Lord Leven Complete!

At the same time that I painted everyone's favorite English Civil War commander with warts, I also painted Warlord Games' Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven.  Lord Leven will be a "generic" Scottish brigade commander and currently will command the Irish Brigade of Montrose's Scottish Royalist army.  Figure mounted for my favorite ECW rules Victory Without Quarter.

 

Alexander Leslie (1582 – 4 April 1661) was a Scottish soldier in Swedish and Scottish service. Born illegitimate and raised as a foster child, he subsequently advanced to the rank of a Swedish Field Marshal and in Scotland became Lord General in command of the Army of the Covenanters,  In England he commanded the Army of the Solemn League and Covenant and was senior commander of the Army of Both Kingdoms (1642-1647).

Warlord Games Oliver Cromwell

I have finished Warlord Games' Oliver Cromwell. A really fun miniature to paint - the expression, the skull cap and the wart!  Another great brigade commander for Victory Without Quarter.

 Ollie leading Parliament's mounted finest.

 

Cheering on the New Model Army on the field of Dunbar.

Oliver Cromwell and Lord Leven

Sitting on the shelf for way too long were Oliver Cromwell and Lord Leven from Warlord Games.  I especially like how Ollie is portrayed waving his hat allowing us to see the metal skull cap worn for protection.

Lord Leven seems to be showing his age as he is stooped over sitting on his horse.  By having the figure lean forward it gives to me the appearance of contemplation as he is planning his next move on campaign. This adds some flavor to the character.

Thinned down Vallejo black is used as a primer and also brings out the details in both figures, warts and all.

Lord Leven does come with a bonnet which I will glue in place once his figure is painted.

Both figures will be Brigade command figures for my armies using the rules Victory Without Quarter.  Ollie will obviously be commanding the cavalry and Lord Leven for now will be the commander of my Royalist Irish Regiments.

Ladies of Adventure

 Huzzah! Professor Nightingale is rescued (again) by our heroic ladies. 

The latest adventurers for In Her Majesty's Name are these lovely figures from Copplestone Castings. They are part of the Female Archaeologists blister pack from their Back of Beyond range of figures.  There are two more figures from the pack that have not been painted yet but they will be joining the fun and adventure soon!

 

After looking at the pictures I took, I need to do a bit of touch-up on the faces and hair - I guess it is time to get new reading glasses!

General Ronglu's Imperial Chinese Army

Gulwalgiya Ronglu is a Manchu statesman and general of the Chinese Imperial Army. Born into the powerful Gulwalgiya clan of the Plain White Banner in the Eight Banners, he is also a cousin to the the Empress Dowager Cixi. He has served in a number of important positions in the Imperial Court and was most recently the commander in charge of military security of the Forbidden City.  He is a force to be reckoned with in the world of In Her Majesty's Name.

General Ronglu has begun to build the first modern infantry military force of the Manchu Empire. As a favorite of the Dowager Empress, he has access to modern technology and other exotic resources. Ronglu is not sympathetic toward the Boxers as he feels it is not time to move against the Western Powers. He is not on good relations with the leader of the Black Dragon Tong, the Dragon Lady, but cooperates with her so as not to antagonize the Dowager Empress. Though appearing to be "hefty" Ronglu is a master of armed and unarmed combat and is dedicated to free China from the influences of the foreign devils.

Pluck: 3+
Fighting Value: +3
Shooting Value: +2
Speed: 0
Points: 76
Talents: Leader +2, Martial Artist, Inspirational, Fanatic
Basic Equipment: SRC Breastplate, pistol, sword, magnetic-static-shield

Yang Wei is a Chinese engineering scientist most famous for the invention of China's first arc generator and arc weapons. Yang is a world pioneer in the research fields of fracture mechanics, arc meso-mechanics, mechatronic reliability and has published a series books based on his research.

Pluck: 5+
Fighting Value: +0
Shooting Value: +2
Speed: 0
Points: 40
Talents: Engineer, Tough
Basic Equipment: Lined coat, arc generator, arc rifle, pistol and 3 grenades

Sun Kai is General Ronglu's loyal bodyguard and strong man - plus he likes grenades.

Pluck: 4+
Fighting Value: +2
Shooting Value: +2
Speed:+0
Points:40
Talents: Tough, Strongman, Numb
Basic Equipment: Military rifle, pistol, grenade

Yu Niu is the best swordsman of her province and many claim she may be the best in China. She is a former Shaolin nun and while at her temple, she developed a style that is extremely efficient and ideally suited to smaller fighters having less strength.

Pluck: 3+
Fighting Value: +4
Shooting Value: +0
Speed: +2
Points: 60
Talents: Martial Artist, Lightning Draw (Fighting)
Mystical Powers: Levitate, Dragon Wings, Harden (or can substitute for 20 points of Mystical Powers)
Basic Equipment: Sword, pistol

What would an army be without soldiers? Well trained and disciplined, they are the elite of the Chinese Imperial Army.

Soldier
Pluck: 5+
Fighting Value: +1
Shooting Value: +1
Speed: +1
Points: 20
Talents: Bayonet Drill

Basic Equipment: Lined coat, military rifle, bayonet

Sergeant
Pluck: 4+
Fighting Value: +3
Shooting Value: +3
Speed: +1
Points: 31
Talents: Leadership +1, Tough
Basic Equipment: Brigadine, Mauser machine pistol (carbine), sword

Of course he has a yeti!

Pluck: 3+
Fighting Value: +5
Shooting Value: +0
Speed: +0
Points:45
Talents: Terrifying, Beserker
Basic Equipment: Thick fur (equivalent to brigandine), Talons (equivalent to fighting knife)

The Long Arm of the Law

Rumors abound during these troubled times. Mysterious happenings and sightings of strange creatures disturb the good folk of the countryside. Nefarious powers and villains seek to disrupt the very foundations of the Empire. The world's greatest consulting detective and his able companion the doctor have their hand's full battling for Queen and country. The most famous police force in the world, Scotland Yard is here to help.

Joining Holmes and Watson for adventures In Her Majesty's Name (IHMN) are 6 members of the constabulary from Artizan Design's Thrilling Tales collection.  Available individually or in a blister pack of 3, these good men of the law are finely detailed and amazingly simple to paint.

Mad Jack pursues a fair damsel through the streets.

The men in blue spring their trap.

 Basic equipment for a constable is a lined coat, pistol and the All-Electric Truncheon.

 Sergeant Joseph Henry Dunlap discusses the case with The Consulting Detective.

To beef up the force I will still need to add a Chief Inspector and some other figures to represent Special Branch in order to investigate and foil dastardly foreign plots against the home country and Her Majesty.

 The Good Doctor investigates a noise just outside of the Village.

Johnny Bristow causes a dust-up near one of the local pubs.

 The Napoleon of Crime observes a constable on guard.

"Hey! You there!  What are you up to?"

"I took care of the nuisance Professor."

2016: The Plan, Part 2: The Mersey Plan!

Continuing from Part 1 for my master plan (BWAH HAH HAH) for 2016.

I guess this is the "Mersey" part of the plan!

3. Dux Bellorum.  Daniel Mersey is the author of my favorite set of ancient - medieval rules.  His game Dux Bellorum is published by Osprey in their famous 64 page format.  Yes!  Professionally produced gaming rules that are affordable again.  Dux Bellorum is designed for refighting battles of Dark Age Britain from the end of the Late Roman Empire to approximately 1000 AD.  What makes the game brilliant and fun to play is the allocation of command points during the game which adds a unique flavor and tension during moves and combat. This is not a boring I line up against you and see which shield wall breaks first - this is a dynamic, interactive game.

 Late Romans dealing with a raid by Early Saxon "Sea Wolves."

Late Roman Battle line with the Roman Dux Bellorum looking on.

I have finished 3 armies for Dux Bellorum: Late Romans, Early Saxons and Vikings (Sea Raiders).  I started work on a historical King Arthur Romano-British army based on his role as the Dux Bellorum of Britannia. I have one more element of cavalry to paint and then I need to finish up two elements of infantry and that should complete the army.

Arthur leads his knights. Figures are a mix of Wargames Foundry and Old Glory.

4. The Anglo-Zulu War.  Daniel Mersey's latest set of rules is scheduled for publication in August 2016 and is a set of Colonial rules titled The Men Who Would be Kings. Figures are mounted individually for casualty removal but fight as a unit. Knowing Daniel's track record and the play tests I have read I am going to step out and predict that this will be another success.  To get a head start, I'm going to start paint units for the Anglo-Zulu War.  I used to have a 15 mm Zulu army and regulary played this period in the 1990's with the good chaps of the Fort Monroe, VA area.  This time around I am going to do it in 28 mm primarily with miniatures from Warlord Games/Empress miniatures.  To get me started, Honorable Son #1 and his wife The Future Doctor sent me "The Defenders of Rorke Drift" from Warlord Games/Empress Miniatures. This is the Hollywood versions the sullen but doughty Private Hook; VC, the stoic but reluctant Lt. Chard, VC; the dandy English gentleman Lt. Bromhead,VC; and the unflappable bayonet fighting Colour Sgt Bourne, DSO.

 

The Defenders of Rorke Drift

With the above I hope to complete 1 unit of British Infantry and 1 unit of Natal Native Horse. An ambitious plan for 2016 but one that should keep me fully engaged. 

British Napoleonic Army Auction

I'm placing my British Napoleonic Army on eBay to make room for new gaming projects. Figures are 28 mm and are a combination of Wargames Foundry, Front Rank and Perry Miniatures. The army is mounted for Volley and Bayonet but the figures can be easily remounted by soaking the bases in water.

Here is the location of the auction: eBay.