Front Rank... Charge!

My Round 5 entry for the LPL saw me delving into the small pile of historical minis I have to meet the requirements for the Civil War theme. There were extra bonus points on offer for providing both sides of your chosen conflict so I plumped for the War of the Roses (not at all topical for a Lancastrian living in Yorkshire!) as it was a good opportunity for tackling some minis I'd had for hanging around for a while.

After a little research on uniforms and heraldry I decided to represent the Yorkist forces of Richard, Duke of York and for the Lancastrians, knights of the retinue of Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland. Both were present at the Battle of Wakefield and the fact that that was a Lancastrian victory didn't sway me at all! Of course both factions will eventually end up in my Old World Allied force - a mixture of veteran mercenaries hailing from the far reaches of the Empire, Bretonnia, Tilea and the Border Princes.

The pikemen were a purchase from a fellow LAF'er some time ago - I forget who but thanks anyway! Not sure if they're actually from the War of the Roses but their equipment looked about right. Leading them is a chap from the old Citadel fighters range.

These chaps received a fairly basic paint scheme - not only was I running out of time to get this entry finished but I was conscious that I have another 23 of them to paint up to complete the unit...

Now the Lancastrian knights are definitely from the War of the Roses - Front Rank's War of the Roses range in fact. These were an ebay bargain - something in the region of £6 or so!

In fact I may have to invest in some Front Rank minis as they scale up to old Citadel very nicely and there's a great range of Billmen, Halberdiers, Handgunners and Crossbowmen - not to mention the fact that they're about £1 a mini.

I think this unit could with rounding out to ten as well...

There are also some lighter armoured horsemen that come open handed so you have the option of equipping them with such things as crossbows - depending on your opinion of the aesthetics of open handed minis they could make good Kriegsritter?

 Being all metal these chaps also have a nice heft to them!

I've yet to decide who exactly these knights will be led by in my Old World Mercenary Army or what their background might be - a dispossessed noble and his retinue, a professional soldier who's rise through the ranks has been constrained by his low birth - followed nonetheless by a band of the disgraced sons of the Nobility...

Nice as it has been to delve into the Old World again - and I have many Men-at-Arms, foot knights and various knightly orders, including the Knights Panther and some old style (80's) Knights of the White Wolf, champing at the bit in the paint queue - I'll be sticking in the New World for now until my Lustrian adventure is finished...