From KerryT: Mercenaries and their Masters - The Great Italian Wars ( 505 points)

 Morning, afternoon  and evening all

Why do I always bite off more than I can chew? Having failed to complete an entry last week I now find myself typing away and starting to write this just before I leave for work on a Tuesday morning. Thankfully, for unlike Finland (Sorry Teemu😂) NZ leads the world so while most of you lot sleep through the night I'll try and get home early from work, finish the flags and the odd base, take the pictures and try and get this completed. Then you won't know how much hassle it caused!

I wrote that introduction last night, tonight 3 hours after getting home I've finally managed to finish everything and take a few pictures. I'm up late and my wife has gone to bed

Mercenaries & their Masters is the title of a book that I have and hopefully should get me onto the book studio. Its a great little book detailing the antics of many of the leading figures in the Italian wars. I think I might have to read it another half dozen times before I remember who stabbed who in the back or reneged on this or that or changed sides yet again

This hopefully gets me into my first blue studio, the bookish one and thankfully that nice Lady Sarah gave me a lift as rather than lying down in the road this time I accompanied my Blue Nun (remember that wine?) and simply hitched a lift

These figures are from Lead Adventure Miniatures Bruegelburg range

I'm the handsome one on the right

I failed to post an entry last week as I started too may things and failed to finish basing anything, so what follows represents 2 weeks work

There's quite a mix of figures here

In no particular order.....

The standard indicates these are Genoese not English

Maybe I should have added Pavises, at least the cross would have been easy to paint compared to other city states

Next up more Perry Miniatures, this time Westernised Stradiots in the service of Florence

Flag by Battleflag

There's no way they'll all get through that door ahead

More Swiss and again from Perry Miniatures

Maybe they're wargamers who think they've found a new tabletop mat!

Its a bear ok, no squirrel this time as I've already posted Swiss

Perry Miniatures do produce quite a range of figures

Clergymen who it seems were often found to be stirring up trouble

He's got a funny hat but its not the Pope

Who mentioned the Pope? Here area few of his commanders

Montefletro as Gonfalionere of the church

I really rushed these and regret not adding more detail

The last of the Perry Miniatures 

Montefeltro, as the Duke of Urbino

Flag by Pete's Flags

Now onto something more colourful - Landsknecht. Last post I posted some missile troops for my Artizan Designs Swiss.

This time here are some Artizan Designs Halberdiers protecting a pike block that was finished a few years ago

Only the 12 Halberdiers in the front rank were painted for this entry, but some of you seemed to like the Pike block last time so here are more

A fierce lot

Same door, well the Stradiots have gone so these should get through

More Landsknecht - this time some command figures from Steel Fist Miniatures

Mounted command and a few Steel Fist foot knights

More well dressed troops, this time a Venetian Command group

Wargames Foundry Gendarmes as Venetian Command

Pete's Flags again

Finally the last command group, Maximillian himself

Mad Max is on the left - a Warlord Games figure

Accompanied by Steel Fist Miniatures Landsknecht Command and Foot Knights

2 of the standard bearers are kit-bashed plastic Landsknecht WG plastic missile troops 

Standards from Battleflag which are good value

Well that's it folks

Maybe a group shot as the Churchmen and Venetians haggle and try and outbid each other and secure the services of the various mercenaries

In Summary points wise

Nun and companion @ 10 points

12 Genoese Crossbowmen @ 5 points = 60 points

12 Florentine Mounted Stradiots @ 10 points = 120 points

4 Swiss Bear baiters and bear @ 5 points = 25 points

3 Mounted Papal Command figures @ 10 points = 30 points

2 Mounted and 2 Foot Clergy = 30 points

1 Mounted Duke and standard bearer on foot = 15 points

3 Mounted Venetian Commanders @ 10 points = 30 points

12 Landsknecht  Halberdiers @ 5 points = 60 points

4 Mounted Landsknecht Command @ 10 points = 40 points

9 Imperial Foot Command @ 5 points = 45

Blue Book studio bonus @ 20 points

Lady Sarah's Limousine @ 20 points

Points total - 505 points total?

Codpiece & feathers = 455 points

Squirrels = 6 - Genoese, Florentine, Papal, Clergy, Venetian, Imperial (Landsknecht)

I must say that these were well worth waiting an extra week to see, Kerry. Fantastic points bomb! 

Tamsin

From Kerry T - P is for Polished - Steel Fist Gendarmes (120 points and Squirrel no 7)

  Morning, Afternoon & Evening all

I don't quite remember when it started but I've just found some early pictures - what I'm of course talking about are the early pictures of Italian Wars figures that I found so enthralling in the early editions of Miniature Wargames magazine in the early 1980s. 

I think this may have been 1983 and the magazine cost 85 pence!

This was a period of history  that I new nothing about  but was something to be admired from afar as pictures just kept popping up in the magazine of Peter Gilder's Italian Wars figures. I knew then that someday it would be something that I wanted to do, its just a period so full of colour.

Thus a wargaming seed was planted but that early seed remained dormant for many years I'm afraid.

The seed began to germinate a few years later when I bought a Gladiator Games 15mm Italian Wars army - this was more than 20 years ago but really sprang to life around 10 years ago when I saw pictures of Artizan Design's Landsknecht figures somewhere on the net and I began to acquire units gradually. It sprouted further when I discovered James Roach's blog http://olicanalad.blogspot.com/ around the same time and this coupled with a visit to Eureka Miniatures in Melbourne where I bought some Gendarmes gave it further impetus.

These days I paint maybe a few units a year, it really is a very slow burn project. More recently Ken Reilly (of this parish!) and his blog https://yarkshiregamer.blogspot.com/ deserves credit for his resuscitation efforts in breathing life into the project once again! Cheers Ken

So to date I think I have about 2 shelves worth of troops but I have promised myself that late 2022 is the year that I intend to make it the main focus of my collecting and painting.

So where does this take me up to?

I said it was a slow burn project didn't I? Quite true but I have never before attempted to finish a unit by candlelight!

What happened?  

I've been guilty of posting lovely pictures of the NZ sunshine here down under to you who are up over while you suffer in snow haven't I?

I reckon some of you have been getting your own back and casting spells or some other voodoo practice or something -the end result was that we had a cyclone rip through here on the weekend. (Nothing serious I would add and nothing anywhere near as bad as many of you elsewhere are used to coping with!)

It was however enough to knock out the power so I could't quite finish my basing or take pictures of my 7th Project P entry and was absent from last Sunday's postings. The picture above is a testament to my effort to finish the basing as the light faded! In the end it failed as the power never returned in time for me to upload pictures anyway 

Having proffered my excuse for my absence last weekend I'll now get on with it ! This is my 7th unit and so P is for Polished  - When I chose Polished I thought I was being clever and keeping my options open -as this would give me the choice of painting up some 15mm Napoleonic French Cuirassiers or alternative some gleaming Italian Wars Gendarmes

I'm pleased to say the Steelfist Gendarmes got ahead in the painting queue 

They actually took more time to paint that I'd anticipated as I ended up painting more horse armour than just leaving them as polished steel

Lovely to paint, but somewhat fiddly for my hamfisted fingers to put together - the heads, plumes, weapon arm and scabbards need attaching.

A couple more views

They are a little on the expensive side but well worth it I think and there is quite a variation in the figures

I've used a few transfers here

The standard is from Flags of War - 100YW range

This one from Pete's Flags available on eBay

This is my favourite horse armour model

By my reckoning that's 120 points and my 7th unit and Squirrel,  and I promise I'll not be so long winded in my next post.

____________________________________

Beautiful work Kerry. I started my long road on an Italian Wars collection a few years ago, and agree with you that is it as much a labour of love as it is sheer blood, sweat and tears. So much puff-and-slash, so many plumes and painted frippery. Nonetheless, it's all worth it as we can clearly see here. I have a bunch of Steel Fist gendarmes waiting on my desk, and, like you, I've been daunted by all the possible options for assembly. Nonetheless, your work has inspired me to get them assembled and moved higher up the queue. Thank you!  I particularly like that you've eschewed just making them plain steel and have pulled out the stops with painting pretty much all the armour - they look absolutely superb because of it.

Again, stunning work.

- Curt

From MichaelD - Renaissance Infantry and a Giant

Even in 2020 I feel like my Challenge doesn't begin until after New Years day. I get prepped and ready but can't find the time to get stuck in during the holidays. So as usual my first drop is in January. 

Also as usual my personal theme is making a dent in the pile of stuff that 'I had to own' but apparently didn't 'have to paint', and this year is the Renaissance edition. First up, I've got these Steel Fist Landschneckt pike and knights, most of which I think I bought during their original Kickstarter. They're beautiful sculptures although like a lot of people I've got into the habit of painting mostly plastics over the past few years. These guys are definitely Full Metal Soldiers. For scoring, it's 27 28mm foot @ 5 pts each.

Good citizen that I am, I've also completed my prize ante. It's the Frostgrave (defrosted) Frost Giant, complementary pig included. Again, I loved this sculpture and it was a pleasure painting it.

Ok, that's the ice broken now for me!