PROJECT LEWES

I have no idea what's come over me, but it's a good thing. I'm on a roll with my Lewes Project - I think it happens the same time each year. Having just finished John Fitzjohn's foot unit, an order for archer arrived just in time and I've turned them around quick-smart .  They are from the Crusader Miniatures range of archers for early 100 years war - specifically MEH002 and MCF028 packs and for me these particular sculpts fit in just perfectly for my period, giving me yet more variety. For this unit I adopted a new technique of layering for the faces and hands using Vallejo paints shading up and down with about six applications for the skin tones. I am more than happy with the results and can only get better at it over time. I've been happy with my previous techniques of washing but the use of Flesh Wash doesn't seem to have come up as well under the macro lens. For the rest of the figures the song remains the same using wash method and good old Hum...

For my next unit of mounted knights I've changed things a little from previous practice. After re-watching a favourite documentary on the lance I noted the move toward a heavier lance by the time of Lewes and the introduction of the 'graper' . So I decided that I too would follow suite. It was one of those experiments where everything I did just worked. I upped the gauge of my steel wire I make my lances from 1.25mm to 1.57mm - the former being in-shot without the graper. It takes bit more beating when I hammer the ends on my anvil to make the points. When beaten flat they flange or fan out at the ends which I then snip with cutters to make the points. I opt for a broader diamond with my spears but made them much sleeker for a lance. Once filed it was then onto the graper .   The graper needs to feature more toward the butt end of the lance shaft and was introduced to stop the lance from sliding rearward under the couched arm after impact. It enabled the whole body to...

I decided to complete the basing for my latest unit of Fitzjohn's foot in an experiment to try as best I can to match my basing with the battlefield. I broke from personal practice and edged my MDF bases in Jo Sonja's Sap Green, being the same base coat for spraying my synthetic fur terrain. As it turned out, I had to mix it with some Folk Art Raw Sienna to tone down the brightness which is pretty well what happens when the diluted spray-gunned Sap Green hit the camel coloured fur in the first place. I apply my own blended static grass by dotting the bases and building up an uneven textured field of tufts. I started by matching with the terrain - by eye-balling it. I haven't bothered to measure proportions - I'll keep matching by eye. I applied the second series of static grass dots in the gaps left from the first round and then the last series in the few gaps left. Due to the covering on my terrain boards, I didn't bother with including stones or showing muc...

At long last, another unit of my Baronial Rebel Army is painted. This time I've complete a 30 man spear armed unit under the command of John Fitzjohn. John Fitzjohn John followed his father John Fitzgeoffrey into rebellion, who was a former Justiciar of Ireland and a leading magnate. Fitzgeoffrey opposed the King in 1258 after a loss of influence in Prince Edward 'court' and position in the face of rough justice (or no justice) when attacked over his disputed Shere manor (Surrey) by the royal relative and favorite Aymer de Valence. Again, these foreign relatives of the royal family placed another family, this time the Johns in opposition to the royal regime. As a leading magnate, Fitzgeoffrey was a leading rebel so his 'sudden' and untimely death placed his son and heir Fitzjohn as a leading partner with de Montfort. He had married Margery de Basset making him the son-in-law of Phillip de Basset, the Justiciar of England and his opponent in the war. ...

I'm currently finishing the painting of my latest unit of foot and have decided from this point to start making my armies flags. Each unit will have it's own flag to follow as logic and rules convention both dictate. My research has been revisited and at this time it may prove instructive to anyone dabbling in this specific period (mid-thirteenth century) to lay the ground rules for flags. Whilst various flags abound throughout and originating from the medieval period, there are only two types permitted in an army for Lewes (1264). Whilst Standards, Pennons (or pendants), Banners and gonfalons, pinsels and guidons are all types of flags familiar to the wargamer of the broadly defined medieval period, we are only permitted Banners and Pennons . PENNONS are perhaps the simplest to comprehend as they are the smaller, triangular flags attached to the end of a knight's lance for which every knight on the field was entitled to and may very well have carried. It was in fact ...

I suppose the poser here is what's wrong with this image? The short answer is nothing of course. The above image is taken from L'Estoire del Saint Graal & L'Estoire de Merlin ( Bibliothèque nationale de France MS Français 95, c.1280-1290) but this is the rub ... for me. This is the earliest depiction to my understanding of the oft named 'sugerloaf helm' and the earliest date for this illustration as my insert states is 1280. Up to this time, all effigies, illustrations or finds for that matter (precious few) depict the great helm as an essentially flat-topped affair. The above seal of John deMontfort dates from 1270 and clearly shows the flat-topped great helm which is incidentally paralleled by all other surviving and datable evidence up to the abovementioned sugerloaf appearance by 1280. Whilst most followers of this blog are no doubt conversant with developments of arms and armour throughout the medieval period, I have been reminded recently of the co...

Mirliton Miniatures with replaced shafts and a new spear The steam fell completely off this project for me since last year with my anniversary mania for Waterloo and affairs of the heart taking precedence over my hobby - fancy. Well, instead of building a windmill and the outskirts of Lewes like I thought I would, I've returned to figure painting - or at least unit modelling at present. I've scrounged together thirty armed spearmen and assorted weaponry for my latest unit of foot. I've been compelled to model by own hornist. I've filed back a few helmets to round them to a more typical pot helm and replaced weapon shafts with rigid steel wire - I just cannot abide wobbly spears and the like! They are a mix of mainly Old Glor y and Mirliton figures with a few Essex and Foundry figures thrown in for good measure with their commander of Gripping Beast origin I believe. This will be my 30 figure armoured spear unit of the centre ward under the immediate lea...