For my second submission and next stop in the Analogueville Public Library I'm visiting the new acquisitions desk to share the first drop in my new wargaming project -- The Albigensian, or Cathar, Crusade in 15mm. For me this is not only a new period but also a brand new scale. Now I know that this wasn't a war known for its pitched battles (more a series of sieges and massacres) but I'm a sucker for the heraldry and after spending several holidays in the area I am very interested in the history and locations, plus I was led to Sumptions book on the period from his HYW series. The figures in this first submission are a quartet of command figures for a pair of Impetus armies.
The figures are the 13th Century range from Khurasan Miniatures and are nicely modeled and cast, not too chunky with actually a choice of oversized or more realistic mounts (these are the more realistic).
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| 15mm vs 28mm comparison |
My technique for 15mm painting seems to be ...... my technique for 28mm painting (maybe I'm missing a trick here!). It takes just as long and heraldry is even more fiddly!
From the Albigensian side the two leaders here represented are Raymond VII of Toulouse (the Cathar Cross is fun to paint) and Bernard V de Comminges -- by far and away the most fun to paint heraldry here. All heraldry is sourced from this site and the home printed flags were all made using DrawShield (a real boon and highly recommended)
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| Raymond VII of Toulouse |
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| Bernard V de Comminges |
For the Crusader side we have The Duke of Burgundy (remind me that bendlets are absolutely the worst things to try to paint!) and Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester (father of the Simon of Baron's war fame -- I imagine I could reuse this figure and in fact most of these armies for Barons war use as well!).
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| Simon de Montfort |
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| The Duke of Burgundy |
All in all I enjoyed painting these figures, horses, heraldry, caprisons and banners, what more is there to like! They were however very time consuming and as to the points per hour don't ask! Still I'm looking forward to more from this project over the coming months and it will be nice to be able to fit an Impetus army into a handful of KB boxes rather than dozens I need at 28mm.
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| Pesky fluff under horse's eye! Only noticed after all the shots are taken |
One little touch for this project is to colour code the bases as, unless you remember all the heraldry, it can be hard to distinguish the two sides. Red for the Cathars and Blue for the Crusaders.
This should be 8 mounted 15 mm figures at 4 points each for 32 points plus the 20 point new acquisitions bonus for a total of 52 points and another drop towards my now increasingly far away target for the challenge! Next stop fantasy en route to Overdues and Returns! Until the next time!
Sylvain: These are really good looking miniatures and I from your pictures I really thought they were in 28mm scale, not 15mm scale. You really put a lot of details in and your love for heraldry really shows. I'm going to throw in four more points for the flags.
About adding color to the side of your base, I tried that with my 6mm miniatures, but from a distance it's very hard to see. I ended up bleeding the color on to the base itself. But test and trial will tell. Excellente peinture!
If you could provide a map of the Analogueville Library showing your progress, that would be appreciated.
Great Work on these knights
ReplyDeleteThanks Adam at least I’ve made a start but a long way to go 😅
DeleteAh, this makes me think of the amazing Cathar country in France! Mont Segur, Querebus...sigh...very nice!
ReplyDeleteI’d love to visit these castls, we spent time last year around Montpelier but didn’t get up into the Pyrenees
DeleteThese are really great for 15mm. Top work.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter. They’re pretty good sculpts and paint up nicely
DeleteWow, what fabulous brushwork Simon. The heraldry and flags are especially impressive. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Curt. I’m really glad I found that resource for creating flags as it was getting tough to make all the elements from scratch
DeleteI'm not expert on painting 15mm, but I've been told to use bigger brush and brighter highlights than in 28mm. Otherwise you end up in this time consuming situation, where your 15mms look like 28mms. :)
ReplyDelete🤪currently working on camouflage at 10mm 🤯
DeleteOMG Simon those are gorgeous. I have been tempted by the Cathars but I'm not up to the Heraldry. Now to get lost down those rabbit hole links of yours....
ReplyDeleteYes, what did we do before the Internet. I’ve picked my nobles based largely on people who were present at the second siege of Toulouse in 1218 where de Montfort was killed.
DeleteHoly heck on a stick... seeing these before reading the scale I was like thats really cool.. then reading the 15mm scale... and now am like wtf!! What kind of eyesight do you have there! Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteHa ha, one of the advantages of being short sighted is that as you age your close vision actually becomes better! Plus a nifty set of visor lenses for the really close work 🔎
DeleteFantastic. I also thought at first glance that the models were 28mm
ReplyDeleteThanks Benito, I guess that’s the result I was after 🤪
DeleteStunning submission love the knights and their heraldry, you've done a fantastic job on them all.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kent!
DeleteGorgeous work, thought these were 28s.
ReplyDeleteThanks Barks, glad you liked them
Delete15mm figures these are superb. Very envious
ReplyDeleteThanks Ian, Khurusan make a nice range and they were well cast
DeleteAbsolutely smashing! Kudos for the hand painted heraldry, especially at that scale.
ReplyDeleteThanks Millsy. I do pick characters based on how much fun it will be to paint this heraldry, so no more bendlets!
DeleteOh man, those look great! Love this period!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dallas, high chivalry at its peak (lots of stories of knights setting out incognito to win fame!)
DeleteLove the knights. The heraldry is great.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tom
DeleteWay back during my studies I did have to read up on these crusades, but I never had any "visuals" to go along the written word. You have rectified that with these incredibly well painted knights for sure Simon!
ReplyDeleteWell you can't ask for anything more than that -- telling stories with the figures. Looks like I might have some nice castles to build as well!
DeleteBrilliant post and fantastic painting. I really enjoyed reading this and of course looking at the pictures. If you are doing more in the Challenge think this will be a brilliant project. I play basic impetus so going to look up these armies. Also live in Kenilworth UK - so anything with Simon de Montfort gets special "thumbs up" from me! Cheers Jez T
ReplyDeleteThanks Jez -- the elder de Montofort got clobbered on the head by a trebuchet at Toulouse so some day I'm going to have to build one of these to add to the playing field, and yes I have plenty more units primed up and ready to paint!
DeleteFantastic figs, really made them come to life, even better because they are 15s 👏
ReplyDeleteThanks Ken -- my first time at this scale and I'm enjoying the results, the larger stands with bigger units should look good too
DeleteLovely 15mm brush work. The heraldry is excellent.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bruce. That’s really kind of you.
DeleteThese are absolutely stunning! I wish my 28mm were as good, and I simply tremble at the thought of painting heraldry in this scale. Excellent work Simon, simply breathtaking!
ReplyDeleteThat’s really nice of you Martijn, with heraldry it’s as much about giving the impression than getting every detail (especially with things like Lions!)
DeleteWhat a fab new project Simon! The figures look brillaint.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ray, I’m enjoying digging into this new project
DeleteI have distinct memories of a family holiday to the various remote and isolated Cathar fortresses, it's great to see you bring the conflict to life with these fantastic figures!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tom -- although I've been in the area I need to arranfe a trip to tour round the specific locations, as you note many of these are in well defensible locations!
DeleteSimon, I have drifted away from 15mm and your works makes a very compelling case for this scale. I liked the link to the heraldry site, thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that kind feedback and glad you found the sources useful
DeleteFantastic work! Love your freehand on the heraldry.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave. I kind of like winging it freehand and then adding in details with a fine line pen
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