Perry Miniatures Rose of the Roses Burgundian Army, complete

 I finally got around to taking a group photo of my War of the Roses Burgundians today.  This army was in my queue for about 4 years, unbuilt.  It was basically a trial army (4 boxes total), so I did not purchase everything that I normally would for a large force.  The infantry and missile troops need to be increased substantially, by at least another box.  There are two cannons left in my queue to complete as well.  They would count as Elf Ballistas in Oathmark.

I decided to base these on 25mm squares, specifically for Oathmark.  However, in hindsight I wish I had based them on 20mm instead.  It would have made them easier to use in KoW and older Warhammer editions.  The thing with bases is that you can always increase unit footprint via using special movement trays.  However, you cannot downsize as easily.  Oh well. 

The force consists of:

King Edward IV

Lord Fauconberg

12 Mounted Men at Arms (Oathmark Heavy Cavalry or Dragon Rampant Elite Riders)

12 Mounted Crossbowmen (Oathmark Rangers or Dragon Rampant Light Riders)

40 Men at Arms (Oathmark Linebreakers or Dragon Rampant Elite Foot)

20 Pikemen (Oathmark Spearmen or Dragon Rampant Heavy Foot)

10 Handgunners (Oathmark Rangers, or Dragon Rampant Heavy Missiles)

10 Crossbowmen (Oathmark Archers, or Dragon Rampant Heavy Missiles)

There are a lot of things I would have done differently for this force.  I consider it a learning experience.  The Perry kits allow so much customization that I was really overwhelmed by the whole assembly process.

The Foot Knights are highly detailed.  There is a lot of stuff (bits, straps, ect) to paint and quite frankly I was a bit lost for awhile.  The belts are very small and hard to paint.  GW Contrast paints would have worked better.  

I used Mig Steel for the armor.  This was a disaster since other acrylic paints did not want to adhere to the steel basecoat.  I would do these totally different now, with different effects and technique.  

The crossbowmen were a challenge.  I had to research crossbows to know what the heck the various parts actually were.  I had no clue what a Windless crossbow was.  I still have all the Pavises left for these guys.  I could put them on their backs or attach them to their bases as a shield to hide behind.  Not sure what to do with them.

The mounted knights were a painting disappointment.  I could have done better and I really wanted to do spiral colored lances.  I tried but failed miserably.  The barding was a pain in the ass to assemble (it does not want to fit 100% at the front of the horse, requiring sanding and filler to get a half decent look).  

Hand gunners were easy enough.  

The mounted crossbowmen were a bit of a pain to paint.  Lots of individual parts.  There were no assembly instructions so I had to research what went where.

The worst part of this whole project was painting the Burgundian crosses.  Black then lined with multiple shades of red.  Getting complete uniformity across a whole army (cross size) was impossible.

So, that is it.  My first foray into historical miniatures.  In hindsight I should have done an easier paint scheme.  Burgundians, with their white and blue livery and red diagonal crosses were much more challenging than I bargained for.  Anyway, it was a good learning experience.  I now know how to build these kits and what and what not to do.  I could have done a lot more color on the knights....that is my biggest disappointment.  I am on the fence on whether to keep them or sell them off.  I need another 40 or so troops (infantry and archers) to truly finish the army off for Oathmark.  Sadly, as it is, the force is far too small for Kings of War.  I still have two cannons left to paint up.  Not sure if I will do them in Burgindian colors or not.

The Perry plastic kits, IMO, are superb.  There are innumerable build options and the level of customization is huge.  Plus, they are cheap when compared to comparable fantasy kits on the market.  If you want a realistic and large human army for historical or fantasy wargames, then look no further than Perry Miniatures.  

Perry Miniatures - War of the Roses Light Cavalry

 Well, after a month of continuous painting I am almost through my 28mm Perry Miniatures War of the Roses Miniatures.  I saved the cavalry for last (for whatever reason).

The one thing that I found annoying with this kit was the lack of instructions.  The kits seem to be designed for someone who knows how to assemble historical models.  This one in particular was challenging since you could make lancers, crossbowmen or archers.  The issue with this was what to put where on the actual models.  

These took 5 days from start to finish.  

Historically, Europeans did not field mounted archers.  They did not have the cultural background, skills, mounts or necessary terrain for such troops.  Mounted Crossbowmen were fielded by the Germans in the late 1400, but they behaved more like light cavalry than anything else.  In any case, I went with this setup since I felt it gave me the most flexibility than simple lancers.  In hindsight I would have done a few things differently.  But hey, this is my first time with this kit.  They will make an appearance in Oathmark and Lion/Dragon Rampant.

Riders and mounts were done separately.  There are so many bits of this and that to paint that doing the whole model at once would have been a nightmare.  I airbrushed the horses two colors of Vallejo brown.  I could have went for more variations but I am lazy.  When doing dozens of horses one has to compromise somewhere.  

Spots add some variation to the horses.  There are a lot.  You cannot see them for the picture angle though, mainly because I am a lazy photographer.  

They are organized into two units of 6 riders each, with a musician for each one.  

Uniforms are a continuation of the Burgundian theme.  I hate white.  Painting the crosses is a huge pain in the ass.  Why did I choose this livery?  Likely because I am an idiot.  

Well, this brings me very close to finishing my Burgundians.  Only 12 heavy cavalry to go.  They will be easier to complete then these guys.  Far less individual parts to paint.  I am indifferent to these guys.  They turned out ok, but I could have done better.  I am learning how to paint Perry kits though, which is very helpful.  

Perry Miniatures - Mercenaries 1450-1500, Crossbowmen

I finished these today.  Not perfect, but a little better.  I had to research crossbows since I never saw these types before.  Again, my ignorance of this age hinders me.  

That is two boxed sets down.  24 Cavalry to go.

Perry Miniatures - Mercenaries 1450-1500

This year I decided to finally paint my Perry Mercenaries boxed sets that I purchased years ago.  My inspiration came from the fact that I wanted something besides Chaos and Undead for my Oathmark games.  However, I have not painted 28mm figures in years, so I am very rusty.  Needless to say I also am very hard on myself and so far the results are not that impressive to me.  

Disclaimer: I don't claim to be a great painter, not even good really.  Sometimes I can produce something out of this world.  Other times its crap.

I decided to go with Burgundians.  That was probably a mistake.  I hate painting white.  Truly.  That combined with hand drawn crosses and it is really a nightmare.  

It has also been about 10 years since this boy assembled plastic model kits.  My ignorance of this time period in history also did not help with assembly.  In hindsight I would have mixed and matched arms and torsos differently.

The only washes used were on the armor.  Everything else was shaded by hand, the Kevin Dallimore way. Like any art form, whether that is superior to using washes for shading is a matter of preference.

I am struggling with the armor, strange as it seems.  I have not painted full plate in years.  I airbushed everything in Mig Steel, then washed it in thinned Tudor Polyshades, then drybrushed it with Vallejo steel.  I am meh about it.  By this point I was already thinking, "Why are you doing this you fool?  You suck and this takes too long.  Just sub it out to a painting studio".  I did some livery on a couple of knights based on some ideas off the net.  Meh.  Looks pretty amateurish.  

I hate white.  The Duke of Whoever The Fuck You Are stands ready beside his impetuous son Sir Yellow Hair.  They apparently need help in determining which way to attack.  The heraldry is supposed to be a Fleur de Leaf.  Its crap, but hey, its my first.  

The pikemen really went no different.  I tried different colors.  Meh.  I should have mixed and matched arms more.  I went for a uniform look, matching up like minded arms and torsos.  

King Henry is in the middle.  Golden Armor.  Rich fucker!

I added some stripes to the pants of a few fellows.  I like stripes.  

So far I have tried a few white schemes.  I prefer working in triads, so I tried two schemes Valleo Pale Sand/Off White/White and Silver Grey/Off White/White.  Not sure which one is better.  One is cold and other warm with a yellow tint.  My wife says the latter.  My middle son says he cant tell the difference.  Fuck!  Someone just tell me what to do already.  

I added some gold on a few of the knights to break up the sea of steel.  

I painted some helmets Burgundian white and blue to again break up the mass of metal.  Apparently in this age some folks actually painted their armor, so my take is not too far off history.  At least that is what I am telling myself.  

The crossbowmen are almost done, with 24 cavalry up next.  The crossbowmen are tricky; I had to do some research to figure out what was on some of the models.  Again, historical ignorance.

It has taken me three weeks to get this far and I am already beat.  My mind is debating with itself: keep or sell.  My skills have atrophied over the years by just painting 15mm sci fi.  I have relied heavily on extreme highlighting and Tudor Polyshades in the past to finish off models at that scale.  However I am struggling with these larger figures and using bright colors.  My skills are just not up to snuff at the moment for this historical stuff I think.  What I picture in my head and what I am able to produce are two very different things.  In hindsight I should have gone for an easier scheme, such as red and blue.  

I hate white.