From SidneyR: Flemish Horse from 1688 and Nordlingen beginnings (105 points)

Greetings fellow Challengers!!

With the Challenge now 9 days old, it's taken me a little time to post my first entry.  

Christmas very much 'got in the way' for me, but with the festivities now partly out of the way I've been able to spend a little more time with my paintbrush.

My first submission features the first half of a regiment of Flemish Horse, 6 cavalry figures, from the regiment of Pfilps de Vichet (and yes, I think that's the correct spelling - although any Flemish speakers can correct me).  The regiment was part of the forces raised by the Spanish Netherlands in the 1680s, which make them perfect for my 1688 project based around my fictional Flemish town of Laarden.  I chose to configure them as using pistols as their primary weapon of choice, and interesting contrast to the more impact-focused French Horse they faced in the field.

The figures are from the 25/28mm Wargames Foundry range, sculpted by the Perry Twins in the late 1980s.  I've added some greenstuff feathers to the hats, but otherwise these are pretty much the originals which have sat in my lead mountain for quite a few years.

I've also been continuing work on my 2mm Thirty Years War project.  After collecting armies for the battle of Lutzen in 1632, the next additions are based around the Spanish army of the Cardinal-Infante which made the long march through Italy and Germany to be present at the battle of Nordlingen in 1634.  Here I've painted some German horse, Spanish demi-lancers, a party of Croat scouts or vedettes, some Spanish commanded shot and (to balance things out) some Swedish and Finnish scouting horse.  The command bases are the Cardinal-Infante, and the Count of Fuensaldana, one of the Spanish-Imperial commanders of the later Thirty Years War.  

The bases are colour coded for ease of recognition on a snowy tabletop - blue for Swedes, Black for Germans and deep (Hapsburg) red for the Spanish.  I've experimented with some 1mm snow 'flock', which is quite fun.  It's really like a fine dusting of miniature cotton, but makes quite convincing show, which would be decent 'slush' in a larger scale. I added the labels for the commanders from a printed PowerPoint file, trimmed and glued on with PVA.

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First, welcome back to the Challenge, Sidney!

Lovely work as always Mr. Roundwood. Those venerable Perry castings have come alive under your brush. I always enjoy seeing your use of colour and particularly like the warm tones you've used for these fellows.  I also like that the tan round hats, with their jaunty feathers, help tie the unit together. Well done, sir!

Your 2mm work continues to impress, Sid. I had the pleasure of playing a few games with Sidney when we where in the UK this past year and can attest to the craftsmanship behind this project - it's absolutely stunning to behold. The light dusting of snow really helps establish the setting for these figures. I look forward to seeing your Nordlingen chapter of the Thirty Years War come to fruition over the coming months. 

Now, more please. :)