Wars of the Roses - Irish Kerns

Since the recent Wars of the Roses game, followed by walk of the battlefield of Edgecote (last two posts), the medieval bug has seriously bitten me again (hopefully I won't get the plague from it!).

In my lead mountain was a bag of Old Glory 25mm Irish Kerns for the Wars of the Roses.  Well it had to be done...!  The clothing looked very simple as are the shields, and I thought it might not take too long to finish this unit.  Indeed, two weeks of evenings and they are painted and based.

For a change I used a white undercoat and used lighter tones which I then used washes over before highlighting, lining in and touching up.  I don't know if it was quicker than my usual black undercoat and dark to light 3 shade methods, but the overall effect seemed to work well and it felt quicker.

I think that the Old Glory Wars of the Roses range is one of the best that they ever produced.  Because of that I have not felt the desire to 'modernise'.  I do buy the 28mm Perry Miniatures (because they are irresistable!) but as long as I don't mix them in the same units I find that I can use these two ranges side by side.  The Old Glory figures have lots of character and these fellows are suitable wild!

I had to do some research to find out how the Kerns fought as I really wasn't sure.  As the figures come without weapons I bought some North Star steel spears (these are great!).  I initially thought they would be spear armed and fight as a warband but references seemed to refer to them as light infantry and skirmishing,, advancing then throwing their javelins.  So it seemed like I was mistaken (after I had given them long shafted spears!)  Where I could I cut them down to javelin size, Others I left with spear sized weapons as it seemed to me that these chaps would otherwise be unarmed once they let loose their javelins.

I couldn't help imagining the kerns as fighting more as a tribal grouping where brave acts could be seen by their friends and family, rather than acting as thinly spread skirmishers performing a disciplined screen to hide an army, like in some ancient armies.

With this in mind I changed my basing half way through and used larger bases with the figures looking random but fighting as a loose mass rather than thinly spaced in open order.  This felt much better to me!

I am looking forward to getting some Gallowglass to provide a heavy infantry element to them and using them for the Battle of  Stoke Field.  The main role of the Kerns in that battle seemed to be as unarmoured target practice for Henry VII's longbowmen so perhaps I have over-thought my basing after all!