Wars of the Roses - Gallowglass - 28mm

Another complete change of period...again!  I don't seem to be able to stick with painting one period for very long.  Too much khaki or field grey leaves me wanting to get the bright colours out and vice versa.

I think the longest I was able to focus on one period for was two years, and that was for my Wars of the Roses collection. This two year period enabled me to go from a collection of zero to having two very playable armies, so it has its advantages if I can summon the focus.  That was a few years ago now and since then I just flit like a butterfly, painting whatever gets my interest.

Well, I'm back to the Wars of the Roses again.  For a good 10 years now I have really wanted to play the Battle of Stoke Field of 1487.  This battle fought near Newark, in Nottinghamshire. I always think of the battle when I have to drive past the battlefield for work, every few months (and I stop to visit Wargames Foundry who reside on the edge of the battlefield too).   It was notable for several things, one being the last serious throw of the dice of the Yorkist cause (if the Perkin Warbeck rebellion is not included). 

A large component of the Yorkist army was a contingent of Irish troops.  These were the well armoured Gallowglass mercenaries and the lighter kerns.

The troops here are from two sets of Gallowglass.  One group by Old Glory and the other by Perry Miniatures.  The command stand here is from the Perry's.  I have kept one piper ready to put on the brigade command stand, lead by Sir Thomas Fitzgerald (yet to be painted).

I used a generic Celtic flag from Little Big Men Studios.  I hope that it has enough character of the original to be passable. I have tried to find a recorded example of an original banner, but alas, this research came to nought.

The figures above and below are all from the Perry's range.  I painted the Old Glory figures last year, but then I discovered that the Perry's had brought out Gallowglass figures (and I do have a liking for their figures).

There is a slight height difference between the Old Glory figures and Perry Miniatures troops.  As the units would probably be fighting closely together, I added a slither of card beneath the bases of the Old Glory figures to bring them up in height.  I then built this up with base texturing until it became invisible. 

This method seemed to work as it completely fooled me.  The first picture at the top of this blog post was supposed to be just of my Perry's figures.  In error, I added a stand of Old Glory troops  to the line and only realised afterwards!

The photos above and below here are all of the Perry Miniatures troops.  As always, they are a joy to paint.  There is quite a lot of static grass on the figures though, which only became apparent when I enlarged the photos. I wish I gave them a quick blow of air before getting the camera out!  Maybe Stoke Field had the grass mowers out on the day of the battle!

The figures below are from the Old Glory range.  I think that the Wars of the Roses range are one of the best that Old Glory produced.  These figure have a lot of character and look quite fearsome.

I hope you are all staying in and keeping safe.  Making the best of a horrible situation, the extra painting time is certainly useful, though I am missing getting out to shoot at the local ranges. One can sit around indoors both working and painting just a little too long!