For Ye Kinge

Devizes [Tues 11th July 1643 - Morning]

2012-02-01T04:44:00.000-08:00

After midnight the Royalist horse left Devizes

and rode for Marlborough, avoiding detection by the parliamentarian patrols.

Waller tightened his grip on Devizes by posting some horse and companies of foot to the north at Rowde and to the south at Potterne, blocking the roads to the north and south. The Parliamentarians were not idle and they were seen engaged in activity on Coate hill to the east of Devizes.

Too soon the Royalist found out what they were doing, a battery opened fire on the town..

and foot and horse were seen assembling in the distance .....

Devizes [Mon 10th July 1643]

2012-01-31T12:16:00.000-08:00

After a rearguard action at Rowde on Sunday, late that evening the Royalist army entered Devizes (campaign map).

---oXo---

The next day the ordnance was taken into the castle via the postern gate ..

Meanwhile barricades were erected across the roads into Devizes...

Waller had drawn the main body of the Parliamentarian army to the north-east blocking the road to Marlborough (on the way to Oxford).

In Devizes Hopton held a council of war in the evening where it was decided that the horse should break out and seek aid from Oxford.

Under starter's orders ...

2012-01-30T04:47:00.000-08:00

Rounday campaign is just about to take off again; will have series of posts with key events and will have game report on Parliament's attack on Devizes and following that the battle of Roundway itself.

I have taken some piccies already and I'm setting up the Devizes game at the moment

Mounted Officer: No time for drinking now - there's work to be done !!

A film worth a look (not ECW though)..

2012-01-17T04:43:00.000-08:00

Not ECW, however 1612 is a nice film to watch when you get the chance - with some good action sequences, especially the siege of a town; story line wanders a bit but in my opinion definitely worth watching.

Barricades for Devizes (2)

2012-01-12T12:08:00.000-08:00

Barricades from previous post all painted up and static grass applied as needed ...

Trial setup, royalist infantry defend an entrance into a town ...

Barricades for Devizes (1)

2012-01-07T06:47:00.000-08:00

For the siege of Devizes I need to have barricades of three access roads, into the quarter of the town I'm representing. So I've been collecting up spare bits and had a tryout play.

I eventually decided on 3 inch lengths, enough for 2 musket stands. But the barricades had look like a supply stash or possibly useable with 28/30mm figs. I made up 6 bases,

some painting to do - will post piccies when finished.

Devizes - trial layout - part 2 - market place

2011-12-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

I had forgot when setting out the buildings for Devizes that I had a range of buildings I made for Pokesay castle; adding this in just about pads things out.
I was left with one big gap which was the market place - the idea I had was to use some simple low relief buildings; I had a search for some images online I could doctor and found two of buildings in Lavenham (Suffolk), I also found a couple of book illustrations that were suitable. After some scanning and scaling of images I stuck them on thick card and touched in and altered them as needed.

I arranged the buildings I had and then fixed the low-relief flat houses to my gaming table backscene - the marketplace:

A lower down view, more front on ...

I am well pleased with the result.

Devizes - trial layout

2011-12-15T12:11:00.000-08:00

I did a trial layout of all my buildings to see how many I needed to add to complete the southern part of Devizes.

I think a few low relief buildings at the back - and moving the full ones will do it. Will draw up a plan next ...

The thinking cap is on and overheating ...

2011-12-10T06:16:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to find the best way to game the parliamentarian siege and attack/assault on Devizes. I've opted to do the attack on the southern part of the town.

One decision made - hoorah; now the next problem is how to represent the town in the best way. I want have the outer houses and also to have some space for the attackers if possible to get into the town and the defenders to move around. Also need some barricades etc

Currently thinking of making up some low relief buildings, but I'll have to get these to be generic enough to re-use for other periods - no point in making something for one game.

The cogitation continues ...

A little bit of preparation ...

2011-11-05T04:10:00.000-07:00

I've been afflicted with a nasty cold this week, so my paitning and modelling were greatly curtailed. However thorugh the haze of cold remedies I managed to redo all my unit existing cards and add new ones for the horse regiments - they now show the flag of the unit clearly; I have one set for units to be on the Royalist side and one for them to be Parliamentarians.

Rearguard at Rowde [Sun 9th July 1643]

2011-10-30T05:26:00.000-07:00

The Royalists are on the march to Devizes are and passing through the village of Rowde.

As the tail end of the column reaches Rowde they receive word of nearby Parliamentarian horse

Royalist horse take up position at Rowdeford (by the Summerbrook)...

Parliamentarian horse attack ...

They fall back, to regroup

In they come again ...

They are pushed back and while they regroup the Royalist horse withdraw

The Royalist horse pass through Rowde with the Parliamentarians following ...

A Royalist foot regiment blocks the road to Devizes. The Parliamentarian horse makes a bold charge

But the musket fire from the foot regiment is too much for them ...

---oXo---

The rearguard join the rest of the Royalist army drawn up on Roundway hill just to the north of Devizes, but with the Parliamentarian horse re-inforced and the rest of their army visible on the march the Royalists hurry into Devizes and start erecting barricades.

Roundway Campaign Map

2011-10-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

A very rough map of the area round Devizes in Wiltshire, where most of the action takes place
(clikc to enlarge)

Outline of contours in grey, roads in red. The brook in blue is a bit wide for the scale but limited by my felt tip pen's thickness.

The Royalist army left Chippenham and headed for Devizes followed by the Parliamentarians ...

Roundway Down Project (9) - Plan of Action

2011-10-23T05:01:00.000-07:00

The action preceding Roundway and the main battle itself is about to intrude into my imaginary campaign set in Wiltshire. I'm planning to game the following:
a) Rearguard at Rowde.
b) 'Siege' and attack on Devizes.
c) The Battle of Roundway

Mounted Horse - 'skirmishing'

2011-09-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

Had great fun painting these, my last four conversions - cornet and three chaps firing pistols ...

and joined by the rest of their regiment ...

Horse Firing pistols (conversions)

2011-08-26T03:11:00.000-07:00

I had a dig around in my ECW boxes and found that I had three figures holding pistols/muskets on horse (from previous conversions), plus a spare officer and trumpeter - all painted up. With the cornet I made up recently I needed 3 more figs to complete the regiment (9 figs).
Firstly two Irregular Miniatures riders with S&S arms firing pistols on converted 18C horses cast from moulds.

and one firing pistol made up from 18c limber horse rider on a converted 18C Irregular Miniatures horse, with lots of spare bits and green stuff to complete.

Horse - Cornet Conversion

2011-08-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

For my Roundway down refight I want to represent the weakened royalist cavalry brigade, to do this I'll split up 1 reg horse (9 figs) but need three extra figures inlcuding a cornet to make 2 x 6 fig regiments. I also want to have a horse regiment skrimishing, firing pistols etc. - so a I need a cornet for those as well.

I decided to make a cornet up using spare bits left over from S&S, Romanoff figs - but using some of my home cast 18c moulds to make a limber horser rider and horse to be converted. Horse was modified to accept two pistol holsters and the rider was converted with new head, sword and arm. Buff coat, sash and additional detail was added with green stuff. Some piccies below ....

Supplies to Pewsey...

2011-08-13T04:24:00.000-07:00

Since the defeat of the royalists at Hungerford the parliamentarians have been putting Pewsey under some pressure. An initial raid was beaten off by royalist horse some time back, but now the parliamentarian forces of Sir Warwick Hunt are slowly gaining control of the area. A royalist supply train makes an attempt to reach Pewsey ....

---oXo---

The hastily thrown up defences at Pewsey, across the road into the town ...

The relief column approaches ...

parliamentarian dragoons are spotted in the edge of the wood and nearby hedges

As the royalists organise themselves to deal with the dragoons, parliamentarian horse arrives ...

The fight with dragoons intensifies while the parliamentarian horse move towards the supply wagons ...

The dragoons are being pushed out of the woods by royalist horse and commanded shot ...

The lead parliamentarian horse regiment captures a wagon of supplies ...

The commander of the royalist relief force escapes capture and seeks refuge in Pewsey ..

While the lead parliamentarian horse regiment enjoys rooting thorugh the supplies, their other two regiments pause due to the presence of the royalist foot and the commander tries to cajol them into action ...

Royalist foot give fire as the parliamentarian horse advance ...

Infantry exchage fire while the horse fight it out ...

After much affray the royalists horse lose, their infantry retire to safety with some of the supplies. The parliamentarian horse enjoy plundering a second supply wagon,

---oXo---

A victory for Parliament !

Roundway Down Project (8) - More Useful Info

2011-07-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've found more info for my Roundway Down refight in The Battles of Lansdown and Roundway 1643 by Robert Morris (ISBN1858040132), thanks to Mercurius Atticus for posting the book info on his blog. I used Bookfinder.com to search for the lowest priced one.

I've had a quick dip into it since it arrived today, a nice informative little book. Will settle down to good in depth read later on.

Horse Finished - ready for Roundway

2011-07-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

The last of my ECW lead pile is now painted, the third of three regiments of horse for my refight of Roundway down.

They seemed to take ages to finish, I think I took my time as they are the last of my planned ECW units for a while. I have some future thoughts on what to add, which are:

1. Clubmen (along the lines of this link)

2. Firelocks

3. Mounted horse firing their muskets and pistols

4. Folorn hope - musketeers

A Messenger arrives at Pokesay ...

2011-05-30T03:08:00.000-07:00

Captain Philip Stanhope has a message from Lord Hopton for Sir William de Willoughy commander of royalist forces in Wiltshire; he has been re-directed to Pokesay after looking for him at Wallingborough.

---oXo---

Capatin Stanhope arrives on the outskirts of Pokesay by the parish church ...

Startled by the sound of musket fire, he looks into an adjoining field and sees some dragoons at practice ..

Arriving in the town square he asks for directions from one of the locals ...

The sentry at the castle gatehouse notices the arrival of a rider and calls the officer on duty ..

Stanhope moves towards the castle, he can see a galloper gun being repaired by the blacksmith ...

He approaches the gatehouse ...

Stanhope: Captain Stanhope with letters for Sir Willaim de Willoughy from Lord Hopton

Officer: please wait here, I'll find Sir William

After a short time Sir William arrives

Sir William: Good Day Captain Stanhope

Stanhope: An honour to meet you Sir William

Sir William: come with me, we'll find some refreshment for you

A regiment of foot undergoes drill outside the castle ...

They have a quick discussion in the hall ..

Sir William: Stanhope, what's the gist of these letters ?

Stanhope: Lord Hopton seeks troops and supplies for the army of the West

Sir William: I think I will be able to provide dragoons and some supplies, come we'll get some lunch and then I'll read the letters and we'll sort out the details ..

The next day Captain Stanhope departs with Colonel Wemys's dragoons and some supplies ..

New regiment of horse completed

2011-05-29T02:04:00.000-07:00

My bumper ECW bank holiday weekend continues - another of my new regiments of horse completed for the Roundway down project (one left to go); figures are Sash & Sabre with command from Jacdaw.

Pokesay Castle - home improvements finished ..

2011-05-28T12:31:00.000-07:00

After a couple of enjoyable sessions at the modelling desk today the improvements to the courtyard of Pokesay have been completed. New lean-to building, steps up to curtian wall and a new well head (all scratchbuilt from card and foamboard).

The gatehouse has had a little more decorative woodwork added to make it look a bit more like the real one at Stokesay.

Pokesay Castle - Home Improvments ..

2011-05-28T03:49:00.000-07:00

Sir William de Willoughby and his wife,

discuss how to best accomodate the newly arrived small garrision

The local craftsmen will be busy for a short while, on the list is:

1. A new well top (replacing the adapted large barrel in use)

2. New steps up to two sides of the curtain walls (avoiding soldiers having to pass through parts of the living area)

3. A new lean-to building to hold supplies for the garrison.

Roundway Down Project (7) - update

2011-05-28T03:41:00.000-07:00

I'm just finishing off a regiment of horse and the next one is undercoated; that'll finish the units for the battle. I want to try and work the Roundway down battle into my imaginary ECW campaign in Wiltshire, so there will be some fictional involvement from the forces of either Sir William de Willoughy (Royalist) or Sir Warwick Hunt (Parlliament)

I recently obtained a copy of Touching History series on ECW,

Lots of good modelling tips, and some good ideas on scenics for the ECW period. I'm currently looking at my Pokesay Castle model to see what improvements can be made.

New - Regiment of Horse

2011-05-03T04:35:00.000-07:00

The first of three regiments of horse for my Roundway Down project is finished, two more to go. Figs are Sash & Sabre, with command figs from Jacdaw.

Regiment of Foot - Yellow Coats

2011-04-16T02:58:00.000-07:00

The last (?) of my planned regiments of foot, this time for variety I went for yellow coats, figures are Romanoff.

The first of three regiments of horse for my Roundway Down project is part way through being painted.

Roundway Down Project (6) - inspiration

2011-03-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

Fabulous little booklet which I managed to get recently..

An historical work produced by skilled graphic artist and illustrator Bob Moulder and published by Keep Wargaming. ISBN 0 904417 54 9. History in comic strip style, great stuff - a little excerpt from the section on Lansdown ..

This has got me moving again on my little project and a regiment of foot has found its way onto the painting table.

Roundway Down Project (5) - getting ready for painting

2011-02-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

The last regiment of S&S horse finally assembled. A new supply of black gesso for priming has been obtained as my current pot is getting low - those 40mm figs eat up a lot of primer and paint - have laid in a supply of bron paint as well.

Roundway Down Project (4) - assembling the horse

2011-02-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

After two sessions, one today and one last weekend I have assembled the first two regiments of horse; I find assembling these Sash & Sabre figs a bit of a chore, I seem to have a handful of thumbs.

One more regiment of horse to assemble then I can start painting, I've already printed some standards for each regiment.

Roundway Down Project (3) - on the move

2011-01-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

The remainder of my figs order up from the Post Office today. All unpacked and bits sorted into separate piles for assembly. To start with I did the the command figures and cornets (these are a mix of S&S and Jacdaw).

I though I'd run out of sword arms, so used pistols for the officers, but found a bag containing some later, will have to a quick swap. To keep me going I painted up a couple of figs made up from spares, another command group of officer and trumpeter

Roundway Down Project (2) - getting organised

2010-12-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

Part of my figs order arrived for my extra three regiments of horse, I went for Sash & Sabre for a change. I decided to wait for the rest of the order before getting stuck in assenbling and painting. So currently organziing all the bits and pieces ready to put them to one side; have cut all the bases from thick card for the regiment of foot and the three horse regiments while I was at it.

Roundway Down Project (1) - quick list of forces

2010-12-19T04:22:00.000-08:00

Just working out some basics for my Roundway Down project. Approx size of armies

Parliament: Horse 2000; Foot 1800; Guns 8; + some dragoons
Royalist: Horse 1800; Foot 2000; Guns 2 light pieces; + some dragoons

Need to get the ratios approx correct; so decided on the following forces:

Royalists:
1. Left - 2 Regiments of horse (18 figs)
2. Centre - 1 Regiment of horse (9 figs), Galloper Gun, Dragoons
3. Right - 2 Regiments of horse (18 figs)
4. At Devizes - 5 Regiments of Foot.

Parliamentarians:

1. Left - 3 Regiments of horse (27 figs)
2. Centre - 4 Regiments of Foot, 3 guns
3. Right - 3 Regiments of horse (27 figs)
4. To the rear - Dragoons - guarding baggage and watching out for Royalist foot.

After totting up the horse required I am 3 regiments short, figs order to be done shortly - may go for some Sash & Sabre this time.

Planning for Roundway Down 're-fight'

2010-12-15T01:33:00.000-08:00

I'm currently planning my re-fight of Roundway Down. Prior to the main battle there was a rearguard action at Rowde plus the siege of Devizes, so may also have a go at staging these too.

Have to paint up one infantry regiment and obtain probably 5 more cavalry regiments. I may look at the army sizes and reduce the cavalry slightly, maintaining the right ratios.

Plenty of reading to do - will check up on accounts in other books to build up a clearer picture of the main battle.

New Regiment of Foot Musters

2010-11-13T03:56:00.000-08:00

Finished assembling a new regiment of foot; facncied something slightly different and bought some figs in marching poses -mostly Romanoff, with some Jacdaw and a few Sash and Sabre heads for variety.

The Battle of Pewsey

2010-10-16T02:11:00.000-07:00

The Parliamentarians having raided the villages around Marlborough are headied towards Pewsey. A body of Royalist horse rode to intercept them.

The Royalist horse form up to the north of Pewsey...

The Parliamentarians start to deploy on seeing the body of Royalist horse ...

The Royalists start moving forward to take the initiative ....

The Parliamentarians continue their deployment ...

The view to their front is disconcerting, the Royalist horse are charging at full tilt ...

The Royalist horse charge into contact ....

The melee continues as both sides feed in more troops of horse, the Parlianentarians are holding their ground....

Boths sides fall back in part to regroup while fresh regiments move forward ....

The melee restarts with the fresh regiments setting to ....

The Royalist get the upper hand and a Parliamentarian regiment routs ...

The Royalists press home their advantage now they outnumber the opposition ....

The Royalist give chase and surround the remaining Parliamentarians ....

---oXo---

A victory for ye Kinge !

A Lull in the fighting ...

2010-10-06T05:12:00.000-07:00

Both sides have been 'licking their wounds' after the battle of Hungerford. The royalists have withdrawn their small garrision from Marlborough and have for now decided to consolidate the rest of their positions in the north of Wiltshire. They have setup a number of lookout posts to keep an eye on movements towards the Pewsey vale from the east and south.

The Parliamentarians have been re-inforcing their horse regiments which took heavy casualties at Hungerford, they are considering their next move - perhaps another raid or an attempt move to take Pewsey.

Royalists at Devizes ....

2010-08-07T04:07:00.000-07:00

After their defeat at the battle Hungerford in Berkshire, the Royalists re-grouped at Chideford near Hungerford. Hearing of the defeat of the Kings Army at Newbury they decided to march back to Devizes to be in the best position to counter any move by Parliament. (note: have added outline map to above the blog archive)

Sir William de Walloughby watches as his troops enter Devizes

--oXo--

Note: I have updated this post to add link in the above text to Battle of Newbury (as reported on the Blog Lead Gardens)

The Battle of Hungerford

2010-07-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

At Hungerford the Parliamentarian army faces the Royalists; they have formed up just to the west of the road to Wantage.

Both sides eyed up the opposition, there was some hesitancy in deciding to move forward; neither side was willing to make the first move. The battle started in the mid-morning with a desultory exchange of artillery fire. The commander of horse on the royalist left urges his men forward ...

As the royalist horse move, the parliamentarian cuirassiers start to trot forewards

Meanwhile on the other flank the royalist horse and foot are advancing ....

While the foot exchange vollies the horse get stuck in ...

While the rest of the royalist foot move forewards, the action on their right flank intensifies...

The parliamentarian cuirassiers charge forward, the royalist horse hesitated and failed to counter charge and are pushed back, they are gettting the worst of the melee

The royalist horse break and rout, the cuirassier follow and head off to plunder the baggage train ...

The battle in the centre heats up, the lead royalist regiment is at 'push of pike' with the opposition ..

On the royalist right flank their horse won the melee and pursue the parliamentarian horse ...

The royalist horse are unable to resist the tempting target of the parliamentarian baggage train ...

In the centre the parliamentarian foot have won the melee and the lead royalist foot has routed, as it streams past the supporting regiment the artillery crew loose their nerve and run ...

The cuirassiers have returned and pose a threat to the royalist left, one of the foot regiments forms a shiltron. The rest of the royalist foot refuse to advance and start to edge backwards ...

The royalist horse return only to find themselves having to cover the retreat of royalist foot ...

The royalists retreat leaving the field of battle to the parliamentarians

- A Victory for Parliament

Hungerford, early one morning ...

2010-06-27T06:39:00.000-07:00

Just to the north of Hungerford the Parliamentarian army faces the Royalists; they have formed up just to the west of the road to Wantage. The Parliamentarians have left a small garrision in Hungerford. Both sides have managed to get their artillerie into position, the officers on both sides prepare their men.

On the Royalist left flank the commander of horse sizes up the opposition; can he beat the Parliamentarian cuirassiers ?

On the march ...

2010-06-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

The Royalist army has left its camp near Littlecote and the main body is now marching towards Hungeford ....

Royalist Artillery and Baggage leave Ramsbury

2010-06-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

The Royalists having secured the way ahead at Littlecote, now move the last of their forces from Ramsbury towards Hungerford. The artillery train and associated baggage wagons prepare to leave ....

Completed 'oddment' figures ...

2010-06-05T03:29:00.000-07:00

Finished painting the figures I showed in the previous post ....

Sorting out some spare bits ...

2010-05-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

I recently assembled an officer, ensign and drummer for my next regiment of foot; looking at my box of spare bodies, arms and heads I decided to use up most of the bist to make some extra figs to pose for vignette scenes or on the battlefield. So here they are, I've got to add some filler in a few spots and make a few adjustments then they'll be ready for painting.

Prerparations for the battle of Hungerford continue; I've finished all the unit cards required the next thing is to sort out the battlefield map and unit start postions.

Two regiments of horse finished ..

2010-05-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

The two new regiments of horse are now finished and based ready for the upcoming battle of Hungerford ...

Figures are the usual Irregular Miniatures with some Sash & Sabre head swaps, also a couple of Sash & Sabre riders.

Skirmish at Littlecote

2010-05-02T04:42:00.000-07:00

The royalists having concentrated their forces at Ramsbury continue their push up the valley towards Hungerford.

A body of royalist horse have reached Littlecote house, they caught the small garrison by surprise and pushed them out of the house. Skirmishing continues in the nearby enclosures between royalist horse (some dismounted) and parliamentarian dragoons who eventually mount up and ride for Hungerford.

to be continued ...

Ready, steady, but not quite go ...

2010-04-10T03:12:00.000-07:00

I've finished the rules upgrade and have got back to painting. All ready for the brush, two regiments of horse (9 figs each), plus bases and flags.

Tweaking the Rules ...

2010-03-23T05:45:00.000-07:00

For the ECW games so far we've been using Charge yr Pikes! rules with a few markups and minor revisions.

During the last battle in my Wiltshire campaign at Ramsbury we tried out an alternative in the rules for determining casualties from musket firing (by using a casualty hit table); these seemed to 'flow' better than what was in use before. So I'm currently in the process of writing up a set of 'house' ECW rules for our own use including the new method for casualties for melee and firing.

Meanwhile the two regiments of horse required for the 'Battle of Hungerford' have been prepped for paintingand are still waiting to be painted; I'm busy finishing of a few 18C bits and bobs at the moment.

New Command figs

2010-02-26T06:14:00.000-08:00

For the next scenario in the campaign there will be a battle at Hungerford, for this I wanted to be able to have command staff for each wing of horse and the centre foot. I was short a few figs, so I've made up two more command groups, of officer + trumpeter.

[figs Officers: Jacdaw TYW; trumpeters: Irregular Miniatures on Sahs & Sabre horses.]

New regiment of Foot - Green Coats

2010-02-10T02:59:00.000-08:00

Another regiment of foot finished, one left to go to reach my target of the army sizes of the Battle of Roundway. This one in green coats, based on the uniform of Earl of Northampton's regiment - should have had a green flag, but I liked the yellow one with the dog on it.

[Figs: Officer and firing musketeers: Jacdaw TYW; Ensign: converted Eureka Planchet character figure; all the rest Irregular Miniatures with an assortment of heads]

I'm currently painting up a couple of regiments of horse for the next battle in the ECW campaign. So piccies to come when they are done.

Encounter at Ramsbury

2010-01-22T08:04:00.000-08:00

After their defeat at Axford the parliamentarians retreated up the valley to their outpost at Ramsbury. Sir Warwick Hunt continued on to Hungerford to find a place for his army to give battle to defend the town; he left his brother Herrick with his Lobsters (cuirassiers) at Ramsbury to hold off royalist advance.

---oXo---

The royalists advance up the valley towards Ramsbury ...

At Ramsbury the parliamentarians have taken up defensive positions by the bridge over the river. Herrick Hunt's Lobsters wait on the side of the river with the most open ground ...

The royalist horse charge impetuously up the valley and are met by the Lobsters ....

The Lobsters hack their way through the first royalist horse regiment and follow up, throwing the rest of the royalist column into confusion ...

The next royalist horse regiment make an attempt to hold off the lobsters and are beaten back with heavy casualties; Herrick Hunt manages to control his regiment and the Lobsters regroup...

While the Lobsters regroup and retire back to Ramsbury the royalist infantry on the other side of the valley exchange some vollies with the defenders....

As the light fades both side draw back, the parliamentarians withdraw towards Hungerford, covering their movement with their horse. The royalists move into Ramsbury in the late evening and make camp and wait for their artillery train to catch up with them, they will need its escort of two regiments of horse if they are to advance further.

to be continued ...

New Foot Regiment - grey coats

2010-01-08T09:26:00.000-08:00

I've started back into the lead pile, fed up with painting horse so for a change did a regiment of foot. The uniform is that of Sir Thomas Glemham's Regiment, although the flag is not, should be red but I liked the white/black scheme it seems to fit with the uniform.

The figures used are a right mixture, this regiment was cobbled together from the spares box - so there are Irregular Miniatures, Romanoff, Jacdaw mixed together with arm and head swaps. I had to convert some Irregular Miniatures 'Soldier with flaming torch' into pikemen, plus a couple of engineer figures into musketeers as well.

Royalists cross the river at Axford

2009-12-11T07:06:00.000-08:00

After their succesful move against Marlborough, the royalist commander Sir William de Willoughby is tasked with an attack on Hungerford - this move is in parralel with the Kings forces moving on Newbury.

Sir Warwick Hunt, the parliamentarian commander has moved to intercept the royalists advancing on Hungerford but his troops are strung out on the march. He reinforces the garrison of a regiment of foot at Axford with one regiment of foot and one of horse and makes a hasty defence of the river crossing.

The royalists with 4 regiments of foot and 2 of horse approach Axford ..

The royalists deploy and clear the bridge with the use of their galloper gun ...

The royalist manouvre on their right flank to cross the river ...

After an exchange of musketry and cannon fire the parliamentarian foot regiment routs, they are quickly followed over the bridge by the lead royalist regiment ....

The parliamentarian defence crumbles and they use their horse regiment to cover their retreat ...

The royalist set down to camp for the night at Axford, before moving on along the valley towards Hungerford the next day ...

to be continued ...

Sir William de Willoughby's Regiment of Horse

2009-10-17T02:34:00.000-07:00

I thought it was about time my imaginary commander of the royalist forces in my Wiltshire campaign had his own regiment of horse - so I finished painting my TYW Jacdaw figs and allocated them to the royalists (the cornet is from Drabant).

Marlborough discomforted

2009-10-03T01:07:00.000-07:00

A little action from history (slightly modified) which fits into my ECW camapign in Wiltshire quite nicely ...

Marlborough town was a potential problem for the royalists. The Seymours nominally held the old castle for the King but the town was for Parliament. With his headquarters in nearby Oxford, King Charles decided that Marlborough must be dealt with and sent Lords Wilmot and Digby with a body of horse to implement his wishes. They journeyed via Wallingborough to add a regiment of dragoons and a galloper gun to their troops, then they marched for Marlborough ...

When they arrived, they chose to parley first, thus giving the inhabitants a chance to prepare a defence. Commanded by Colonel James Ramsey with a small number of professional soldiers they mustered a few hundred poorly-armed men in the simple earthworks at the north of the town. Their response was to refuse to give up the town.

While the confrontation started at the north of the town, the royalists had dismounted a regiment of horse and they had started to try and gain access to the town from the side via its small alleyways.

The dragoons skirmish with the towns defenders at the earthworks on the common ...

The dismounted royalist horse have entered the outskirts of the town and encounter little resistance ....

The defenders fall back as the dismounted royalist horse gain the high street ....

Colonel Ramsey withdrew to the St Mary's church to make a last stand ....

The royalists move into the town from the north having overrun the earthworks, while the dismounted horse move up the high street to attack the church ...

The defence of the church continues, but they cannot hold out for long ....

After a fierce exchange of fire, all the windows were shot away, at this point Ramsey surrendered.

Following the surrender a number of houses and barns were burned down and the town was systematically looted. What could not be carried away was destroyed. Some 120 prisoners, were tied together and marched to Oxford and put in prison to await the Kings pleasure.

[the actual historical events can be read at http://www.marlboroughhistory.org.uk/timeline/Civil%20War.html]

Galloper Gun ready for action

2009-09-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

The visiting officers from Oxford watch as the new galloper gun is put through its paces ...

Visitors to Wallingborough

2009-09-20T02:39:00.000-07:00

A large body of horse from Oxford has arrived at Wallingborough, the commander has ridden up to the guildhall to meet with Sir William de Walloughby..

A closeup of the officers (Jacdaw TYW french officer pack) ...

Galloper Gun progress

2009-09-20T02:36:00.000-07:00

Sir William de Walloughby checks with the local blacksmith on the progress of the galloper gun ..

Gun is complete, draught horse + rider and escort still being painted.

Scratchbuilt Galloper Gun

2009-08-30T04:16:00.000-07:00

Reading up on Roundway Down, the royalists had a couple galloper guns with them. So I had a look see what bits I had to make one. I had a couple of plastic wheels the right size and a spare 18c ships gun. I cut the wheels and base off the gun and put it on a cardboard base, then added the wheelset. Completed gun below (with fig for size comparison) ..

I needed a draught horse and rider, so I cast them from one of my 18c moulds. The draught horse needed a little bit of work, the rider a new head and the coat detail altered. I had a spare horse and rider as well to use as the galloper guns escort.

New horse regiment painted ..

2009-08-22T03:16:00.000-07:00

These boys have sat for a while in the painting queue. Nice to get them finished; now for the Jacdaw figs, I'm looking forward to painting them.

[figs: Irregular Miniatures, with a couple of Sash & Sabre heads for variety; officer is Sash and Sabre]

How many more units to go ?

2009-08-20T05:16:00.000-07:00

I'm aiming to get to enough units to refight battles of the size of Lansdown and Roundway. At Roundway approximate numbers on each side was : Parliament- 2500 foot, 2000 horse Royalist - 3000 foot, 1800 horse

I'm using a ratio of 1 fig:33 men with foot regiments at 600 strong (18 figs) and horse regiments at 300 strong (9 figs); this means to be able to field each side I will need a total of

9 (or 10) regiments of foot
12 (or 13) regiments of horse

Currently I have got the following painted units:
6 regiments of foot, 4 regiments of horse, 2 regiments of dragoons and 4 guns

and the following unpainted units:
2 regiments of foot, 2 regiments of horse

So I need to buy 1 (or 2) regiments of foot and 6 (or 7) regiments of horse (oof ! a bit of knock on the old warchest).

Jacdaw Cavalry figs

2009-08-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

I succumbed and bought enough of the newly released Jacdaw French 30 years war french cavalry (sold in packs of two) to make up another regiment of horse to add to the painting queue. So today I've been assembling the figures - the cornet is from Drabant Miniatures.

A closeup of the two figs assembled from the Officer pack...

A closeup of some of the troopers, the Drabant can also be seen.

Overall - lovely figures, fiddly to assemble but worth the effort.

New boys to paint ...

2009-07-17T02:49:00.000-07:00

A regiment of horse awaits the brush. Figs are Irregular Miniatures with a few S&S heads, the officer is a S&S fig.

Also waiting in the lead pile are two regiments of foot. I'm short of horse regiments so I'm concentrating on these at the moment; I'm tempted by the Drabant figs, I have bought one will I go mad for more - we shall see.

Battle of Chipping Snodbury

2009-07-14T01:23:00.000-07:00

Really great ECW battle with piccies, at the Painting Wargames Figures blog it is posted in three parts; definitely worth a look:

http://nigbilpainter.blogspot.com/2009/07/battle-of-chipping-snodbury-part-one.html

http://nigbilpainter.blogspot.com/2009/07/battle-of-chipping-snodbury-part-two.html

http://nigbilpainter.blogspot.com/2009/07/battle-of-chipping-snodbury-part-three.html

New buildings ...

2009-07-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

Firstly the middle story of the gargantuan 3 story building I got a couple of weeks ago. It's had two of windows converted to doors, a roof added and central chimney; then a good repaint. Its a tad large but should be ok

Next is the pottery building I got a couple of months ago, its been given complete repaint and put on a base ..

I've also ordered some more Conflix buildings to provide some more variety.

Wardour Castle - falls to Parliament

2009-06-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Sir Warwick Hunt, commander of the parliamentary forces laying siege to Wardour castle mounts his horse after finishing his breakfast and gets ready to direct an assault on the outworks of the castle.
Attempts with artillery and mortars have failed so far to provide any results; his miners are still digging tunnels. His main weapon the big siege gun has still not arrived; impatient he orders his foot regiments to prepare for an assault ...

The whole of the royalist garrison get ready to defend the outworks against the oncoming assault; the foot regiment has been reinforced by some dragoons and some horse who have dismounted.

The parliamentary artillery battery opens fire; its main target is the gun near the castle outworks gate - the aim to destroy it or reduce its fire as the assault goes in ...

The first wave of the assault forms up and approaches the outworks ...

The heavy mortar prepares to start firing, they aim for castle gatehouse and the gate in the outworks ....

The first wave of the assault reaches the outworks ....

The parliamentary foot take heavy casualties but cross the outworks forcing back the defenders ...

The large siege gun arrives and they set it up, it may be needed if the assault fails ...

The royalists have repulsed the first assault, hovever the second assault wave arrives and an attack is made on the outworks gate ....

The gate slightly damaged by mortar fire gives way under the sheer weight of numbers and the parliamentary foot gain the outworks, the royalist foot retire towards the gate house. The dismounted horse troopers lay down their arms, the dragoons prepare to fire ...

The garrison commander to surrenders to Sir Warwick Hunt; the outworks have fallen, his troops are laying down their arms and he has no alternative.

--00X00--

End notes:

1. My model of Pokesay castle is 'masquerading' as Wardour.

2. Historically Wardour Castle, fell to parliament in May 1643 - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardour_Castle.

Dismounted Horse (7) - Ready for Action

2009-06-21T06:04:00.000-07:00

At last I've finished painting the dismounted horse troopers, below are both of the horse regiments ..

One of these will be off to help defend Wardour castle.

A rather large town house !

2009-06-21T05:58:00.000-07:00

I bought this beastie at my local 'car boot' sale for the princely sum of £2. Although probably in scale for 40mm figs its a bit on the large side. Its made of cardboard and can be carefully (?) cut up, my plan is to make separate buildings of the top two stories and maybe do something with the remnants of the ground floor.

On to Wardour - Skirmish at Barford

2009-06-19T04:59:00.000-07:00

At Sarisbury

The parliamentarian commander Sir Warwick Hunt leads out a regiment of foot from their quarters in the cathedral close, via the high street gate. They will be joining the troops marching to make siege at Wardour castle to the south-west.

---oXo---

At Barford

The route to Wardour to crosses the river at Barford St Martin, an outpost of Royalist dragoons is stationed there.

Two regiments of parliamentarian horse approach Barford, they have been ordered to take and hold the river crossing..

The parliamentarian horse attempt to charge into the village but are held off by steady fire from the dragoons.

The parliamentarians regroup. The commander of the horse waits for a regiment of foot to arrive before making another attempt to capture Barford.

The royalist dragoons seeing the arrival of the regiment of foot and other troops marching in the distance decide to withdraw and get word of the approaching column to the commander of Wardour castle.

---oXo---

At Wardour Castle

The commander is making preparations for a siege, the gate in the outworks is being re-inforced.

The commander reviews the regiment of foot which is the main part of the garrison.

Scots/Irish Figures

2009-06-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

A couple of sample figs from Irregular Miniatures - LRE11 Scots/Irish Pikeman and LRE12 Scots/Irish Musketeer.

Dismounted Horse (6) - conversions finished

2009-05-17T01:57:00.000-07:00

At last I've finished doing the conversions for my two sets of dismounted horse troopers. One of the sets of six is shown below (the other has same poses but different heads).

The figures are a mix of Irregular Minaitures and Romanoffs with Sash & Sabre heads. Now onto the painting ..

Manor House ?

2009-04-26T04:01:00.000-07:00

Out for a bit of exercise this morning at the local 'car boot' sale, first table we came to had a rather nice pottery building for £1, so for that price it was off the table and into my bag. The roof is very well done, the timbering well set out -

After a little work it will make a nice addition to my wargame buildings stock. I think it would do as a village manor house.

Raid on the Pewsey Vale

2009-04-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

'Scenario'

In order to build up his supplies ready for the siege of Wardour castle, Sir Warwick Hunt (parliamentarian commander); organises a raid on the rich farm land of the Pewsey Vale. The raiders will have to deal with a royalist outpost and hope they get away without the nearby royalist garrison at Pewsey arriving to intervene.

For Parliament: 2 regiments of dragoons; 1 regiment of horse; 1 commanded shot (musketeers)

For Ye King:
Outpost: 1 regiment of horse; 1 regiment of foot;
Reinforcements: 1 regiment of horse; 1 regiment of foot; 1 commanded shot (musketeers)

---0X0---

'Battle Report'

The parliamentarian raiding force arrives on the edge of the rich farming area ....

Meanwhile the royalist outpost has been mustered for a review by the local garrison commander.

The royalists patrol the farmland area; its is a lovely day and they are not expecting anything

The parliamentarian raiding force fords the river with the wagons going over the bridge

The royalist patrol reports the presence of the raiding force; they are then told to ride off to alert the local garrison to send reinforcements.

The raiding force deploys to their forward positions, the carts move up towards the farms.

The royalists try to cross the bridge, they force back some dragoons only to come under fire from some musketeers and the other dragoon regiment.

The supplies are being loaded up from the first farm

The royalists now reinforced, attempt to cross the river for a second time ...

The raiding party continues loading up the supplies from the farms, one loaded cart is already on it way back..

The royalists are across the river, their superior numbers forcing back the parliamentarians

The parliamentarian musketeers after fighting the first royalist regiment of horse have broken and are being pursued, the rest of the raiding force is starting its withdrawal.

The royalist horse are in hot pursuit, their second regiment of horse starts to move to prevent the loading of supplies by the raiders.

One of the wagons crosses the bridge to safety, meanwhile another wagon is on its way to the bridge, the third is still being loaded

Its all over, the raiders make a run for it crossing the river, the royalist horse stop the third cart from getting away.

The royalist horse is blown after its pursuit and pulls up to rest; the parliamentarians move back towards Amesbury (and then on to Sarisbury) having captured enough supplies for their purposes.

A little update

2009-04-07T04:53:00.000-07:00

The dismounted horse figure conversions are coming along rather slowly. I've done gauntlets, and delineated the back&breast. Belts and boots to do.

Have played a raid for supplies scenario, I've got to sort through the photos then I'll do a post, hopefully in a couple of days time.

Mortar

2009-03-07T01:20:00.000-08:00

I saw a picture of the Drabant mortar on the OG UK website, well really need to have one if you are doing a siege. Nice little model for £9, castings were crisp and it fitted together quite nicely. Here it is painted up shown with some of my artillery crew figures.

Dismounted Horse (5) - 'Troopers' initial conversions

2009-03-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

Two sets of 6 troopers, one set for each dismounted horse regiment. I have done two of each 'pose' with slight differences, such as heads. Figs are a mix of Irregular Miniatures and Romanoff with an assortment of heads, mostly Sash & Sabre. Next stage is green stuff for boots, belts etc.

More Dragoons ...

2009-02-28T04:36:00.000-08:00

The second of my planned dragoon regiments is now finished. I had my table setup for a 18C 40mm game, so I thought I'd re-use the setup to pose the dragoons getting into position. Riding down the road ...

And deployed in front of the church ...

[figs: All Irregular Miniatures, some of the dismounted dragoons are converted musketeers.]

Dismounted Horse (4) - 'Officers on Foot'

2009-02-22T07:09:00.000-08:00

To keep my dismounted troopers under control, officers are required. I started with the Irregular Miniatures pikeman without tassets figure; the heads have been replaced with S&S ones; then a sword (cast from a Prince August mould) was added to the open hand; finally sashes and boots added with green stuff.

Then a little painting session, and here they are ...

Hold yer horses !

2009-02-18T06:55:00.000-08:00

Also moved up to the front of the painting queue were the horse holder conversions I did, here they are ...

Hurry up lad, the horses need some water ..

Next in the painting queue are the second regiment of dragoons.

Fieldworks finished ..

2009-02-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

I've finished the outworks for the defence of the castle. They were clogging up my modelluing desk so decided to complete them to make room for some figure painting. I was going to add some scenic scatter on the sections, but the basic brown I used seem to be fine, with some dry brushing of a lighter shade.

All laid out and a couple of figures added to get the scale of the works ..

A closeup of the gun position ...

New figure range ?

2009-02-11T04:43:00.000-08:00

I have seen (somewhere on the web) that a new range of TYW french in 40mm will be available soon. Jacdaw Miniatures - keep an eye out, will be interesting to see what they are like.

Dismounted Horse (3) - 'Horse Holders'

2009-02-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

Each of the 2 dismounted horse regiments will have a man holding/leading a horse. Finished the green stuff changes for these based on an Irregular Miniatures pikeman without tassets; altered the heads as well. Most of the time was spent doing their boots.

These will enter into my painting queue (which for some reason seems to be getting longer).

Defence and Siege Works

2009-02-08T07:50:00.001-08:00

I 've been thinking about the best way to make defence works for a siege scenario for some time. I tried out some foam floor tiles and foamcore on a cardboard base to see if it looked alright.

So while I thought about the layout of the defences, I built a home for the big siege gun ...

I also tried out my siege battery and field works made for my 28mm figs and was happy to find that the ECW guns and the figs looked ok in it ....

After much messing about, cutting and gluing etc, I had a layout for the castle defence outworks. It is a simple earthen bank with ditch, plus a small gun position to protect the entrance ...

A view to show how it fits in with the castle ...

Now the next stage is filling in the cracks and painting up etc; probably will take a while but it will be worth the effort.

The Scouts are out ..

2009-02-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

Sir Warwick Hunt (Parliament) has sent out scouts to check the possible routes to Wardour Castle from Salisbury, also to ascertain the defences.

the two converted horse figures from the previous post

Dismounted Horse (2) - 'Mounted Conversions'

2009-01-29T07:06:00.000-08:00

I'm planning to have two regiments of horse dismountable for various scenarios. A regiment of 9 would dismount as one man on horse back, one man dismounted holding a horse, plus one officer and 6 troopers on foot.

I had two extra dragoon riders left and used these with some horses I cast from a SYW mould of a walking horse. The horses required changes to the saddle cloth and addition of pistol holsters. The riders had the front detail removed and filled up to make it more breastplate like, then I added cross belts, new heads and finally gave them a pistol and carbine to hold.

The finished conversions ... The two extra horses are for the dismounted horse holders which I've yet to convert. A side view of the mounted figures...

These can be used for my dismounted horse or for scouts, double whammy !!

No Wheels on my Gun ??

2009-01-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

Sir Warwick Hunt, the Parliamentarian commander, is planning on reducing Wardour castle to the the south-west of Sarisbury. To that end he has sent for a large gun. A cannon has been found and is on its way. A dodgy wheel has halted its journey, on the border with Hampshire. At a small village the local blacksmith and his assistant try to remedy the fault ....

[figs: All Hereck and Goros except bearded blacksmith which is Eureka; gun is 54mm Call to Arms]

Dismounted Horse Troopers (?)

2009-01-20T05:09:00.000-08:00

I'm toying with the idea of modelling dismounted horse. Not dragoons, troopers from horse regiments dismounted for action in siege lines or on a raid/attack on garrisons and supplies.

For a dismounted regiment of horse (9 figs in size) I was thinking of having one figure mounted with a pistol, one dismounted holding a horse, plus one officer and 6 troopers on foot.

At the moment there are no commercially avaliable figures that fit the bill, looks like major conversion jobs will be required. Figure hacking, arm swapping and remodelling with green stuff sounds like a lot of fun. I think I need to identify some figures to start from and try out conversions.

Village - Tithe Barn

2009-01-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

My project for the weekend was to build a tithe barn for the village, as I wanted to find a use for the buttresses I saved from the remnants of the church kits I cut up. So I did a bit of research on the web. Tithe barns can be very large structures, sometimes as big as the parish church. I opted for a bit of simplicity and decided on a barn with one bay each end with central doors each side.

I built the walls out of foam board, making an inset for the doors. Below you can see the basic building structure with the doors and buttresses trial fitted to one side; beside it is a 40mm figure for size comparison

I made up the roof with cardboard. I used my favourite method for buildings, printed papers. These were cut to size and stuck on. The doors were painted and glued in place. After that I added tbe buttresses and painted them up to match the stone paper. Below you can see it the tithe barn finished on its base, about to receive a delivery ..

I want to add two more half timbered buildings to the village - I've decided to make these myself.

Village Church

2009-01-09T04:07:00.000-08:00

Another idea for my village was to add a church. I thought some suitable plastic kit could be used to make one. I had a rummage at my local Toy and Train fair last weekend and bought two Hornby country church kits. It is just about right for a small village church or possibly a chapel (if you left the tower off).

I had a kit-bash session, deciding to cut up one kit to add an extra bay to the nave and create a two bay chancel. I raised the complete structure up on a foamboard base to get a little extra height. The bare walls with a 40mm fig for comparison is shown below ..

I added roofs made using cardboard and tile paper. Walls were painted and the buttresses facing stone painted as well (bit of fiddly job). I put the completed church it on a base and added a wall, plus a couple of tree. All painted up, based with scenics added ....

To check it fitted in alright I put it on my gaming table with the rest of my village buildings plus some visiting troops ..

I want to add a couple more buildings to my village; probably from the Conflix range.

Village Forge

2009-01-09T03:56:00.000-08:00

I wanted some more buildings to have enough for a small village or hamlet. On a visit last weekend to a local model shop I found a Conflix Blacksmith's Forge. In order to get the height up I raised the building by 0.5cm using some foam board. The forge was inset into the base. I added a tree, plus a fence made from cardboard.

New Year at Pokesay ..

2009-01-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

Sir William de Willoughby and his wife prepare to have an early evening meal in the grounds of Pokesay Castle. It appears the roast calf is nearly ready .. The family's pet geese have also come along to see if they can pick up any scraps.

[figs and accessories: Eureka 40mm Musketeer range and Irregular Miniatures]

Down among the hedge men ...

2008-12-31T06:15:00.001-08:00

The newly raised regiment of dragoons on horse ..

And practising deployment .....

The next regiment of dragoons is awaiting priming on the paint desk; I'm working on some civilian figs at the moment ..

[figs: All Irregular Miniatures, some of the dismounted dragoons are converted musketeers]

Artillery Train Additions ...

2008-12-30T09:58:00.001-08:00

I've been thinking of buying some of the Herek & Goros 1/48th scale 30yrs war figs for some time. They are a tad expensive, so I needed a reason to have them and also the money to buy them as well. The reason to have them was to provide a limber and figures to go with my large cannon. So just after Xmas I ordered up the ones I was interested in from Historex Agents (UK); it's nice to give oneself an Xmas present.

1. Artillery Limber and horses

The picture below shows the limber (GHG20), draught horse (KSHG55), artilleryman seated on draught horse (KSHG58).

If you are going to buy any of this range then the limber and draught horses are worth it (each code item is ~£9.00 each. ouch !)

2. The foot figures
Below we have on the left an Irregular Miniatures 40mm for comparison of size and from left to right ..
Dismounted cavalryman and blacksmith (KSHG63)
Artillery Soldier (KSHG54)
Artillery Officer and Soldier (KSHG59)

A picture of my large cannon (Call at Arms 1/32nd scale, ECW range - War Cannon No 13 ), with the new figs ...

I'm looking forward to getting these painted. By the way the first of my two regiments of dragoons is nearly finished so I'll post some piccies of them next.

Dragoons - ready for their uniforms

2008-12-13T03:25:00.001-08:00

Both regiments of dragoons, mounted and dismounted now ready to paint.

All figures are Irregular Miniatures; with a couple of spare Sash & Sabre heads finding their way onto a couple of figs. I had a small head swapping session to ensure the mounted troopers of each regiment had the same heads as the dismounted ones - bit mad but worth the effort. I've also converted some musketeers to be dismounted dragoons by adding rolled down boots with green stuff.

Dragoon Command Stands

2008-12-06T01:11:00.000-08:00

While waiting for a couple of figs orders to complete the rest of the dragoons, I forged on by doing the command stands and token horse holders for when they dismount. All figs in the pictures are from Irregular Miniatures (with a couple of heads replaced with some from Sash and Sabre).

The figs orders arrived yesterday so I'm now ready to start work on both regiments mounted and dismounted.

Civilians ? (various figures)

2008-12-05T06:53:00.000-08:00

A bit expensive, but for variety, some figures from the Eureka 40mm Musketeers range to be used for civilians or conversions to regimental officers. (Athos, Planchet, Rochefort, Constance+elderly Husband) I also got some accessories which include table, 2 chairs and food/plates/bottle/mugs).

To provide some scenic additions for a campsite or siege, some bits from Irregular Miniatures renaissance range (Woman with spoon; cauldron over fire and roasting spit).

The Irregular Miniatures soldier with flaming torch (with pistol/sword) and engineer. I've bought a couple more of each of these for possible conversions.

A Pastoral Scene ?

2008-11-29T04:06:00.000-08:00

Want something to drink boys ?

The Parliamentrain trained band ignore the solicitations and other attractions offered by a local tavern as they march through a small village.

[figs: Soldiers - Irregular Minaiatures; Ladies - Black Cat]

Dragoons - Officer anh Horse Holders

2008-11-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

I bought some more Irregular Miniatures musketeers to convert into dismounted dragoons, plus some sample figures for conversions; not having some green stuff I've ordered that as well. While waiting for delivery I thought I'd try out some conversion techniques with blue-tak sealed with super glue as a 'modelling putty'.

Firstly a converted soldier holding flaming torch, I cut off the torch and replaced it with a halberd, modelling a replacement hand.

For my dragoons I wanted at least one man dismounted holding a horse; so a marching musketeer and an engineer were converted; added cuffs, boots rolled down, belts with apostles, plus a musket. I put a Sash&Sabre head on the marching musketeer. Front and back view below ...

Lastly one of the horse holders with a horse, just to see how it looks ..

Looks Ok, I'll be interested to see how they come up painted.

Eye Candy ...

2008-11-12T04:59:00.000-08:00

Drabant Miniatures, have some swedish cavalry in their WARS OF MOSCOW STATE, 40MM range (DM1133/34/35) . They are really nice figures, however at £10 a pop there are a bit expensive (possibly use for commanders).

Link to pic at UK Old Glory Website
http://www.oldgloryuk.com/disp_item.php?c=355&oc=5037&pic=3

The Dragoons arrive

2008-11-07T08:20:00.001-08:00

Just unpacked these from a nice little box containing my last order from Irregular Miniatures. I ordered 11 mounted figs and 9 dismounted, I've got a spare officer for them. On dismount the officer and cornet (with flag) will remain mounted, representing the horse holders. The dismounted dragoons come in 2 'random' variants, soft hat or monmouth cap.

Campaign Overview Map

2008-10-31T08:06:00.000-07:00

For my slightly 'imaginary' ECW campaign I've taken my map of Wiltshire and changed the name of two places
- Malmesbury has been renamed Wallingborough, held by the royalists
- Salisbury has been renamed Sarisbury, held by the parliamentarians.