Rebasing the Normans - Part 1

I spent a couple of days over the weekend beginning to rebase my Norman troops, starting with the mounted figures.  My Normans are a mix of vintage Miniature Figurines and Table Top Games castings from the "good old" lead figures days.  I painted all of the MiniFigs and a few of the TTG figures.  The rest of the TTG figures were purchased already painted.

Please click on each image to get a larger picture.

The Norman command groups.
Front center is the senior leader with his two main subordinate leaders to either side.
Across the back are four junior leader.
I use circular bases to distinguish my leaders from the combat troops, who are mounted on 'standard' 40mm x 30mm steel bases.

Norman mounted knights -- The Green Knights
These, as well as all the others, are mounted on 85mm x 65mm foamcore movement bases that have magnetic material on top and a piece of flex steel on the bottom.  The thickness of the foamcore makes it easy to pick up the whole base.

Norman mounted knights -- The Blue Knights

Norman mounted knights -- The Red Knights

Norman allied heavy cavalry, unit 1

Norman allied heavy cavalry, unit 2

Norman medium (unarmored) cavalry, unit 1

Norman medium (unarmored) cavalry, unit 2 

And I'm also taking this opportunity to show my 'jury-rigged' photo set-up.

It is made from three pieces of foamcore covered with a sheet of light blue poster board.  The small light on the left is an Ott Light while the one on the right is a standard clamp-on desk task light.  Between the two there is enough light cast for taking most pictures without having to use a flash.  I store the "booth" and the tripod (front center) atop my storage cabinet in another corner of the room.  

Just above the task light is a framed picture of three Franco-Prussian War soldiers, a bequest from the late Larry Brom, author of "The Sword and the Flame" and "Chassepot and Needlegun" rules, and a good friend.

Still working on painting more troops -- a unit of Khazar heavy bow cavalry is next in line followed by five units of Arab medium/warrior infantry.

A Third Byzantine Heavy Cavalry Unit

I just added a third Byzantine heavy cavalry (cataphract) unit to my Medieval forces.  This unit joins two others that I had painted many years ago.  The figures are from Alternative Armies Dark Ages Isarus range, numbers BYC-1 and BYC-2.  Please click on the picture to get a larger image.

Their primary color is "terra cotta" (or orange).  Their compatriots are in red or blue.  These three units will form a core of veteran cataphracts for my Byzantine forces.  They will eventually be joined by a unit of Khazar mercenary heavy cavalry using some Essex figures I have on hand and on order.

Work continues on my Medieval forces -- remounting Norman heavy and medium cavalry.

And More Arab Medium Cavalry

My first unit for May's painting is another unit of Arab medium cavalry.  This time they are Alternative Armies' Dark Age Isarus (old Table Top Games) Arabs line -- 11 ARC-1 Arab medium cavalry with the standard bearer from the ARC-13 Arab mounted command pack.  They should see their first action soon.

The 3-figure command stand was painting many years ago while the other nine were added just recently.

This unit can be used in a variety of armies from allies of either the Byzantines or Sassanids to riding to spread Islam throughout the Middle East and North Africa to fighting the Crusaders in the Levant.

Next in the queue is another Byzantine heavy cavalry unit.

Arab Allied Medium Cavalry

Both the Byzantines and the Sassanid Persians used allied Arab cavalry in many of their campaigns in the Middle East.  This unit was put together from various vintage Miniature Figurines castings.  They represent an amalgamation of different, but related, Arab tribal forces.

This unit shares a standard color scheme for the shields.

And here is how they look in an extended battle line.  You can really see all the different figures I used for this unit.

Another Arab medium cavalry unit and a Byzantine heavy cavalry unit are in the works for the near future.

And "Joanie" Gets More Kit

Back in September of last year, I showed a batch of "Rugged Adventure" figures that I had painted.  One of them was Bob Murch's "Bernadette of the Resistance" whom I renamed Joanie (after Joan of Arc -  see link for explanation).  She's armed with a German MP-40 but didn't have any spare ammunition magazines.  A friend was able to donate a couple of 3-magazine packs from a plastic German sprue.  The other day I added them to the figure.

And she's now ready to dish out some firepower on the unsuspecting Boche.

And Some Mounted Leaders

Taking a short break from painting cavalry units, I turn some excess mounted figures into leader stands and paint some of the Old Glory 15s Hun command pack as an Attila command stand.  Please click on each image for an enlarged view.

First up is a spare Byzantine mounted extra heavy horse archer.  The figure is a vintage Table Top Games (now manufactured by Alternative Armies) BYC-2, Byzantine EHC with bow.

The dark rectangle is a small piece of magnetic material
to which the leader's nametag will be adhered for games.

Next are two spare super heavy cavalry figures from the Old Glory ES-3 Sassanid cataphracts pack.  They have been painted to match the colors of the two Sassanid cataphract units currently in my order of battle.

Both have copper metallic face masks which was a common addition to the cataphracts armor.
The "red" leader has a gold gilded helmet while the "yellow" leader has a silver gilded helmet.

And finally, Attila himself, along with his standard bearer and a mounted drummer.  Attila's color scheme is based on the Angus McBride rendition of the leader in the Osprey Attila and the Nomad Hordes (Elite #30).

Attila's horse harness is heavily decorated with gold ornamentation and, although not visible from this view, he has his golden gilded bow in his bowcase.

Work continues on additional cavalry units.

And Even More Cavalry

As I prepare my 15mm miniatures to be used with the "Commands & Colors - Medieval" gaming system, I have discovered that I had much more infantry than cavalry for this period (6th & 7th Centuries AD).  So with few exceptions, all I've been doing is painting cavalry.  And I've added two more units.

First is a unit of Byzantine medium cavalry, using Table Top Games figures now produced by Alternative Armies of Scotland in their "Dark Age and Ancients Isarus" range.  The figures used are BYC-3, Byzantine Heavy Cavalry with lance and BYC-4, Byzantine heavy cavalry with bow, along with two command figures from BYC-8, Byzantine cavalry command.  These are one-piece castings and are very well done (for the most part).

I used various shades of red as their distinguishing color.  Each stand has two melee cavalrymen and one mounted archer denoting that this unit is "Medium Bow Cavalry" in the "C&C-Medieval" system.

The second unit I added was a conglomeration of various Miniature Figurines Middle Eastern light cavalry figures.  These were acquired already painted in several different purchases over the past several years.  Eventually I will replace the missing and broken weapons but as I will be needing them shortly, that can wait.  This is a very rag-tag unit, but what can you expect from 'mercenary' light cavalry?

Finally I took two spare medium cavalry figures that were left over after a previous reorganization and made them into mounted leaders.  They are, I believe, Miniature Figurines, but I do not know from what 'country' they come.  I needed them to replace two of the above light cavalry figures as mounted leaders.  To distinguish the two, I'll probably redo the shield, crest, and cloak on one of them.

The dark pieces on the bases are magnetic and are used to attach the leader's name during battles.

And even more cavalry is in the painting queue and will be featured shortly.