Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Medieval Adventures => Topic started by: EndTransmission on December 03, 2014, 02:26:06 PM
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I've been lurking in this part of LAF for a while, mostly gazing admiringly at Captain Blood's thread of WotR insanity (like most people it seems) and never really having a reason to dip into it properly. After some umming and ahhing, I finally caved in and bought some of the Perry plastics and Lion Rampant recently to have something new to paint in an upcoming challenge over on Blogger.
History was one of those things that I enjoyed at school, but never took all that far due to hating writing essays. Thankfully, caving in and buying these figures has rekindled that little spark. If you spot me going down the wrong path, feel free to shout and laugh.
So with that out of the way, I've decided to do two (initially) small forces for LR, but base them so they would be usable in larger scale battles as well... if I ever get around to joining our local gaming group. This does assume they actually play WotR, but hey. Preparation is worth while.
The painting challenge that I'm involved in hasn't started yet, but we're allowed to start building and undercoating the models. Better, painted, photos will start appearing over the next month or two as I work my way through them. So far I've built 6 mounted men at arms, 12 archers, 12 bill, 12 dismounted men at arms, a spare kingly type (just because) and one standard bearer. These all use bits from all 4 WotR plastics, plus some Warlord Commando bits when I needed new hands or some bare heads.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oyYAfDbMHV8/VH8HwNdbV1I/AAAAAAAABfE/qd2-lbR_N0o/s1600/IMG_1680.jpg)
This little force is going to belong to Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers. Why? Purely because I like his magpie livery :)
After a little chat to Citadel6, they kindly made me the livery transfers for him last week to go with the banner they already do. The transfers are now up on their site for anyone else that wants them.
Here's a sneak peek at the dismounted men at arms and the pikes. The middle MaA in the first photo is clearly saying "I'm coming for you..."
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iuh8xrXIKyw/VH8HuluD8PI/AAAAAAAABfM/D3XhXShKyNA/s1600/IMG_1674.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tMbSDIW8Ftc/VH8HusJqkLI/AAAAAAAABe0/3mWpPxEhW0E/s1600/IMG_1672.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3B-1hilBR7A/VH8HuoZujuI/AAAAAAAABew/ysGyG94LSOY/s1600/IMG_1678.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yh-Cg5wsKPA/VH8HvolxEiI/AAAAAAAABe4/wCAq8cOZGCo/s1600/IMG_1679.jpg)
Eventually the second small force will be Henry Stafford as my wife is from Staffordshire and various friends used to be in the reenactment group. I've no idea if they ever ended up facing off against each other, but I'm not all that historically ocd that it matters much.
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That's looking good so far, nice poses.
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be following with interest
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A good start I would say! Clearly if your wife is from Staffs, she is certainly your better half by far. ;)
I've never looked into him much, but there is certainly an odd irony that a Woodville should have a magpie for a badge.
lol
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I am looking forward to following your progress with great interest.
I have a pile of 15mm WOTR miniatures and I am thinking of building a couple of small forces myself.
Cheers,
Barry
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A good start I would say! Clearly if your wife is from Staffs, she is certainly your better half by far. ;)
You may be right there, though I'd be sure not to say that at home ;)
I've never looked into him much, but there is certainly an odd irony that a Woodville should have a magpie for a badge.
lol
I havn't either, but given his family's later desire to grab as much power as possible, the Shiny Shiny reaction does seem to fit nicely.
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I have a pile of 15mm WOTR miniatures and I am thinking of building a couple of small forces myself.
I was tempted by a 15mm WotR force, but these plastics were far too tempting as there's nothing more satisfying than hacking apart various plastic figures and making a new one.
Speaking of which, I need to sort out some extra photos from last night as I've got 5 of my 6 mercenary crossbows made. Two of which have had leg swaps from other kits to provide a uniform appearance.
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Looking like a nice army there. You have a lot more patience than me, I manage to assemble two or three before I get fed up and start undercoating!
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Looking good so far mate. Yeah I can understand why you didn't go for 15mm after how nice looking the perry plastics are.
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As I mentioned earlier, I started making some mercenary crossbows. The four crossbows you see here all started off with exactly the same pose body, but two of them have had leg swaps to provide a bit more diversity on the figures. Hopefully I can use the remaining bits to get at least one archer out of it so the models aren't completely lost. The swordsman head is another Warlord commando head.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t9rtqtbc380/VICh43AIioI/AAAAAAAABfg/dIuRl80FveU/s1600/crossbowMercs.jpg)
These won't be usable in a game of Lion Rampant yet though as I only have one more body left and they come in groups of 12. I need to find another 6 of this head type and 6 of the body with jacket over a breastplate... why oh why did I decide to make the mercs have a uniform?! If anyone has any of this body or head going spare that they would be willing to swap for some of the other bodies/heads on any of the Wotr kits, PM me :)
The first batch are currently sitting in the cold cold garage being undercoated as tomorrow marks the first day of the painting challenge... so expect painting updates soon!
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dammit. double post
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Well done. Some nice builds there. Love the mercenary captain.
Beware though, they are addictive ;)
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Tell me about it. I'm already eyeing up the new plastic set!
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I was tempted by a 15mm WotR force, but these plastics were far too tempting as there's nothing more satisfying than hacking apart various plastic figures and making a new one.
I quite understand. I was very tempted to go with the Perry Miniatures myself, but decided to stick with 15mm as all my gaming terrain and 99% of collection is 15mm.
I wish the 15mm WOTR miniatures by Foundry were still available. If I remember correctly they were also sculpted by the Perry Twins.
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Nice work on the crossbowmen.
Cheers,
Barry
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I'm being pedantic but you have 12 billmen, not pikemen.
Nice work and carry on.
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I know. I realised that after I posted, but forgot to come back and update the original post :/
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How did you get them off their integral plastic bases so neatly? They look great on the round bases and also in the sabots/movement trays too.
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How did you get them off their integral plastic bases so neatly? They look great on the round bases and also in the sabots/movement trays too.
Thanks. A bit of basic knife work with a sharp blade is all that's needed. Trimming the feet down to they are level is the trickier part. The easy way to fix this is with a sheet of sandpaper
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I had a rather nasty varnish error last week, which has set me back quite a way with the painting. For some reason the varnish misted up only on the metallics... I've seen it mist up all over before, but never only on some paint types. Anyway... here's one that survived the nightmare
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sm8T8gIZSE4/VKGtwpc_AeI/AAAAAAAABiY/Z1fjx-YRKw0/s1600/IMG_1780-1.jpg)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oL13KG3R5Vo/VKGtwpt7U0I/AAAAAAAABiQ/n3Q-JwkNObU/s1600/IMG_1781-2.jpg)
The Woodville green looks really bright, but I'm assured it would have been possible to dye fabrics this intense at that time.
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I can finally post my finished units here as they have been shown on the painting challenge blog now *phew*
Each figure is based on small 20mm circles that fit into movement trays, just in case I ever decide to go up a level to Hail Caesar (or something else).
The force is painted up in the bright green livery of Richard Woodville, first Lord Rivers and step-father to Edward IV. He started off on the Lancastrian side and eventually changed his mind when things started looking... bad. He married off his daughter off to Edward and eventually rose to the rank of Constable of England, before being executed by Warwick in 1469. The main livery marking is a magpie.
First up we have 11 archers, with their officer/leader/whatever. I know he isn't needed, but I just like the feel of having someone in command of each unit. You can probably just about make out that the archers have hand painted livery icons on front and back. These were supposed to be some really nice transfers, but some problems with their size, along with a problem with the colours not staying on, meant it ended up being a lot easier to just paint them instead. They aren't all the same by any means, but I like the slightly scrappy look. It's almost as if each archer had to make his own as the Woodvilles were a bit too cheap to spring for a big batch to be made.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nMtH5-6_sao/VKrygzxihuI/AAAAAAAABjQ/bTRqgqB0pmA/s1600/IMG_1817-1.jpg)
11 bills, with their officer. Again, some of these have the magpie icons on their uniforms. You can see the officer has the magpie on his leg, just to tie him into the unit a bit.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YKsmc2UgwkQ/VKryhS7GzdI/AAAAAAAABjI/mjRrYQZNbPM/s1600/IMG_1821-4.jpg)
12 unmounted Men at Arms, with one extra standard. As these are all based individually, the standard can be used in this unit, or as part of a command stand for larger games. The banner is a piece of brass cut into shape by CitadelSix, which allows for very stiff, dynamic banners. To make sure that the banner didn't snap the plastic pole, I had to drill that out and replace it with a brass spear, which looks much much better. One day I may get around to making standards for all the other units as well, but for now...
The banner was supposed to be one of the CitadelSix transfers. Unfortunately there appears to have been a problem with the sheet I got, so the green started flaking off the transfer before it had even reached the model. As I needed to get these finished for the painting challenge, I hand painted the magpie while a new set of transfers is sent out from the nice people at CitadelSix.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8U4Tn8tCReE/VKryhpT-IbI/AAAAAAAABjY/Wzwl2KW31Z0/s1600/IMG_1823-5.jpg)
Finally we have a unit of six mounted Men at Arms. The model that was originally entered into the Mounted challenge was dismantled a bit after that photo shoot as I realised I'd put the wrong rider on the horse! For the challenge, this only counts as 5 mounted troops though. The banner and pole in this unit are also brass, from the same supplier. Thankfully in this case, the transfers went on without too much distortion. There was a bit of touching up around the edges where you see the white and green checks. Sadly in the photos you can see a few bits where the green paint doesn't quite match up with the green transfer.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VmynPtpYXec/VKrygkVcJ9I/AAAAAAAABjA/qWXAqLkdyuY/s1600/IMG_1818-2.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gOZdW7JEFCw/VKryg5vcWDI/AAAAAAAABjE/9G3bkdnhVq0/s1600/IMG_1819-3.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LO4hhQQ2L8A/VKryjGkf8SI/AAAAAAAABjw/shCfxpLFB_w/s1600/IMG_1830-9.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KRrWAFPkYo0/VKryisYOQVI/AAAAAAAABjg/3hpuKGzJOCs/s1600/IMG_1829-8.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LO4hhQQ2L8A/VKryjGkf8SI/AAAAAAAABjw/shCfxpLFB_w/s1600/IMG_1830-9.jpg)
Here's a couple of group shots to show the whole force together.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k5l6BEIh_V4/VKryh335g5I/AAAAAAAABjU/ALCxb9GAfdI/s1600/IMG_1824-6.jpg)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wj0vmLTuEUk/VKryiWRWfxI/AAAAAAAABjc/G0oPBJlBQ-c/s1600/IMG_1826-7.jpg)
Looking at the photos, I really need to iron the cloth!
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Nice set of miniatures.
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very nice indeed
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I finally got around to putting paint to the mercenary crossbows, which rounds out the first of my two Lion Rampant forces... for now. These were supposed to be Burgandian mercs, but in the end I decided not to make them anyone specific. All of these use the same body and head in order to create a uniform appearance, but had some of the legs cut off and replaced with those from the other Perry sets for some variation. The bare head is taken from the Warlord commando sprue, which sizes up very well. If you're looking for a lot more variation in your WotR figures, you can't go wrong with these.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UMh6eMoHdZQ/VMAa54fJBKI/AAAAAAAABmM/r936whCGqoI/s1600/P1020018-1.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QKREDxqWAk4/VMAa6He1czI/AAAAAAAABmY/FCW8f3Km8-U/s1600/P1020019-2.jpg)
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WMlAYChZ5tw/VMAa6F8Cw5I/AAAAAAAABmQ/OEIGy7YR9k0/s1600/P1020022-3.jpg)
Looking a bit more closely at these photos, I need to go back and redo the faces... it looks like I forgot to do anything to them!
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Very Nice work!!
Keep them coming.
Mac
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great work on the Woodvilles, Im gonna do the same family. Were the CitadelSix transfers to big for the figures or was it something else? (only reason I ask is Im also looking at using them)
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One thing to be aware of with the CitadelSix transfers are one large white rectangle with all the designs on, so you need to carefully score around each of the symbols... which when you consider the livery icons are so tiny, can be tricky. After having spent too many years with Airfix transfers that are all separate, it was a bit of a surprise.
I'd say the banners are well worth it, but the livery ones I'm still on the fence about.
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Great idea to use the same body and head to give the mercenaries a more uniform appearance. I must try something similar :)
(Think I'd probably use one of the enclosed helemts though, because then you wouldn't see they've all got the same face and haircut as well).
Excellent conversion work on the leg swaps as well. You'd never know.
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(Think I'd probably use one of the enclosed helemts though, because then you wouldn't see they've all got the same face and haircut as well).
I did think about that, but I liked the helmet and thought it would be funny if they looked a bit like clones, forced to have the same haircut ;)
I need to go back and redo the faces though, so some will get stubble and different colour hair to try and make it a bit less uniform in appearance. If I do any more, I'll probably take some warlord/bolt action bare heads and stick that helmet onto them, or gs some mustaches/beards
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If I do any more, I'll probably take some warlord/bolt action bare heads and stick that helmet onto them, or gs some mustaches/beards
That's a good plan.
:)
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That assumes I can find more of those bodies and heads on feebay without having to buy 4 more complete boxes of Perry plastics. Though I guess there's no harm in having a large WotR force anyway ;)
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End Transmission,
I re-read over the post a few times and am either blind or it was from something else entirely.
Where did you get your bases / movement trays?
As said / implied before these are amazing!
Mac
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Oh sorry, the bases and movement blocks are from Warbases. They are 20mm circles and the 2x2 square movement trays
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Outstanding!
Thank you my friend. :)
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That assumes I can find more of those bodies and heads on feebay without having to buy 4 more complete boxes of Perry plastics. Though I guess there's no harm in having a large WotR force anyway ;)
I hate that particular head (sorry, I always think of it as the 'Worzel Gummidge' option :D)
So I have about 50 of the things you can have gratis if you want to pm me an address :)
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Oh god, now I can't un-see ol' worzel!! :o