Wars of the Roses Livery Flags

After I posted the database of livery colours online it struck me this was the first time in years I’d done anything related to one my favourite periods. Then I realised I’d used a typical livery colour scheme to paint some late medieval knights recently. Perhaps my subconscious was trying to tell me something?

In the medium term I plan to upgrade my War of the Roses heavy infantry. To do this I would like some new livery flags. Freezywater do a couple of sets of livery flags but unfortunately not the ones I want. So it was time to design my own.

What follows is a tutorial (of sorts) with a few tips that I hope will help others.

ADLG: Northern League (Manchester, Nov 2018)

My third foray on to the Art de la Guerre (ADLG) competition circuit saw me make another trip to Eccles on a cold Sunday morning.

Date	04 Nov 2018
Competition	Northern League 5th Round
Venue	Manchester
Army	Later Polish
Army list	List details
Army number	241
Army date	1401 AD
Results	Official results grid

As in the previous two competitions I was using a new army with a few troop types I'd never used before.  It promised a "sink or swim" competition.

Even so I had a plan.  I intended to hold the infantry command behind their fortifications forcing my opponent to choose between assaulting the infantry or, if they didn't want to do that, attacking both the impact cavalry & the impetuous knights if they wanted a victory.  It's fair to say it didn't work as I had my worst competition by far!

My army contained so many uncommon units that Mick Hood (the umpire & list checker) had decided to sit at the table next to me because he knew there'd be lots of questions. As it turned out this didn't happen until game three.

Read on for photos of my opponents, game details, and the results.

Medieval Russian Hand Gunners

Recently, I was lucky enough to pick up a pack of Roundway's 15 mm Russian Hand Gunners (RURU5) via eBay. Here's the finished results:

Wars of the Roses Livery Colours Database (*)

Introduction

I've put together this database to address one of history's mysteries.

Work In Progress And An Appeal

This is a slightly convoluted story so please bear with me but if you have any unpainted Roundway 15 mm medieval figures you don't want jump straight to the end of this post.

At Britcon I bought a pack of Essex MER13 late medieval mounted handgunners from Instant Armies. I bought them because I was fascinated by the depiction of a knight on horseback firing an early hand gun.

I decided to go with blackened armour with brass detailing. Here're the results



As you can see they are only partly based. I wondered if I could get some other figures to give the bases a bit of variety. I remembered that Roundway do a suitable figure. At this point things got complicated.

Fortifications

In April I saw an offer on TWW from Alternative Armies for a bundle of 40 mm frontage wall sections in five different styles that was too good to miss. I ended up with a total of 2.4 m (yes metres!) for only £20.00 delivered.

Last month I finally got round to painting some:

The sections on the left are for my Later Polish army and those on the right are for my Timurid & Islamic Persian armies (hence the different basing schemes).

We All Make Mistakes

At Britcon I bought three packs of figures. One of them is shown below. They are Essex (RNO2 Azab/Turk Javelinmen). As always I really enjoyed painting them. I've painted so many Essex figures over the years that I now find them relaxing to paint.

Stampeding Cattle

Here's some photos of the latest addition to my Timurid army:

They are from Xyston (20311) and I tried to paint them as Afghan cattle (Konari & Shakhansurri). In the end I think they look a bit like Herefords! Getting a reasonable colour variation was much harder than I thought it would be.

Timurid or Persian Light Horse

I have just finished basing these. They are a mixture of Roundway and Donnington figures and horses and will see service in my medieval Timurid and renaissance Persian armies.

ADLG: Are There Super Armies? (2018)

introduction

At one time or another we all must have asked this question. By super I mean an army that in the hands of almost anyone will deliver an above average number of victories. Personally, I don't think so; whatever the rules.

However with Art de la Guerre (ADLG) I can answer the question in a bit more depth than with other rules. This is because there's a lot of data freely available on army choice and performance from ADLG tournaments around the world.

What I Have Painted Recently

Medieval Eastern Europe Command (15 mm Essex XMED1)

For my Later Polish or Lithuanian armies.  I posted some WIP photos in February.

ADLG: Northern League (Manchester, May 2018)

On a hot sunny Sunday, in the middle of a British bank holiday would you believe, I made my way to Eccles in Greater Manchester. I arrived so early that the hall was closed but I didn't have to wait too long and once inside I helped Geoff Pearson & Brian Pierpoint put the tables out and set up the chairs.

The plan for the day was to test my knowledge of Art de la Guerre (ADLG). I did this by taking a Timurid army made up of medium & heavy cavalry (with a couple of units of elephants to spice things up) to a medieval themed round! I expected most of the other armies to comprise heavy knights & foot so I knew I would be sorely tested and that I'd have to be nimble to get any sort of result.

Date	06 May 2018
Competition	Northern League 2nd Round
Venue	Manchester
Army	Timurids with Steppe Mongol Ally
Army list	List details
Army number	258
Army date	1471 AD
Results	Official results grid

After three games I finished 7th (or joint 6th?) of 16 with 144 points, enough to place me 9th overall after two rounds. The latter is a somewhat false position and I don't think I'll be challenging for a place come Christmas. However, last time out I finished 9th of 10 with 109 points so I feel I'm making some progress.

ADLG: Commander Labels

It's a bank holiday and I've found time to do one of those mini projects we all have but never find the time for. In this case I've been making labels for my ADLG commanders. Here's a "work almost finished" shot:

Most of my commanders (generals) were painted when I played DBMM and are on 40x30 mm bases. For ADLG separate commanders should be on 40 mm square bases.

Recently Painted Miniatures

The lead mountain shrinks a little bit.

This afternoon I finished the figures for a general's element for my Late Polish/Lithuanian army. I've to varnish and base them but here's a few WIP photos of the general riding the mandatory white horse:

The figure is from XMED1 from Essex Miniatures. The others will feature in the photo's of the finished element.

Military Orders Vignette

I painted this way back in 2015 shortly after I was sent some samples from the Thistle & Rose ranges by the new owner who was "going to get the back on the market soon".  The most I can find today is a Facebook page (boo hiss).

Frankish Knights

Today's post features two stands I've just finished for my Ilkhanid Mongol army for ADLG. The list allows two units (elements) of Frankish knights so here they are:

Until now I've been using some of my Armenian knights as proxies but they have quite specifc  flags, pennants and shield designs. I really wanted some with more generic designs that I could easily distinguish on the table. The figures are Essex and from my "scrap" box of left over castings.

What I Have Painted Recently

The title almost says it all except I hate photographing miniatures! I never seem to get it right. Anyway here are some photos of my last three mini-projects:

Late Medieval Mounted Archers

These are a mixture of Essex and Roundway figures. The latter needed some card under the bases to avoid too great a difference in height.

Ottoman Akinji

A simple post today.

The weather is good and the lighting is even better so I took some photos of one of my latest mini-projects.  As always click the image for the “warts and all” version.

These are 15 mm Roundway figures: RKOT12 & 13 to be precise. They should see service in both ADLG medieval & FOG Renaissance armies.

Mercenary Gunners In Persian Service

I finished some of these this week:

The crew is from Donnington and the guns are from Museum Miniatures.

Almost There

A few weeks ago I wrote about my new plan for 2015. Well it seems to be working.

This morning I finished four more Islamic Persian musketeers and have the heads and hands finished of the remaining eight. Once these are finished, and based, I will have completed all the firearm infantry for my long delayed FOGR project. Plus, last week I finished four cavalry figures which means I have completed one third of the Turcoman cavalry bases I need and have more underway. Little bits and often seems to be working for me.

I would do more tomorrow but I'm planning to attend Vapnartak at York Racecourse where I'm going to give the tabletop sale a try. I'm not sure how well I will get on but if I don't try I'll never know. I'll report back next week.