I am gradually building an Irish contingent for my WOTR army. The idea is to have a decent number of troops to allow me to re fight the Stokes Field battle ( or a representation of it!) and also to be able to field a full Irish Army should I decide to use the new ‘Celtic Fringe’ rules that will appear in the forth coming upgrade of Never Mind The Bill Hooks.
I had already painted a number of Kern for my Bill Hooks army to use as skirmishers. They can be very useful in the game for harrying other skirmishers and generally causing mayhem if they can hide in cover. To read a bit more about how I use my Kern skirmishers and how I originally painted them, please click on the link below:
You will notice that my first batch of Kern were painted with fairly faded yellow shirts or ‘leine’. I based my colours on the pictures that I had seen on line. I have since done a bit more research and it would seem that perhaps I have been a bit conservative regarding the yellows used. It would seem that the Irish very much prized the colour yellow and using saffron, dyed their clothes with quite a strong bright yellow. I was particularly influenced by this video:
In addition, some of the pictures of re enactors that I have found show a much brighter yellow than I had previously thought was used. So with this in mind, I decided to paint the next batch of Kern using a deep yellow highlight /top coat. Here is the result!
Kern armed with double handed weaponsKern Archers
I have primed the figures with Army Painter Desert Yellow. Painted the shirts with Vallejo Yellow Ochre 709136, washed the figures with Army painter soft tone ink, re highlighted with yellow ochre and then applied Vallejo Deep yellow 70915 to finish. To add variety to the figures, I’ve been quite liberal when it came to choosing the colours of the jackets, based on the information in the video above. Incidentally, if you would like further information on the use of saffron, the following article is very interesting:
It’s also well worth clicking through to the rest of the blog for more information regarding Irish arms and Militaria. I now have 66 figures for my Irish Army, with another batch on order. The plan is to have two units of 12 Gallowgalss, two units of 12 Kern with double handed weapons and four units of 6 skirmishing Kern with either bows or spears. There will also be two command bases. I also fancy making a unit of light cavalry or Hobilars based on this picture.
Irish Hobilar
Technically, there were no units of Irish light Horse or Hobilars by the time of the WOTR but in my war gaming world, I’m not going to let reality get in the way of having fun….I just need to find the right models to convert. Watch this space!
You can see the range of Crusader miniatures that we think are suitable to for the Wars of the roses, along with the rest of out Never mind The Bill Hooks range here:
” When in danger or in doubt, Slow down, Stop, or go about”
I couldn’t help but remember this rhyme that my Father taught me when I was learning to drive and, of course, sailing model yachts. It’s very sensible advice and has served me well through life. The strange thing is, I cant find the actual quote on Google. It’s actually not really appropriate at all for this blog entry but when I came up with the title, the rhyme instantly came to mind!
The idea of this blog was to collect a few ideas that I have used whilst building my Medieval fleet and to follow up my last Blog, building the Sarissa Precision Cog. I am sure that the ideas are not at all unique and as usual, in the main, I have ‘borrowed’ them from other modellers but I thought it useful to gather them all together.
PAINTING WOOD EFFECTS
It seems strange to be painting MDF and Balsa to look like wood when it is in effect, wood but when it comes to models, we are trying to recreate how a much larger original would look. It is also a case that there are different materials being used and the idea to to make them look like one consistent method has been used to build them. I usually prime the completed models with either a matt black or brown army painter primer. This is done as much to seal the wood, balsa or greyboard so that it doesn’t absorb the subsequent coats of paint.
A galley and Cog, both painted as detailed below
Once primed, I start with a coat of Chocolate brown 70872. I will give the model a thorough coat of this colour, ensuring that as much as possible, everything is covered. Once this coat is dry, I will then apply a coat of Flat brown 70982. This is done fairly quickly and I am not too concerned if I miss some of the corners and crevices on the model, leaving the Chocolate brown as a ‘shade’. Again, I will let this coat dry before moving onto applying a coat of Flat earth 70983. This is applied as a ‘wet brush coat’ and it doesn’t matter if you miss some of the nooks and crannies on the model. I follow with another light wet brush of Orange brown 70981. I should mention that using a flat brush rather the the normal round brush helps to give a ‘wood grain effect. The idea of the ‘wet brush’ is to allow the two coat to blend in places and it will begin to build a nice light colour on the raised areas. It’s worth letting this coat dry to the touch dry stage before moving onto the final coat of Yellow Ochre 70913. This is applied as a light dry brush to bring out the details and give a crisp edge to planks etc. You can apply another highlight if you think it’s appropriate. Vallejo Basic Skin Tone 70815 actually works quite well or even 70986 Deck Tan, according to your preference. This should just be a very light dry brush on the tips of any detail.
As well as working on ships, this is also a good recipe for painting wood generally – I use it on my wagons. Here is a link to another project, showing a step by step guide:
I made my sails from an old bed sheet that I had been using as a dust sheet for decorating. To give the impression of panels, I asked a friend to run a line of stitching down the sails. The next challenge was to figure out how to transfer a design onto the sails. My freehand painting would never have been good enough. I then remembered how I used to trace designs as a child. I simply printed of the image that I wanted from the internet, having resized it. I then taped this to my patio window and then taped the sail over the top. It was easy to see the design through the sail and then to trace over it with a pencil. The picture below shows the process.
Design taped to the window and sail taped over – you can see how easy it is to trace the image onto the sail.
The next challenge was to get the sail to look as though it had some shape and was filled with air. To do this, I draped the sail over a balloon. I then gave the sail a very liberal coating of white PVA glue. As well as stiffening up the sail, it also sealed the cloth to enable me to paint it.
The sail is draped over a balloon, as centrally as is possible.The sail is liberaly coated with PVA – dont worry it wont stick to the ballon!The painted sail!
FURLED SAILS
I had quite a problem trying to get a realistic look to my furled sails. After many attempts to try and tie the sails to make them look as though they were hanging naturally, I realised that I would need some kind of former. I cut a former from 5mm foam card and then wrapped the former with some cloth ( bed sheet!). You need to glue the top edge in place, wrap the cloth around the former a couple of times and the cloth is then held in place with sail thread binding. Incidentally, I use a dot of super glue to hold my knots tight! The picture below illustrates the process.
Use foam card to make a shape that resembles furled sails.Furled sail attached to mast with rigging thread.
OTHER TIPS
Some of my ships have planking on the decks. The easiest way of reproducing this is simply to use a ruler and good HB pencil to draw the planking on the decks. See picture above. I’m also sure that you will have noticed that I have used Cocktail sticks for flag poles, BBQ sticks for Oars and Spars and wooden doweling ( from my local DIY shop) for masts.
I’ve also mounted my archers that man the fighting tops on 15mm bases so that they fit in comfortably. To give them some extra weight, I’ve glued some 15mm metal washers to the MDF bases. It just helps to stop them toppling out.
Well that’s about it for now. I hope to complete a further article on a step by step guide to building a galley. keep an eye out for the release of Never Mind The Boat Hooks!
THE COMMERCIAL BIT
I hope that you all enjoy your hobby as much as I do – remember that our web site will have much of what you need! Click here to see our shop:
You may have seen a number of blog posts and post to the Bill Hooks Facebook group regarding our new venture ‘Never Mind the Boat Hooks’, a set of wargames rules based on Medieval naval warfare. Many of the boats that we are using are models made from the Sarissa Precision medieval Cog. My ‘fleet’ currently includes two, so I thought that it would be useful to give a brief review of building the kit and show readers some of the modifications.
One of our early play tests – the sarissa precision cog The ‘White Hart’ has run around in the top of the picture!
First of all, a couple of disclaimers. The kit is a representation of a typical medieval cog rather than a precise scale model. It’s a very good representation and designed for 28mm wargames figures, so it is very practical and robust for table top use. If you are looking for a more accurate model there are some very nice ones out there – the Zvezda Cog in plastic, for example. However, you will find that they are far more expensive and less robust or practical when it comes to gaming. That said, from what I have read in the limited research that I have done, there are no plans based on actual designs that survive. Most of what we know is based on contemporary pictures and descriptions rather than actual plans. There are a few surviving ships that have been recovered but I think that it’s fair to say that our knowledge is limited.
The Sarissa cog fully assembled and rigged
The Sarissa Cog comes with full building instructions and I recommend that you read them first and familiarise yourself with the pieces before you start to build the model. I found that the model went together very well and in some places the pieces were such a snug fit, glueing wasn’t required! However, to be on the safe side you should assemble with glue. I used Expo thick Cyanoacrylic super glue. A good white PVA would also be suitable but I was impatient and the thicker super glue glue gave me sufficient working time. A quick blast with an accelerant made things even faster, once I was happy that the pieces were in place.
Note that the ribs with the ‘eye’s in the top fit to the rear of the boat!
A word of caution when building. It is worth checking and then double checking that the ‘ribs’ that will support the grey board sides are assembled in the correct sequence and that you are clear as to which ones are on the stern end of the boat and which ones fit to the front or bow. The same goes when you fit the deck – ensure that you are clear which is the bow and which is the stern! Otherwise, I found the assembly very straight forward. A bit of patience and care is required when fitting the greyboard sides. This is where I found that super glue was better than PVA due to the fast grab and set time.
The deck and stern castle deck in place. Note the winch goes to the front of the boat.
I assembled the mast but did not glue it in place as I intended to replace it with a ‘fighting top’ for my archers. The mast is snug enough to slide in and out as required.
The completed Cog – original mast is just in place temporarily.
Full rigging instructions are included but I decided that the rigging would restrict access to the deck and get in the way when gaming so I went for a simpler solution. I made a replacement mast with a fighting top from a piece of 10mm dowel. You can pick this up from your local hardware store for about £3.00 for a 3 metre length so you will have plenty spare! Using a saw I cut a slot in the bottom of the new mast so that it would fit into the existing mast hole. Next, I needed to make a fighting top.
I’ve used two different methods of making a fighting top. I have a square one for the ‘White Hart’ ( see above) and I have a round one for the ‘White Lion’ – see below.
New mast and Fighting top added
Both of these fighting tops are made using 40mm bases ( round or square as you prefer). I’ve then made the sides with coffee stirrers cut to size and attached to the bases.
New fighting top and spar
If you look at the top picture you can see that there are some very simple ways of making a fighting top – look carefully and you might just identify a certain fast food outlets’ sauce container!
With the new mast and fighting top completed, my Cog was ready for gaming. However, I wanted to use the original mast with a sail for display purposes. To make the sail, I simply cut a piece of old sheet to size. I then asked for some help from my next door neighbor, Carole, who is an expert with a sewing machine to run some panels into the sail. To get the design of the lion onto the sail, I printed off a picture from the internet and taped the sail over the picture onto my patio window! I could then trace the design onto the flag.
The Sail ready for finishing
As you can see, I then placed the sail over a balloon and liberally coated it in PVA. Once dry, it was easy to peel the sail off of the balloon and it would now keep it’s shape with a bit of ‘belly’ in it!
The sail receiving it’s coating of PVA!
It was then just a case of carefully painting the sail. I used standard Vallejo paints but I ensued that each coat/colour was very dry before completing the next one.
The ‘White Lion’ with its sail !
The anchor that you can see was from Expo – we usually have these in stock, as well as the chain, although as I write this I am waiting for more stock as I have used them all for my projects!
So my cog is ready to take to the table. I will publish a follow up blog, where I will detail how I have painted the model – although if you have followed my blog, you will be aware of my preferred method of painting to simulate wood. If you are able to attend Partizan in Newark on May 22nd, I will be there with Andy Callan and we will be running a game of ‘Never Mind The Boat Hooks’ – you are welcome to come and join in and if you have any questions regarding the construction of the boats, I will be pleased to answer them.
THE COMMERCIAL BIT
I hope that you all enjoy your hobby as much as I do – remember that our web site will have much of what you need! Click here to see our shop:
I’ve been aware that in my recent blogs have focused on what I’ve been doing without giving too many details of how I’ve been doing it or why! Part of the problem is that I have a number of threads and projects going on at once. One of these is to produce an Irish contingent for my War of The Roses army. I don’t have a special affinity for Irish warriors,(although I do have an Irish Saga band). My interest lies with the appearance and involvement of some of the Irish nobility at the Battle of Stokes Field on 16th June 1487.
Stokes field – the view to Hoveringham and the Trent
I have visited the Stoke Field battlefield on a number of occasions – it’s just down the road from where I live! If you would like to know more about the battle and battlefield, my earlier blog article has plenty of pictures and some useful links:
It’s also interesting to note that as well as the main battle, a number of smaller engagements took place before the main event, including three days of skirmishing through Sherwood Forest, where Lord scales’ Cavalry force delayed the rebels advance. Andy Callan used these events to come up with a fictional prequel to the main battle and wrote an article for Wargames illustrated ( issue 394) which involved the Irish, German and Rebel English coming into contact with an advance guard of the Lancastrian (Tudor) army. You can read our battle report here:
According to the chronicles of the time, the Irish troops were mainly lightly armed Kern. However, I’m guessing that the nobility had brought along a few more heavily armoured Gallowglass. That said, compared to the plate armoured nobility in the English army, even the Gallowglass would look lightly armoured, wearing at most, long mail shirts over padded or quilted jackets. The most famous contemporary depiction of Gallowglass that I am aware of is the Durer picture:
Gallowglass, as portrayed by Albrecht Durer.
I was delighted to find that Antediluven Models has produced miniatures base on this picture and in addition had a nice range of both Irish Gallowglass and Kern. I had already had a number of packs of the Perry miniatures models in my army, so the chance to add a few different models was too good to miss.The Antediluvian models are about the same size as the Perry’s and the two mix well together. This would allow me to complete two blocks of 12 Gallowglass and still have some figures left over from previous acquisitions to make up a couple of command bases. I ordered three packs of Gallowglass from them ( including the Durer models) and prepared and primed them ready for painting.
Antediluvian Gallowglass – block painted
The castings that arrived were excellent, requiring very little preparation other than a scrape of the odd mold line. I primed the models in black and then painted the flesh with vallejo Flesh 70955. The mail, helmets and weapons were painted with Army painter plate mail, the quilted jackets in Vallejo Buff 70968, belts boots and scabards in Leather brown 70871, the axe hafts in panzer aces old wood 310.
Figures with an ink wash
I then gave the models a good wash of Army painter soft tone, except the flesh areas, which I used the Vallejo Flesh wash as a shade. Once the washes had dried, I highlighted the models with the same colours to bring out the details, leaving the darker wash in the recesses. The faces and flesh were highlighted with Flat Flesh 70955 and then Basic skin tone 70815 for an extra highlight.
Basing in progress – texture paste and ballast added
As usual, I based the models with Vallejo dark earth textured paste and added some ballast for detail. The bases were then painted in my usual style, using Delhi Bazaar emulsion as the base, highlighted with Iraqi Sand and then a touch of white. I then added some grass scatter and some Gamers grass tufts to finish.
The ‘Durer’ models painted – I added some detail to the red cloak after seeing this image.
When it came to the Durer models, I tried to follow the colours on the Antediluvian site as well as referring to the picture above. Although the colours were different, the process was the same – block paint, shade with inks and highlight with the original colours, with a bit of Off white 70820 or Iraqi sand 70819 added to give an extra layer. It’s worth mentioning that I also used Vallejo Yellow Ochre 70893 as a base for the yellow cloth and for the lighter coloured quilted jacket, Deck tan 70986, works really well.
The finished units – I still have yet to add the tufts!
So with another 12 Gallowglass models completed, I now have a nice force of 24 of these heavy hitters ready to take to the table. Next up for the Irish will be some more Kern.
THE COMMERCIAL BIT
I hope that you all enjoy your hobby as much as I do – remember that our web site will have much of what you need! Click here to see our shop:
We don’t stock Antediluvian miniatures you will have to go direct to their web site. I’m very happy to recommend them, the service and turnaround time on my order was excellent and the miniatures superb:
Back on the 12th March, I found myself with a free weekend – the Missus was off for a long weekend with her sisters, so it was my opportunity to visit yet another local battlefield. Accompanied by fellow Bill Hooker and war gamer, Pete Harris, we made the 50 minute drive from Bingham to the Bosworth Heritage centre. The weather was kind to us as, although a bit breezy and chilly, it was dry and sunny. We arrived at the Bosworth Heritage Centre at around 11.30am
The map of the site and battlefield.The Visitor Centre Courtyard
I had already pre booked our tickets for both the visitor centre and the guided walk. So once we had booked in and collected our tickets, the first port of call was the Tythe barn Tea rooms for a cuppa and a sausage roll! It’s worth noting that we found all of the staff to be really friendly and helpful through out the visit. In addition, the tickets to the exhibition are valid for a year, so if I fancy another visit in the summer, I can pop back.
The Tythe Barn Tea Rooms
As you can see, the Tea rooms are very nice, clean and welcoming. The food is good too! The cakes are particularly nice…back to the purpose of the visit! Once we had finished our ‘Second Breakfast’ we started our tour of the visitor centre.
Diorama in the reception area showing the two main protagonists
There’s two really nice dioramas in the entrance to the exhibition. The one shown above, is, I think, a 1/12th scale model of the two main protagonists, King Richard III and Henry Tudor. The model that really caught my eye, was of the medieval cog – great reference for ‘Never Mind the Boats Hooks!
A rather lovely model of the Medieval Cog that brought Henry Tudor back from France to fight for his crown.
The exibition itself was excellent, with plenty of background to the battle as well as an explanation as to why the Battlefield may have ‘moved’ from it’s original location and the research that has been done to establish what is now believed to be the correct location. Of course, of greatest interest to me was the exhibits of weapons and the likely dress of the warriors involved.
First, choose your weapon!Typical foot soldier or bill man with Gambeson and Bill( with a passing resemblance to Robert Mitchum…)Man at Arms in armoured Gambeson and MailFor the richer men at arms – a full suit of armour!
We took about an hour and a half to look around the exhibition and after another quick pit stop for lunch, it was time for our guided walk of the battlefield. The walk started from the visitor centre courtyard, with a brief overview of the two sides and then we proceeded to the site of King Richard III’s camp on Ambion hill. From here we had a great view of the area and could just about make out where Henry Tudor would have camped over night and where the Stanley Brothers set up their camp. The tour skirted around the battlefield as much of it is on private land. This meant the we kept to the public footpaths but it did mean that the walking was nice and easy!
Ambion HillOur Tour guide – his name escapes me.
Our tour guide was extremely well informed both about the battle and the period and explained the back ground to the battle, who the main characters involved were, the politics of the time and how events unfolded.
The fight for the crown!
Our guide was dealing with various degrees of knowledge in his audience, from those who had no idea as to why the battle had taken place to ‘smart Alecs’, like the two wargamers that were tagging along. To be fair, Pete and I kept quiet and listened! I did take part in a mini re-fight of the battle, representing William Stanley to illustrate how the combatants were positioned! All part of our guide trying to involve the audience and keep them engaged.
This monument covers the well where Richard III allegedly took his last drink.The view across the battlefield
The tour took around and hour and a half, so it was just after 3.00pm when we returned to the visitor centre. We visited the shop and I treated myself to a book on the battle and a few souvenirs. Whilst the selection of books was very good, I was a bit disappointed with the souvenirs. I suspect that the shop was still recovering from the problems caused by COVID but the selection of post cards etc was not great. There also wasn’t any sort of guide book or leaflet that I could find. I consoled myself with another visit to the Tythe Barn and finished the day with a hot chocolate and massive cherry and almond scone! I had to replace all those calories burnt on the walk…
Back at the Heritage Centre with ‘Never Mind The Bill Hooks’.
Overall, I had a great day. We left the centre at around 4.30pm, even though it actually closed at 4.00pm, the cafe stayed open whilst we finished our drinks and snack. Once again, the staff were brilliant – there was no rush, they left us to finish up! So, if you are able to get to Bosworth, I would very much recommend a visit to the battlefield and exhibition centre. It certainly filled a day and even if you don’t sign up for the guided tour, there’s nothing to stop you wandering around the beautiful Leicestershire country side and enjoying a picnic! As I have mentioned, my ticket will last for a year, so I think that I might just pop back when one of the many events are on to have a second look around.
THE COMMERCIAL BIT
I hope that you all enjoy your hobby as much as I do – remember that our web site will have much of what you need! Click here to see our shop:
It’s almost a month since my last blog and my attention has been focused on a new project. My gaming buddy and ace rules writer Andy Callan has come up with a new variation of ‘Never Mind The Bill Hooks’ – ‘Never mind the Boat Hooks’. The game is based on Naval warfare in the middle ages and inspired somewhat by the Battle of Sulys that took place in 1340. Although this pre-dates the Wars of the Roses by some 100 years and in fact was part of the 100 years war, this type of Naval warfare continued for some time into the next century.
Grace Dieu – the For castle is 52 feet high!
Henry V’s flag ship, Grace Dieu, launched in 1418, although one of the largest ships of her time, carried only 3 cannon and her design was primarily to allow the English to over come the formidable fleet of Genoa by providing a high platform for the archers to shoot down on the lower Carracks used by the Genoese. Towards the end of the 15th century, gun powder based technology began to become the prime armament but even Henry VIII’s flag ship, the Mary Rose, launched in 1511, still carried a number of archers as the secondary armament to the 78 – 91 guns on board. You can see from the picture that the high Forecastle and Stern Castle would facilitate fire down onto the enemy ships and the netting over the main deck ( which may have contributed to so many casualties when the ship foundered) was there to prevent boarding actions by the enemy.
The Mary Rose – Note Galleys in the background
So for a period in the late middle ages, the primary method of naval warfare was to grapple with the enemy ships and board them with a view to putting the enemy to the sword! In effect, a land battle fought on the decks of the ships. This allows the adaptation of the Never Mind The Bill Hooks rules to Sea Warfare, without too many changes to the basic rules engine.
Medieval ship to ship warfare!
The detail regarding fighting ship design for this period is about as comprehensive as the detail of the battles of the Wars of the Roses. That is to say, scant, at best! Much of what we know seems to be based on pictures from coins, pictures in manuscripts and carvings in churches. I have purchased the rather lovely book by Susan Rose ( no relation to Mary !) and whilst I am yet to read it properly, the summary seems to confirm that we are very much in the dark as to how Naval combat was fought in detail and how the ships were constructed or operated in battle.
Englands Medieval Navy by Susan Rose
However, before you can have a battle at sea, the first thing that you need is some ships! For the first play test, Andy made some ships up from wooden blocks and cardboard! As you can see, the ships looked pretty effective and not that far away from some of the contemporary illustrations and as a result we were able to play test the new rules.
First play test with ‘mock ups’
I then realised the Sarissa Precision have a very nice medieval cog in their range! So it was time to start building a fleet! You can see my first attempt at building the Sarissa cog in the picture below. I replaced the original mast with a fighting top. The replacement mast is just a plug in piece so I can revert to the original if I please.
The Sarissa Cog with replacement Fighting top
I also wanted to add some galley’s to my fleet but as there was no suitable kit, I decided to have a go at scratch building one. I tried looking for some sort of plan without much success but found plenty of picture references. In the end I decided to build something that looked like a galley and that would be practical when used on the table. The result is certainly not a scale model, nor is it based on an actual galley but is meant to be a representation of the sort of Galley to be found around that time. To be fair it is more like a Mediterranean Galley than an English one but I will use it as a Burgundian Mercenary crew!
My Fleet is growing Galley and Cog ready for battle.
As I’ve had no plans, I have to admit to making it up as I’ve gone along and I have made some more changes to the galley by adding some flags and a mast. I also have a second galley and cog on the work bench. I do intend to publish a step by step guide to making and painting both types of ships and I intend to make a more ‘English’ looking galley based on a Viking ship type hull.
The first two ships are ready for battle! You can see another Galley is under construction.
For now, this Blog entry is more of a taster of the project than a detailed guide. If you fancy having a go at making the Sarissa Cog, I’ll put a link below. The good news is that should you decide that you want to have a go at building your own fleet, Peter Dennis will be releasing a selection of Medieval ships and Galleys in his Paper soldiers range, so you could build a fleet for a very reasonable outlay. I will also publish the plans to the galley along with a step by step guide as to how to make one, either on this blog or possibly in Wargames Illustrated Magazine. My balsa Galleys have cost less than a fiver to make!
Our latest play test!
I’ll also get a battle report from the next play test published that perhaps will give an idea of how ‘Bill Hooks’ rules work in a naval setting. One final thought. There’s no need to build or paint any more figures. We are just using the War of the Roses figures, as you can see. They may not be strictly accurate for some of the early period but the idea is just to have some fun!
THE COMMERCIAL BIT
I hope that you all enjoy your hobby as much as I do – remember that our web site will have much of what you need! Click here to see our shop:
My output continues at a steady pace, with my new war room and hobby station making my hobby life easier. The only issue is that there is no over arching theme to my modelling output. I continue to follow the threads from last year. So I have completed a unit of WOTR Pikemen, two characters from the Lord of the Rings collection and a Bren Carrier!
Another unit to add to the army!
The Pikemen were kindly given to me already assembled and primed ( thank you Jaz!), so painting them was straight forward. I used a white and green livery, for no other reason than I liked the combination. This Livery is mostly associated with the Welsh Tudors, although there were plenty of other Welsh houses who sided with the Yorkist cause and indeed, quite a few minor houses in England that had white and green as their colours. I’m not too concerned that my units should represent a particular faction. I’m happy to play fictional battles and scenarios rather than re-fight actual battles. So don’t be surprised if you see this unit marching with Sir Harry Hotspur!
Foundry Pikemen from Duncan’s collection
I’ve also re-based and re-touched another unit of pikemen that came from Duncan Mcfarlanes collection. I still need to add the pikes as the originals have been lost but I have replacements ready. I think that they are Foundry figures and I hope that they will continue to do battle in Duncans memory.
Ugluk of the Uruk-HaiGrishnakh – basing not quite completed in this photo
I’ve continued with my ‘Battle Games in Middle Earth’ project, painting another three character figures. Ugluk, Grishnakh and mounted Eomer are now completed and in the cabinet. Of the three, I found Eomer the most challenging. Painting his armour was quite difficult as it is fairly intricate and his horse is also a strange grey – dark grey at the back and light grey up front! I’m not entirely happy with this model but he will do for now! I’ve now reached issue 18 of the Magazine and as issue 19 came with paints rather than a figure, I am about 20% of the way through the collection. When I complete the figures with issue 20 ( more Goblins), I’ll have a round up of my progress.
Eomer – basing to be finished
The bren carrier was the next on the work bench and was bit of a trial for no other reason than my airbrush seems to have developed a fault in the compressor. I just about managed to get the basic colours on the Carrier before the compressor gave up. The model is from Curteys 1st Corps and although not as precise as, say , the Tamiya 1/48th kit, it builds into a nice replica and of course is ideal for the wargames table. The markings, as with all of my WW2 armour are conjectural and not based on an actual vehicle. I have hand painted them, apart from the vehicle serial number.
Bren Carrier
Whilst purists might not like the idea of making up markings, it’s my way of ensuring that I get models finished rather than endlessly researching them to get every detail exactly correct. For me, the models are simply a representation of their type rather than an exact replica. Whilst I have total admiration for those modellers that are able to produce museum quality replica’s, exact in every detail, I have very little time for those in the hobby who seem to know everything but produce nothing – their hobby is different to mine!
Bren Carrier side view
To be fair, it’s this attitude that allows me to get my projects off of the work bench and onto the gaming table. I have been largely cured of my desire to seek perfection by my wargaming buddies, who favour practical solutions over fancy models! A great example of this is the latest game that we are playing – Never Mind The Boat Hooks – Billhooks on the sea! Andy Callan has very cleverly adapted his rule set and produced some Medieval Cogs from wood and corrugated card board. This meant that we were play testing and having fun rather than still thinking about how to make the models.
Never Mind The Boat Hooks…coming soon… early play test
Here’s a sneak peak but in my next blog I hope to show you a bit more progress!
The Sarissa Precision Cog on my work bench.
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The final part of the project was to paint the ‘crew’ and base everything. Painting the figures was fairly straight forward – as they are supposed to be civilians, there was no need to worry about whether the figures would be in livery or not! I did check pinterest and Google images for pictures of medieval clothing and the general impression that I had from these sources was that the clothing would be mainly muted colours.
Passengers block painting in prgress.
So the driver was painted in Gold brown 70877 for his leggings, and deep green 70970 for his jacket. The finished figure was actually brighter than I intended but he looks OK and adds some colour to the diorama. The female figure (the driver or drover’s wife?) was painted with a light grey 70990 apron over a burnt red 70814 dress. The baby and her hat were painted white to add interest and to show the baby off. The little lad was painted with black grey 70862 leggings and a khaki 70988 smock. I gave him a bright red hat to make him stand out against the luggage!
Edith Cavell – the free figure from Partizan 2021
You may have noticed that there is a WW1 nurse in the picture above. It is the Edith Cavell figure that was being given out at Partizan this year. It made sense to paint her at the same time as the passengers, as I would be using similar colours. She is not included in the final diorama but here’s a picture of the finished model that I have added to my collection!
All aboard!
Once the figures were completed, they were based ( in the case of the drover) or added to the cart. The lady with the baby looks as though she’s is in a precarious position, perched right up on top. I’m sure that the Health and safety executive would not be pleased! However, this is where she is designed to go and from an artistic perspective, looks good!
Sabot base under constructionTest fitting everything.
The next stage was to construct the base. For some reason, I have a tendency to go for ‘sabot’ style basing for my dioramas and vignettes. It allows me easier access to paint the bases and should I wish to change things in future ( I have no idea why I would want to….) I can do so. I used a piece of MDF for the base – I think it was part of a discarded movement tray that I had in my ‘bit’s’ box. It was then a question of using Plasticacrd and some spare renedra bases to block in the spaces around the wagon, Oxen and drover. The picures show how I did this.
Texture paste added
Once this is done, I covered the whole lot in Vallejo Dark Earth texture paste. I also added some ballast for some extra texture on the edges. I used my sculpting tools to stipple up the earth where the oxen would have walked, and created the cart wheel marks in the cart base.
Painted and dry brushed
When dry, everything was painted with my choice of emulsion ‘Delhi Bazaar’ and then dry brushed with Iraqi Sand. I was going for a dry look to the base rather than a muddy winter or autumn finish.
Green Turf added
I then added some green scatter from the woodland scenics range, a blended green Turf.
The finished diorama – oops! I need to touch up the sides…
The final touch was to add a variety of tufts and flowers. My friends say that I use too many flowers on my bases but I like the colour that they add! I think that it adds to the rural look!
The final result with the edge of the base touched up!The view from the other side!
So the Ox wagon is compete and added to my collection. There is just one more thing that I will add. I need a length of chain to connect the front oxen team to the wagon but unfortunately, I am O/S of the size that I want and more annoyingly, I’m sure that I have some buried out in the shed somewhere! For now though, I’m calling this done and it’s on to the next project!
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In my last blog, I showed you how I assembled the Ox cart. Now, on to the painting. I primed everything with Army Painter Leather Brown to give a good base for the paint. I then followed my usual procedure for painting wooden carts. With hind sight this was a bit of overkill for this opened frame cart but the results are acceptable. I started by painting the cart and Oxen Yoke Vallejo Chocolate Brown 70872.
First coat – 70872 Chocolate Brown.
I also picked out some of the wooden pieces of luggage in the cart load with the same colour. Next, I used Flat Brown 70894 to ‘wet brush’ over the same parts. A wet brush technique is like a dry brush technique but there’s more paint on the brush and it’s a bit heavier. The idea is to leave some of the darker brown in the shadows.
Flat Brown coat – again, the luggage is also coated
The next stage is to use a heavy dry brush of Flat Earth 70983 to lighten the wooden frame. This time, I’m not going so heavy with either the paint or the brush. I’m trying not to cover all of the previous coats.
Flat Earth dry brushed on. I’ve tried to avoid the luggage, to keep these a darker colour.
The next colour that I dry brushed on was Orange Brown 70981. This is a lighter dry brush than the other coats and the focus is now the high spots on the wagon, wheels and frame. I tried to avoid the luggage, although any mistakes and over brushing ( as you can see on the sacks) will be corrected when I paint the luggage.
Orange Brown starts to give the ‘wood’ some texture.
Once the Orange brown is done, yet another dry brush is layered on. This time, I used yellow ochre 70913 and I am aiming at the high spots and edges. Incidentally, I’m not waiting for the different highlights to dry. I just layer them on one after the other and I think that this helps to blend them.
Golden Brown layered on and we are nearly done!
You could stop there but there is one final dry brush, this time using 70815 basic skin tone. It seems like the wrong colour to use but as a very careful edge highlight, it works. I have learnt this technique from the ‘Painting War’ Holy War issue. It very effective on on larger areas of wood. Here’s a link to a previous blog where I use this technique for the first time to paint a trebuchet:
Flat flesh top highlights – not essential, you could stop at Golden brown if you are happy with this effect
The next task is to paint the luggage and detail the wagon. All the iron work on the wagon and luggage was painted in 70950 Black. I may go back and paint the wheel rims in gun metal as I think that the paint would quickly wear off. The Bindings were painted in Light Brown 70929 and later painted with Iraqi Sand ‘stripes to give a bit of detail.
Iron work and bindings done!
When it came to the luggage, I use a variety of colours, Stone grey 70884, Iraqi sand 70819, Kahki 70988, Black 70950, Deep green 70970, Off white 70820, and my new favourite colour, Deck Tan 70986! Once the colours were blocked on, I gave everything a wash with Army Painter Soft Tone. Once this was dry, I went back over every thing with the original colour, carefully leaving some of the shadows created by the ink, to add the highlights. The top Highlights were done with the original colours but with a bit of Iraqi sand added to lighten the original colour, I find that Iraqi sand can be less ‘harsh’ than adding white. Deck Tan is also very useful for this. One final thought. As I was struggling to paint the details on the luggage at the sides of the cart, if did occur to me that it might have been easier to paint it separately and add it to the completed wagon.
Luggage with first highlights added
Onto the Oxen. I am no expert on painting Oxen. I did google a few pictures but decided to just copy the picture on the Perry web site as I liked the effect. I painted them with Off White, Vallejo 70820 and then picked out the pattern in Flat brown 70984. After a good liberal coating of soft tone, I repainted the white bits and used the flat brown to highlight the brown areas, although it’s not particularly noticeable. Eyes and noses were painted in matt black and the horns in Iraqi sand. I highlighted the horns with off white and used a black grey 70862 to blend the noses!
Oxen block painted before adding soft tone
I then based the Oxen in pairs on 40mm x 40mm renedra bases. I had left them unbased up until now as it allowed me easier access to the insides of the Oxen teams. This did lead to a bit of chipping as I moved the animals around. So once based up, I touched up any errors and finished off the yokes with black and Army Painter plate mail for the top off the bolts.
Oxen based, shaded and completed
So that’s it for the wagon and Oxen team. The next task is to complete the passengers and base the set. I’ll show you how in the next blog but here’s a teaser of progress so far!
Its, nearly there! Just the basing to complete
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My latest project is a Medieval Ox cart from Perry Miniatures. I seem to have a growing collection of wagons and although they are of little use in most wargames, they do look nice on the table as scenery pieces. They also look nice in the figure cabinet as part of my collection, so I seem to keep adding to my baggage train! As an aside, I must get around to writing a scenario or two involving either rescuing or raiding a baggage train. It would at least add some variety to our games.
Wagon and Arrow barrow from my collection
I am a great fan of the Perry Miniature sculpts – there are other company’s out there with some fantastic ranges but I like the style and proportions of the Perry’s figures. The Perry’s have also been involved in Medieval re-enactment, so they know their stuff when it comes to the period. There is just two minor grumps that I have with their products. Firstly, the casting quality is not always as good as it could be., particularly with their horses and wagons. It took me a couple of evenings to clean up the parts for the Ox wagon – the wheels were a particular challenge. The other issue is that there is no assembly instructions with these kits and I think that they are complicated enough to warrant some sort of guide. If not supplied with the kit itself, a bit more information on the web site would help.
There are plenty of parts in the Ox cart kit!
So here’s how I went about assembling the wagon. I hope that it is useful. The first place to start is of course, the clean up. I used a couple of differently shaped needle files and a Scalpel with an old blade for scraping the mold lines. For assembly, I use Expo Thick Super glue. I find it ideal for assembling metal miniatures. It’s thickness gives the glue some ‘fill ability’ on the joints so they don’t have to be perfect to stick together. Also the slower set time allows me to make sure that everything is lined up before the glue sets. The set time is about 10- 12 seconds, depending on the size of the bond. You can speed things up by using an accelerant. Despite being careful, I usually end up sticking parts to my fingers and usually get enough glue on my finger tips to stop me logging into my iPhone…
The Cart components after clean up.
One other thing, I always wash resin pieces in hot soapy water before assembly. Resin seems to be particularly likely to have a residue of the mold release agent on it, which will cause problems when painting. The picture above shows the main components for the wagon all cleaned up and ready to assemble.
Front wheels assembled. Load ready to glue to wagon base
The small wheels fit onto the front assembly. The Wagon load is fixed to the wagon bed. Note that the front of the wagon bed is the rounded bit and the rear of the load has the poles sticking out.
The sides look a bit wonky! They will straighten out once the top components are added.
Next, attach the sides to the wagon bed. They locate into the cut outs above the axle and may need a bit of filing to get them to fit. The two pieces in front of the assembly are the top connectors – they hold the railing sides together at the top.
Basic Wagon assembled
Here’s the wagon with the wheels on and the top connectors in place. The next part of the assembly is to fix the ‘elbow’ reinforcements to the wheels ( I made that term up – I’ve no idea what they are actually called!). They will need a bit of careful bending to go around the wheels and attach to the railing of the cart. It’s important that the joints are cleaned up and I cannot stress how important it is that you test fit everything before getting out the glue! It was during this part of the assembly that I stuck myself to the cart a couple of times! Those joints are difficult!
Elbow joints….?
With the elbow joints in place, the cart assembly is complete. What ever those things are that connect to the axles, they do make the cart look more substantial so I think it is worth persevering to add them.
The completed cart.
The next part of the assembly is to make the draft oxen. After cleaning up the pieces, you will need to glue the heads on the Oxen at the same time as placing the yolk over the animals neck. I haven’t glued the yolk into place, it will stay there without the need for glue and the movement will allow me to prime and paint the animals later.
The forward ox team awaits their heads!
Once the Oxen are assembled, I cleaned up the ‘crew’ and you can see the finished wagon below ready for priming. I’ll cover the painting process in my next blog – all being well!
Wagon ready to roll!
One final note, You get two types of Oxen – heads up or heads down. I decided to pair them. With hindsight, it might have been better to have one’ heads up’ with one ‘heads down’ as their horns tend to clash the way I have assembled them!
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As we approach the end of October, I thought that another work bench round up was in order. My on going painting projects are still, to some extent, curtailed by the work that is continuing to convert my garage into a proper wargaming den. The good news is that all the building work on the room is now completed, with one exception….We haven’t been able to get the floor done! The date for this work is 16th November and until the floor is laid, I really cant move anything back in. So patience is the key word. I have been over to Ikea to check out desks and storage and I’ve been out chalking up possible arrangements on the concrete floor for the cabinets and gaming table. However, until the floor is laid, the project is really on hold.
Furniture in place but still no floor!
Meanwhile, I have been pursuing my hobby as best that I can, given my restricted circumstances. On 10th October, I attended the Partizan show over at Newark. As it is just down the road from me, it wasn’t too much of a hardship to get there! Unusually, I didn’t take any photos of the actual show, even though there were some superb demonstration games on show. I was too busy talking to people that I hadn’t seen for so long thanks to the issues with Covid. I did purchase some more Perry Miniatures whilst I was there and for once they have gone straight onto the painting table rather than into the lead pile. I treated myself to some Irish Kern and an Irish Command set. I don’t intend to build a full Irish army but I thought that another unit of Kern would be useful and I intend to have a couple of units of Gallowglass so that I can add some Irish mercenaries to my WOTR army.
Another six Kern join the collection!
I painted the first batch of Kern in exactly the same way that I painted the Crusader miniature versions in my collection. You can see how by clicking here:
When it came to painting the command group, I primed the two Armoured figures in Black and the rest in Desert yellow rather than the flesh undercoat that I had been using for Kern. As you can see, the two armoured figures are ready for basing. With hind sight, the Dark red cloak was a bad idea. I should have gone for a Dark blue or Green cloak as the red effect is slightly reminiscent of Father Christmas!
The pipers
The remaining Kern are also nearly finished – the two pipers are about ready for basing. I was tempted to go for a tartan finish to the bag on the bag pipes but my references show them as being a plain leather bag. In this case, I went for the easy option rather than let my ‘artistic interpretation’ run loose! The two other Kern are also near to completion. One will make a good standard bearer, so I will have to add a flag. The other is sword armed and perhaps represents a ‘Bonnacht’ – a more professional and experienced Kern, perhaps a bodyguard for the Standard bearer.
Kern – or Bonnachts
So another 12 figures are nearing completion and my WOTR army continues to expand, despite me thinking it finished a year or so ago! I did buy one other item at Partizan. A medieval Ox cart. I think that I might take my time on this project and perhaps provide a step by step guide to making and painting it.
The six figures that make the Irish Command GroupEvery thing is still a bit cramped! My photo set up is not quite as I would like!
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This blog is an account of the battles that I was involved in at the Bill Hooks BASH held on September 4th at Boards and Swords in Derby. For more details of the actual event, please refer to my earlier blog, Bill Hooks BASH part one.
Sir Pete faces off against Sir Mike in the first battle
As always, it is difficult to participate in the battles, take photos and record exactly what happened. So the accounts are written after the event, from the brief notes that I made and of course, are totally biased from my perspective. As such, I suspect that makes my reports as reliable as the chroniclers of the time! If you get to talk to my opponents, they may hold a different view of what really happened! I must also apologise for not getting photos of every battle or even every army – there really was too much going on!
Sir Richard vs Sir Ian – game oneSir Ralph prepares to Advance against Sir Robbie – Game one
BATTLE ONE vs Sir John Csonka
It’s worth mentioning that John had travelled all the way from Bournemouth on the coach to join us on the day. This was to be his first ever battle using the Bill Hooks rules. He had borrowed an army, very kindly supplied by one of the other players ( Robbie, I think), so as a result, he was limited in the options that he had for his troops. With an army composed of just Bows, Bills and Men At Arms, John adopted a defensive position on the top of a hill at the back of the table and invited me to attack and do my worst – I was happy to oblige!
Lord Hotspur approach’s John’s defensive position
The movement phase was a somewhat one sided affair as I redeployed my artillery and the battle opened with them opening fire without effect on the opposing army. I had moved my main ward within long range bowshot of John’s defensive position. The idea was that we would either tempt John off of the hill or let him use his arrow supplies at long range whilst I moved my MAA into position to charge. My opening bow shots caused a bit of damage to John’s archers. To my surprise, John’s opening shots at long range killed seven of my archers in Lord Harry Hotspurs unit. At the end of the turn they were forced to make a morale check. A roll of 8 + would be good enough, with a 5, 6 or 7 causing the unit to be daunted and to fall back. I rolled a 3 and a 1!
Just don’t roll a four….
This would cause the unit to rout! I used Harry Hotspur’s command status to reroll the 1. I rolled another one…The whole block, along with Sir Harry ran from the table – game over! With the benefit of hindsight, I only needed to test the archer unit’s morale as the casualties were caused by shooting. Once they failed, they would have routed back through Sir Harry and his MAA but not caused any further morale checks with the MAA as they would ignore the archers plight. However, Once I chose to use Sir Harry’s reroll it seemed only fair that he should abide by the result – served me right!
Gaps were appearing in Johns line but my army was struggling to find a way in.
As that battle had ended so quickly, John kindly suggested that I re instate Sir Harry ( less his cowardly troops!) and we carried on with the battle. A desperate struggle ensued, with Lord Harry Hotspur and his remaining ward and Sir Eric Die Hard grinding down Johns position and gradually temptimg them to advance. The Kern nearly won the battle for me. Having ground down a unit of MAA that were holding the flank and forced them to fall back daunted, the Kern nearly killed John’s isolated C in C. He escaped the combat with one wound, somewhat shaken but was able to re-join another unit and find safety.
The battle came to it’s second conclusion when Sir Daniel Rose charged his light cavalry unit at a unit of Billmen that had become exposed. If he could force a morale check, Johns army was in danger of routing. Although Sir Daniel won the combat 5 wounds to 4 he managed to roll another 1 when checking for wounds on the leader. As a dolt, he had only one wound and was killed. We decided that both units should test morale. The result was predictable and whilst John’s men stood, the few remaining light horse routed, giving a second decisive victory to John!
Battle Two vs Sir Ralph Dutton
Sir Ralph’s Household observes the battlefield!
Sir Ralphs army livery was based on his family name and his home location. The army was fairly ‘bow heavy’ and Sir Ralph adopted an aggressive strategy, advancing rapidly to bring his superior firepower into range of his opponents. The opening moves saw two significant events. I drew my first and only special event card of the day and caused a rainstorm preventing any firing in the first turn. Under cover of the rain, my Kern were able to advance quickly down the left flank, threatening the rear of Sir Ralph’s army. I was also move towards Sir Ralphs Bow men line safe in the knowledge that he would be unable to unleash an arrow storm for the time being.
The army is ready to advance!
As the rain storm ended, my Skirmishers were again activated. The bad news was that my Artillery piece blew up killing it’s crew. The good news was that the Kern had closed with the opposition skirmishers and put them to flight in combat. They continued to harry the left flank, disposing of another batch of crossbowmen and distracting the units on that side of the table throughout the game.
On the right, the two opposing units of Light horse charged each other. This time, after 2 rounds of combat, Sir Daniel Rose was victorious, routing his opponent. This left the right flank under pressure with my light horse threatening the bow men from this side, turning them away from my centre with a flank attack.
This looks like it’s going to hurt….wait they’ve missed – pile in boys!
In the centre, Sir Ralph finally unleashed his arrow storm but seemed to be suffering from damp bowstrings as casualties amongst my wards were extremely light. In reply to the arrow storm, Sir Eric Diehard was able to charge home, tying up one of Sir Ralphs ward and preventing its commander from giving orders. This allowed me to concentrate my fire on the formation of bowmen in line. They were out shot and routed.
Sir Ralphs MAA close in but have to weather an arrow storm!
Sir Ralph then attempted to charge my units but fell short. Surrounded by archers , they were almost annihilated and failed their morale bringing the battle to a close. Victory for Lord Harry Hotspur! In this game, apart from the episode with the artillery, my dice throws had been much kinder. I was lucky to take minimal casualties from Sir Ralph’s opening arrow storm, whilst my own troops were far more effective with their dice, with over average numbers of 6’s being thrown at each attempt.
Only four men left standing! Even the crossbowmen skirmishers get in on the act!
This was the first time that I had faced archers in a line formation in a ‘real battle’. We had play tested the formation and whilst it is devastating if it has the initiative – an arrow storm could be 48 dice! – we found it to be extremely fragile when in melee and of course vulnerable to a cavalry charge. Although light cavalry are vulnerable to arrows, an unsupported bow line is still going to struggle against a head on charge, even with a closing shot. I’ll leave you to do the maths!
Battle Three vs Sir Richard Robinson
Richard is now a veteran of Bill Hooks, being Peter Harris’s regular opponent. His well balanced army would be a formidable test. From the start, Sir Richard adopted a no nonsense ‘up and at ’em’ philosophy, with his army advancing rapidly towards me. Once again, my Kern were able to work their way down the left flank to cause mayhem with Sir Richards skirmishers and threaten to get behind his army. And once again, my artillery blew up in the opening turn!
The centre of each army closes. My light cavalry are lurking just out side of camera shot!
Despite that minor set back I managed to position my light horse to launch a flank attack on Sir Richards two units of archers in line. This caused them to pivot at right angles to my army, exposing his C in C and his ward of MAA. Although my light horse were beaten off and then ridden down by Sir Richards light horse, his battle line was in chaos, pulled to the left by the Kern and to the right by the light horse. After inflicting a couple of casualties on Sir Richards MAA, Lord Harry Hotspur ( rated as a Hero for this game) charged home with his MAA.
The archers have had to swing around to turn and face – Hotspur sees that gap and he’s in!
Lord Hotspur comfortably won the ensuing melee and was able to follow up in the next turn, pushing The opposing army commander off of the table. Another victory for Lord Hotspur! Once again, the dice goodess had been exceptionally kind to me. I think that I used my bad throws up in the first game!
Another superbly painted unit – I’m not sure who these are fighting for.Like wise, I’m not sure who these fellows represent but the units looked lovely and the round basing in trays works really well.
So three great games, all with different highs and lows and three great opponents. All three games could have turned out differently with a change of the order of the cards or better or worse dice. I think that is part of the charm of the rules. No matter how good your initial strategy, lady luck will have her say. Which means that win or lose, you have something to talk about and the urge to fight another battle!
Clever use of spare arrows to count down the volleys! Sir Robbie’s Irish Bonachts. There will be more on Irish troops in Bill Hooks Volume 2! You will have to wait though!
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I hope that you all enjoy your hobby as much as I do – remember that our web site will have much of what you need! Click here to see our shop:
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