Saturday 16 January 2016

From PeterD - 28mm Italian Men at Arms with Pole Arms (41 points)


A small post this week.  I've got two projects half way along, but got slowed down by Epic Fail, initial resource gathering for Defensive Terrain and .... well life.

These are 8 Italian men at arms with pole arms (a mix of pole axes and Lucerne hammers) from the Perry Renaissance range.  There are 6 from a the pack labelled Italian Heavy Infantry, a standard bearer from the Italian command pack and a plastic dismounted knight. 


The standard reference for these guys is of course Renaissance art and there is a background figure in Carpaccio's Legend of St Ursula (this period gets the best reference links) that shows up in Ospreys and the like.

The dude with the Lucerne hammer and the red pants by the water.  Note that he is left handed apparently - how sinister.

The heavies figures come with the lovely oval shields that appear in artwork, but it's not clear that you could use an oval shield and poleaxe so I have left them off.  My wife (a fabric junkie) questioned the bright scarlet and yellow hose, but I went with them on the basis of "that's the colour set Raphael used".  I think that she is right, but I want my figs to have the same pop as a Mantegna or a Bellini.

Nicely illustrating the colour palette, that stairclimbers were not needed in the 15th century and why I won't be joining a reenactment group any time soon.

The big change for me is the basing.  I have taken the group's advice and used a Liquidtex Gel medium.   The mix used was the medium, plus small "rocks" plus Raw Umber (which is after all coloured after Renaissance Italian mud).  The Umber looked dark so I dry brushed it with Burnt Sienna (more Italian mud).


The tufts are GW Mordheim turf which looks like dried out grass and weeds to me, and thus suitable for a hot Tuscan summer.

Favourable feedback on my basing is always welcome, constructive criticism will initially be met by curling up in a fetal position and whimpering and then be welcome.

That is a great crew of Italian miscreants Peter. I rather like racous colours you went with for their hose. I can just imagine these guys, menacingly fingering their Lucerne hammers (left handed, no less) saying, 'Hey buddy, you got sumtin' smart to say about my hose?' 
I like where you're going with your groundwork Peter. My only suggestion would be to drybrush both the cured gel and the tufts with a lighter tone to highlight them a bit more.
I'm really looking forward to seeing these on the table in our upcoming Italian Wars game!

37 comments:

  1. Great looking minis. Nice to see an evolution with Italian mud.

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  2. Very nice, the "Italian" basing certainly works,.

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  3. Ah, another entry from the "Camo is for Sissies" school of military concealment! Molto bene!

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    1. Real men wear vibrant hued yoga pants! Cheers Peter

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  4. Curt, thanks for the feedback. The basing is a work in progress but is making progress. I realized too late that the Raw Umber was too dark. I wanted to make the post today, but will play around with base hues on the next unit.
    Cheers Peter

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  5. Nicely done Peter :)

    I'd probably have gone for a more ochre yellow than bright, but each to their own ;)

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    1. Thanks Tamsin. Looking at the photos, I thought the same thing. They are less day glow in real life.
      Peter

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  6. The italians have been doing bright colours for a long time and these should be on the catwalk.
    Great work

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  7. I am enjoying this Italian wars project. I love the figures, the historical background the setting. Well just everything really!

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  8. These are great, love the finished look

    Ian

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  9. That second colour plate looks a like a glam metal tribute band preparing to go on stage... :-)

    A most eye-catching entry Peter. Very nice indeed!

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    1. The pants would be about right wouldn't they? Thanks Millsy Cheers Peter

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  10. Hey Peter, these are really great. I love the reference to the period paintings - really imaginative. I think the basing is great.

    If you wanted a uggestion (and only a suggestion for a try-out), maybe try starting with a lighter base colour for the ground (something like Vallejo English Uniform), and working up from there? But really great work!

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    1. Thanks Sidney. I will try a lighter base coat next time round. The source material is great. Cheers Peter

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  11. Nice work. I like the bright colors. i think if you get too historical everything looks drab and the same. I think your ground work looks good. I would second a light drybrush on top of the grit before the tufts are added. I find a light sand color makes the whole thing pop a little bit more. Although I do wash the base to tone everything back down.

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    1. Thanks Sean. For my El Cid era units, I used a sand undercoat, then rocks then a dark wash which seemed to work well. I will likely morph that combination to work with the gel.
      Peter

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  12. They look really good, Peter! I prefer camouflage and sneaking, but I really enjoy reading all I can on the Italian Wars thanks to Nicco Macheveili. They look very much the part!
    Your basing looks fine to my eye, but I've not set foot in Italy yet! ;)

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    1. Thanks a David. My wife has done all the important northern Italian bits, but I've not set foot south of Brittany yet. Someday, sigh...

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  13. Great Colors love the look of these

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  14. The bright hose get the thumbs up from me! These will look smashing on the tabletop.

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  15. Nice and colourful lot these chaps!

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  16. Nice work on the bases! And another thumbs-up for bright colors.

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