Show loot, more hedges and bitten off more than I can chew

So on Saturday I did manage to pop into my local wargames show - Border Reiver in Gateshead. It was good to catch up with a number of local gamers who I missed last year as I couldn't attend when my wife had covid. Unfortunately I couldn't stay for more than a couple of hours as duty called on a visit to the in-laws. There were a few empty tables, impacted by the Rail strike, but the games that were there all looked rather nice. I somehow forgot to take any photos as I was too busy chatting. As for show loot, not much was purchased, just some of the essentials required.

The only figures of note were some sheep from Pendraken, to help build up the flock for future 15mm games. I did pick up a couple of packs of dismounted US cavalry troopers from Galloping Major to add to my collection. They do look very nice and I even got a nice free figure. Other than that some coarse flock, a couple of paints and some brushes.

As I was waiting for some of my extra ECW stuff to arrive I decided to put together a few more pieces of hedge. I went for a little variety on this batch with the addition of a few different colours to break up all that green as well as adding some fencing I already had (some old metal pieces I've had for years). I also put a little camp piece together.

While I have been working on the ECW collection, I did have the goal in mind of re-fighting Marston Moor next year at Border Reiver. However a little reality check has set in and the timeline will need revising. One of the issues is Warlord does not yet produce any epic scale Covenanters, not much of an issue for the horse as we can use other manufacturers, the musketeers we can 3d print. It's the pike, they are too brittle for printing, so we would need to use alternative ranges which increases cost and painting time. (Strips of figures paint up a lot quicker than 10 individual figures). Another issue is no-one at the club has committed yet for Ruperts' horse, I do not mind doing them but need to finish Newcastles' 16 regiments and 15 for Fairfax. I also don't particularly want to be left with nearly 30 regiments of Royalist horse that I'll probably never use unless fighting Marston Moor.

So a revised goal is to work towards Adwalton Moor for Border Revier as we don't need the Covenanters, also both sides also fought at Marston Moor, so in effect we are only delaying Marston Moor by a year, hopefully gives Warlord time to produce the Scottish infantry,

Finished hedges and first Parlaimentarians

So I finally completed the first 4ft of hedges of the multitude I'll need.  It was not though without its issues. After sticking strips of coir mat onto modelling sticks, I used PVA glue to give them a good covering of flock. I had left these to dry over night as I sourced a spray adhesive to seal the flock. This was when disaster struck as I unknowingly bought the wrong adhesive. I gave all 4ft a good spraying, the first concern was that it was white and not clear, hoping it would dry clear. Let's just say it didn't. It also seemed to cover the pieces in what could only be described as a spider web. Lets say I turned the air blue at this point as I quickly tried to remove as much of the 'web' as I could.

So on to day 2, I decided to give them all a spray of a chocolate brown to hide the glue, this seemed to work.

The flock added

Now sprayed chocolate brown

Day 3 - I picked up a tub of artist mid-green acylic paint, this I then wet brushed across each of the hedges, then added a little German yellow and gave them a second lighter coat. This seems to have done the trick. I then added sand to the bases before sealing with varnish, then highlighting with Iraqi sand and adding areas of static grass. Drying time today was much reduced as I had the benefit of some glorious sunshine in the garden.

Sand added and sealed

Finished hedges

Finished hedges

Quite happy with the final result. They are quite large for 15mm, but will be ideal for lining the ditch at Marston Moor. Tomorrow I'll get the last 2 pieces and broken ground done.

After the hedges were done I completed a regiment of Dragoons for the Parlaimentarians. They are just the plastic figures from the cavalry sprue. I will need a second regiment, for which I have the mounted troopers as I will mix in 3 from Alternative armies for variety Unfortunately their dismounted troopers tower over the Warlord figures, so I've sent off for some alternatives from Peter Pig.

I should also be able to getthe last of the Royalist cavalry for Newcastle done over the next couple of weeks as I pick up approx 60 of the Warlord plastic cavalry and another 24 troopers from Peter Pig and Alternative Armies. Will keep me busy for a while.

More Northern Horse

With the Infantry completed, I need to push on and get the cavalry completed for Newcastle's army. So with the last of my available cavalry figures, 3 more regiments of the Northern Horse completed, there is also an extra brigadier done from Peter Pig. All the figures are a mix of Peter Pig, Warlord, Alternative Armies and Steelfist. They mix well together.

Mix of Alternative armies and Steelfist

Alternative armies and Warlord

Warlord and Peter Pig

With these done just another 6 regiments to complete the Northern Horse. Mitch has approximately 60 of the Warlord plastic figures that he doesn't want, so I plan to take them off his hands. I only need 48 for the Royalists and 120 for the Parlaimentarians, so will make a decent dent in my requirements. I'll also pick up a few packs from Peter Pig, Alternative armies and Steelfist to mix in.

So the Northern Horse so far at 10 regiments.

Looking over the battlefield for Marston Moor, it is apparent that the scenery is a little sparse, both villages are on the edges of the battlefield. There are some fields and roads edged by hedges. I have most of what I need, Mitch is going to print off a few buildings for the villages. The one thing we lack is hedges, now I could purchase some commercially available ones, but I'll need quite a bit. Alternatively I could make my own. So after watching a few videos on Youtube I came up with an idea using items I already had to hand. Using a coir mat, modelling sticks and a flock mix I've had for who knows how many years I set to work. They are still a work in progress. I will need to seal the flock before starting on the bases.

Hopefully I can make some more progress on these tomorrow, I do have 4 more started. After this I'll see how they look, I may still just purchase some commercial ones.

Sir John Gerlington's regiment of foote

The final regiment for the Marquis of Newcastle's Royalist army of the North. This time I chose the regiment of Sir John Gerlington to represent one of the 7 divisions which Newcastle's foot formed for Marston Moor. There are no uniform or flag details for this regiment so this gave me a free hand on how they looked. 

I went for red coats as a bit of a change from white and grey. The red was done with a simple red primer followed by a sepia ink wash and a little highlight. It wasn't till the unit was finished that I was happy with them, just not used to a red primer for historical figures. For added contrast I went for a blue flag.

What this does mean though is that the infantry component for Newcastle is now complete, with all 7 divisions ready to take the field. L to R, Rear rank - Kirkbride and Gerlington, Middle rank - Langsdale, Lamplugh and Byron, Front rank - Newcastle and Widdrington.

Now I just need to crack on with the Horse, just 9 regiments to go. I already have 1 on the painting table with a further 2 being prepped. I'll then need to purchase the remaining 6 regiments. While I am awaiting these I can make a start on the Northern Association under Fairfax. I already have the 4 infantry regiments,1 commanded shotte and 2 Dragoon regiments to work on. There are also a number of artillery pieces I can use for either side.

Sir John Lamplugh's regiment of foote

So back to the infantry and the 6th regiment for Newcastle's army. This time I chose Sir John Lamplugh's regiment, simply because I managed to obtain a flag from Wargames design for the unit. The flag is scaled at 10mm which fits the epic scale figures well. I also managed to complete another mounted brigadier as well. So now I'm 6 down and just 1 more regiment to go then it will be back to more horse regiments.

The 7th regiment is already on the painting table, going for red tunics for a bit of a change as Sir John Gerlington's regiment. Hopefully get these finished over the next couple of days.

I also did a little planning on the table size we'll need. Looks like around a 10ft by 5ft to make sure we have enough space for both armies. Laying out Newcastle's Royalist and they have a frontage of just over 4ft. Ruperts' army is likely to have a slightly longer frontage.

Size comparison

Just a quick post as my test figures arrived from Alternative armies. The idea being to combine them with the 4 spare figures I had left over from Steelfist. Initial thoughts are a good match sizewise. One drawback is the weapons are a lot thicker than the Steelfist figures, also the horse and riders are a single pose. I also picked up 2 command packs, at least the horse is different.

Alternative armies / Warlord / Steelfist

In the background I have even mixed a few riders and horses over and they are a good fit. So this will give me 2 extra regiments. I'll definitely pick up a few more of these figures to mix in to units of Steelfist miniatures. There is also one other rider they produce wielding a pistol for a bit of variety.

Royalist horse and Commanded Shotte

Well I managed to muster out a few more units for Newcastle's Royalist army of the north. First up is 2 more regiments of Northern Horse, the figures for these are all from Steelfist miniatures. I'm awaiting a new order of flags for these. Going for a 10mm scale as the 15mm flags were too large even if I tried to trim them down.

I also completed the only unit of commanded shotte I need for this army. They are a mix of the Warlord Plastics and Steelfist miniatures. For coat colour I went with white as it represents the majority of my completed regiments so far.

Next for the painting table is the 8th regiment of the horse I need, followed by a regiment of Dragoons. There is also another infantry battalia as well as a number of mounted commanders. I am also awaiting a small order from Alternative armies (old Table top range). Historically these are normally in the small size of 15mm so hopefully they will match in with the rest iof the horse that I've done.