the Miniature World of Mike Peters: Flags of War Border Wars Fighting Irish

Níos mó Nah Éireannaigh

More Irish! This time I have used Flags of War Border Wars “the Fighting Irish!” And what a lovely set of figures they are.

The set comes with a mounted leader three Gallowglass and five Kern. I think they represent an Irish Retinue from late in the period as several of them are wearing Morion helmets and burgonets that are not used until the 16^th century.

The leader is mounted on a strap barded horse with two bucket saddle holsters for his pistols and sports a classic Morion helmet with huge plumes. He wears the split hose and puff sleeved tunic typical of the Elizabethan period and sits on a conventional saddle with pommel and stirrups. Everything about him screams REIVER! So much so that I decided not to use him with my Irish but to paint him up as the first of my Border Reivers which will be may next Ruckus Retinue. He will join the rest of the FoW figures that my lovely wife bought me for Christamas. He will make an excellent March Warden commanding his men with an imperious wave of his sword

The Galloglaich

A lovely figure, typical of the set, well sculpted with a dynamic pose. This fellow has the mail associated with these doughty fighters, he wears a morion helmet and hefts the mighty Sparth Ax. Just to be on the safe side he carries a huge sword, the Gallowglass equivalent of a pocket Derringer perhaps!

This Character has a sword that a Landsknecht would be proud of! He wears a peaked Burgonet style helmet with a tail of lapping plates. He too has a mail coat and the baggy sleeved lien, dyed with Saffron.

He too carries a massive spare sword, well, you would, wouldn’t you?

His tunic is painted using the Army Painter Fanatic Yellow triad over a pale grey undercoat. I have tried pink before as an undercoat for yellow but could not really see a difference.

I love the pose and animation of this guy, you get a sense of the effort he is putting into his next swing and the energy he is about release. Probably my favourite figure in this group.

My least favourite figure in this collection! What the guy above has this one lacks, he is static, holding his ax awkwardly before him, he looks cautious and lacks the wild abandon of the previous two.

Mind you, it is a deadly looking ax

A kern armed with a bow, few were armed this way it seems and only one in this box has the distinction.

His jacket is painted with the Foundry Terracotta triad and washed with Citadel Berserker Bloodshade

His lien sports voluminous sleeves as is right and proper

The Ceithern

This Kern carries a leather-bound Targe reinforced with brass or copper studs and is armed with what may be a throwing spear by the way he is holding it

I painted his jacket using Citadel Fang and its associated colours, washed, and glazed with Nuln Oil

I used the same Fang recipe on this Kern but washed and glazed with Citadels Tyran Blue

I like this guy too! One thing that makes the Ruckus Irish Retinue quite different from the others are these fast moving lightly armed Characters with Gurt Big Axes!

The Irish Retinue are fast and hit hard but have little protection and no Support Trait.

His hair is Citadel XV 88, highlighted with Balor Brown, Zamesi Desert and Zhandri dust

This Character is a full-on proper javelin throwing Kern! Typical of the majority of these warriors.

His lovely green jacket is painted with Citadel Castellan Green, and highlighted with Warpstone and Moot

In this view you can see the plate armour to his left arm. It seems only Kerns used this type of protection, well, and Roman gladiators…

And then there is this guy!

...armed with normal sized sword, targe and wearing a full crested Morion.

His jacket is Citadel Mephiston Red highlighted and glazed.

This a lovely set of figures, a joy to paint, and typical of the FoW range, characterful, anatomically, and historically correct, well animated and reasonably priced.

The Host! FoW fit beautifully with my Perry’s and Antediluvian Irish…I have almost an Army! I am nearly ready to contend the Billhooks BASH as Hibernia!