Davide 'Il Robusto' Bicclione

A brief respite from the Wars of the Roses for you gentle reader, as much as for me, you and I have certainly earned it! A while ago I received one of Wargames Illustated Giants in Miniature sculpted by my son Matthew, Giovanni of the Black Bands. I found that somehow I'd already got one, so I passed one on to Phil for our Italian Wars project. Well, to my surprise he painted his up and it duly appeared on his blog! Put to shame I decided I best tackle mine then ~

As you can see he'd not win any prizes but I'm confident that he will do his duty admirably, serving as anything from an objective marker, to acting as a victory point in the game, even as a Champion! Time will tell...

"Clifford, I say, come forth and fight with me!"

The latest base/element of figures to pass across my painting desk and endure its time under the brush of doom before mustering into the Wars of the Roses collection in GHQ is a group of Men At Arms, in this instance representing the Household of Thomas, Lord Clifford. They carry his heraldic banner as at the first battle of St Albans courtesy of Freezywater Flags, the first occasion I've used one of their products.As usual their base is from Warbases, textured with the usual Woodlands Scenics ballast mix and dressed with static grass and foliage ~

The figures of course are from Perry Miniatures with the addition of a single Crusader Miniatures figure to act as the banner bearer. As Norm commented on an earlier entry that my basing is quite economical in respect of figures I thought a bird's-eye view might be appropriate to show 8 figures on an 80x60mm base ~

Next up should be the last of the Yorkist retinues, the second one bearing the colours of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. That would have left just two bases of mercenary crossbowmen to complete this part of the project if I had not ordered a handful of figures through Ebay ~ including a Light Artillery piece and crew figures, a Medieval Bishop for a vignette I have planned, and a few...well, its a whimsy so you must wait and see.

"Warwick... proud setter up and puller down of kings."

Despite the lingering after effects of last week's lurgy I have finished the first of two planned Retinues bearing Warwick's colours.  The figures are a mixture of Eureka Miniatures and Perry Miniatures - both from their Wars of the Roses and European ranges. The standard and banner are from Pete's Flags and the bases from Warbases as ever. My regular reader has no doubt noticed by now that none of my figures in livery bear any heraldic badges. It's been a conscious decision on my part as neither hand nor eye are up to such extensive fine detail and decals are sadly a very limited range. I'm hoping that at 75 folk will be kindly disposed to cut me some slack there and turn the proverbial blind eye!

The Eureka Miniatures archers you will have seen many times before in other of the Retinues I've featured as the project has moved forward, with the Perry Miniatures billmen coming as I mentioned from their European armies range. I thought that given Warwick's association with Calais and its garrison it was quite reasonable to assume his forces might evidence a more continental look around the edges. Anyway. As a preview here are my Yorkists posing before Blandings Castle, home of Earl Emsworth's ancestors you may recall ~

With this retinue completed there is a clear sight of the finishing line for the foot part of the project ~ one retinue, one MAA and two bases of mercenary crossbowmen are prepped, spray undercoated and in the painting queue atop my desk. I would hope {DV} to have managed all of those by the end of the month. Then it should be on to the far smaller mounted element and finally the main Command stands for both armies.

Denique Triumphus Haztrubal Bicca!

Phil came over on Tuesday for our usual weekly tabletop battlefield run out. This week he'd requested a Hail Caesar game and we settled on a Punic Wars encounter between Coronus Cunctator and Haztrubal Bicca. It turned out to be a brisk encounter over 5 Turns in about an hour and a half.  Brisk even by our standards of late! Phil took on Coronus Cunctator and yours truly Haztrubal Bicca. As you've come to expect now, a photomontage carrying you down into the action, though a rather brief offering by our usual standard ~

The view from behind the Carthaginian starting line. Haztrubal has deployed his Veteran Lybian infantry in his centre with his elephants to the fore accompanied by Light Infantry skirmishers. His Spanish are to his right and his Celtiberians to his left.

Coronus has the Legio VI and the Allied Etruscan Legion in his centre, clearly intending to push through Haztrubals centre one the Velites have dispensed with the elephant threat. His left has all his Roman cavalry screened by Cretan archers and Balieric slingers. His right has mainly Light Infantry and cavalry stiffened by a Celtic warband.

With the initiative in his hand Coronus pushes Legio VI forward to engage the elephants while his left wing skirmishes with Haztrubal's Spanish. The Etruscans don't move, perhaps intimidated by all the pachyderns. 

Despite the Etruscan's lethargy Legio VI press confidently forward to close with the enemy. Surely the Velites will make short work of those lumbering beasts and their supports?

On Coronus's left the Roman cavalry drive back their Spanish foe causing much disorder in the accompanying Infantry. This is compounded by the fire of his slingers and archers.

The elephants stamp all over the Velites and crash into the Principes. A short and bloody fight transpires and the remnants of the Principes flee!

Amazingly on Haztrubal's right his Spanish cavalry survive the Roman's onslaught and begin to push the enemy back.

Legio VI are broken by the battle-mad elephants and the survivors flee the field! Suddenly Haztrubal senses the fates may have decided in his favour!

The Elephants are free to turn in on the flank of the embattled Etruscan Allied Legion, pinned as they are by Haztrubal's Southern Italian Allied hoplites.

On Coronus's right it has all gone to pot! The Celtiberian cavalry smash into and over his lightl Infantry skirmishers and drive back his Numidian cavalry!

It's all up for Coronus in Turn 5 as the Etruscans are first driven back and then destroyed by the hoplites supported by the Lybian veteran Infantry. 

A first win for Haztrubal and the Carthaginian army since they were brought into being during Lockdown. The game was short and brutal, for which I must truthfully praise the 'dice gods who smote Phil's dice most delightfully!!!! Still great fun followed by a bacon sarni, coffee and fruit cake. After all, we all surely remember the old maxim: an army marches on its stomach!!!

"Peace! impudent and shameless Warwick..."

Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, otherwise known to posterity as 'The Kingmaker'. I couldn't really organise a Wars of the Roses collection without including some elements of Warwick's forces, after all he was a major player in the unfolding events, at least until his death at Barnet in 1471. 

I was unfortunately struck down by a lurgy in the middle of last week which rather interrupted my painting flow. Such disruption means that I've only his first Retinue command stand completed, as yet ~

I plan on fielding two retinues bearing Warwick's colours in due course. Currently I'm working on the archers for the first Retinue's base of Bows, using Eureka Miniatures archers supplemented by a lonely Perry Miniatures command figure. As I've mentioned before, archers seem to take me forever to complete, so much detail on the figures. Do wargames figures really need this level of detail I wonder? Perhaps that is a subject for a future reflective blog post, not tried one of those lately? In the meantime its on with those archers...

"Fight to the last gasp..."

...though the Bard somehow omitted to add "...if the money is right that is!" If that is the case then you can rely on these mercenary pikemen to bolster you battle lines...'if' that is. This latest addition to the collection will add a little variety to the look of the Yorkist force most likely, but being a mercenary unit I'd not rule out them plying their trade for Henry's cause rather than for Edward's!

The figures are mostly from Perry Miniatures with an added banner bearer and nonchalant billman from Crusader Miniatures. The standard is from one of Pete's Flags Italian Wars sheets I had while the cross of Burgundy banner is from a Wargames Foundry free download, I think. I don't often get to use my mauve triad paints, so these mercenaries were an ideal opportunity to splash them on where I could.

Next to endure their spell under the 'Brush of Doom' will be a third Yorkist Retinue, one of two I plan to represent the forces of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, otherwise the Kingmaker! It will be a while before they will be along for viewing, archers seeming to take me forever to complete somehow compared to other types.