For many years I have been interested in this period and given that the Shed can now host most games from a number of genre's this is one that hasn't been tackled. I did consider doing this in 10mm but the fun I had putting together the crusades in 28mm swayed my opinion.
On top of that much of my terrain for my 1930's England VBCW project and Robin Hood Medieval projects can be used all over again (OK - the paved roads, railway lines and modern buildings will not feature).
Where to start. Well fortunately there are a load of companies out there producing ECW 28mm troops but the best value seems to be the Warlord games plastic range. Remembering that they do a starter box set I trotted off to their website and bought the King & Country box set. For the princely sum of £70 and three days later I received the hardback version of Pike & Shotte, 64 infantry men and 12 cavalry.
I think I jumped the gun because the following day I found the same box set for £45 on ebay. Realising that I would need plenty of troops to fields my parliamentary army I bought another box set along with a box of standard cavalry. Still waiting for this to arrive.
In total this will give me 36 regular cavalry and 128 infantry figures. Enough for me start with and keep me busy painting for the next few months. The extra book will be given to my gaming buddy Mark who has also started his ECW army.
I will need to add some Cannon, Dragoons and Command Figures but I don't think this is too bad for a starting position.
Stop Press: Last night I assembled the first 12 cavalry men, based these and gave them a quick coat of Halfords grey primer.
The next job is to assemble all the various figures (muskets, pikes etc) and also get them based and primed. Once that is done I'll begin the painting.
Until next time
part 2 can be found here
http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/english-civil-war-part-2.html
Looks like you've made a great start to your new project.
ReplyDeleteIt may be worth considering at this point if you are interested in the thirty years war - you could paint the units such that they could be used for either - have a different command stand for the TYW variation.
forgot to add I have a blog dedicated to Pike&Shot in mid 17c - see http://cavalierecw.blogspot.co.uk/
ReplyDeleteA new project! The English Civil War too! What's not to like? Looking forward to seeing how this unfolds.
ReplyDeleteThe blogosphere needs more ECW projects! Excellent :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL, you beat me to it Paul! Really looking forward to this Eric. I have a massive 28mm ECW Royalist army and I'm always keen to see other people's work. The fact it's you doing it makes me even more keen. If you are looking for inspiration you could do much worse than look at Clarence Harrison's (Quindia Studios) wonderful work...
DeleteLooking forward to following your progress with this project. I'm often surprised how few of my friends (and colleagues) know anything about the ECW.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! Love ECW!
ReplyDeleteAlways fancied that period, but I have enough on my plate at the moment, will watch this with interest.
ReplyDeleteA good beginning, and it's one of my favourite eras too.
ReplyDeleteAlways fun to watch a new project develop!
ReplyDeleteExcellent, love this period!
ReplyDeleteAlso, if you are interested, I have a Royalist army that is painted that I'm going to sell :-) Just drop me an email if you want to know more (also uses the Warlord figures). sotek486@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing your progress I have promised myself ECW but not yet......
ReplyDeleteIn December Warlord does a sprue sale where the sprues on offer are 50% off. It's a great way to bulk up your infantry contingents. I look forward to seeing how you paint these.
ReplyDeleteAlways happy to see another wargamer jumping into this fascinating period AND blogging about it to boot!
ReplyDeleteWill enjoy following your progress.