Painting Peasantry - 2

Some progress on the peasantry. The first batch of twelve is done and ready for the base work. 

I gave these a double dip in the gunk to get the proper hard working, hard used grungy peasant look. For some reason, perhaps the pervading damp weather, the matte varnish turned out a bit shiny. I might give them another go over when the weather's warmer.

The next batch are on the painting block, ready for undercoating. 

Lying face-down to the right is the 'War Doctor,' a present for my Whovian wife.

To the Manor ~ Done!

'tis finished at last. I'm going to call this done. 

Camelot! Camelot! Camelot! (It's only a model...) Shush!

The roof is a print from a paper craft HO scale railway model, reduced slightly in scale and varnished. The design began as an American wooden shingle type roof, but looks sufficiently like a medieval stone tile pattern it'll do fine. The windows I left blank, painting them in with a dark brown shade to look more like a natural shadowy interior. The whole was given a coat of Future/Clear/Pledge/Whatever polish with some very diluted sepia and black ink to give it a weathered 'recent rainfall' look.

Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!

In the Lion Rampant rules this manor would count as 'Superb cover,' giving a defending unit bonuses for cover etc. Hopefully I'll get it into action in a game before long.

To the Manor Born ~ 5

Another bit done on my slow and unsteady progress to a finished fortified manor model.

The quoins are done, I spackled the edge of the base and added rudimentary battlement walkways to the rear of the walls. The sides of the gatehouse are done, too. The next step will be to finish the groundwork. After that, a spray of black undercoat and it'll be on to the main paint job. Onwards and upwards.

To the Manor Born ~ 4

More progress with the manor build. The corbels are in along the underside of the gatehouse. I cut and shaped the base from the same former lawn sign material as the walls are made of. A section of pizza card was glued to the underside ready to take contouring. Thin card is used for the sturdy wooden gates. Iron studs along the planks will be painted or inked in later. The strange red splotch is down to an unattended paint brush rolling onto the model...

Based up, with the walls bent back to shape. I used E6000 adhesive for strength, but it takes time to set. The copious amount of hot glue residue is down to it failing to cool sufficiently in time to hold the plastic in place, necessitating another go-around. The fold in the wall's end and the outline of a squat tower on the right should give the impression of distance.

A bit of paper packing along the edge of the plastic should give a firm base for contouring. I'm thinking of adding a short wooden bridge in front of the gates. Thin white card represents ashlar stonework and covers the cuts in the main walls. Off cuts from making the stonework are glued to the walls in a semi random pattern to suggest individual stones. The faint yellow streaks on the walls beneath the gatehouse represent the rubble fill in the stumps of former gate tower walls.

Next up will be to finish the contouring then an undercoat of black paint.

To the Manor Born ~ 3

A little more progress on the fortified manor build.

The half-timbered gatehouse is more or less complete. I'm debating whether to leave the windows as-is (glazed) or have them shuttered. 

My take on this build is that the manor was more heavily fortified at one time but the owner's desire for comfort led to certain modifications over the past few years. The gatehouse was rebuilt when a modest tower gave way to more living accommodation. With this update the original gate became offset beneath the structure. I'll add traces of the original tower in the wall.

The roof won't take that much work. I'm thinking of painting the tiles or using a railway modelling print rather than go to the effort of making individual tiles.

A side view showing how narrow the profile is. It won't take up a large footprint on the table. (The sides of the gatehouse will be covered to hide the evidence that I'm making some of this up as I go along!) The perimeter walls either side will be bent back to the same level as the rear of the structure then the whole mounted on a narrow base. I will add some detailing to the front, and may add a tower in outline form to the right hand wall to represent further defences along the wall.

This build is in the final stages. I have another project on the go at the moment, hinted at by the structure to the left of the bottom photo.

To the Manor Born ~ 2

Some progress with the new building project. I have a kind of Stokesay Castle, Shropshire, look in mind. 

It's taking shape. Behind is the basic sketch I did to show roughly what I'm aiming at.

The crenelations and the gateway are marked out then cut. The half-timbered gatehouse structure-to-be is cut and laid on the wall to check for fit.

It was at this stage I decided to raise the height of the gatehouse roof quite substantially. Another piece of card and foamcore are taped in place while the glue dries. This orange section will be the support for the roof and form the rear of the gatehouse.

On to the half-timbered gatehouse. 2mm strips of cereal box card make the main vertical timbers. For the sake of cutting a corner or two I may draw in the crossbars and other bits. More to come.

Lion Rampant ~ The End at Cockham

With Friar Balsam and his copy of the Passion of Saint Tibulus (illustrated edition) safely in the care of his foot serjeants, Sir Oswald de Patton led his men-at-arms into action against Sir Jean to buy the serjeants time to retire with their charge.

The serjeants begin to retire from the field as Sir Oswald leads his men up the road and into combat.

The men of Sir Jean's retinue were making good practice against their enemy. Sir Jean counter-charged Sir Oswald's men-at-arms with his own with every expectation of continuing the good work.

However, fate decided otherwise...

A short but vicious fight broke out on the approach to Cockham, the air filling with the hammering of metal on metal and the screams of men and horses. After a man fell on each side the opponents took stock of the situation. 

Sir Oswald's men were still full of fight. Sir Jean's men... were not. With shouts of suavez-vous! they had it away on their heels, fleeing back up the road to whence they came, leaving Sir Oswald and his men standing pleased but baffled.

Er..?

Seeing their leader fleeing the field had a dampening effect on the rest of Sir Jean's retinue. They stayed their hands, allowing Sir Oswald and his men to retire unmolested from the battle. Friar Balsam and his precious charge are safe.

* * *

That was unexpected. Sir Jean's retinue really piled on the pressure throughout the encounter, causing more casualties than they received, yet when it came to the crunch Sir Jean and his men were paper tigers. There's not much that can be done with a roll of two 1's on the Courage test. 

With no other of his bands within charging distance of the serjeants escorting Friar Balsam, I called the game at that point. An odd ending, but satisfying.

Lion Rampant ~ Clash at Cockham - continued

Sir Oswald de Patton's men may have beaten Sir jean to finding Friar Balsam, but Sir Jean's men are full of fight. 

Crossbowmen pick their way through the wood as Sir Jean leads his men into the village square.

With Friar Balsam recovered from the byre and in their charge, the foot serjeants begin to retire from the field. Pressure mounts as Sir Jean's troops advance.

Sir Jean's crossbowmen emerged from the woods to see their foe beginning to withdraw with the prize. Before they can act they come under fire from Sir Oswald's archers. A flurry of arrows and quarrels hum across the ploughed field. Men fall, but honours are even.

Close by, Sir Jean's mounted serjeants are punching well above their weight, driving Sir Oswald's men-at-arms back twice at little cost to themselves. Their opponents are at half strength and beginning to falter...

Lion Rampant ~ Clash at Cockham in the Wood

A fine Autumn day saw Friar Balsam, Holy Order of St. Aimless the Confused, running for his life up the Almost Great North Road. 

He'd been entrusted with a valuable copy of the Passion of St. Tibulus, a highly controversial work the existence of which had inflamed the already nasty war between King John and his Barons. The sympathetic Sir Oswald de Patton, of the Baronial Faction, is on his trail. Sir Oswald learned the King's men are abroad searching for the errant friar, and he seeks to give refuge to the holy man and peruse the naughty Passion for himself place the holy book under lock and key. 

Meanwhile, Sir Jean the Unreasonable is hot on the trail of the friar, seeking to arrest him for heresy and take the holy book for his own gratification to ensure its heretical notions are kept away from the impressionable public.

Friar Balsam reached the village of Cockham in the Wood, known as the site of an ancient battle between Romano-British Christians and pagan Saxons. A structure on the village square both commemorated the Christian victory and served as a butter market. The church of St. Onan the Blind stood the other side of the square, but the priest was away visiting his mistress a sick parishioner and couldn't offer Balsam sanctuary. It behooved Balsam to seek cover from his pursuers.

So it is both sides enter the field of battle...

Sir Oswald to the left of him, Sir Jean to the right, Balsam's stuck in the middle and blue.

The mounted men-at-arms on both sides approached along the road. Catching sight of each other caused both to draw up short to assess the situation. It appears neither want to get involved in a ruckus in the middle of the village. 

Sir Oswald's retinue begins to roll.

Sir Jean's retinue seems reluctant to budge.

Eventually both sides begin to advance. The cheeky mounted serjeants seem to fancy their chances against the better armed and equipped men-at-arms.

Sir Oswald's foot serjeants approach the village. The nearest of the two bands draws close to the barn and a copse of trees, both potential hiding places. Is Friar Balsam hiding in either?

The mounted serjeants have a point-or rather, several nasty sharp points, and the men-at-arms get the worst of the encounter.

As the mounted men square up to each other the commander of the longbowmen begins to position his troops to fire upon the mounted serjeants once they get a clear shot. 

A rustling in the byre startles a serjeant. Moments later a scruffy figure emerges into the light...

Well, waddaya know? Friar Balsam was in the second potential hiding place. Now let's see if his friends can get him to safety...

To be continued.

 

Ridge and Furrow project ~ first step

Since my First Barons War figures saw action this year after thirty or so years languishing in the lead pile, I thought it high time I made some 15mm medieval scenery to match.

The ridge and furrow method of agriculture was one feature common to most of medieval Britain and lasted until the advent of large-scale field enclosures. Serfs living on their lord's land were given a ridge in a manorial field on which to grow crops. The ridges with their accompanying furrows were used year after year, and often handed down through families - with the lord's consent. The system made a permanent mark on the British landscape, to the delight of students of medieval history and the lamentation to those of older periods because of the destruction the ploughs caused to older archaeological deposits - especially Roman mosaics.

I had a piece of large corrugated cardboard which, when stripped of one side of paper, is about the right scale for the ridge and furrows. The tattered bits of paper will disappear when I apply the filler and paint.

Step two, reinforcing the back with strips of wood to prevent warping. 

I've used a piece of card to cover the wood strips while they dry, and a large heavy book to press it all down. More on this project in the next few days.

In the meantime my wife and I came across this charming little chap at a fund-raising sale yesterday.

He's not a nutcracker, but is in that style. The legend on his beer stein is Löwenbrau, Munchen, so I believe it's a promotional piece for the brewery. Inside is this rather alarming spike arrangement. Can anyone suggest what it might be for?

Raid on the Village ~ Part Two - The End

The raid on Coccium in Carnutii continues, and it's not going the Saxon's way...

The raiders begin to retire with their spoils.

Lord Cynbel the Magnificent leads the Companions in a fierce charge that arrives like a thunderbolt amongst the startled Saxons.

A group of looters is sent reeling back as their comrades slope away across the field with the goodies. Cedric the Quiet attempts a counter-attack to pin the Britons...

...but it fails.

Ebba orders a general withdrawal.

Cynbel the Magnificent isn't done yet. Close pursuit makes the Saxons jittery.

Thanks to a rare piece of accurate shooting from the British archers, Saxon Lord Wigmund takes an arrow in the leg. The Briton Militares close into combat with the loot-burdened Saxons.

The result is predictably bloody. Saxons fall in droves beneath the vengeful spears of the Britons. Hampered by his wound, Lord Wigmund breathes his last.

The Saxons' force morale plunges below zero and they break. The death of Wigmund following the terrible casualties inflicted on the Saxons during the raid was too much for the Sea Wolves. Dropping the loot they run for their lives.The Romano-Britons pursue, driving the raiders from their lands.

* * * *

Gaius Menusius scored heavily in the post-game wind up. This takes into account the prestige of his victory, recovery of the loot, the casualties inflicted on the Saxons in battle and during the pursuit, and the spoils gained from their bodies. Gaius is able to replace all his casualties right away, replace the losses from the summer's campaign during the down-time of winter AND score a thief's hoard in wealth. Thanks to the scale of his victory the icing on the cake is Gaius being named Menusius the Proud.

Ebba retreats to his hall, to rebuild his forces and his reputation over the winter months. His men aren't happy with him, but he's already paid off his king, and has a modicum of wealth to spend. He vows to avenge himself come the spring. For now, both sides are in winter quarters and the land of Britannia is quiet.

Raid on the Village ~ Part one

Ebba felt confident as his warriors advanced on the village. Then the early morning mist burned away, showing the British on a hilltop overlooking the target. Their watchtowers must've sighted him and gave warning. Still, with judicious deployment of his hearth guard he could face-off against his enemy whilst the warriors got down to looting.

Britons to the left, Saxons to the right.

The warriors enter the village while Ebba takes the hearth guard to face down the Britons.

Things aren't going well for the British - but the Companions are lurking close by...

Saxon warriors get down to good dishonest looting, but come up dry, even in the church.

Both sides take and give shrewd blows. The British milites retire, allowing the Companions to surge forward to deadly effect. The Saxon group has found loot in the next house!

The Companions make short work of their opponents.

Although his warriors are now heading off with the loot, the British milites have re-entered the fray, his hearth guard are decimated, and Ebba's now seriously worried...

Raid on the Village ~ Set-up

Murmurs in the Saxon ranks as to whether he's too rash for competent leadership have Ebba concerned. As a consequence Ebba made some slight adjustments to his raiding force, which were required by the loss of his Champion, Oeglath, and the late-demented un-lamented Oeric the Insane, as well as a number of warriors.

A newcomer to Britain joined the warband in the shape of Cedric the Quiet. A peasant-born fellow from northern Germany, he's 36 and of average build. Cedric does have a quiet air of authority about him, having earned it during the internecine warfare of his homeland. Faced with unemployment and penury he crossed the sea to find service with the new warlord, and perhaps some land to call his own. Appreciating the need for a capable leader, Ebba placed Cedric in command of the warriors.

Stepping up to replace the mighty Oeglath (or did he not run fast enough when called upon?) is Berhtulf. It remains to be seen if he can earn the title of Champion.

So, on to the first deployment for the Saxons, who made a good beginning, advancing quite a ways toward the village. Ebba kept hard to the left of the area and has pushed his bowmen out front, the better to interfere with British deployment.

I'm pleased with the way the bases and scenery merge with the newly-painted ground cloth. Using the same paint for all has paid off.

 

Romano-British deploy. Gaius Menusius stands near the dolmen, contemplating the field of battle.

The post-Roman period was one of deep superstition. As a house rule for the game I declared any group or formation nearing the ancient dolmen will give either a +1 to force morale for the British (fighting for the bones of their fathers and the temples of their gods), or a -1 to the Saxons (fighting on land which is not theirs may very well anger the spirit residing in the dolmen). 

Through the magic of the die roll the R-Bs appeared right beside it. Inspired by this Gaius decided to make a speech. Added to the dolmen's effect it boosted his personal status by one, and earned the R-B another Fate card. After his near-Pyrrhic victory of the summer, are things looking up for the captain of the Home Team?

Across the valley Ebba spied the approaching British and gave a speech of his own. It steadied his men (increasing the force morale by one) and improved his own status (by one). The stage is set... 

Ground cloth in action - Set up

It's time to revisit the Dux Britanniarum campaign and the final action of 472AD, this time using the new cloth with Autumnal scenery added. 

From the Saxon entry point. The green die marks the approximate position the Saxons will reach by the time the British appear.

From the Romano-British end. The red die marks the entry point

Having failed to conquer the Roman-British province of Durobrivae, Ebba the Saxon Warlord has decided on a late season raid on the village of Coccium in Carnutii. He hopes to lay his hands on some significant loot, especially from the church of St. Aimless the Confused. It'll keep his warband quiet after the grumbling that ensued from their defeat in pitched battle during the summer.

Roman-British General Gaius Menusius finally got his game on and handed the invading Saxons a defeat this summer. Unfortunately it cost him significant losses in his own army. Still, he got word of the Saxon raid in plenty of time and has managed to march his army to the scene to catch the raiders in the act. Maybe, just maybe, he'll put an end to that pestiferous Ebba once and for all...

In game terms it's not shaping up too well for Ebba & Co. They've failed to steal much of a march on the Roman-British, and Gaius Menusius is close enough to the village to put a major crimp in Ebba's looting.

I hope to play out the game over the weekend. Watch this space...