With man’s blood paint the ground, gules

 Morale Test Markers for Billhooks

March is here and while Spring has not yet sprung Billhooks Bash 2 looms ever nearer. In preparation for this happy event, I have been reviewing the troops. While I have a fairly complete force, able to represent either Lancaster or the House of York, one thing that I am seriously deficient in, and every Billhooker needs, are some markers to indicate when a company has to test its morale at the end of the turn.

Time to remedy this situation! A quick visit to Perry Miniatures website and the purchase of WR32 “Wars of the Roses dead and wounded” and AO 31 and 32 “Agincourt wounded” and “wounded Men at Arms”. The Agincourt boys lend a slightly anachronistic element to be sure but I doubt it will be too obvious when they are face down in the mud.

Lord Shiner I like the pose and animation of this pair. I think the Retainer is trying to encourage his Lord “Not far now, mate, soon get a steak on that eye”

  The Knight has lost vambrace and pauldron from his left arm. The points hang loose and blood is seeping through his arming doublet.

  First time I have used Citadels Blood for the Blood God and I think it’s definitely a case of less is more.

Face down and out! Finished in a surcoat of Murray! Citadel’s Khorne Red mixed with foundry Terracotta

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap metal

  I use Army Painter for my armour. Gun Metal washed with a mix of Citadel Nuln Oil and Agrax 50/50, then highlighted with Plate Metal and then a final delicate highlight of Shining Steel

  I use Vallejo Flat Earth for the soil, washed with Agrax and highlighted with progressively lighter mixes of Khaki.

  I pick out few stones in bone and some in light grey. All the vegetation is from Gamers Grass

 

“You will have someone’s eye out!”

   I am calling this guy Harold. He wears a typical livery for the time, Argent and Azure, white and blue, particoloured in pale, he’s probably Somersets man. The blue is a woady, cheap dye, mixed from Citadels the Fang and lightened with Fenrisian and Russ Grey. Washed and glazed with Blue ink.  

   I never use pure white; this was a build up from Citadel AdmInistratum Grey to Army Painter Golem Grey

  The arrow is an addition, cut from the plentiful supply of arrows that come with Perry Infantry sets.

 

 

Fallen on his blade?

    This guy is wearing the typical linen jack of the time. For this I use a range of different “bone” paints from various companies as well as various light browns, yellow browns and cork colours. They all get a wash of Sepia and various glazes to try and introduce some variety and create stains etc

    The weapon is a spare from Claymore Castings lovely billmen (more about them in a later post)

Over Here…Oh!

   The white and red livery is suitable for Walter Deveraux, Yorkist, or Henry Holland, Lancastrian or at the local level might be used by William Berkely. I have four companies in this livery!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pin Cushion

   I got a bit carried away with the arrows on this one but I think he gets the point

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PTSD?

I think this one is sad! Is he injured or just overcome by all the horror?

“I told you to wear your helmet”

   This is the only figure I have in the murrey and blue livery of Sir William Hastings

 

 

That’s a bloody big chopper…sorry that’s a big bloody chopper!

   The white and red livery again! Maybe someone told this guy the pollaxe was sharp enough to shave with and he tried to find out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t know if this would hurt more going in or being pulled out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It just slipped through his fingers sir!”

   This figure was slightly miscast in that it had no fingers on its left hand. I made the fingers from 0.8 mm plast-rod, sanded into tapers.

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t have a camera so use my smart phone to take pics. I am always trying to perfect my photo taking technique and I think with this set of pics I have succeeded in moving up a notch. This, in part at least, is due to is an excellent device available here tripod

A small tripod that cost £9 and has a blue tooth device which enables you to take pics without touching the phone thus eliminating any operator shake, avoiding blurry pics and maintaining a nice clear focus.