Artillery-the Quartermasters Nightmare

In many battles of the 17th century, artillery was anything but standardized. 
Length of barrel, width of shot, type of shot, muzzle loading breach loading, amount of powder and even the type of power varied as greatly as the mirid of types and styles of cannons available. 

A look at the mixed guns in these English Civil War battery gives just a small example of what must have been a horrible nightmare for and field armies Quartermasters.

The mena are from Hinchcliffe they and all the artillery pieces are metal. I painted these in the early 1980's.

 

Artillery 17th Century Style

A Mortar, Demi-Cannon, Saker Cannon and ammo caisson stand ready for use by artillerymen of the English Civil War and other 17th century battles. 

These are all metal pieces I painted in the 1990's.
 

17th Century Halberds & Pikes

 

These Spanish Halberds are some of my first pieces I painted circa 1973. The simple/low detail figure design was common at that time.

They and the pikemen are lead pieces that might be Scrubby's but I'm not sure.

In those days in San Luis Obispo the miniatures available were really limited.

    These are roughly 25mm scale painted with my Testors oil base plastic model kit paints.

Originally, I was going for a build a full are of Spanish and Italians, but due to cost constraints ( I was a poor college student back then)I shifted to N gauge African Colonial and Napoleonic shortly after I painted these.

25mm or 15mm Warriors.

 

25mm soldiers on the left, 15mm soldiers on the right give fire.  Such would be the command if I was the general in command of these metal warriors on the game board. These troops are typical of mid 17th century warriors the 28mm are English Civil War Puritans while the 15mm are painted as mercenary forces.

                             

Happy Thanksgiving '22

 

Captain Longarms hopes that you have a rooting tooting Thanksgiving!  

The captain is a metal piece from Games Workshop that I painted in the early 2000's.

For God and England

In God's name, Parliamentarian cavalry marches "towards the sound of the guns" during the English Civil War, 1642-51.

 

Two squadrons of battle tested troopers, armored and armed fought with the zeal of knowing God was on their side against the forces of King Charles I.

                  The cavalry was the elite arm of Cromwell's New Model Army. 

These are 1970's designs that I painted earlier this century. They do not have the quality of design of new pieces, but make up for this with their solid metal castings.

Iroquois Scout Raiders

 

Two Iroquois in full war paint scout ahead of the main raiding party. The Iroquois Confederation was a major power in the forests and lands of what is now the New England and the parts of the Great Lakes area. 

Small war party raids were an all to common occurrence in the 17th and 18th centuries. Especially as a response to a raid from a hostile neighboring society. 

Originally the raids were solely between rival tribes and confederations such as the Iroquois vs Huron. But with the coming of the European settlers and their national rivalries, the raids increased against the new interlopers and the tribes that allied with them.

These two plastic warrior were painted up last night and are the first of full warband that will join my other 16tth-18th centuries New World Armies.
 As a side note, to the Iroquois of the time, blue war paint represented bravery, black represented war and red meant the warrior was ready to kill or die in battle.

Samurai Cavalry Archer-How to Kill from a Distance

Samurai were often trained to use a long bow (up to six feet long) from a the back of a galloping warhorse. It took years to obtain the skill necessary to to be effective with this form of attack, and these warriors were justifiably proud of their expertise.

To this day the sport of shooting at small targets from galloping horse back is still practiced in Japan.

 This is a plastic piece from Warlord Games that I painted in 2018.
 

Advance-Fire-Retire

In the fast paced battlefields of the the Reiters were a swift strike force of blazing pistols. A staple of many armies from the late 16th century to early decades of the 17th century the Reiters were light cavalry with a special flourish.

They developed a special tactic where they would charge towards the enemy, and let blast with their pistols at near point blank range.

They would then wheel away from the enemy, returning towards their lines, reload and repeat the maneuver. When the enemy was suitably weakened they would finish them off with a sword melee.

These are metal 25mm pieces from Hinchcliffe that I painted in the late 1970's.

Power of the Steppes

Charging out of the morning gloom of the Steppes, charges a raiding party of Cossacks.

Known for their horsemanship, and ferocity, the Cossacks drove fear into the hearts of their enemies.

These are old Hinchcliffe 25mm metal pieces that I painted back in the late 1970's.

Even Captains need cabin girls

Captain Mimi Rouge has special responsibilities as leader of a bloodthirsty crew of pirates so she relies on a trio of cabin girls to meet her daily needs of life at sea. Sophie, Leah and Viola are capable and loyal retainers.

With her trusty companion Peppy always at her side, Captain Rouge relies on her girls to keep Peppy preened, fed and happy. Sophie has a special connection with Peppy and is his favorite handler.

All three girls were rescued from slave ships, and Captain Rouge trusts them unconditionally, she knows they would fight to the death for her.

Captain Mimi Rouge is from Reaper, Sophie and Viola are from Warlord and Leah is from Ral Partha, all are metal. Leah is 25mm scale the rest are 28mm.

Push of the Pike

No matter how much the musketmen pounded the enemy, sooner or later the battle would come to the push of the pike.

Pikemen would fight in a block formation with each rank lowering its pike to cover the rank ahead.  When two enemy blocks connected those that "pushed the pikes" the best would win the fight.

These are 25mm metal pieces cast in the 1970's from Minifig.

The Main Battery is Ready

Wait-she swivels too!

And removable as well.

The cannon, pistol and cannon balls are metal the scratch built deck is balsa wood on an old cd.

Let Me Block Your Day

Rooi Matroos, pirate, pressman and top sailor is not a man to let behind you as he is always looking for new hands.

 

His block and tackle are for new hands, while his massive two handed sword is for more serious discussions.

Rooi Matroos is a metal piece from Privateer Press.