I was looking for a suitable image which would characterise 2020 and would be concurrent with the general theme of my most recent posts and all I could come up with was this!
The putty work was started on this particular miniature well over five years ago and was only recently rediscovered after trawling through a pile of stuff in my bits box! How a mini with delicate putty work ended up in my bits box is a mystery to me. Perhaps I was very hasty in my flight from my previous property? ;>) [Joke]
As soon as I caught sight of the half caparisoned horse and the Perry Miniatures First Crusade Knights sitting in the box it all cam flooding back to me! The Hospitallers, unable to take the withering arrow directed at Richard I's lines finally breaking ranks and hurling themselves at their Muslim foes at Battle of Arsuf! That is what has initially inspired to do the conversions. Then came my four or five year hiatus away from wargaming and the project, neglected was put away- not very carefully I might add!
Regular readers of my blog will know that last November I had started an 11th Century Spanish Reconquista project with a view to putting it on Zalaka/Sagrajas at Partizan that year. The plans like so many of us had, were scuppered by the arrival of Covid. The project was shelved, which was a real shame as my "Rule of Threes" had kept all my projects running, if not quite on target then at the very least with satisfying consistency. I've made the decision to resurrect the Arsuf project as I will be able to use all the Spanish Muslim units. Also with the new Victrix Normans on the near horizon (see bottom of page for the Victrix pictures) it was high time that I pulled out the putty again and started practising again. Granted, with the Perry Horses being metal the going is more difficult; there is quite a lot of filing which needs to be done to make way for the putty, especially on the head but if I can finish a unit of twelve in time for the Victrix releases I will hopefully have garnered enough skill to keep my enthusiasm on par.
The caparison is a little rough and ready but I am not going to let that put me off. Already the lessons passed on to me by John Morris of Mystic Spirals fame vie the Lead Adventure Forum have been reabsorbed. I have finished the modelling for the shoulder, back, loin and docks of the horse and now have to tackle the rather more fiddly head. I think I have achieved a reasonably smooth surface which is half the battle. I've made a couple of rudimentary mistakes, for example, the horses tail should technically be covered by the caparison but overall, I'm happy with my first serious attempts in five years.
OK, not exactly Santa but he is wearing red and he does have a grey beard!
Apologies for the subtle/obvious Lard-esque joke in the title.
It's here. it's been released and more importantly it has Dacian Lists for Infamy, Infamy! Which was enough for me to spread the ever diminishing supply X-mas moolah around!
I ought to add, the contents can be seen in the above link..... it's a wee bit of a mystery as to why they are not on the front cover!
Available from HERE!
I just had to buy these Footsore Miniatures Matthew Bickley Anglo Danish sculpts just as soon as they were available. The sculpts are just so dynamic and full of life; they have the actual appearing as of in the maelstrom of melee. Matthew has the are ability of capturing movement/acts of violence like no other historical sculptor that I can think of, with the obvious exception the Perry's. He is right up there in my humble opinion.
They took a bit of time to make their way to the front of the painting queue as I have a "Rule of Three" which has served me well since I got back into the hobby in November 2019. If you are wondering just what on earth I mean by the "Rule of Three" it is quite elementary. In the past and for many a year, my wargaming projects were forever being superseded due to the ever present Wargamers Butterfly Syndrome, in extremis! I would start one project only to skip to another on a whim. On return from my near five year hiatus away from then hobby I realised that things had to change! If I was to get close to completing any given project then my methodology had to be adjusted. Thus the "Rule of Three" was born. The concept is simple. Do not prep more then three separate projects in one go and do not under any circumstances allow the prepped miniatures to encroach on more space than the space I have available one shelf. This has worked for me very well over the last year and I am definitely sticking to it. It has (of course) not prevented me from straying but if I do get distracted, I carefully put one of the projects out of sight place it in a file box, each mini wrapped in bubble wrap if they have been primed and/or undercoated. This way I have an actual clear visual (my one shelf) indication of just what I need to focus on. Oh, it has also saved me a lot of money!
OK, enough digression.
While I have been waiting for this years Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge to start I was feverishly beavering away at my fourth unit of Anglo Danes to add to my Swordpoint army. I floundered a little (real life) and did not manage to get more than sixteen miniatures completed leaving me with the very back ranks still to do. In case you have been counting, yeah, there are only eight presented here; the next batch of eight have been glossed and are patiently awaiting the matting down process.
Enough of my rambling..... all the images are as usual "clickable"
Anglo Danes Front Rank 1:
