War of the Roses - Henry VII Mounted Men at Arms

It's been nice to have the time to complete a few small projects of late which I started but never quite added the finishing touches to.  This weekend it was the completion of a unit of Henry VII's mounted men-at-arms.

The figures are from the Perry's plastic boxed set.  I really enjoyed building and painting these troops. There are a lot of options within the box for varying degrees of horse armour, but I decided to go fairly minimal on the equine metal-wear.

I painted this unit primarily as I have a fascination with the battle of Stoke Field and I hope to have enough troops to try this out on the table soon.  They will also be mightily useful for Bosworth.  I am sure to use them in countless other games too but perhaps ignoring the livery and flag of Henry VII !

I'm particularly pleased with the way the standard bearer's horse turned out. I do like the contrast with the lilac shades too.

The flag and livery badges are by Citadel Six.  I have applied some shades over the flag to give an impression of folds and highlighting.  (Note to self: With a decal flag applied to a metal foil base it is important to remember not to bend it excessively or the paper decal will rip!) Some very carefully applied paint in the split paper seemed to correct this thankfully.  

I opted to use a square flag for the unit as I use the long swallow-tailed flags for command stands.  So for most battles Henry is likely to find himself with his cavalry so there will be a wonderfully medieval display of flags and heraldry wherever he gallops.

I really like the livery badges by Citadel Six but do find it essential to stick to their instructions - the use of a decal softener is an essential.

The Perry's armour sculpting is so crisp and just great to see assembled into a full harness.  When the dismounted Men-at-Arms were released I purchased a box of these very quickly, though I only assembled my first figures yesterday.  I look forward to getting these painted up shortly.

Paints used were a combination, but mostly Vallejo and games workshop.  The livery green is 'Coat d'arms - Grass Green' which I am running out of and hope I can still get - I must have had this bottle for years.

I'm going to have to get a unit of these for Richard III, it just has to be done!