard did a few, I think and found it quite easy.
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They were obviously made to be GW Bretonnians! ;D
Nah, kidding.
Lovely job though, very nicely painted. :)
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They were obviously made to be GW Bretonnians! ;D
Nah, kidding.
;) oh you...
They aren't actually that versatile - its only the arms and heads that are separate, and you have to use pairs of arms that match the bodies most of the time. The pposes for the Bills are quite restrictive too, with them being two handed.
Agree. The bill poses are a bit restrictive, the bow-armed options give a lot more flexibility.
Having said that, I'm amazed that I keep seeing 'new' figure combinations created from this one set, so although there doesn't appear to be much flexibility built-in, you can create a heck of a lot of different unique combinations.
And yes, they're pretty easy to convert too, because the plastic is rigid but soft.
Really like the face on that first Man-At-Arms JB - that is excellent work. He looks a right tough nut. I must admit, I found the faces almost impossibly small to paint with much detail :(
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Very nice, quite like this idea of inventing your own retinue too or doing a less well known one and personalising them. Agree the face on that man at arms is great.
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Thanks again, guys.
I must admit, I'm quite proud of the faces. They are really small, but excellently detailed. And if you follow the Orctrader method and paint the eyes on first they are a lot easier to do. Still strained my own eyes though. o_o
The stubble effect is a massive cheat too. Just slop on some thinned down Tamiya Smoke Wash, maybe a couple of layers till you're happy with it. Adds lots of character for no effort at all, which is something I can heartily endorse.
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Its all come at once this medieval stuff. I bourght Azincourt by Bernard Cornwell loving it bourght Miniature Wargames mag, big section on medieval stuff and ive now read to get posts on these models.
Quality stuff here mate well done!
Steve
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You've done a great job there, Mr Jolly!
Yes, that Cap'n B is a devil for making you take up new projects (or digging out old ones like my ECW stuff), when you know you really should concentrate on one thing at a time >:(
lol
I'm quite surprised at how well the Front Rank drummer fits in. I always thought they would be a lot bigger than Perry/old Foundry stuff :)
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I'm quite surprised at how well the Front Rank drummer fits in. I always thought they would be a lot bigger than Perry/old Foundry stuff :)
He's a little bit chunkier, but that can be explained away by his more ornate clothes. Slightly taller than the Perry minis too, but very straight-backed so it looks natural. I have a handful of other Front Rank minis and would not mix them as they really are massive compared to Perry.
Mind you, the horses swap out lovely with the old Foundry ones.
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Nice work. 8)
Cheers
Christopher
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I have to keep returning for another look, its finaly inspired me to work on my plastics. The legendary St Albans/Barnet dreams may well finaly happen.
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Looks like a quick N v S WOTR skirmish at BLAM 2010 if you're coming down? :D
What a great idea :)
Sorry I'm late, lovely stuff Rob, I like 'Em alot. ;D
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Nice work JollyBob. I like them a lot
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He's a little bit chunkier, but that can be explained away by his more ornate clothes. Slightly taller than the Perry minis too, but very straight-backed so it looks natural. I have a handful of other Front Rank minis and would not mix them as they really are massive compared to Perry.
Mind you, the horses swap out lovely with the old Foundry ones.
That's what I feared :o
Oh well, with all my old Foundrys mixing well with these luvverly new Perrys that shouldn't be too much of a problem :D
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Oooooooooooh - and lookee here.
(http://theminiaturespage.com/news/pics/2010/apr/713968d.jpg)
Perry Salute specials news on TMP - http://theminiaturespage.com/news/713968/
And news that the second WOTR plastic boxed set 'Mercenaries' has gone off for tooling... :smt001 (Whatever the hell that means... )
I'm officially excited.
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So am I! I hope they post up some pics of there new "mercs" soon
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Suerb work all round Sir 8)
these Perry WOTR are one of the best thing to happen to plastic miniatures yet and looking forward to the Mercs and mounted men at arms sets and must now motivate myself to get a unit fully finished.....you guys and the Perry display game pictures from Salute have got me feeling all guilty lol