15 mm Byzantine Infantry Commanders (Donnington "Originals")

Introduction

These complete the commanders for my "fantasy" Byzantine army for Art de la Guerre (ADLG). At 200 points each army is allowed three commanders. I finished two mounted commanders early last month, so I now have four commanders: one spare in case I ever play a 300 point game (very unlikely).

My intention is to use these for the Byzantine armies of Justinian to Nikephoros a five-hundred year span marked by frequent changes in arms and armour. Accordingly, I’ve opted for models whose equipment is indicative rather than strictly historically accurate. Even so, I’m reasonably confident that each figure will be plausible for at least some point within that period!

Early Medieval Byzantine Flags II (Conjectural)

Introduction

On Monday I posted a set of these that included flags with square tails. In it I said:

They are all highly stylised compared to the reference image. The absence of swallow tails is deliberate. I printed mine 10 mm high and, at this size, simplicity counts for a lot.

If you are feeling brave you can cut, shape and curl the tails to match the reference. I decided not to. Mainly because I really didn't fancy cutting a shallow taper on something 2.5 mm high.

This is a case of famous last words. After I posted a link to Bluesky I received some photos of Varangian Guard re-enactors with a very similar banner design. Of course theirs had swallow tails, but some photos showed banners with only three tails. I also received various contemporary images also with three swallow-tailed banners:

From "Synopsis of Histories" by John Skylites, late 11th century. Images from Wikimedia.

I began to wonder...

Early Medieval Byzantine Flags I (Conjectural)

Introduction

For those following my progress of my "fantasy" Byzantine army, will have noticed that I've started the command bases and have recently finished the mounted commanders. I'm about half way through the foot commanders and have one base in need of a flag.

I decided to design my own. I based them, very loosely, on illustrations 27b & c from page 75 of Ian Heath's classic WRG book "Armies of the Dark Ages 600-1066":

It's worth noting this from Heath "[Leo's Tactica] records .... a new type of swallow-railed bandon had become the principal standard of both infantry and cavalry units". Must have been awkward for the infantry.

15 mm Medieval Georgians (Essex Miniatures)

Preamble

The genesis of this batch of figures began with a slip of the keyboard. I spotted 52 Essex early medieval riders (no horses) on eBay. At just over £10.00 delivered I couldn't resist.

There were 12 Crusade era figures amongst the job lot of Byzantine figures. Specifically, a couple of Syrians (CRU39a) and ten Georgians (CRU28). Perfect for four units of heavy cavalry for my allied Ilkhanid Mongol army. I've painted these figures twice before: in 2000 and in 2011.

Medieval Georgian Flags

Introduction

In a moment of madness I bought 52, 15 mm Essex riders from eBay. Just the riders, no horses. Thankfully, I had a few spare horses and was able to buy enough extra horses from various sources, all the while kidding myself that it wasn't really a new project.

Of the 52, I identified 12 as early medieval Syrian and Georgian heavy cavalry which I'll use as allied knights for my early 14th century Ilkhanid Mongol army. I have enough already, but a few more won't hurt. They were a bargain after all.

Fun with flags

I plan to paint the dozen in batches of two or three, and the first two are underway. It was at this point that I realised I'd soon have to decide what flags to use.

15 mm Arab Black Guard (Essex)

This is another mini-project using figures from my "Phalanx hobby haul". It only involves 16 figures but this post is longer than usual. There are some simple conversions to discuss, and some research into the Guard and early Umayyad flags to summarise.

15 mm Arab Heavy Spear (Forged in Battle)

This post marks two important milestones.

The first is: these units are the final infantry units of my Arab Conquest ADLG (Art de la Guerre) army. I now have all the infantry I need including many variants and most options. I have bought some Daylami but they will have to wait until I've done the cavalry.

15 mm Arab Medium Spear (Forged in Battle & Essex)

Here's the latest addition to my Arab Conquest army for Art de la Guerre (ADLG). It is the penultimate group of infantry in my army.

15 mm Arab Commanders (Forged in Battle & Essex)

My Arab Conquest army continues to grow; even if slowly. This time It's a complete set of commanders for Art de la Guerre (ADLG) on the currently trendy 40 mm round bases.

As always, click on the images for larger versions.

15 mm War of the Roses Commanders - Complete

This is a post showcasing the third, and final, infantry command base for my Tudor army at Bosworth. The base represents Sir Rhys ap Thomas of Dinefawr, his standard-bearer and livery captains using Donnington New Era figures.

I already have a set of three mounted, and two foot commanders based for Art de la Guerre (ADLG) but I felt the need(?) for one more commander on foot. Any excuse to re-use the flags I created.

15 mm Russian Medieval Command (Essex, Mirliton & Roundway)

This post marks the completion of my late medieval (or Muscovite) Russian army. The three commanders below are put together from some left over figures and a pack of musicians.

15 mm Russian Medieval Medium Cavalry (Essex)

The four units are intended as armoured lesser Boyars (Nobles) which are medium cavalry bow in Art de la Guerre (ADLG) hence the unarmoured horses. Sadly many of the Essex miniatures don't have bow cases so I'll just have to use my imagination for those that don't:

In contrast to the heavy cavalry there's more variety in the shields and armour so the units are more interesting.

15 mm Russian Medieval Heavy Cavalry (Essex)

The four units are intended as armoured Boyars which are heavy cavalry bow in Art de la Guerre (ADLG). Sadly many of the Essex miniatures don't have bow cases so I'll just have to use my imagination:

Russian Medieval Flags

My Russian medieval army is nearly complete.  I've only the basing to do on the final eight elements.  In fairness I've a few odds and sods to do, mainly command elements but these are for a bit of fun painting over Christmas.

No medieval army is complete without an abundance of flags so here are the flags I have used for my heavy & medium cavalry.  These are in addition to the two sets of flags I've placed online already.

15 mm Medieval Russian Archers (Essex)

I continue to make steady progress with my Medieval Russian army for Art de la Guerre (ADLG). This batch provides all the medium and light archers I will ever need for ether the Feudal or Muscovite variant of the army.

The next figures for this army will be some peasant levy followed by some medium cavalry. When they are done I'll have completed my first list.

15 mm Medieval Russian Spear (Essex)

Somehow I've ended up assembling a medieval Russian army for Art de la Guerre (ADLG). I've already done a few generals, some hand-gunners and some light & heavy cavalry. However, these were all really intended for use with my Polish & Litnuanian armies. Now I've decided to do a full army as a spin off.

So far I've used figures from Roundway but for the spear (& archers in progress) I've switched to using mainly Essex with a few Roundway figures, where possible, for extra variety. For those interested I've listed the figure codes below.

Fun With Flags - A How To Guide (*)

I have been flagging recently.  That is putting flags on to 15 mm flag poles.  So I thought I'd put together a post on my current method.

15 mm War of the Roses Commanders - Redux

This is another post showcasing another set of command bases for my Tudor army at Bosworth. I already have a second set of mounted commanders based for Art de la Guerre (ADLG) but I felt the need(?) for some commanders on foot. Any excuse to re-use the flags I created.

I chose Essex Miniatures for the commanders to be based on 40 by 15 mm bases because I wanted some bases with flags upright but I also wanted to experiment with the "new trend" in ADLG command bases with a 40 mm round base.

Henry Tudor consulting with John De Vere and his retinue commander.

15 mm ACW Union Infantry Command (Warrior)

To compliment the ACW Confederate infantry I finished in August last year, I have completed three bases of Union infantry commands. All figures are from Warrior Miniatures.

The main reasons for doing this was firstly to use my newly printed union flags and secondly to work on a colour palette for the Union uniform; particularly the dark blue of the coats.

15 mm Wars of the Roses Archer Command

This is the first part of my mini-rebasing project. In addition to rebasing I have repainted the faces and most of the legs and shoes as they were damaged during removal from the original bases. Wherever possible I kept as much of the original paintwork as I could; it's over twenty years old after all.

In addition I stripped and repainted the two figures third and fourth from the left as I wanted to switch their livery colours. I also added new livery flags and in doing so I replaced the standard bearers with new Feudal Castings figures from my lead pile.