An Old Midlish Rhyme
The wind from the North sings of heroes of Olde
The wind from the East makes our blood run Cold
The wind from the South smells of Spices and Gold
But the wind from the West tells of warriors Bold.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

The Black Company

Thank you to all for the helpful input. The reminders that this decision will have ramifications for the storyline were timely. I have not yet done  the  legwork to name existing cities let alone figure out the details of economic and social structures. There is however, a long history of mercenaries in this region,  particularly heavy cavalry and missile troops to supplement the native ones. 

So, still on their painting stick,  the crossbow men of the Black Company. I'm sure we will discover more about them once the unit of knights has been added and some "historical" research has been done.

I had initially intended to   paint them in toy style block and varnish with black (dark grey) surcoats but as I  progressed I realized that they were wearing studded jacks so went for black leather with brownish overtones. The figures are small enough, with enough detail and undercuts to make a smooth block finish difficult.  Luckily I remembered that the majority of the figures they are joining were done with overwashes so I proceeded to use the old techniques. Still a simple approach and I think they will blend in well.

10 comments:

  1. Nice. Your longbow type usually manages to look dashing and heroic - must be the Robin Hood associations. Pity the poor crossbowman, somehow they always look like bad guys.

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    1. Its probably in the blood. Longbowmen might not seem so friendly if we'd watched more Thierry La Fronde growing up.

      However that wasn't my intent, I'm a big fan of Sir ACD's The White Company but then we'd be back to Longbowmen. Besides, Zoro and the Queen of Swords both wear black!

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  2. Great figures.Michael's point re baddies rings true for me too.

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    1. Ah the poor maligned crossbow man! Well Dick Shelton, hero of The Black Arrow, one of my favorite books was a crossbowman too. So not all bad.

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  3. Nicely done with these crossbowmen!

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  4. They look like sturdy chaps Ross. Though that's a thicker base than usual......

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    1. I figured I need bigger text to read it was time to experiment with bases that were easier to grasp.

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