Saturday 29 September 2012

Wow - What Happened There?

Yikes! So, "I'll post some AK47 tomorrow" in April turned into a five month gap between posts. Hm. Well, glossing over the various reasons for that, I can reveal that I have not been idle! Well, OK, I have been, but recently I have started a couple of new (arrgh) projects.

The first is a Wars of the Roses collection: as I live in Warwick, I have become more and more intrigued by Richard Neville, the Kingmaker, Earl of Warwick, and his role in those bloody days. As a Scouser, and a Lancastrian by birth, I had some reservations about siding with Warwick (the Yorkist devil!) at first, but then I realised that he'd seen sense and turned coat to fight Edward IV. Much good that it did him!

So, anyway, I had mentioned my desire to do some Perry Miniatures' plastics as Warwick's men to my Dad, and he obliged by buying me a box and the Earl himself. This is what I did with them:


They are based for The Perfect Captain's A Coat of Steel / A Crown of Paper rules and campaign set. In the rear are five bands of Liveried Men-at-Arms including the Earl and his standard (replete with the pun-filled Neville family motto; Ne Vile Velis - 'No Base Wish'); then there are five bands of Liveried Archers and three stands of Levy Archers.

In addition to this, I have begun refocussing onto 18th century Old School Wargaming in the shape of the Principality of Molgravia. So far, my own imagi-nation, Molgravia, can count its armed forces as an entirely paper construct: one flag, painted, and an initial army sketched out on ticket stubs from work.

However, my esteemed pater has collected a few Spencer Smith and Holger Eriksson figures for this project, and I present them here for your viewing delight (primarily because I named them for him!):


Here we see the Alliance of Barwald and Lilliembourx - the Grand Duchy of Barwald and the Serene Kingdom of Lilliembourx - in all their glory. From left to right we have a half-regiment of Lilliembourx foot sandwiched between a squadron of heavy dragoons and a bridging wagon, a full regiment of Lilliembourx foot; a squadron of Barwald Dragoons and a second Squadron of the Lilliembourx Heavies; then four regiments of Barwald foot - the Hanseburg Grenadiers, the Von Adler and Plattwitz Regiments and the Liebgrenadiers - advancing in column behind a screen of Jagers and in front of four guns from the Barwald artillery train.

Off to the left of picture and mostly out of shot are an assortment of spare command figures.


Low angle shot of the Barwald Jagerkorps' 1st Regiment advancing in line, with the Liebgrenadier, Plattwitz, Von Adler and Hanseburg Regiments behind them.


Left to right: standards of the Lilliembourx Royaume, the Petit-Rouge, the Von Adler, Hanseburg, Plattwitz and Liebgrenadiers.

For my own part, my immediate aim for the Molgravians is to buy and paint one regiment a month. The first regiment will arrive for my birthday - the Liebgarde zu Fuss - and the rest will appear month by month. A full list of the intended Molgravian army follows:

IR1 - Liebgarde zu Fuss - white coat, green facings, white smallclothes
IR2 - Von Marwitzen's - green coat, red facings, grey smallclothes
IR3 - Tobias' - green coat, blue facings, grey smallclothes
IR4 - Prinzess Sophie's Grenadiers - green coat, white facings, white smallclothes
IR5 - Butyrsky's Bergjagers - green coat, light green facings, green smallclothes
IR6 - Rupprecht's Jagers - green coat, light blue facings, green smallclothes
IR7 - Von Talinsky's - green coat, purple facings, grey smallclothes
IR8 - Schauffenberg's Grenadiers - green coat, pink facings, grey smallclothes
KR1 - Royal Molgravian Dragoon Guard - white coat, white facings, white smallclothes
KR2 - Gravinsky's Dragoons - green coat, yellow facings, grey smallclothes
KR3 - Von Hilfe's Totenritter - black coat, black facings, black smallclothes
KR4 - Stepanov's Huzzars - green coat, black facings, red smallclothes

In addition there will be an artillery train, wearing green coats with black smallclothes; pioneers in grey coats and smalls with green facings; waggoneers and pontonniers in green coats with brown facings and smalls. Tricornes throughout the army will be black with white lace for enlisted, silver for NCOs and gold for officers. Musicians will have reversed coat/facing colours.

The armies are organised for the classic OSW rules - CS Grant's The War Game.

Next time - more madness! I hope to - as always - update regularly, once a day at best, but at least three times a week. I am also going to restart the painting points thing, from scratch, so:

Painting Points:
This Week: 41
September Total: 41
2012 Total: 41