Found some interesting videos about Soldiers of the Virginia Company early 17thC

[commissarmoody]

I found the James town channel on YT the other day. And it's pretty much a yearlong living history experiment/tourist location in Virgina. Part of the Colonial Williamsburg thing.
How that matters here is they have a few videos on the way the English and local natives were kited out to fight.
And I figured they would be of interests to someone.
I know I am now trying to figure out if anyone makes some decent Chainmail garbed Musketeer's and some Targeteers to mach. Wondering if Elizabethan or ECW figs would make for a better base.

Primed and Loaded | Soldiers of the Virginia Company


Primed and Loaded | 17th Century English Mail Armour
A video on how to make chainmail.


There are a bunch more videos, give them a watch if you like.

[has.been]

Thanks for posting. Fascinating stuff.

[commissarmoody]

Thanks for posting. Fascinating stuff.

No problem. I am moving to Virgina in a month so decided to finally learn something about my new home state. And this caught my interest. I will have to visit it once time and money permit.
And I might like to game it as well.

[v_lazy_dragon]

The Crucible Crush range is designed for just this
Otherwise, a select mix of Thirty Years War and Elizabethans will work

[has.been]

No problem. I am moving to Virgina in a month so decided to finally learn something about my new home state. And this caught my interest. I will have to visit it once time and money permit.
And I might like to game it as well.

My first visit to the States was to Virginia (nearly 30 years ago now) as a member
of the Sealed Knot to Stanton (Frontier Museum) We met a lot of lovely American
reenactors in the first eek, which as for doing demo battles. There was the option
to delay your flight home by a week & 'Do your own thing' I & a friend hired a car
& toured Virginia. Saw a lot of ACW battlefields as well as the earlier stuff. We even
'crossed the border' to visit Gettysburg, which did mean we went off the edge of our
freebie motel map. 
Great memories.

[commissarmoody]

The Crucible Crush range is designed for just this
Otherwise, a select mix of Thirty Years War and Elizabethans will work

I might try this route. Might be cheaper then commissioning a few figs to match my vison. 

[v_lazy_dragon]

I have had a long running project doing something similar - lots of stuff on my facebook page for it;  https://www.facebook.com/NewWorldSettlementofNorthAmerica (although I have been drifting to the other end of the 1600s the last year or so). Hopefully that might help a bit!

[commissarmoody]

My first visit to the States was to Virginia (nearly 30 years ago now) as a member
of the Sealed Knot to Stanton (Frontier Museum) We met a lot of lovely American
reenactors in the first eek, which as for doing demo battles. There was the option
to delay your flight home by a week & 'Do your own thing' I & a friend hired a car
& toured Virginia. Saw a lot of ACW battlefields as well as the earlier stuff. We even
'crossed the border' to visit Gettysburg, which did mean we went off the edge of our
freebie motel map. 
Great memories.

Oh I am really looking forward to it. Love the Early and late Colonial era, ACW along with the Rev War. And While I do enjoy the Western side of the US, Its time to move. To bad I didn't take advantage of my time in the Army to travel and see more of the history of the southern US when i was posted to Fort Bragg. But that is one of the follies of youth.
But thanks for sharinge. I will add the Stanton (Frontier Museum) to my list of places to vist. I will be out of the Roawinoak/Salam area on the western side of the state. And that will be much closer for a day trip. Vs Jamestown Williamsburg which would be an overnighter.

[commissarmoody]

I have had a long running project doing something similar - lots of stuff on my facebook page for it;  https://www.facebook.com/NewWorldSettlementofNorthAmerica (although I have been drifting to the other end of the 1600s the last year or so). Hopefully that might help a bit!

Thanks! I started fallowing your page.

[has.been]

I will add the Stanton (Frontier Museum) to my list of places to vist.

Should say that on our visit, being British & not hiring a car until the second week, we
decided to walk (in ECW costume) from the Motel to the re-enactment. Seeing what to
us looked like an Ante-Bellum building (& therefore likely part of the Museum) we took
the direct route across the corn field. By the way, the song from Oklahoma is correct.
The corn IS 'as high as an Elephant's eye'. Half way across we were hailed from the
road e had left, by a Police Bull Horn, 'Where are you going?' 'To the Museum' we replied,
pointing at the building. 'That's NOT the Museum...It's the Lunatic Asylum!'

I always think some poor old dear was diagnosed as relapsed when she told the next
visiting psychiatrist about, 'Cromwell's soldiers crossing the corn field'

[commissarmoody]

Brillant! Imaging someone running around yelling the, "British are coming! The British are coming!"

Found these guys. But something tells me they might be too well equipped for what I am trying to do.  And the 30 years' war guys might be a little more advanced in fashion as well.
https://us.warlordgames.com/collections/thirty-years-war-1618-1648/products/thirty-years-war-swordsmen?variant=39441156997189

https://us.warlordgames.com/collections/wars-of-religion/products/wars-of-religion-knights-hospitaller

https://us.warlordgames.com/collections/wars-of-religion/products/armoured-swordsmen-wars-of-religion

And I wonder if my skills with putty would be good enough to make some mail for these chaps. https://us.warlordgames.com/collections/wars-of-religion/products/wars-of-religion-arquebusiers

[v_lazy_dragon]

So the Warlord Wars of Religion figures are very 1560's - fine for Roanoake probably too old fashioned for Jamestown.

By the very early 1600's the ruff was on its way out, in favour of the 'falling bands' style lace collar. Ruffs hung on until the mid 1600s, but tended to be fairly out of fashion. Body wear was the shirt and doublet; slashed sleeves were getting less common and were very much at the rich end of fashion. The 'soldier coat' of the English Civil war was around as a working mans coat.
Legwear was mostly 'Venetian' britches without much in the way of puff and slash.
As a general rule, think 3 musketeers and English civil war rather than Landsknecht.


Swords were still mostly hung from belts, although baldrics were starting to come into fashion.
The morion, cabasset and burgonet helmets were in fashion, the classic lobster pot is still a few years away.
Hats tend to be broad brimmed, "cavalier style". The Tudor "pork pie" caps will probably be ok for Englishmen for a few more years.
Bandoliers/"twelve apostles" for musketeers. Fire arms are muskets (with rests) and smaller, lighter, calivers. Longbows for the English are very much in decline.


Assorted New England Militia, mostly 1620';s from memory


English Militia, Jamestown, 1610s


The two on the right are supposed to be English settlers in north America, 1610's-1620s


The TYW swordsmen are spot on, especially for officers. The Warlord TYW/ECW plastics work fairly well.

[v_lazy_dragon]

[commissarmoody]

It seems I have falling into the old transitional periods in history holes that I see to love. 
Where are those photos from if, you know that is. 
And I guess the 30-year war sword and shild man will work? Or is that a no go?
 And I guess, not only do I need to find some guys in chain mail. But a few in long gambasons as well. 

[v_lazy_dragon]

Thirty wear war sword and shield men will definitely work! I also used thirty years war German musketeers and early Finish caliver men from TAG (e.g.):





And as I said earlier, a lot of the wargames foundry Sea Dogs work well (maybe with a few hat swops):





With respect to books - the first 3 are all from (different!) ospreys - 'American Colonial troops 1610-1775 (1)' and American Colonial troops 1610-1775 (2)' I think ; the last from 'Matchlock Musketeer 1588-1688'. The single picture post is from a magazine (Military illustrated?). I have all of them; and the American Colonial troops ones are reasonable (but sadly early Jamestown only gets passing references in any of them).