'Bloody' Looters in Little Snoring

[Vagabond]

Looters in Greater Snoring


In the small sleepy town of Greater Snoring under t’Hill voices are raised and the shrill scraping of steel on steel can be heard. Not by the towns folk for they have long fled, but by the local garrison from the Manor by t’Hill.


The town square hasn’t seen so much activity since the start of the war.


The Reverend Jeremiah Blackstock has decided to take a rest from his self-imposed task of Witch Finding and strike a blow for Parliament by liberating goods and chattels from the evil spawn that support the Kings cause in Greater Snoring.


Two of his stoutest followers wave their Bible and Pamphlets in support of the advance guard. They are prepared to use cold steel to emphasise their support but would prefer to be employed in Witch Finding, it’s a much safer occupation.


Especially when they see a small but stout band of tough looking fighters headed their way. The dashing officer is leading his men from the front, an unusual sight and one full of obvious menace; he must know his men are dependable and will follow him into the coming fight.

All for 1 and 1 for all.

Maybe it’s time for the Reverend to hurry the looters/liberators and get the goods onto the cart and out of town while he still can.


A final view of Greater Snoring before blood is spilled and men die.

Ok…….sorry I got carried away there for a moment, I really wanted to ask for some help.

Sometimes a variety of different things prompt me to start something new, in this case I’ve been re-watching the BBC’s Three Musketeers, it’s quite fun but the locations and buildings are exceptionally evocative. I’d looked long and hard at the Conflix buildings in the past but always thought they would be easy to build myself, so why spend the money. I like the slightly comic book look and if I was to build them, then this is the style I would have gone for. Then I saw McYellowbelly’s board, https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=142541.0 and McYellowbelly confirmed it. It works for me so I bought the full range, and even if I re-paint them in the future I can start to game immediately.

For the figures it was a toss up between Three Musketeers from Brigade in the States and ECW from Bloody in the UK. I live in the UK so Bloody won the day and I have 40 figures to paint, these are the first batch.

All my games will be small skirmish, (40 figures maximum  but more like 10 to 15) mainly solo. They will be romping adventure and witch/monster hunting, based in country and town, which is why I went for clear bases.

The issue now, is that I need 20 civilians to match the Bloody miniatures, I’m looking for a 50/50 mix, male and female, some with improvised weapons, pistols, swords and some unarmed, no muskets, and I need a Blacksmith for the Conflix Forge. I would like them to be similar in size and style to the Bloody figures which I believe match Bicorne, but I couldn’t find any civilians on the Bicorne site and Renegade who appear to be defunct.
I have some old Foundry ECW figures and whilst these are splendid figures they’re total different in scale.

So after all that, can anyone point me in the right direction for civilians and does anyone know how Brigade in the States Three Musketeers range fit size wise with Bloody Miniatures.

Thanks for any advice you can give.
Cheers

[OSHIROmodels]

Great fun as always 

As to your question, I believe Redoubt (now with Grubby Tanks) do civvies as well as Colonel Bills but I believe both will be a tad small compared to Bloody. Richard does have a few civvies in his range though.

[Vagabond]

Great fun as always 

As to your question, I believe Redoubt (now with Grubby Tanks) do civvies as well as Colonel Bills but I believe both will be a tad small compared to Bloody. Richard does have a few civvies in his range though.

Thanks Jim, I think 3 of Richards female figures have muskets which I'm trying to avoid in my games. Get in close and personal is my motto, I really like the 4th figure but I'm too mean to buy 4 figures to get 1. The 4 farmer chaps will be  on my list though.
I'll have a look at the Redoubt  and Col Bills, I think they are at Hammerhead and I'm hoping to get there this year, although Mrs V has a prior appointment on that day, (with the car  )

Thanks for the info.
Cheers

[Friends of General Haig]

A great looking set-up, both of the game, and the story! 

Warlord do some great civilians in a couple of packs (townsfolk and villagers).  These should work quite well with Bloody. Colonel Bills have some great sets as already mentioned.

I have some civies from the Border Reiver range by Hoka Hey (can’t remember who has that range now?) that are a good size and would go well with Bloody. The women, children and labourers fit the mid 17th century. Redoubt are also worth a look for the ones that go with their musketeer range.

A tip I picked up from the TFL chaps was to also investigate the ‘Fantasy’ / D&D type ranges.  They are often in clothes that fit well to the 17th century, especially anything to do with taverns for some strange reason. They are often at the larger end of 28s as well so are good to go with Bloody. 

It is rare to find an ECW range without at least one or two civilian types now.  It can be worth checking out artillery crews as these often are bare-shirted and frequently don’t have baldrics/swords.  If they are open handed then all the better.

Good luck with your search, and I look forward to seeing what happens to the civilian population that you create  .

[SJWi]

Vagabond,  yes I think Redoubt ( Grubby Tanks) are at Hammerhead. However they don't bring all their ranges to shows and as the ECW are quite old I wouldn't expect them to be there. Best to drop him a line asking if he can bring some. This is what I have done regarding some French-Indian Wars figures. 

[traveller]

Redoubt are a good match for Bloody height-wise, but Brigade are considerably smaller. I wonder though if the moulds at Redoubt have been renewed, the details were quite blurred and much less defined than Bloody on the Musketeer and ECW miniatures from Redoubt

[SJWi]

Traveller, I know what you mean by the state of the moulds at Redoubt. Luckily I don't need to many figures to finish my collection. 

[Vagabond]

A great looking set-up, both of the game, and the story! 

Warlord do some great civilians in a couple of packs (townsfolk and villagers).  These should work quite well with Bloody. Colonel Bills have some great sets as already mentioned.

I have some civies from the Border Reiver range by Hoka Hey (can’t remember who has that range now?) that are a good size and would go well with Bloody. The women, children and labourers fit the mid 17th century. Redoubt are also worth a look for the ones that go with their musketeer range.

A tip I picked up from the TFL chaps was to also investigate the ‘Fantasy’ / D&D type ranges.  They are often in clothes that fit well to the 17th century, especially anything to do with taverns for some strange reason. They are often at the larger end of 28s as well so are good to go with Bloody. 

It is rare to find an ECW range without at least one or two civilian types now.  It can be worth checking out artillery crews as these often are bare-shirted and frequently don’t have baldrics/swords.  If they are open handed then all the better.

Good luck with your search, and I look forward to seeing what happens to the civilian population that you create  .

Thanks for this info I bought quite a few of the Hoka Hey Border miniatures the last time I was at Hammerhead a few years ago, I'd forgotten about the civilians, I believe it's Monolith that have them now and I will get these thanks. they'll go with either games, the only problem is I based the HH on normal bases not clear ones. 
I thought the Col Bills ones looked a bit short but I'll see them at Hammerhead so another good call. I'd not thought of Fantasy but I'm sure you're right.
Cheers

[Vagabond]

Vagabond,  yes I think Redoubt ( Grubby Tanks) are at Hammerhead. However they don't bring all their ranges to shows and as the ECW are quite old I wouldn't expect them to be there. Best to drop him a line asking if he can bring some. This is what I have done regarding some French-Indian Wars figures.

Thanks I'll have a think about these, my difficulty is that the Redoubt figures I've seen look very different stylistically to the Bloody Miniatures but I'll check out the civilian's which I've not seen before.
Cheers

Redoubt are a good match for Bloody height-wise, but Brigade are considerably smaller. I wonder though if the moulds at Redoubt have been renewed, the details were quite blurred and much less defined than Bloody on the Musketeer and ECW miniatures from Redoubt

Thanks for the info on Brigade, it's a shame because I like the look of their figures and they cover the sort of things I'm looking for, although as best I could tell it's going to cost at least £20 to ship them and there may be customs on top. 

[Vagabond]

It's always good to have a bit of found time and I found some today and played out the looting scenario, short and not very sweet, if you were a looter at any rate.

Looters the Game


Johnathan Hawker shouted “Give them fire men and then follow me” At close range three pistols spat flames and bullets, the men were veterans of many a fight, wolves amongst sheep, and they made full use of their advantage.


They shot the officer in the right leg, it was only a light wound but the impact of the ball stunned him momentarily. Not so the man waving his bible, the ball hit him high in the right arm, he dropped his sword before falling to the ground so badly wounded that for all intents and purposes he was out of the fight.


Harker didn’t need to encourage his remaining wolves, the ones without a pistol, they loped forwards through the smoke. The wounded enemy officer lost his nerve, he would have run but his leg let him down. ‘Quarter’ he shouted and threw down his sword, it was a close call but his surrender was accepted.

To his right the fight was short and sharp. Wielding his mortuary sword like a hammer the Royalist beat down the defence of his opponent, pushing him back and then following up with a wicked disabling blow that put his man down. It could have gone differently if the musketeer behind could have fired but he was too slow to raise his weapon, it was all over in a split second, and there were three men down.


The Musketeer pulled back to cover behind the well but his companion with the blunderbuss ran like a hare.


The pistoleros moved forward to join the Mortuary Men and Harker made the decision to attack the enemy without reloading first. Sweep them away before they could re-group, he’s a bold leader and not averse to taking risks.


However Reverend Jeremiah Blackstock, had rallied his group of men and quickly assessed the situation. He was now outnumbered, with 3 men down 1 runner and another shaken and falling back. Better to take the loot in hand and retire quickly rather than face Hawker’s wolves and take more casualties. ‘With me men’, he called before turning away and running as if the devil was snapping at his heals.

He wouldn’t forget this action in a hurry and as they ran he thought again of witch hunting, it was far more lucrative and much more enjoyable.


I think I'm going to enjoy these miniatures and any more thoughts on civilians gratefully received.
Cheers

[Romark]

Hi
Have you looked at Bicorne Miniatures,they have a pack of villagers adv with farming tools,mix of male and female and also a pack of villagers in their ECW range.
A good match with Bloody Miniatures too I believe ?

[Vagabond]

Hi
Have you looked at Bicorne Miniatures,they have a pack of villagers adv with farming tools,mix of male and female and also a pack of villagers in their ECW range.
A good match with Bloody Miniatures too I believe ?

I looked on their site but didn't see these. Thanks I think they'll be on the shopping list.

[NickNascati]

Take a look at the townsfolk from Reaper Miniatures.  Slightly more medieval in appearance, but the size matches perfectly with Bloody Miniatures.  They are listed under various categories, Dreadmere, Medieval etc.

[Marine0846]

Lovely story.
Shows you don't need lots of figures for an excellent game.
Bloody Miniatures are the best.

[FifteensAway]

The Glorious Tales of the Vagabondi Clan!  Always entertaining.  There should be more of them, I say. 

Love the look of the town. 

Rules being used, sir, if I may ask?

Thanks = one word double entendre absolutely intended.