Commands & Colors: Tokugawa Foot

I’ve been continuing the miniature builds for the custom Commands & Colors forces I’ve been doing for some time. These 15mm forces are small groups of stands for use in scenarios. Thus they are specific units under specific leaders. The latest has been a Tokugawa force. I’ve done the pike ashigaru and Tokugawa himself already.

These are the foot troops finished so far. Like the other forces, they’re the odd stand of various troop types. These serve under Tokugawa Ieyasu, shogun of Japan. They carry his mon on their sashimono, most wearing the same red armor.

First we see the mixed foot troops, with Samurai in front and the Ashigaru bringing up the rear.

The Samurai are divided into yari (spear) and yumi (bow). The yari Samurai wear newer European-inspired armor types, incorporating steel breastplates and solid helmets. Tokugawa was a real fan. The army-wide red armor shows up in the Samurai, but I wanted them to stand out a little, so there is more of a mix of individual colors.

The second pic is the Ashigaru. These are the ranged units, either teppo (arquebus) or yumi. Being mere Ashigaru, every member wears the army colors.

Next up the Samurai Cavalry and leader stands. Once the Tokugawa are done I’ll move on to a small scenario force for Oda Nobunaga.

Blood & Crowns: The Black Prince

My Blood & Crowns English and Burgundian forces are more or less finished. I’ve built them both to 250 points, but I’ll eventually go higher (300-400?).

A new addition to my English is an optional special character. I present the Prince of Wales, the Black Prince, Edward of Woodstock. The exemplar of chivalry who was also a total bastard, ravager of the French countryside, hero of Crecy, and winner of The Battle of Poitiers.

The miniature was an option from the Blood & Crowns Kickstarter, printed by a friend. The sculpt is very nice, with lots of raised detail for his livery. I made his armor very bright and clean, and his tabard and shield are pretty colorful. His armor got an extra highlight of silver, with gold and brass accents. I based the overall look from various references.

I happened to have a nice raised base to elevate him above his subordinates. I had one base with a broken fleur de lis, appropriate for such an enemy of France.

On the other hand, the second pic is the polar opposite. French Feudal Levy mass to fight for their lord, ready to die in droves if needed. These miniatures are Wargames Atlantic 3D sculpts, a mix of complete prints and multi-part models. I kept their colors dull and dark for the most part, though spots of color keep them from being boring. Being untrained levy, they are armed with whatever farm tools they had at hand, so a mix of pitchforks, grain flails, bill hooks, axes, and even knives.

The Peasants will also be used for my Crusaders forces for Saga. I have enough models still to build that I could really pad out a Pilgrim-heavy Crusaders army.

Commands & Colors: Tokugawa

I’ve added small sections of miniatures for the samurai miniatures version of the Commands & Colors armies I’ve done for a friend.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. He was one of the great unifiers of Japan after the conflicts of the Sengoku jidai era. Here he wears a quite reserved set of armor, influenced by European plate.

Alongside their lord, I painted a section of Nagae-Yari Ashigaru. They carry longer pikes compared to the standard spears. They present a nice hedgehog of spear points. I painted all 5 stands in red armor and helmets to show a unified mass.

Saga: Magic stuff

Among my other projects, I’ve been doing small additions to some Saga: Age of Magic armies.

First are some Dwarf Hearthguard for a friend’s Bear Clan Dwarf army. He’s been fielding Hearthguard on foot, and wanted an option to mount them up. These Dwarfs ride rams, wearing heavier leather and bronze armor. Some wear helmets with molded face masks. The models are 3D prints from online. This is the first 4 models; the unit will be 2 points of 8 Hearthguard when finished. The rams will contrast with the boar mounts used by the mounted Warriors unit. Interestingly, the unit is 50/50 male and female models. Some of the ladies also wear the face helmets (with beards!).

Next is a Treant. This big tree monster is from Rune Wars, but it works just fine for Saga. I didn’t even do any converting of the base model. It sits on a 60mm base, so is perfectly sized for a Titan. I did some variation of the ‘woody’ color scheme, with plenty of fungus growing on the outer bark. The model had a gaping maw or some sort of opening in the ‘head’ but I opted to do a glowing eye. The Treant will be a nice Monster unit for my various Saga armies.

Last are the first test models for a Lizardmen force for Saga (or Seraphon for Age of Sigmar). These Kroxigors are painted in a more naturalistic color scheme, instead of the more fantastical greens and blues used by Warhammer Lizardmen. These are a mix of dull grey-greens, with pale undersides (ala crocodilians). They are mounted on printed resin bases, which will be used for the rest of the army. The eventual army will be used for both Age of Sigmar and Saga.

Blood & Crowns: House of Valois

I’ve more or less finished the Burgundians for Blood & Crowns. The only units left are Feudal Levy, so I’ll need random farmers and unarmored spearmen, which will come later.

The latest units are the Men at Arms and the Knight Banneret/Noble with retinue.

First is the Noble and retinue. Like the English retinue, I based the heraldry on real designs, with the blue/yellow stripes of the Burgundian state. The Noble wears the heraldry proudly, repeated on his shield and his banner.

The standard was drawn in Illustrator and painted before mounting it on the pole. The attendant with the large shield is the Musician. I swapped one of the Medbury Footman’s head with a proper closed helm and he carries a simple horn in his hand. All the other members are from Perry Miniatures.

The Men at Arms have mostly Burgundian specific heraldry, with a few generic members from the English army. They carry poleaxes to give them an edge in combat. The knight with the yellow surcoat got an impressive axe head to really draw the eye.

The last pics are some more Footmen. Most have been posted already, but I’ve finished additional members.

Lastly are some Crossbows, imported from my Saga Crusaders army.

The army as built to 250 points:

-Knight Banneret with 4 retinue and Musician (the banner might get used by swapping some points around, or for larger games)

-Men at Arms with poleaxes x5, with Grizzled Veteran

-Footmen x10, with Grizzled Veteran

-Footmen with polearms x8

-Light Crossbowmen x8, with Vintenar

-Feudal Levy x8

I’ve used this army in a battle recently. I fought a friend’s French force, trying to break through his lines to get units into his deployment zone. The deployment zones were very tight, which is why my force is bunched up so much, while the French were allowed to put units in the objective area to the left to try to enclose my army. The left-most third of the table was irrelevant.

Most of the fight was a huge scrum in a copse of woods in the area between our armies. It involved (at various stages over 6 turns) 4 Footmen units (2 each), both of our Men at Arms units, both retinues, the French Crossbows, and Feudal Levy. My mercenary Crossbows avoided the melee entirely, which allowed them to sneak by into the French line.

Blood & Crowns: Burgundy

My English army for Blood & Crowns is effectively finished. I can field up to 250 points, which is a good sized game. With that in mind I want to work on a second army, for variety and potential demo games.

I’ve been fascinated with the Burgundians for some time. While the ‘modern’ concept army of Charles the Bold is interesting, it isn’t covered for this era of Blood & Crowns. The Burgundians during the Hundred Years War were effectively French, vassals of the crown for most of the conflict. Arguments (and a little murder or two) disrupted this, and they joined up with the English for a time. A French civil war right in the middle of the HYW means I can field the models for the Burgundians using the French list, or have units join my English.

The first units for the Burgundians are Footmen, the core infantry. Like the English, these are Medbury Miniatures, and use mostly the same sculpts.

The Footmen with spear and hand weapons are the basic troops. I used the blue/white color scheme to reinforce the theme, with the red X cross of St. Andrew blazoned on some of them. Some carry shields of their feudal masters, while one carries the Burgundan dukedom’s X heraldry.

The other units carries polearms, the catch-all term for halberds, voulges, guisames, glaives, etc. These were actually sculpts representing pikemen (thus the two-handed grip) but I adapted them and converted polearm heads from axes, blades, and plasticard, or used Fireforge halberds bits.

More to come. I already have the crossbowmen, for use already in Saga, so there are only a few more models to finish for the army. Next up- Men at Arms.

Blood & Crowns: Flying the Colors

I’ve finished my Blood & Crowns English force up to 200 points, and I’ve gotten in a larger 250 point game. With an eye toward further expansion, I’ve been working on more units, and options for other units.

The army leader and his unit is represented by Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. He was a field commander during the Battles of Crecy and Poitiers, and Marshal of England (1434-69). This is my version of his arms, with the red/yellow field and gold crosses. The army’s Banner Bearer carries his colors.

The rest of the unit are 3 Men at Arms, the Banner Bearer, and a Musician. The Musician carries a horn and shield bearing the heraldry of Edward. The unit is a mix of the Perry HYW plastic Men at Wars, with the Musician’s arms and shield coming from Fireforge’s Mounted Sergeants.

The second pic is the unit of Men at Arms. They carry poleaxes, a mix of hammer, axes, greatsword, and cut down lance. Their armor is relatively simple compared to the retinue. The center knight with the black surcoat with yellow cross is the unit’s leader, a Grizzled Veteran in the rules.

Next are a few miniatures to add to units. The first are Archers to add to English Archers units, while the center 3 will be fielded as Welsh Archers. They are different sculpts from the Medbury Archers. They’re a little looser on historical accuracy (closer to fantasy) but they look different enough to show the difference between Welsh and English infantry. The Welsh unit will be filled out to 5 men.

I also made an additional banner for the army, a Footman carrying the flag of England. The red cross of St. George shows bright and bold on both banner and shield. Both banners for the army were made with aluminum foil bent to wave dramatically. The thin foil sheets were sandwiched around paper for strength and glued together.

The last pic are the start of a Footmen unit with polearms (halberds, hooks, etc.). These are painted as Burgundians, for use in armies during the later war. The red X Cross of St. Andrew replaces the Cross of St. George. These models are from Medbury, like the other Footmen and Archers. The first halberd comes from Fireforge, while the others were converted from pikes, axe heads, and plastic card. This unit will eventually expand to 8 men.

Blood & Crowns: Crecy

My English force for Blood & Crowns continues. I’ve been building to 200 points, with an eye towards expansion to 300+ at some point.

Knight Banneret, with 4 Retinue Men at Arms

5x Men at Arms w/ Poleaxes

6x Archers w/ a Vintenar

6x Footmen

6x Footmen

This list has served me fine so far, with enough units to cover a wide area and better force combats on my terms.

I’ve finished 3 of the Men at Arms from the Poleaxe unit. The armor was done to look properly battle-worn, but not too shabby. These are nobility after all. The odd colored scabbard for their arming swords adds some needed color. The center member is wearing a tabard, with his personal heraldry. All the Men at Arms for the army come from Perry Miniatures plastic sets.

The Archers I posted previously were made up of the GW 4th ed Bretonnian bowmen, but these models are all from Medbury. The details are very nice, and they paint up well. The Vintenar stands in the center. The small base with the arrow bundles in the ground represent the ‘ammo’ counter for the unit for use in game.

Last up are the humble Footmen. I can field them in groups of 6 or as a solid 12-man unit. So far I’ve enjoyed the flexibility of the smaller units, but they do suffer when the fighting gets fierce. If I add a Veteran member to the unit at some point, the member with his sword held aloft will get promoted.

All but two models are Medbury, another nice group of sculpts. They show a variety of wealth, with some bearing a lord’s heraldry, while others carry simple target shields or bucklers.

More to come. An advantage to Blood & Crowns is the relatively small armies, so I should finish the rest of the army soon enough.

Blood & Crowns

So my painting desk has taken a bit of a digression… with the arrival of the Blood & Crowns rules, I’ve started on an English army for the Hundred Years War, circa 1346, the Battle of Crecy. This was early in the war, but the battle was the prototypical encounter seen again in Poitiers and Agincourt.

I’ve already done an army on this theme, a 15mm force for Field of Glory. I can fall back on my old research for this 28mm version.

These pics represent the start of the force. I’m building 200 points, but that’s just the beginning.

First are some of the infamous Archers. I’ll be collecting more miniatures, but for now the men of the unit are from GW’s 5th ed Bretonnians. They serve well, and mixed with other companies’ sculpts will look fine. I swapped one Archer’s head to add more variety, and gave him a proper sword.

The leader, a Vintenar, however, is a 3D print from ProxyWars Miniatures. I neede him to really be obvious on the table. I love his ‘V’ sign, a nice taunt to the Frenchies.

The second pic are some the stout Footmen, a unit of spears. The majority of the spearmen will be Medbury Miniatures, but I snuck in a Foot Sergeant from Fireforge (the footman with the blue striped shield).

Looking forward to the rest of the force. I’ve got some armored Men at Arms and more Footmen on the way.

Edit: Here’s a pic of my Archers during a recent game. The background is from a book of painted scenes, Jon Hodgson Backdrops. Check them out. The pic is a bit awkward, but with proper staging and lighting it will be great. This will be quite useful in the future for photographing my miniatures.

Clash of Katanas: Sōhei

I’ve been working on my army for Clash of Katanas alongside other projects. It will get finished some day.

First are the Sohei Monks, armed with naginatas. These Buddhist fighting monks were serious fighters. The head of the Uesugi clan, Uesugi Kenshin, himself was a monk, so he could count on support from them.

The models are from Warlords of Erehwon, a rare metal group for me. I don’t work with many metal models recently, as plastics have gotten so good. The sculpts are good though, and they have a lot of character. They’ll stand out nicely from the rest of the black armor and darker clothes in the army. These were also a rare white basecoat for the paint job, with GW Apothecary White for the white robes and Instant Colors Ogre Brown for the yellow robes.

The second pic is my growing Ashigaru horde. Long yari at the ready, they can advance for a strike of form a solid defensive line of spear points. In-game, the Ashigaru will form into 2 units of 8-9 models, so I still have some more to work on.