OWAC IV - The Paymaster

For this not very productive month, I have modified my initial plans: instead of using my Citadel merchant model as the representative of its current employer, the Guild of Goldsmiths and Jewellers of Altdorf, I've decided to make him a full member of the mercenary army as the Paymaster. 

For those who remember the 5th edition Dogs of War army book, the Paymaster was one of the two mandatory characters, with the Mercenary General. His role is to keep the army's pay chest: this heavy, ironclad chest is generally brought on battle on a cart, pulled by a sturdy mule or donkey, and provided with an impressive standard that also serves as the army standard. 

At this stage, the obvious choice for such a piece would be to use Mydas the Mean and Sheikh Yadosh's cart (forgetting the idea of the standard). Unfortunately, this model is quite rare and rather expensive. Fortunately, the old Citadel catalogues provide all the dimensions to build a new one:

I've used the Fenryll resin Medieval Wagon as a starting point, sawn it to the dimensions of the chassis of Mydas's cart roughly drawn on the square paper, and replaced the original wheels by Citadel ones. 

 

The shafts and the mule come from an old Citadel cart (I can't find the reference), and the chest, from the Powder Cart released by Wargames Foundry, strengthened by Evergreen polystyrene angle, and filled with coins obtained by cutting in thin slices a polystyrene rod. On this picture, I was still looking for a solution to fill the chest:

The wheels and the chassis were painted separetely, then glued together before fixing the wagon to the base. Same for the chest, the donkey and the paymaster.

 

 

 

My plan was to protect the Paymaster with a wall of hardened bodyguards, but I wasn't able to paint ten of them in addition to the cart. Next month hopefully!

OWAC IV - The pikemen - Part III

 Time to show you the rest of the clan. Unmodified models of the mythic MB1 box!

Second rank of pikemen:

 

 And the BlackHorns completed:

 See you next month for something totally different!

OWAC IV - The pikemen - Part II

Standard bearers are probably the most time consuming models in a regiment, and this one was no exception. 

Chronicon Helvetiae Part I - Page 230

The emblem of the BlackHorns clan being the famous auroch of the Grey Moutains, I've searched for inspiration in the existing banners of the Canton of Uri (left: Sempach banner, 1386 - right: Julius banner,1512)...

... and finally used as a starting point the coat of arms of the Warhammer Ostland :) 

Painting on curved surfaces while keeping the proportions can be tricky sometimes. Below a few pictures (shot with my smartphone, a little bit dark I'm afraid) showing how I have processed: 

1. Copy the model on a square paper; 
2. Draw a grid on the flag (based in white); 
3. Draft the silhouette, using some reference points on the grid; 
4. Fill the silhouette; 
5. Clean the messy paint strokes and the grid with several layers of the basecoat (here Vallejo Model Color Filthy Brown)

Still a few additional hours to spend on shadows, highlights, and all the tiny little details (the tongue I had initially forgotten). And you're done!

 The back is far less glorious :p

 

Another idea I found in the illustrated chronicles Luzerne Schilling:

Luzerne Schilling - Page 123

These naked hairy men are "woodwoses" or wild men of the woods, and they were sometimes used in medieval representations to present coats of arms (in our case, Lucerne and Uri). Anyway, these beards tinted in the colors of the Cantons is a nice touch I had to try... with mitigated results I would say.

Next post, I'll show you the other models painted for the BlackHorns clan.

OWAC IV - The pikemen - Part I

One of the pleasures of searching inspiration in historical references is to browse old books online. Lucky me, the history of the Old Swiss Confederation was covered by several chronicles, including the Tschachtlanchronik, the Chronicon Helvetiae (Part I, Part II and Part III) and the Illustrated Chronicle by Diebold Schilling of Lucerne (Luzerner Schillling). Hundreds and hundreds of illustrations to contemplate, find colour schemes, ideas for banners, and more generally, anything that can make your regiments stand out. 

For this second month, my initial plan was to paint the content of the MB1 box as is, using a very Swiss color scheme, white and red. But I've learnt two things from my unit of halberdiers: red is not an easy color, and the black & yellow couple works quite well. I have therefore opted for pikemen from the BlackHorns clan, whose coat of arms shows a black auroch's head on a yellow background... yep, you've probably recognized the coat of arms of the Canton of Uri. 

Once decided for Ur... sorry BlackHorns colors, something I couldn't avoid was the famous hornblower, wearing the bull outfit!

Luzerner Schilling - Detail of page 74

My first attempt is a conversion from the hornblower of the MM11 command group: I have simply swapped the original instrument for a bretonnian bit, and added two horns stolen from a Chaos Marauder. 

The second model is based on an MB1 pikeman: I have trimmed down his hat, given him horns (again from a Marauder's helm) and greenstuff ears, and equipped him with a small horn (another bretonnian bit). Et voilà!

I think the second model better captures the original idea. In any case, both will join my regiment of pikemen.

OWAC IV - The halberdiers

First month and first regiment for the OWAC IV: the halberdiers. Inspired by Nico's regiment, I have converted a few models, as the halberdiers are rather rare in the Marauder Miniatures range: two MM10 and two MM 15 references, and that's it! You may recognize the loader of the splendid siege gun MM13, the seargent of the mythic MB1 regiment and one MM10 clansman usually equipped with a two-handed hammer.

Regarding the colour scheme, I had in mind a vague parallel between these dwarf mercenaries coming from the Grey Mountains, and the formidable Swiss, fighting to protect their Old Confederacy, or going down the Alps to sell their services to foreign armies. 

As the white cross was the major field recognition sign of the Swiss, I have tried to find a rune that would do a similar job for my mercenaries. Keeping in mind that it had to be simple, as it was made of white cloth sewn onto the hose or the doublet, or directly painted on the breast or back plates of armours, I haven't found anything satisfying. So far, I have used the white cross on only one model: I may rework this once the pikemen regiment is complete, as I should have more space on the clothes to figure out a recognition sign. Below, a few examples of the white cross, either sewn on the clothes or painted on the armours.

Diebold Schilling the Younger, Luzerner Chronik (1509–1513)

 

For the colours of the different regiments, my plan is to use some typical Swiss flags, slightly transformed to avoid any copyright issues :op

Diebold Schilling the Younger, Luzerner Chronik (1509–1513)

The halberdiers come from the Frostpeak Hold: their coat of arms consists of a black boar charging upwards on a yellow diagonal with a red background (yup, replace the boar by a bear, and you have the banner of the Canton of Bern). The main colours for this regiment are therefore red and black, with touches of (brownish) yellow and (dirty) white. Regarding the hats, after a test with a vivid blue, I've finally opted for peacock feathers, with more subdued tones of green, brown and blue.

OK, enough writing, time for pictures, by order of painting.

MM10 reference DW21

MM15

 

Same model, slightly converted to make a standard bearer:

The white cross mentioned in the introduction. I love his beaver teeth :)

MM10 reference DW26

MM11/7

MM15

MM15

Modified MM13 gunner

Modified MB1 seargent

Modified MM10 DW7

And the complete regiment:

See you next month with pikemen (hopefully).