Okay, stop the laughing at the back! Since this is only the very first unit, it really is too soon to assess whether this is a project or only a slight diversion. There has been a lot of the interest of late in War of the Roses with either figures, rules, or games. Given all of these temptations, it is a wonder I lasted so long before succumbing.Well, I might have made it if not for Richard's L.'s enjoyable series of WotR battles using his own rules. The battles have been great fun and each player commands only one Battle. Since all of these games have been played remotely over Zoom or Skype, I have difficulty actually seeing my troops. My solution was to build a Battle for my own use so that I could see what is what in my lines during the chaos of battle.
Off the painting desk today is the retinue of Sir William Stanley. The figures are Perry plastics and putting the figures together was enjoyable. Coming in at 52 figures strong, Stanley's retinue consists of three lines. They are: |
| Bowmen |
 |
| Billmen |
 |
| Men at Arms |
Once another box of figures arrives, a second retinue is planned. The Battle of Tewkesbury is on the gaming docket for the Tuesday game.
These are really nice Jon...you have done a lovely job of painting the troops as well as the basing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Keith!
DeleteFantastic units Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Michal!
DeleteI do like these units Jonathan, splendid troops!
ReplyDeleteMerci, Phil!
DeleteI am now feeling sorry I sold my WotR armies. But Stanley Jonathan, a snake. Richard III man here.
ReplyDeleteSorry to remind you of your loss, George. As for Stanly, I picked him as a start because he was present in many battles.
DeleteFantastic looking troops
ReplyDeleteYou are most kind, Neil!
DeleteSuperb start Jonathan! A period that has gathered a lot of interest of late as you say, which is good to see. Keep up the good work:)
ReplyDeleteThank you! It is a period with a seeming resurgence in interest. Let's hope that interest lasts long enough to complete an army!
DeleteExcellent work, Jonathan! I envy your progress!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them, Steve!
DeleteCarpe diem!
ReplyDeleteIts recreation not work!
Mind you I have at least 1 minor diversion that I'm afraid to count noses in case the total has climbed to 4 digits......
Ross, you are exactly right! This is recreation and not work. Please expand on your near thousand figure diversion.
DeleteSplendid looking figures and painting. At the rate you paint you will have this project finished off in no time.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peter! You may be correct about getting an army completed in no time but my problem is that I ALWAYS have many projects in work simultaneously. Yeah, that is a problem.
DeleteVery nice, Jon. I have played a huge amount of WotR games by Zoom in the past 10 months, playtesting the rules and naby scenarios for "Test of Resolve", which is approaching publication.
ReplyDeletePeter, I look forward to seeing some of the results from your many WotR Zoom games. Are you keeping battle reports for these playtests? Playing by Zoom has opened an entirely new world of ready combatants.
DeleteI have lots of pictures of screens, but the games have played quickly so taking notes sufficient for an actual write up is tough. There certainly were a lot of very non standard actions during the WotR!
DeleteTaking notes? We keep these details all in memory, don't we?
DeleteSix months ago, I knew nothing of the WotR. Now, I know a little bit! A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Nice figures and the painting is great Jon.
ReplyDeleteThank you! The figures are nice, indeed.
DeleteSuperb work - I love the armor effects.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like approve, Darren!
DeleteLovely start to a new era/project, Jonathan. I've used both Hail Caesar and Lion Rampant for WotR in the past. Both worked well for multi player games.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dean! Your WotR work is an inspiration.
DeleteAn excellent START, you know there will be more :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I think this an excellent START. My trouble seems to be getting figures. I have a long lost order from Caliver Books somewhere in transit...
DeleteFrustrating for sure. However rumor has it you do have a fair stock of unpainted lead in other eras to work on while you await the latest arrivals! :-)
DeleteYou know me well, Peter! Plenty of figures, no doubt. Too many, really. If I ever gave a tour of The Lead Pile, some would be aghast.
DeletePerhaps, but the administration only offers tiours of the painted stuff!
DeleteI am close to having "enough"... and then I can start my smallish (so far) Congo/Darkest Afrika project, which I have slowly been accumulating items for the past 6 years or so. :-)
Peter, if you are close to having "enough" then perhaps you need another project?
DeleteLOL! That is NOT the idea, Jon! :-)
DeleteI still have plenty of lead for at least 2 years of painting as it is.
Only two years? That is hardly enough!
DeleteSplendid start to your new project, obviously you need to do both sides, I'm glad the assembly wasn't too onerous, isn't there a Perry stockists on your side of the pond?
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks, Iain! There are a couple of stockists but the one I use has been out of stock since before Christmas. Caliver had them in stock and offered free shipping. A very good deal if you can get them!
DeleteSure, what’s one more? ;)
ReplyDeleteV/R,
Jack
e pluribus unum.
DeleteWith this level of quality, it might only be a diversion ? Too bad, I can't believe it :D
ReplyDeleteYou are very kind. Thank you!
DeleteWow - fantastic
ReplyDeleteThanks, David!
DeleteGreat job on these! WotR is a very cool looking game o any tabletop, tho often requires a lot of minis?
ReplyDeleteThanks! You know, the rules I have been playtesting do not require too many figures at all. A player needs only one Battle of about 50 figures. Easy!
DeleteO, then colour me intrigued Jon. Looking froward to more!
DeleteStay tuned. The next remote battle is set for Tuesday night.
DeleteOh wow! That is some superb paintwork Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the medieval fold!
High praise from you, Mike! I guess I needed a project to wedge in between the Reconquista and Italian Wars.
DeleteThe Ooooo shiny strikes again! Crackin work Jonathan. How many units do you think you'll paint up?
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Ray! How many units? One at a time..
DeleteHaha
DeleteFantastic WotR infantry Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mike!
DeleteI agree with you, Jonathan, the Perry plastics were great to work with and so many variations can be made from them just by removing and re-gluing hands. You can get every figure in a unit different if you like. I must do some more of these.
ReplyDeleteMark, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed working with the plastics. I do miss the heft of metals.
DeleteYour first batch is nicely done. I am sure you will enjoy putting more units out for such a colorful period. And we get to see the progress, if you stay nice enough to share photos of progress. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! If I paint them, you will see them.
DeleteThis does look suspiciously like the start of a new project to me Jonathan. Lovely work. I'm still a little wary of gluing together plastics and whether I would have the patience to work through a whole box, but after reading how much you enjoyed it and on top of Mark's recent comments I am starting to think I am missing out here.
ReplyDeleteThis does look like a new project doesn’t it? I may only build a unit or two but we will see where it goes beyond that. The figures are easy to put together with not too many parts.
DeleteVery nicely done! 52 figyis quite a diversion in my eyes. But I do really like the way the battle looks when all together like that.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way WoTR looks on the table. It’s a period that has tempted me as well. The history though is very confusing to me because I keep forgetting who is who. 😀
Thanks! I like the the way the battle looks too. I am starting from the same place as you, Stew. Right now, the history is confusing but won’t be for long.
DeleteThe history will remain confusing, I can assure you (says the man who has written a book on the period and gives lectures). Everyone has the same name, they're all related to one another, and even today many people have an axe to grind. The gaps in the evidence for motivations leads to many "he would have done this" or "he/she must have thought that" in the more popular histories. One warning for those of you new to the period, it may be fun to pick sides but whatever you do, don't cross the Ricardians....
DeleteWE often forgot in our games which side we were fighting on... and of course in a few battles it is uncertain or allegiances change on the battlefield!
DeleteIn all cases, each noble man is fighting for himself and what he can get out of it! As for swapping sides, I live near Northampton battlefield, site of the infamous betrayal by the traitor, Lord Grey of Ruthin.
DeleteOK. Perhaps the history will ALWAYS be confusing!
DeleteI know that when I read War of the Roses by Dan Jones awhile ago I had to keep flipping to the family charts to remind me who was who. I might give that another go.
DeleteI also think the shifting alliances is a hard thing to model on the table satisfactorily. 😀
The "stab in the back" element of it all is only really possible with well written briefings in multi-player games.
DeleteImpressive start to the project and put together and painted very quickly. As is no doubt clear from my blog plastics and constructing them isn’t a problem for me, yes the heft of metal can be pleasing but I often find the prep work for metal just as annoying. WotR is a project in the dungeon but just hasn’t been started yet. Other NEW projects are coming to the first though 😱
ReplyDeleteThank you, Matt! I look forward to the launch of your WotR project. The figures will be beautiful, no doubt.
DeleteOther NEW projects? What is up next?
Brilliant Johnathan. As I come to completing my contingent for the wars its great to see another wargamer start.Of course you had to create a big unit and rub it in how quickly you paint these wonderful figures. Absolutely impressive and good choice of family.
ReplyDeleteRobbie, as always, you are very kind. I think your work on your WotR project brilliant and watching your armies grow has been an inspiration for me.
DeleteLovely miniatures great painting! I was very tempted to get perry wotr boxes, resisted and went for 1/72 plastics and metal! * partly resisted lol
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them, Tony! I await seeing your armies out on maneuvers.
DeleteThat's a lovely range of midieval troops. I especially like the style of poses and the chance to mix them as you have done. The period is interesting from a tactical point of view as you have a lot of different troops fighting at the same time on the battlefield with different weapons and tactical use. I assume that you will like to dive deeper into the period and analyze the battles and campaigns.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andre! I will take a deeper dive into the period, for sure since I know so very little about the war.
DeleteBeautiful painting on these! :) Well on the way to a grander force too ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mark! You may be correct about being the way to a grander force.
DeleteOf course you needed another project and don't let anyne disuade you. They do look very nice and seems to be a lot of figures in a relatively short time so well done again.
ReplyDeleteRichard
OK. You have convinced me. I guess one can always have use for one more project. Thanks, Richard!
DeleteMarvellous toys Jonathan...
ReplyDeleteIt’s so much fun starting a new project.
All the best. Aly
Thank you, Aly! Starting a new project is so much fun!
DeleteFunnily enough, I really enjoy finishing projects, then I have a new army to play with.
DeleteMy projects seem to rarely finish. There is ALWAYS something else to add.
DeleteWe all need another project every now and again, you've made an excellent start with these great paint jobs.
ReplyDeleteA new project is rejuvenating. Thanks, Paul.
DeleteNothing like a new project get the enthusiasm fired up and it shows in this first very nice entry!
ReplyDeleteChristopher
You are quite right! One can get fired up on a new project.
Delete