From Kerry T - Miserable Scots (160 points)

Morning, afternoon & evening all

Miserable Scots I hasten to add is not a title intended to upset or insult my fellow Celts but rather a description of these peasant archer figures from the Medbury Miniatures 100YW and Scottish Wars of Independence range. Medbury produce a lovely and large varied range of figures for these conflicts and these are 3D printed

I've chosen the description of miserable because of their appearance and poor attire and have painted them in muted colours. I've also chosen the word because it describes the weather on our summer break here in a little seaside village called Whangapoua in the Coromandel peninsula in NZ! We are currently cut off by the consequent flooding

205mm of rain in past 24hrs with another 250mm to follow today

Its not all bad though , though we're cut off, we're with good mates and have ample supplies of food and wine.

Scottish peasant archers defending a village

A few close ups showing the variations

Ragged and poorly armed

Many are depicted in bare feet

the lack of equipment meant they were quick to paint

from behind shooting at haystacks

I'd initially planned to paint a unit of 24 based in 4s on 60 x60 mm bases but on reflection they may have been better arrayed in 5s on a base. I found myself with 8 left over figures and completed these in a day before leaving for our break.

My knowledge of this period is reasonably sparse but improving. I understand that the Scottish did have archers but nowhere near the numbers that opposed them in the armies of their  English opponents. I've been listening to quite a bit of historical fiction set in this era and every author seems to comment on the use of ordinary hunting arrows by Scottish bowmen, decrying their lack of bodkin arrows. How accurate or true this is, I have no idea.

In summary then

32 X 28mm Scottish archers @ 5  points each = 160 points

1 Squirrel

(Squirrels to date- Berbers, Goblins, Dwarves, Military order knights & now Scots)

Many thanks and best wishes

Valleyboy

From Millsy:

More lovely (is that a thing?) Scots from you mate!

Your muted colour choices perfectly mirror their dour Scottish countenance. These stout lads really look like they mean business. No doubt they would feel perfectly at home in a downpour just like what you are experiencing yourself.

Beautifully photographed as usual too, your stuff is always just so atmospheric Kerry. One day I will make it to NZ and we can have a game in your wonderful space with your beautiful collection.

160 points it is. Hope the weather improves!

Cheers,
Millsy

From KerryT: A Douglas, a Douglas, a Douglas... Scottish Schiltron (270 points)

Morning, afternoon and evening all

Just like many others, I find myself wondering where the time has gone with just 3 and a half days left of the challenge.  Thank you all for your kind comments and support throughout this years challenge and especially to Millsy my long suffering minion. 

Not only have I been privileged to see and be inspired by so many wonderful entries over the 13 weeks but I have really enjoyed and benefitted from the twice weekly paint & chat in the company of some terrific guys in the Monday group. We've covered a range of topics and chatted about them, shared tips and ideas, talked about life and even told the odd bad joke.

So its with some sadness that I present my last Monday entry (Though I hope to get one more submission in before Thursday). More Scottish I'm afraid though a  mix of manufacturers this time

James Douglas and the Earl of Carrick in the left hand unit

Alexander Fraser of Touchfraser & Cowie with Earl Gordon of Howie

As I've previously mentioned I've been wandering somewhat aimlessly through the Medieval period so far. Just recently I decided I'd try and build an initial Scottish contingent for around the time of Bannockburn. Why? Well its the flags you see, most of my Scottish flags (Flags of war) are for Bannockburn (1314) while inexplicably my English are those for Otterburn (1388). Never mind, I'll be more careful with my next project! 

To think that it all started with Footsore and the Baron's war (1215-17)! Moral of the story, never fall for a Kickstarter!

With that in mind and not having done my research adequately (oh look shiny..) I had this notion of making at least a portion of the Scots look impoverished and dated. Consequently in Sir James Douglas' unit below you'll find Footsore Barons war, Footsore Medieval Welsh knights, Wargames Atlantic knights and the odd Medbury Miniatures figures. 

I started and finished  Douglas' unit in a mad rush I'd add, started painting yesterday and painted all day and managed to base them today

When it came to shiels and livery I had a wander around the Wappen Wiki site and picked out shield designs I fancied and also made a few up. One chap on the LAF forum put a post up and added near relatives of James Douglas which he's carefully researched. I've taken the liberty of copying some of those.

 I figured that a lord would fight with his retainers, many of which would include family though I  have no historical knowledge or evidence on which to base this though! Hence the reason for having the banner of the Earl of Carrick in the same unit. 

That's a pretty awful attempt at a fleur de lys - that's why he's in the back!

Nom matter how hard you try hand painted flags area poor substitute compared to FOW

The Earl of Carrick - Medbury Miniatures STL

A mix of figures but they all run away

The second unit are all Medbury Miniatures from STL's that I printed and from the Scottish Wars of Independence range and 100YW range. I think I added the odd Perry head here and there

A mix of painted shields and flags

For this unit I decided on the long bases to protect the pike but this time added knights and men at arms at the front to give more depth and variation

Knights and men at arms duck under the spears

A bag of pipes

I like the Medbury Men at arms in gambeson

These run away as well

Finally having painted a few Scottish over the course of the challenge I thought I'd put them all together

I clearly need another 48 spearmen/ infantry to fill the back ranks on some units

Thank you all once again for looking, with any luck I might get a chance to complete a few command figures in the next 3 days.

For now

54 x 28mm Foot figures  @ 5 points = 270 points

No bonuses or squirrels

28 x 5 = 140 Can opener side challenge

With many thanks and best wishes

Valleyboy

From Millsy:

As a Douglas myself I can't think of a more fitting way to close out your Challenge Kerry! Your army shots are truly something special.

These are absolutely superb and I think you've exceeded even your usual high standards with this entry. The brushwork is so well executed and the way you've built out the schiltrons is utterly convincing, each stand is like a mini diorama packed with story telling. I can almost hear the shouts, curses and the clash of steel.

As to being a long suffering minion, I think you have the wrong end of the stick mate. It's been a joy to minion your works again and to be the first to drool over your work. Thanks for sharing with us again this year.

270 brilliant points and what a way to finish!

Cheers,

Millsy

From Kerry T: More Scottish spears (225 points)

Morning, afternoon and evening all

Last week I mentioned the problem of staying on track and not wandering off on a hobby tangent and starting something else. Hurray  - somehow I've managed it this week with more Scottish  for my 100YW/Scottish wars of independence project

Another Scottish schiltron

These, the first unit are more Antediluvian Miniatures Scottish spears.  from the "Wars of the Bruce Range"

Flags of war standards- Walter Stewart High Steward of Scotland

The spearmen in this unit look a little more poorly armoured than last week's entry and are mainly depicted in the padded gambeson.

Picture caption...

Answers on the back of a Warbases 120 x 60 base please...

I can't look...

Who farted?..

I told you not to eat that....

Be more careful, you could have had my eye out with that...

Look where you're going you wee Jessie...

No knights with these

Adding figures with an upright spear allows a unit with more depth

Most spearmen have a saltire badge sewed on the Gambeson

This second unit is from Medbury Miniatures, this is a superb range and these are from STL files that I printed. They really are lovely figures to paint, with easy to paint detail and folds. Thy weigh nothing and as a tribe follower their cost is minimal compared to their metal brethren and I can print so many!

There is such a variety of pose with these

The spears are printed plastic, they look good but may not be robust enough

Sir Gilbert de la Hay's banner

Never take a sword to a pike fight or a set of bagpipes for that matter

These really do need long bases to prevent breakage

I love these figures, there is so much variety but the downside is that all the pike are in this attacking pose, I'd love to see some with pike that are more upright and therefore allow me to build deeper units without resorting to other figure ranges

They seem to fit well with the Anrediluvian range, maybe a s little smaller. This is probably because they come without bases so I stuck them to some plastic bases to add to their height before the final basing on MDF.

What really surprised me is how easy these were to prepare compared to metal figures and even other plastic ranges, unfortunately though they still seem to run away

Once again thank you for looking, I hope to have more Medbury Miniatures from this range and the 100YW range soon

In summary

21 x 28mm Antediluvian Miniatures foot @ 5 points = 105 points

24 x 28mm Medbury Miniatures Foot @ 5 points = 120 points

Total 225 points

For the can opener side challenge

8 armoured figures @ 5 points = 40 points

many thanks

Valleyboy

From Millsy:

Honestly Kerry, if you posted nothing else for the rest of the Challenge but more of these I'd be a happy camper indeed. They are just wonderful once again.

I can see why you enjoy these so much. The faces are so characterful and their kit is spot on. Painted up to your usual quality they are fit to grace any table and are a wonderful advert for Antediluvian and Miniatures.

Brilliant stuff mate. Keep 'em coming!

Cheers,
Millsy

From Kerry T: Hold, hold, hold - Scottish foot (100 points)

Morning, afternoon & evening all

I've often made comments in the past about what I call my wandering ill-disciplined brush. Today's entry is an example This leaves me to wonder how the mind works, or perhaps more specifically how the mind of a wargamer works (or doesn't). 

I raise the subject really because I find myself now  having completed  a unit of Scottish spearmen from the "Wars of the Bruce" range from the  Antediluvian Miniatures range. What's so special about that? Err, well the project actually started with a plan to do the Wars of the Roses (1455 to 1487). So how come I find myself offering an entry from the Scottish Wars of Independence (1296 to 1328 & 1332 to 1357).

It all started a few years ago when "Never Mind the Billhooks" was gaining in popularity, when seeing other gamers' efforts, I felt the attraction and bought a load of Perry plastic and metal figures for the period. Now there is an overlay between the WOTR and the Hundred Years War  (1337- 1543) and my mind suggested that with a switching  I could do both, perhaps using many of the same figures.

How did I get here though? - well I think its a combination of factors really

1 The joy of painting and staying productive by flitting between periods - what I mean by my ill-disciplined brush

2 The inevitable cry of " Oh look shiny". Thus the siren call of miniature figure ranges as you browse the net. This time it was the Antediluvian Miniatures range,  Claymore Castings, Perry Miniatures Agincourt range, Footsore Miniatures Baron's war range and lastly the Medbury Miniatures STL range. Oh yes and flags the twin calling of Flags Of War and GMB flags, I've always been a sucker for flags. In the main though I blame the figures, hence in the past seeing Artizan Landsknechts and Artizan Moors along with the Arab irregular cavalry in the WW1 range have led to a weakening of the will and thus new projects

3 A degree of megalomania... I started off intending to paint some English and French, then thought oh I could add some Scottish, Welsh and Irish.....

4 Media -In the past films like Lawrence of Arabia, The Last Samurai, and Kingdom of Heaven have led to the start of new projects. Then there are books or more recently audiobooks, essentially historical fiction (I listen while I paint) - Griff Hosker, Harry Sidebottom, David Gillman, SJ Turney & Christian Cameron whose words have filled my imagination with visual images of tabletop figures and before I know it my wallet's been opened and my brush is off on another wander!

I suppose a medieval purist will be having kittens now, figures from the Baron's war through to early/mid 100 years war are likely to come together to form my intended armies.

I could go on I know but this is by way of explanation of how I find myself here, with these....

Antediluvian Miniatures Wars of the Bruce range spearmen and knights

Based in 5s on 120 x 60 mm Warbases 2mm bases

I just love the action in these figures and was astonished by how good the  painted examples on the Antediluvian site look and so I was hooked. 

Spearmen on this base with a figure from the command pack at the back

They need something behind them I think though, more depth

Aonghus Og Mac Dohmnaill of Islay"s banner

Wasn't sure how many figures to add per base, 6 might have been better

Flags of War banner - a Scottish Saltire

The nearest base shows the knights rather than spearmen

My troops always run away

Used army painter on these, they're a bit shiny though

Well there we are, I'm not sure where I'm going with this project, all over the place as usual. When collecting I didn't really plan the units but I think in the long run I'll try and mix different figures into each unit using a mix of Claymore, Antediluvian, Footsore, Perry and Medbury. The Front Rank I have I think will have to be kept separate. There's an inspirational thread on the Lead Adventure Forum by Gareth Lane or Lord Raglan https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=135278.0 that I've followed

I'm not sure what I'll do for rules yet and a measure of my flutterbyness is that I've bought flags for 100YW French, English and Scottish along with flags for Bannockburn (1314) and Otterburn (1388). I'll just have to see where the butterfly takes me! I think WOTR is going to have to wait

So in summary

20 x 28mm Foot figures @5 points = 100 points

1 Squirrel

9 x 5 - 45 Can opener points

With many thanks

Valleyboy

From Millsy,

I was hoping to see these after you mentioned them on our regular paint and chat sessions!

They are absolutely smashing and the large bases to the front make them both safer for opponent's minis but also add a real sense of theatre. The fact enemies will be pushed back away from the pikemen reflects the way the weapon works and I love it.

The basing itself is great too and has a really compliments the colours of the padded jacks and surcoats. Lovely work mate and another well deserved 100 points.

Cheers,
Millsy