Speed running rebase IV/4b feudal French

I was pretty desperate to get this done by midnight, because that would be the first time for years that I had NOT got a project sitting half-done for New Year!

Strictly speaking this is a remake of Crusaders, plus other bits. I like the idea of IV/4b and it looks to me that it can easily morph to early hundred years war.

1. Odd slavs and Spanish and even a couple of Robin Hood, for skirmish or support elements, not actually mandatory.

2. The core of knights, and a variety of polearm types. 

3. The painted and based rando support, foreground, and more of the polearm elements to rear.

4. The main army getting its flock. I've been putting down beige clumps before flocking on these runs.

5. Entire collection ready for matt spray. Banner by Little Big Men Studios. 

IV/16 Scots Common complete (minus a couple of options)

I like the look of the 3.0 edition Scots Common, there are a muckle of options to field. 

1. The pike core, plus Camp Followers

You can go as low as 5x4Pk, and as high as you like, but this time around I'm not going to be tempted by ideas of 10 pike elements. 

2. McHairy options.

2x3Wb Galwegian in the fore, generally lacking in clothes and footwear. 

5Hd, rear left: last edition this was 5Wb, and Strelets doesn't really do "rabble" so this represents a cautious clan that will hold its ground but takes a great deal of convincing to advance.

1x4Bd Isle men with a most unlikely assortment of two-hander swords!

3. KnGen, Kn, highland archers (front) and common army archers (rear).

The Army entire. I'll be looking to add hobelar (1x3Cv) at some stage and maybe mounted archers. 

bench update 26 December 2024

Still a few details to check off but otherwise the Scots Common 3.0 rebase project is nearing an end!

I decided the McHairies only need flesh tone changed, likewise the knights. I've grabbed an element of knights from an old Crusader mix, they will need shields repainted. Today I'll be trying to finish bases and look out for hobelars.

bench update 24 December 2024

Slapped the sepia/varnish coated results onto spear bases. Foreground, the 10th-11th century Pre-feudals to which they need to have similar bases.

bench update 21 December 2024

I am a little behind with updates, so very briefly

* all minis mounted and base varnished

* used rattlecan spray, desert yellow then skeleton bone, to base coat to a shade that suits ashwood spear shafts and faded leather.

* used light grey (a housepaint test pot) to base color the "mixed wool" garments. 

I'll use a wash, and I think the test told me that Vallejo sepia is the right one, to change the leather and grey to the correct shades. Avoiding spear shafts!

bench update 14 December 2024

Missed a week. I've had a little craft project going - two battlemaps for exploring the Sunless Citadel - but with that more or less under control I've now got my Scots spears the right length, and today dealt with the frustration of trying to fix them to the Strelets minis. Only a couple of them have hands shaped at the correct angle. Very hot water, bend and set in cold... did not really work.

The picture shows some of the process: fix in place using super glue, then reinforce the join with PVA, then varnish over that once dry. Both PVA and varnish are somewhat flexible which prevents the object glued from popping off if the mini is dropped.

bench update 02 December 2024

I think the new 16 are all trimmed out. None too sure about spears/pikes because some of these are "Strelets natural" with thick spears while my other minis all had florist wire spears. I need to mount all of them before I give everything a detergent wash and stick them all on paint sticks.