French Coustillers

A few more gaps filled with the French army. These are 'coustillers', sergeants' or mounted retainers carrying their lords flags and banners, which I'll be using either as a second rank supporting the mounted men at arms, or as a seperate unit for lighter cavalry tactics.

They have been painted by Jim Bowen and based and flagged by me - all GMB Design flags, except the French arms banner which is a free download from the excellent Kriggspill site. These now complete my planned mounted French troops, unless there is the need to ad a few more for the Salute game next year?

This will probably be the last posting on this blog for this year. It's been a pretty good year as far as progress is concerned, taking into acount the amount of time I've had, although I didn't get to the planned finishing post with these HYW armies. However that post does seem to be coming into view and the Salute venture will be sufficient to motivate me to finish early next year.

I'm now busy assembling plastics for my next Burgundian figures and ready for the new figures and useful pieces in the Perrys 'Mercenaries' box.

Toodle pip....

Armagnacs (part une)

In attempting to get close to a point of partial completion with my HYW armies at the end of this year (which I have failed to do) I realised that I'd overlooked the fact that earlier in the year I'd finished about fifty-odd French figures, a mix of men at arms and retainers, which I found carefully tucked away in a box. So these are the first group of six bases. Until now I'd hesitated basing them, as I want to use as many pre-printed flags as possible, due to their high quality, and to align flagbearers to respective knights where I've painted specific heraldry on surcoats. So these figures are those who have generic French flags (from Adolfos Ramos, LBMS, et moi). Future basing now appears to be held hostage to a future date when new HYW flags are available - so anyone who can influence Grahame Black or Steve Hales to release some more, will have my eternal gratitude! Figures are Perrys with a couple of Citadel Miniatures interlopers, all brushwork is mine.

This will probably be the last blog on here for a short while, as I switch my attention to my Burgundians and things plastic on t'other blog. However I have made a 2010 resolution to complete these armies.

French Men at Arms (I)

The first completed French men at arms, 8 bases. Wanted to try and achieve sense of some movement with these figures as they advance in chaotic manner towards the English, under arrow fire on the verge of making contact for melee.

The figures are a mix of dismounted knights with their retainers, alongside some professional soldiers raised for the campaigns. The heraldry on the knights has been researched as pertinet to the Henrician campaigns in Normandy and northern France following Agincourt and I'll add a note to the underside of each base re the actual figures portrayed. Total of 24 bases planned and next figures for basing-up are underway.

All figures are Perrys - with a couple of older Citadels sneaked in - flags are GMB (have used the smaller version of the 2 per sheet from GMB for the dismounted figures and larger will be for mounted figures or command vignettes) and arrows chez moi.

Encore Pavisers

Just managed to miss an April update I'm afraid...but progress has been made.

Oh er, it's ... another French urban paviser unit; this time advancing into English arrows. This unit represents Rouen, the largest town in medieval Normandy, using more of the excellent LBMS pavise transfers.

Although this is the third urban milita (one to go) it was actually the first one I started and has been on and off the workbench for many months now, for some reason I really struggled getting it done and changed the composition many times - the 'rejected' figures are now destined for the last milita.

The arrows are my own castings, nicely made for me by Pete at themouldmaker.com which seems the only way I can to get hold of suffiicient volumes to allow me to place them in most of the French bases (and have some for other future and past Ancient & Medieval projects). The limitations have been my own sculpting abilities, the originals were metal rod with fletchings made from green stuff and Magic Sculpt. The feathers maybe just a tad oversized, but they are good enough for me for what I want to use them for - will post up some sprues of them for closer inspection.

In the interim between militias, I've been gradually adding French Men at Arms and I've just received some pro-painted English longbowmen, ready for basing - more anon.

Pontoise Militia contingent

My second urban pavise contingent completed for the French; Pontoise with pavise transfers courtesy of LBM. Another 4 base unit, with a supporting second rank of crossbowmen and a handgunner base. Flag is yet to be added. This will be the last passive French unit, the remainder will be advancing - all I need now is a means of making/obtaining a plentiful supply of arrows for them to be wading through.

Still not happy with the sharpness of my photos, although I have the 'close up' setting on, its a tad disappointing to put in the effort with the brushwork and then for it not to show up on the web - ho hum.

Progress is being (slowly) made on a number of fronts - some English men at arms and medieval village buildings and 'backyards'. Must concentrate on completing units before starting others....

French Men at Arms

A contingent of mounted French men at arms, a total of six bases, each with two figures. The French almost exclusively, to my knowledge, fought on foot following the Agincourt defeat, so these figures may not see a lot of action, but they were too tempting to ignore. They will be joined by a second rank of mounted sergeants, who'll be carrying flags relating to each personalised knight. The French arms flag (unclear in the photo) is from the LBM flag sheet. I will do the corresponding figures' heraldry on the foot knights.

For French heraldry in the Jeanne d'Arc period see this excellent site http://pagesperso-orange.fr/jean-claude.colrat/index-angl.htm

Orleans Militia contingent

I have completed my first contingent - Orleans urban militia; a pavise and spear unit, bearing the city arms and the flag of the Duke of Orleans.

The city retained loyalty to the French Duaphin during the first half of the fifteenth century, being beseiged by the English for many months in 1429, an ambitous undertaking that the English were rather under-prepared for, as it was the second largest city of France and well fortified and supplied during the siege. Famously the sige was lifted by the Jeanne d'Arc and the retreating English defeated at Patay.

The figures have been painted in a red and blue city colours, although not uniformily. Pavises are LBM transfers and flag is GMB. I've added a base of 'shot', on the assumption that rich city like Orleans would have had some numbers of handguns.

I have already broken my 'golden rule', as the figures are passive - rather than the planned advancing poses for the French. I will add another standing militia unit, possibly mixed with crossbows and handguns, and another two attacking milita contingents - have to use up all those lovely LBM pavise designs!

Next up, some Franch mounted men at arms.