From Mike W - 28mm Gallowglas Warriors (50 points)

As had hoped, I have now been able to complete a historical group of figures, although there are plenty of Fantasy figures still in the pipeline and about to be finished!

A bag of Gallowglas found hiding at the bottom of a drawer

I have returned with a small group of 10 x 28mm Irish Gallowglas miniatures, I missed these a couple of weeks back when I did a similar batch - the downside of having a metal pile kept in a drawer - you never find everything all at once...

I believe that these figures are from Reiver Miniatures and there are three poses, two in chain mail shirts and one in a padded coat.

The completed group of figures

I was going to do some head swaps to add a little variety, but I forgot and undercoated them before I remembered what I had planned, instead I moved one two handed swords from an archer figure and added  to one of the figures running with a lochinbar axe..

So as usual I undercoated these figures in white before using a generic 'Linen' colour to block in all the padded shirts - and under shirts for those in mail. 'Oily Steel' was used for the chainmail, helmets and sword blades before applying flesh colour to hands and legs and faces.

Three archers, I swapped out the big double handed sword on the middle figure

Various shades of hair were added and then leather straps, scabbards and quivers before going round all over again to correct any smudges and 'over painting'.

... and added it to the back of one of the charging figures, for dramatic effect!.

Again I used coloured inks from Army Painter to add definition - flesh tone on skin, Strong Tone on all other areas apart form the metal work, which had Dark Tone applied. All washes were watered done by about 50% to avoid staining the underlying paint.

Possibly my favourite pose of the three, a mailed warrior
with a double handed sword, ready to strike.

Matt varnish was applied when the inks were dry and then basing was done using fine sand and electrostatic grass.

POINTS

10 x 28mm Foot Figures @ 5 Pts ea.= 50 Points

"The merciless Macdonwald - 
Worthy to be a rebel, for to that
The multiplying villainies of nature
Do swarm upon him - from the western Isles
Of kerns and galloglasses is supplied,
And fortune on his damned quarrel smiling
Showed like a rebel's whore."
(from Act 1, Scene 1 of Macbeth)

Great figures Mike and 50 points onto your tally.

Tamsin

From Mike W - 28mm Elizabethan Irish Kerns and Gallowglas (85 Points)

Today's post sees me flitting back to my Wargames Club's current project - Border Ruffians & Elizabethan Wars in Ireland to paint 15 x 28mm foot figures. I'm so shallow that any reason to change my focus from one project to another will likely distract me!

The Lot as it arrived from eBay

Seven of these little guys represent Gallowglas warriors whist another four represent Kern skirmishers and a final four represent a group of musketeers.

The finished figures

The figures were sourced from an eBay lot that I acquired over the summer but did not have time to paint at the time, three of the Gallowglas figures came without heads so I sent away for some resin Elizabethan heads and added these heads to these figures.

Four of the Gallowglas, all in mail shirts and wielding large axes

Interestingly, I did not realise that at this time the Gallowglas were typically Scots mercenaries that were used to stiffen the forces of the various Irish warlords. In fact in Irish Gaelic, 'Gallowglas' means Foreign Warrior! It was only that I picked up and flicked through a book on the subject that I found out and that was enough to divert me to do these little guys...

Rear view of three of the Gallowglas that have
additional two handed swords to play with...

The three Gallowglas figures who had head transplants!

The four kerns have a variety of weapons, typically javelins, although a couple have swords. The guy the red tunic would be of higher status.

The four Kerns armed with Javelins, Shields and Swords

Finally I have done four guys with muskets, these guys would have been better paid than regular Kerns and they would have spent their money on better clothes - as per the guy in the red cloak and breaches, or protective helmets etc.

The four musket armed figures with sexy hats, pants and cloak!

Most of these figures arrived undercoated black, I added my own white undercoat and then painted on the generic light brown / ochre coloured cloth. Oily Steel was applied for helmets and chainmail before flesh colour was added for bare skin areas.

Other detail was added as needed before applying coloured washes from Army Painted to add shading. This is a different approach to how I have painted other figures in the collection, where I used a simple Dark Tone wash or Dip to add the shading, I like the results - a brighter, seemingly cleaner resulting figure.

I have a box full of these Irish to do but they would be ineligible for the challenge as many are already pre painted - my task (one day) is to take them off their group bases, repaint to integrate with my existing collection and then put on to single bases.

One day...

POINTS

17 x 28mm Foot Figures @5 Pts Each = 75 Points