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A couple of initial French units for my 28mm Hundred Years War project. Figures from Perry Miniatures - movement trays courtesy of Byron M's "Northern Lights". |
Another little painting update to share as June concludes here - a project that is "new" - in terms of blog posting, if not in terms of when I actually started messing around with it. Here it is - the Hundred Years War in 28mm. These are all 28mm multi-part plastics from Perry Miniatures (or, nearly all of them...I think a couple of metal castings are in one of the photos).
Why do the Hundred Years War? Well, it has Knights! Castles! France! Plus, while the war went on and on - for, er, a hundred years (actually, I think, slightly longer even?) - and featured some historic larger-scale battles, and the majority of the conflict, it seems to me, featured raids and counter-raids (the famed "chevauchees") which, to me, make it ideal for smaller-sized skirmishes and minor battles which are a lot more within reach in terms of getting a couple of opposing forces painted up and staged on a 6' x 4' table.
For all that, I do find this setting does have one major, major barrier - at least for me - and that is the presence of medieval heraldry. Now don't get me wrong, medieval heraldry is really cool! The thing is...there is a whole lot to it! It is so easy to get things wrong, and even if I have the intended heraldry correct, it us usually, at best, almost impossible to paint properly...
But...if you don't at least try it, you'll never get to play it so...I started messing around a little bit with the Perry kits in late 2024. For rules I found myself intrigued by Andy Callan's "Never Mind the Billhooks", which was originally written for the Wars of the Roses, but was quickly adapted for the Hundred Years War (and an increasing number of other periods). The process was very slow - such that none of the work ever made it into Curt's most recent Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge - and, well, it still is pretty slow...but there is enough done that I have a couple of very basic units ready to go.
French Crossbowmen
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A unit of crossbowmen for the Hundred Years War - 28mm multi-part plastic figures from Perry Miniatures. |
In "Billhooks" many infantry units are in blocks of 12 - and that is what we have here, a basic unit of crossbowmen for the game.
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Let's get ready with those crossbows now! |
So - which French city or lord are these crossbowmen from? Great question. I have no idea. This unit was about experimenting, seeing if I can get the plastic models assembled and painted so they can be a kind of general "medieval crossbowman" unit - able to fit in with a French force, but just as possible perhaps as part of a Free Company.
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Reloading crossbows seems like a drag! |
I love the Perry Miniatures sculpts, but I'm not ace when it comes to assembling their multi-part plastic kits and you won't have to squint too hard to find some very awkward shoulder connections. A few of them appear to be holding their crossbows in a reluctant fashion - which can be kind of interesting for the setting, but would be better if it had been a product of my intent instead of a coincidental outcome because I suck at assembling plastic figures.
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I struggled with the shoulders on these models...fortunately a hobby knife helped sort the worst of it out... |
These crossbow blocks are basic building blocks for a French force, so I will need another couple units. I might try to get some more metal castings to bulk out my remaining box of plastics crossbowmen. I may also try to get a little more specific about a city or lord for the next crossbow group.
French Spearmen
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French spearmen ready for action in the 15th century! |
Again, we have a block of 12 figures here to comprise the unit - in this case, spearmen, although not every fellow is armed with a spear. As far as the "Billhooks" rules go, it's all close enough so they get counted as spears, and that is fine with me!
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Variance in the level of armour/equipment... |
You can see here that I have attempted something of a matching color/marking for this unit. Which city, or which lord? I have no idea. I copied the look from something I saw online...if you are looking at this and know the period, you may recognize it - and if so, will spot the mistakes I surely made...but whatever...I went for a look that was generally matching, but still had one or two fellows stand out a little more.
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Not all the "spearmen" have spears...the chap on the right looks like he is ready to crack open someone! |
These are all multi-part plastic Perry miniatures, and I was struck by the wide assortment of armour and equipment worn by these soldiers. Some just seem to have padded jackets, while others have chain mail, and still others have a fair collection of plate components, on their arms or their legs. I still have so much to understand about this period - was this pretty common? I guess with any mix soldiers from this time in history, it would have been a bit tricky to have every single soldier outfitted in the same way...so I went with the motley look. It...seems right to me. I'll go with that for now!
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A day at the office somewhere not far from Calais... |
OK - that is two basic infantry for the French side. But the REALLY cool bits of the French armour are the noblemen and knights, mounted and on foot. Stay tuned for more on that...that's all for now, thanks for reading!