Siege of Malta, 1565 - Barbary Corsair Spearmen and Archer Command Stand

Okay! So, switching tack from the Grim Dark Future to the sun-kissed Middle Sea, I thought I'd finish off a few more figures for my 1565 Malta project which have been sitting half done since the winter Challenge.

Here are half a dozen spearmen to add to Turgut Reis' slowly growing contingent of fierce Barbary corsairs.

These models are from Footsore Miniatures' excellent Caliphate range. Similar to my previous efforts, I had great fun using a lot of colour with these guys. I may get another pack later to bulk-up the unit, but this group will stand as a good start.

The full unit of spearmen.

I also did up a command stand for one of my corsair archer units which was bereft of one. 

The piper and standard bearer are from Brigade Games, while the leader is a Footsore model. I did a small modification to have him holding a crossbow along with a small targe, just to make him a little more distinct from his bow-armed comrades. 

The archers with their new leader.

At first I just had the three figures on the base, but for a bit of additional colour, I decided to give them a banner as well (I figure you can't have enough flags on the tabletop).

These 9 models will give me another 45 points, for a grand total of 135.

Thanks for popping in for a visit!

-Curt

Shirley Shutter 'The Photographer'

Needing to get to Hawkin's Hill, I just realized last night that I had stranded myself on Sander's Sand Dunes without fare for Sarah's Balloon! So, in a rush special appearance, and breaking from my usual 'Mansions of Madness' trope, here's Shirley Shutter, paparazzi photographer and part-time private investigator.

I'm not actually sure where I got Shirley from, she looks like a Paul Hicks sculpt to me. 

I quite like how she's posed. She looks to have just taken a photo of someone, or perhaps something, that she shouldn't have and is about to leg it. I gave her a natty patterned jacket and blue flats to match her hat band. 

Next Up: Something both pointy and horsey for Hawkin's Hill!

British Exploring Officer, Iberian Peninsula, 1810

Last week I picked up David Brown's 'General d' Armee' rules and realized that I haven't painted a Napoleonic figure (much less a unit) in an age. This is amazing as when I started this blog years ago that's ALL I painted. It's funny how things go in cycles.

So today's update is a British Exploring Officer serving in the Peninsula, circa 1810. 

These chaps composed a group of intelligence officers that served Wellington during the Peninsular Wars as his 'Peninsula Corps of Guides'. Their primary function was to survey the countryside and make modern maps for strategic planning, but increasingly they were used to gather intelligence on French plans and movements.

The Exploring Officers refused to be considered as spies and so conducted their work behind enemy lines wearing their regimental uniforms. They relied heavily on local partisans for local knowledge, guidance and support. Since they were usually excellent horsemen, mounted on fast thoroughbreds, they stood a good chance of evading French patrols using speed and evasion.

Colquhoun Grant (great name btw) was perhaps the most famous of Wellington's Exploring Officers. He provided sterling service throughout the wars and had many harrowing adventures in French territory (even posing as an American officer in Paris!). Wellington held him in trust so much that during the Waterloo campaign he essentially relied on Grant's reports on French movements to the exclusion of all other intelligence (which, as we know, almost led to disaster).

This figure is from Brigade Games, sculpted by Paul Hicks. I quite like the rider, with his wide brimmed sun hat and jaunty pose, but the mount provided was a little stiff and uninspiring. So I used a damaged horse I had from a spare Riders of Rohan boxed set (Thanks Byron!), feeling that it had a more animated pose. I had to shave off a few bits of offending tack and horse armour and then 'greenstuffed' a more period-specific saddle blanket, blanket roll and a sporty forelock to his noble head. The other issue with the poor brute was that it had one hoof missing - so I sunk the 'abbreviated' leg into a base of greenstuff, affixed both to the base and then masked the mess with some strategically placed groundwork. 

Done!

Have a great week everybody!

'La!' - The Duellists

A favourite movie in our household is Ridley Scott's debut film 'The Duellists', which was based on a Joseph Conrad short story and starred Kieth Carradine and Harvey Keitel. 

To those who've not had the pleasure of seeing the film, it charts the quarrel and careers of two French cavalry officers, Gabriel Feraud and Armand d'Huber, serving in Napoleon's Grande Armee. The two men fight a long succession of duels that span almost two decades, ending in 1816 with the return of the Bourbon monarchy. 'The Duellists' is beautifully filmed, elegantly written and well acted - a real treat to any historical movie buff. We love the film so much that during a past trip to France, Sarah and I purposefully detoured to stay in beautiful Sarlat-la-Canéda, to visit many of the locations which were used in the film (along with its great food and wine!).

Keith Carradin (d'Hubert), Harvey Keitel (Feraud) and film director Ridley Scott on set in Sarlat, France.

The film (and Conrad's short story) are actually based on true events which are more incredible than its adaptations. The characters of d'Hubert and Feraud's were actually Dupont and Fournier-Sarlovèze, whom Conrad disguised slightly, but otherwise the overall story follows the sketch of actual events.

François Fournier-Sarlovèze the true inspiration of Keitel's 'Feraud'

 In 'The Encyclopedia of the Sword', Nick Evangelista wrote:

As a young officer in Napoleon's Army, Dupont was ordered to deliver a disagreeable message to a fellow officer, Fournier, a rabid duellist. Fournier, taking out his subsequent rage on the messenger, challenged Dupont to a duel. This sparked a succession of encounters, waged with sword and pistol, that spanned decades. The contest was eventually resolved when Dupont was able to overcome Fournier in a pistol duel, forcing him to promise never to bother him again.

They fought their first duel in 1794 from which Fournier demanded a rematch. This rematch resulted in at least another 30 duels over the next 19 years, in which the two officers fought mounted, on foot, with swords, rapiers and sabres.

This 28mm set is from Brigade Games. I've painted them in the colours of the d'Huber's 3rd Hussars and Feraud's 7th. For those who are familiar with the film we can place the figures in the 1801 Augsburg duel (fought in a vaulted cellar) due to the men's junior rank, style of hair (their braided cadenettes are awesome) and the comportment of their uniforms.

Thanks for dropping in!

 

28mm Napoleonic Spanish Guerrillas and (another) Mediterranean Cottage

Keeping in theme with last week's French Dragoons, here are some of their antagonists - a small group of Spanish Guerrillas, exhorted by their priest and being called-to-arms by their drummer boy. 

For the most part these figures are from Brigade Games' Napoleonic Spanish range, but I see in there at least one figure from the Perry's Carlists collection as well. (This range has several non-uniformed codes that fit very nicely for the Napoleonic period). The priest is an older figure from the collection but he needed a repaint after taking a nasty spill (falling from grace, so to speak).

With this group done I will give have around thirty figures for the entire force, enough for most skirmish scenarios, I think.

In addition, I've included the next building from my recent Grandmanner purchase. 

This cottage has a fairly simple square shape but it does have a nice walled veranda, which adds a bit of visual interest (and some welcome cover for skirmishers).

For this building I used a slightly lighter, more tan colour palette. The effect seems a little more rustic overall. I'm not entirely sure that one is better than the other, but this one was definitely faster to paint, which is a big plus to my way of thinking. 

Okay, just one more cottage to go from this series. To try to keep things interesting I think I'll change time periods for the last one. 

Thanks for dropping by everyone! See you soon.

28mm Dismounted Napoleonic French Dragoons and Mediterranean Cottage

I needed to take a bit of a break from the undisciplined (if entertaining) cacophony of Renaissance fashion to work instead on something a little more staid, a little more 'uniform' in order to kick back and unwind.

Here are a half-dozen dismounted Napoleonic French dragoons, accompanied by their trumpeter and officer. 

Napoleon posted several regiments of dragoons to Spain during the Peninsular War and one could say that the French dragoons were the earliest anti-guerilla units in history. (Being that the Spanish word 'guerilla' was popularly coined during the Napoleonic period, being the diminutive of 'war' or alternately 'little war'). For both sides the guerilla war in Spain was a very brutal affair, with no quarter asked or given.

These figures are from a couple of manufacturers - two are multi-part plastics from Perry Miniatures, while the rest are from Brigade Games, sculpted by Paul Hicks.

Leader based on a hex and Trumpeter (support) on a square to help spot them on the tabletop.

I think the two sculpting styles work quite well together. That being said, I have to admit I'm a bit of a traditionalist and prefer the longer coattails of the earlier dragoon uniform a bit better. Hey, it's all about cutting a dash while sweating to death under the blazing Iberian sun!

The rustic cottage is from Grandmanner's 'Spanish Napoleonic' range. I managed to pick up a few in this series before they were discontinued earlier this summer (thanks for the help on this Sidney!). This is my first stab at painting one of these models and I found it a blast to work on.

After cleaning, I first sprayed the building's parts with Krylon Camo Brown and then over-sprayed with Krylon Camo Khaki to provide the base. I then used 'Americana' craft paints to block in the colours, Army Painter 'Strong Tone' as a wash and then liberally drybrushed using increasingly lighter tones.

While these buildings were specifically designed to reflect 19th century Spanish architecture, I think that, with a bit of squinting, they will work fine in any Mediterranean setting, and I imagine they'll see good service in our upcoming Italian Wars games. I'll post pics of the other buildings as I work through them.

Thanks for stopping by folks - have a great week!
 

My Tribute to Miles - Jon Bullock, Able Seaman

This Tribute figure is for the Challenge's resident arch-mage statistician, spreadsheet guru and top-of-the-heap brushmeister, Mr. Miles Reidy. 

Miles has been an enthusiastic participant of the Challenge since it's second incarnation, back when I only accepted historical submissions (can you imagine the cheek!). On top of being one of the most prolific painters I know, Miles is also incredibly generous both with his time and encouragement to others. Being a 'financial services professional' he is also a shameless enabler.  I believe it was last year that he sent me several pounds of espresso to tide me through the Challenge. I still have some residual muscle twitch from that...

For Miles I've painted this rather pugnacious Napoleonic British seamen who is in the midst of boarding an enemy vessel. I've named him Jonathan Bullock, Able Seaman. He's seen here in close action, armed with cutlass, pistol butt and 5-days growth of stubble. 

In an attempt to fit in with the rest of Miles' collection,  I've clipped away his metal base and mounted him on a plain MDF base, which I simply scored with a hobby knife to resemble a ship's deck.

Thanks so much again Miles! Your work was instrumental in ensuring our record-keeping was in fighting trim (despite my best efforts to muddle it up with outlier entries).  Also, congratulations on making it to the top of the points heap this year - that was no small achievement considering your worthy compatriots. 

I hope Jon Bullock finds a good home clearing the deck on the USS Wasp. ;)

My Tribute to Millsy - Russian Grenadier with Armoured Steam Trousers

A few years ago, a wag in the Challenge, for the life of me I can't recall who, began calling the price-of-admission figure the 'Curtgeld' (as a nod to the nasty Danegeld levied by the Vikings - the cheek!). The term stuck, and my painting cabinet has amassed a wondrous collection of Curtgeld over the years, a treasure which I jealously guard like Smaug over his hoard. 

As some may know, my free time this year has been restricted by work and so I've called in on friends to help me manage the Challenge. We've jokingly referred to them as 'Minions' but I know very well that I couldn't have pulled off the event without them. With this in mind I'm going to start a new tradition by providing a 'Tribute' to my Challenge compatriots in recognition and as thanks for their huge contribution in keeping this mad ride on the rails. Over these last two weeks of the Challenge I will be posting the Tributes, one by one. The 'Tributes' will be single figures of my choosing - I hope to fit the figure to the recipient.

The first Tribute is for my good friend Millsy, who is absolutely relentless in getting stuff done, both as an individual hobbyist, as a layout designer (e.g. Simon Miller's 'To the Strongest') and a magazine editor (the excellent 'Wargame Bloggers Quarterly'). His energy and skills seem boundless.

So Mr. Mills, to match your dogged determination and your affection of the Pulp genre, I present to you a grizzled Russian grenadier sporting a pair of armoured steam trousers. 

This 28mm figure is from Brigade Games, sculpted by Paul Hicks. I've added a smoke stack to the engine as it just seemed the 'sensible' thing to do.

Yes, you read that right boys and girls, 'steam trousers'. The British may have their leaky dreadnoughts, the Germans their fat and ungainly Zeppelins, but the Russia of the Czars will make a fearless grenadier out of anybody with their  armoured steam trousers. Just think, with these 'pants of victory' no officer has to worry about troops faltering in their advance. Say, you need to suicidally charge a distant line of artillery? No problem! With the steam trousers the pace of advance is locked-in and these devilish leggings will march your troops to glorious (if somewhat phyric) victory!

Steam Trousers - Let Science Give You A Kick in the Pants to Victory!

*Also available as jodhpurs, lederhosen and Tutus.  (Coal, chaffing powder and willing minion not included.)

I hope you like it Millsy!

Za zdorovje!

Entry #8 to the Lead Painter's League - 'Napoleonic Spanish Guerrillas, 1809'

For my eighth entry to the LPL I decided to add a few more models to my existing collection of Napoleonic Spanish guerrillas.

If memory serves these are from the Perrys' range of Carlist War figures. Even though they are a bit 'out of period' (by about 25 years) I think they serve quite well for Spanish irregulars during the Peninsular War. Below is a shot of them with a few other figures that I had done up this past winter during the Painting Challenge (a mix of castings from Brigade Games).

Work and home life has been keeping me a bit busy, so my 9th entry is not a 'fresh team' but rather a grouping of Deep One hybrids that I had posted a few months back. Well, there's no fun revisiting 'old news' so next week I'll debut some 3mm Napoleonics that I've been puttering with over the past couple of months.

Have a great week everyone!

28mm Retiarii Gladiators (Retiarius) armed with Trident and Net

Here are a couple more gladiators to add to my existing Ludus.  This time it is two Retiarii ('net-men') which were gladiators whose fighting style focused on the use of the trident and throwing net.  From historical evidence it seems these fellows were often set against two Secutors ('chasers'), with the Retiarius placed on an elevated platform, sometimes over water, and the Secutorii set to assault him.  Sounds like pretty harrowing stuff - it would seem that gladiators didn't have a very good Workplace Health & Safety policy...

These two 28mm figures are from Brigade Games (It would seem that I'm on a bit of a tear with Brigade's stuff lately). Great sculpts and very easy to work with. Similar to my previous gladiators, I’ve done the groundwork with a gratuitous amount of gore so it better blends with the ‘Spartacus’ game-board.

The last shot is of the Ludus as it stands now, with all seven gladiators arrayed for the arena.

‘Ave, Imperator, morituri te salutant.’