Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Medieval Adventures => Topic started by: John b on June 03, 2013, 09:16:07 PM
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So a lot of friends have gone and got them selfs 15mm medieval army's from arout the 100 year war era
They got them from donnington miniatures for use with the field of glory rules but sadly the cost of an army will set me back about £160 for 900 points :(
Can anyone recommend any other 15mm producer that is the same size 15mm but won't dent my pocket so much??
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Donnington are not bad value. You are going to pay around the same wherever you go. That's what the hobby costs unfortunately.
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Indeed, as 6sider said, that is about the price you will pay, give or take a few ££ whoever you buy from. The cheapest option would be to assemble some 2nd hand lots from eBay, but that is a difficult way of building any specific or designed force and more often than not you end up with a load of bits that don't really "fit" together as an army.
Try and go for French or other Knightly army as heavy barded cavalry are a lot of points for fewer number (and therefore fewer ££ overall)
If you want to look at options I can highly recommend the Black Hat 15mm ranges (ex Gladiator) which are similar sized and lovely sculpts and casting.
http://www.blackhat.co.uk/online_shop/index.php?cPath=22_60&osCsid=df7e361949b2143f7ef04ddfb2c26d9c (http://www.blackhat.co.uk/online_shop/index.php?cPath=22_60&osCsid=df7e361949b2143f7ef04ddfb2c26d9c)
The army packs are extremely good value and can be altered to suit the force you want.
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I find Madaxeman's site to be relatively helpful for figure comparison:
http://www.madaxeman.com/main/15mm_ancients_suppliers.php
My medieval armies are a mix of different manufactures (Essex, Museum, Grumpy and very few Irregular). As long as each Battle Group has the same sized figures, then the army as a whole looks good. I find Essex army packs (or army packs from other manufacturers) are good value for money, where you usually get a solid 600 point core. You can then add what you wish. For a smaller (and therefore cheaper army), bulk out on Superior Knights.
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Have a look at kallistra they are big 10mm ...might work for you
Great range
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I've been checking out black hat miniatures and will ask them tomorrow if they do any better deals that what I've seen so far
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I did the same thing and bought a big batch of WotR minis.
I got them from Legio Heroica (http://www.legio-heroica.com/index-en.html).
VERY NICE sculpts, good pricing and they have discounted (10%) army groups. Remember price is in Euros.
Highly recommended.
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I've been trying to persuade myself that I should reduce my lead pile by selling on my unpainted Corvus Belli HYW figures, still all in their bags. If you'd like I'll total up the figures I've got and let you know. I'm sure they'd be cheaper than buying new. Send me a PM if you're interested.
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Can I suggest Lancashire Games 15mm figures?
http://store.lancashiregames.net/
Their 'battlepacks' get you 60 infantry (or 24 cavalry) for £15 - that's quite a saving on an infantry heavy army! Figure quality might not be quite as good as 'new Donningtons' but do you really need high quality castings of levy spearmen etc?
You can always buy your Generals elements from Donnington or Essex while the 'rank and file' of your army are Lancashire. I find that apparent height differences can be sorted out by using small cardboard 'risers' to get everyone's heads more or less level. when I was ordering my Hellenistics a few years ago Lancashire were happy to alter battlepack contents for me too! I'd at least give them a look!
Cheers
Jules Avery
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I've decided to go with black hat as they were very helpfull and value for money to cast quality is pritty good :) so I have to wait a few days then my 900 point French ordinance army will be hear so I best finish off my norman 28mm saga warband and then get ready to paint LOTS of little men :)
Thanks for all the advice guys :)
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Good choice, you will be very happy with the miniatures.
Look forward to seeing some pictures of the units painted up.
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It should arrive by the weekend so all I need is some advice on how to paint medieval French ordinance troop from the 100 year war period??
Any advice ??
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Any advice ??
Get an Optivisor. ;)
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I would suggest QRF Frerkorp15 line.
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So my 15mm French ordinance army has arrived :) from black hat miniatures :).
Has anyone got any painting guides as this is my first medieval army I've ever painted and I would like it to look abit historically accurate?
Any advice :)
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Osprey Books are usually first in line - but can be more expense, although you find them in reasonable libraries. I think there was a title on armies of the HYW.
You might also find something like a Funcken book, not sure if they did one for HYW although there is a generic ancient to Napoleonic one.
As another option to Osprey, there were a series of magazines (del Prado?) about medieval warriors, used to come with a pre-painted figure. Quite a few magazines covered HYW subjects - Agincourt, Crecy etc, and they crop up on ebay . Not as good as full Osprey titles, but ok for a low price. Hanover Antiques in Scarborough usually has a box full for 50p a copy. (Also Napoleonic & WWII ones so it takes quite a while to rake through the box).
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Use metal colours on the armour and lotsa of colour elsrewhere... ;)
It is Friday night...hic...
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You could also watch the DVD of Henry V - Kenneth Branagh version is probably most accurate, but obviously it's mostly from a British viewpoint
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If your not worrying about an exactly historical force, you could do them with any colour you fancy, or you could do a mix. Most ordinnance companies had a tunic colour, but drawings show men with different coloured coats fighting side by side. All, however, have white crosses on the front and back.
Livery colours and 'uniforms' of this period is not an exact science, so go with what you think looks best as that's more essential than 100 % accuracy.
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Each Ordinance Company supposedly wore the livery selected by their captain. The Francs-Archers (within which the town militias also fell), also apparently wore specific colours selected by their commanders, guild, or the towns which supplied them.
I don't know of a single useful guide to who wore what colours though and liveries weren't apparently worn by everyone. As Max said, contemporary illustrations don't show a deal of uniformity, other than the 'national' white cross.
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Thanks for the advice, I'm still blown away by the level of detail in the black hat miniatures :), can't wait to start painting them