ECW - The Lobsters have arrived - part 6

Part 5 can be found here

http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/ecw-artillery-painted.html

Following on from my last post I have been hitting the painting table with some serious attention. Sooner or later I am going to get bogged down with work and other interests but whilst I sill have the mojo I am going to push on.

Today I bring you my Currassiers - these are a Warlord Games product. When they arrived last Friday I was surprised to see that the riders themselves were metal but the horses plastic. Indeed the mounts are the same mounts for all their ECW cavalry.

Getting a good bond between plastic horse and rider was difficult so in the end I resorted to a small ball of greenstuff to aid the fixing. These were a joy to paint. I wanted a uniform feel to this unit so all the horses were painted black and I carried the same colours across the tack, saddle blankets and other gear.

The box itself contains 12 riders. One of which can be a standard bearer (I used the flag straight from the box - General Waller's Horse), and the other is a trumpeter. He must feel a little left out in his finery of cloth riding into battle with his armoured colleagues.

The armoured riders were all painted gun metal and following their dip I was patient enough not to matt varnish the armour. Their orange sashes denote that they are part of the Parliamentary cause.

The following was taken from Wikipedia

There are very few cases of Currassiers being used in the English Civil War bit the best documented is the unit raised by Sir Arthur Haselrig known as the London Lobsters.  The unit received its name because they wore extensive armour that covered most of their body (except for the lower legs) making them appear somewhat like lobsters.

Only two cuirassier regiments were raised during the English Civil War, the other being the Lifeguard of the Earl of Essex, however, individual cavalrymen within other regiments also served in complete armour. Full armour had largely been abandoned at this time, with cuirasses and helmets only worn by some cavalry, commanders and some pike units. The armour of a cuirassier was very expensive; in England, in 1629, a cuirassier's equipment cost four pounds and 10 shillings, whilst a harquebusier's (a lighter type of cavalry) was a mere one pound and six shillings.

Haselrig's regiment formed the heavy cavalry in the army of Sir William Waller. The "lobsters" distinguished themselves at Lansdown on July 5, 1643.

However, at the Battle of Roundway Down July 13, they met a Royalist cavalry charge at the halt and after a brief clash, retreated in disorder, the Parliamentarian army losing the battle. Though they were defeated the armour they wore apparently served them well; Haselrig was shot three times at Roundway Down, with the bullets apparently bouncing off his armour. After firing a pistol at Haselrig's helmeted head at close range without any effect Richard Atkyns described how he attacked him with his sword, but it too caused no visible damage; Haselrig was under attack from a number of people and only succumbed when Atkyns attacked his unarmoured horse. After the death of his horse Haselrig tried to surrender; but as he fumbled with his sword, which was tied to his wrist, he was rescued. He suffered only minor wounds from his ordeal.

At the Cheriton on March 29, 1644 the unit attacked a royalist regiment of infantry under Sir Henry Bard. Bard's unit had advanced towards the Parliamentary cavalry, but had moved too fast and were no longer in formation with the rest of the Royalist infantry. The Lobsters saw this and Haselrig led 300 of them against Bard's regiment. It was completely destroyed, with all infantry either killed or taken prisoner. Parliament eventually won the battle.

So that's 1/6 of the planned Cavalry painted...will start on some of the Ironsides next

Until next time

part 7 can be found here

http://shedwars.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/ecw-next-cavalry-unit-painted-part-7.html