From DarrellH Reconquista at Partizan, Hasham Guard Cavalry

Finally, the completion of another cavalry unit! This time it is the turn of Yusef ibn Tashfin's Hasham Guard Cavalry Regiment.

Heavy Cavalry such as the Hasham Guard were something of a rarity among the Berber tribes thus it is likely that the guard units were specially raised and trained as personal bodyguards to the Emir, Shaykh or Sayyid.  These units would not fight in the Christian style with their increasing tendency to couch the lance but rather with throwing spears and javelins albeit mounted on very sturdy horses. It is not clear as to whether the Hasham Guard units would use feigned flight as a tactic like many other Muslim cavalry types.

I have primarily used Vallejo paint but started with a Foundry Blue for the base of the miniatures cloaks, turbans and veils. The base for the Black is Andrea black which is wonderfully matt and a great base to start with when painting up a black robe. (It must be good as they have sold out of it in the Andrea online shop!) The protective layer of varnish is Humbrol Gloss Enamel with a final spray of Windsor and Newton Professional Matt Varnish to flatten things out. I find W&N to be the best matt varnish i have tried in all my years of painting (by a royal mile!).

Excellent, a beautiful unit. please add points and your name to your posts. See you at Partizan

martin

Hi Martin, That's 120 points right? Could you add them to my tally please?

From DarrellH - Reconquista at Partizan, Christian vignettes II - 15 points

Death from disease were a constant companion of all soldiers on campaign during the 11th Century. Dysentery, cholera, typhoid fever and even plague were to be the last fatal companions of many a stout soldier. Nor could rank safeguard from such epidemics that could strike at the heart of any army.

The knight below is in his final agonising death throws as cholera takes his soul. A washer woman tries to offer him comfort whilst a priest prays, perhaps as much for for himself as he does for his companion now that cholera and dysentery have broken out in the camp!

from DaveD - Thats another great creation Darrell well done

From DarrelH - Reconquista at Partizan 2020, Christian Vignettes part 1 - 12 Points

Hi,

I've been working on a few larger units while simultaneously having the odd vignette sitting at the side of the table to work on if I'm waiting for anything to dry, that sort of thing.....

Here's the first, a Bishop blessing a Caballero Villanos (poor knight) who were quite often taken from the upper peasantry and were likelier still to come from a border region where there was often conflict, or the threat of, mainly in the form of raids. These border zones on the Spanish peninsular were not, as one might assume, necessarily borders between the religious principalities. They could just as easily be a border between two Christian 'nations' or two Muslim kingdoms.

From DaveD - lovely work there  Darrell, very evocative - I will go with 12 points for em!

From DarrellH: Reconquista at Partizan 2020, Yusuf ibn Tashfin Command Base (20 pts)

Yusef ibn Tashfin victor against Alfonso Vi of Leon and Castile was a very remarkable man. As leader of the Moroccan Almoravid dynasty and was one of the founders of the city of Marrakesh. On heading the call of the Taifa Kingdoms, the once mighty kingdom of Al Andalus in Southern Spain; pleading for military aid and intervention in order to block the encroachment of the resurgent Christian Kingdoms. Tashfin managed to unite the Taifa Kingdoms with his Almoravid invasion force and lead a very successful campaign, putting the Christian forces under immense pressure and devastating the ambitions of Alfoso

He faced Alfonso VI of Leon and Castile twice in open battle winning spectacular victories on both occasions at the Battle of Sagrajas 1086 and the Battle of Consuegra 1097 respectively.

This piece is the command base that will be attached to the Yusef ibn Tashfin's Black Guard. His personal guard and chosen mostly from Slav and Sudanese slaves. (Unfortunately I cannot post any pics of the Black Guard as they were finished before the painting challenge began- you can see pics of them on my Just Add Water wargames blog)

From Paul
The painting is superb and you get bonus points for the banners and shield work. Thats 3 figures and 5 bonus points for 20 points

MONDAY From RayR 2 x Mounted Moors (20 Points)

My first entry into the 7th Challenge and I'm back in Tangiers already.

Both these figures were left overs from the last Challenge, so I

thought I may as well add these two to the collection.

They were originally going to be characters for Donnybrook

but I've enough already so these will be added to the ranks.

And of course they can also count when I use them for Moors

fighting El Cid!

2 x 28mm mounted figures.....I do believe that's 20 points??

MILESR: Great first entry Ray - nice to see you up on the tally board and your math is perfect!  Great looking figures.  I've read but not played the Donnybrook ruleset but they do look very fun

From RayR - Donnybrook - Moor Characters (21 Points)

Probably my final entry into the Challenge, I am working on some figures now, but I don't think they'll be ready in time.

These 2 are characters figures for my Moorish faction fighting to regain Tangiers.

The Standard Bearer

"A Standard Bearer MUST be attached to a unit. The unit gains +1 to its total wounds caused when deciding the winner in a round of close combat. A Standard Bearer is armed with a short sword."

- taken from Donnybrook by Clarence Harrison & Barry Hilton

The Musician

"Music can have an enormously uplifting effect. A good musician can swing the mood of his compatriots with tunes that lift the spirit. A Musician MUST be attached to a unit. When the unit is called on to check morale he adds d2 to his throw."

- taken from Donnybrook by Clarence Harrison & Barry Hilton

I knocked the flag up myself, its from a pic I found online.

Excellent stuff Ray. This mounted musician and standard bearer are brilliant. As one that is attrached to bright shiny things, I'm particularly taken with your excellent banner that 'you knocked up yourself'. Lovely work.

I'd be surprised if we don't hear from you again Ray but just in case this is your last entry thanks very much for participating. It would be a lesser Challenge without you and besides, who would the girls pick on?

From RayR - Donnybrook Moorish Horse (100 Points)

Entry no 7, I only just finished these last night, even though I started painting them back in January.

These are quite handy because I can use them for 2 periods. Firstly for my Donnybrook 1680's Tangiers, shenanigans and secondly what I originally bought them for El Cid and the Spanish Reconquista.

They're Gripping Beast figures that I've had for probably 10 years???? So I'm really pleased that I've got them done. I do need a few more as for Donnybrook they need to be in units of either 9 for Recruits, 6 for Drilled or 3 for Elite.

Very nice Ray, I really like these Moors. They look like pretty hefty models - lots of feed and dates in their parts. :) Your variation in clothing does a nice job in breaking up the similarity in poses. As you say, they will serve you well, being able to work in a wide variety of settings. Well done!

From ChristopherS - 28mm Almoravid Light Cavalry (100 points)

Continuing on with my 28mm Almoravid Impetus army with some light cavalry additions. They consist of two Berber units with javelins and one unit of Guzz with composite bows. Normally my Almoravids are a mix of manufactures, but these units are all Artizan which imho are some of the best in terms of Moor figures around.

I stayed with the low key earthy theme colours with just a bit of green as with the rest of the army. The shields are hand painted as I wanted to keep a certain look as with previous units I've done.

More Almoravids on the way next week hopefully if things stay on course and maybe something else if I can manage.

So 9 mounted 28mm figures should give me 90pts to my existing points which should put me ahead of my rival Nick.....until Saturday at least.

After a careful review of this submission, I can say, with confidence, "holy sh*t"!  Christopher, that is some top notch brushwork.  The colours are so smooth, muted and sombre on the one hand, but also clear and bright.  Tremendous, tremendous work.  Such beautiful cavalry, with splendid groundwork.  And the detail work on the shields is fantastic too.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of these figures - wow! 

So yes, this does get you 90 points to start, but I'm tossing in 10 points for the hand painted effort on the shields.  I know the result is supposedly "low-key", but as I said, you somehow manage to keep the details subtle and have them jump out at the same time.  Well done!

From ChristopherS - 28mm Almoravid Black Guard (144 Points)

My first submission to the challenge in the form of 28mm Almoravid Black Guard based for Impetus. I decided having a Black Guard unit in my Almoravid army was a must as they are both elite and look quite intimidating and if you have seen El Cid they give the quintessential Almoravid look. If anyone has followed my blog then they will know I've had a long running El Cid project where most of Christian Spanish army is finished and I've now began the Almoravids. I've finished a regular Berber unit and now decided to add the Black Guard.

I decided to equip the whole regiment with Hippo shields which is made from hippopotamus hides which looks either dark brownish or greyish depending on how it is cured. I prefer the brown and went with that. I feel the darker shields combined with the black clothes gives the unit an even more sinister and intimidating look. In addition to the black clothes the uniformed shields will further help differentiate them from the wooden ones carried by the rest of the Almoravids and mark them out as an elite unit within the army.

The figures themselves are a mix of Artizan and Gripping beast. I made a few modifications by adding veils to some of the figures that didn't have them to keep uniformity. One would think all black would paint up fast, but actually it didn't as I had to use several layers of grey adding gradually to get the effect I wanted thus taking longer then anticipated. The banners were downloaded then hand painted by myself.

With 24 figures at 28mm this should give me 120 points towards my challenge with Nick and the 'Bronze to Steel' challenge in addition to the Analogue Challenge itself.

Simply stunning work Christopher! I love how you've done their black clothing and the hippo hides are brilliant. 

This unit will give you a base of 120 points but I'm adding a few more for the work on the shields and banner. It's great to have you on the roster Christopher!