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What Colours to Use Part 2: Paint

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If you are new to the blog, or new to painting ECW figures - welcome. Now go and read what colours to use first, as this entry will make much more sense if you read this second.

Caveat: I paint true 15mm figures and apply a heavy wash of Citadel Nuln Oil. These colours work in this setting, with the heavy black wash subduing the colour a bit. If you are starting painting out different sized figures you might need to go brighter or slightly darker depending upon size of your figures.


A number of people have asked me what colour paints I use for certain regiments or a particular item. So here is my attempt at converting the colour chart found in part one into a brand and colour of paint.

I must confess that I am a fan of Foundry and Coat d'Arms (Cd'A) paints, so mostly I have identified their paint colours. If you are a fan of other brands there are a number of paint comparison charts available on the web, one of the best is Dakka Dakka.

Other colours I use (that don't fit the…
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Total Battle Miniatures - Buildings

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Regular readers (hello both of you) will know that I am always on the look out for resin buildings that will work with the Hovels and Peter Pig buildings I had a look at Total Battle Miniatures' (henceforth TBM) ranges.

Why resin? My own house is almost 200 years old, nothing is straight, nothing is true. Whilst laser cut mdf buildings can look good, they are a bit too crisp, neat and square for the seventeenth century. Hence resin. Sagging roof lines, wonky windows are all better represented in resin.

I already own a few of their Big Battalions Napoleonic buildings (Essling Granary etc), so I hoped they would work size wise.


TBM make two ranges - Skirmish which are accurately scaled, and Big Battalions which are the correct height but have a reduced footprint.

My test piece is from the Big Battalions 15mm Black Powder Europe section: 15BPBB12U 'Row of Houses'


A clean, crisp hollow resin model which required no cleaning up. I thought I'd washed all the mould release ag…
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Colonel James Progers' Regiment of Foot

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James Progers' Regiment of Foot was a Welsh regiment armed with firelocks. They fought at Montgomery Castle and Monmouth in 1644, and were besieged at Abergavenny in 1646.
Other than that we know the names of some officers but precious little else.


There is some confusion which of the Proger/Progers/Prodger family was the Colonel of the Regiment. There is an article on the Dictionary of Welsh Biography website which describes the two branches of the family.


It mentions Colonel Charles Proger ‘of the Guards’, who had to redeem his estate at £330 for siding with the King in the Civil Wars, and was probably the ‘Col. Progers’ who took part in recapturing Monmouth for the King in 1644 (J. R. Phillips, Civil War in Wales).


Sir Henry Proger appears to have been the ‘Lieut. Progers’ who was in Raglan Castle when Fairfax took it in 1646.

The article mentions a James Proger who spent time in Spain and was last heard of as constable of Abergavenny Castle in 1665. They also had a relative…
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Houses of Interest: Shropshire

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The latest chapter in Houses of Interest looks at Shropshire.

The first entry continues the theme of Charles II running away after the Battle of Worcester.

Boscobel House is located on the Monarch's Way a  615 mile walking route that is based upon the somewhat circuitous route Charles took when he fled to France after Worcester. It would be quite achievable to walk the 10 mile section from Boscobel to Northycote Farm, finishing at Moseley Old Hall in a day.


Boscobel's role in Charles's flight is responsible for inundating British High Streets with pubs called The Royal Oak.

It is, somewhat saddening to note that the Royal Oak pub closest to the actual Royal Oak has such an underwhelming pub sign (a stylised oak leaf).

It was here in Boscobel Wood that Charles hid in an oak tree. The original tree was felled by seventeenth and eighteenth century souvenir hunters; 'Son of Royal Oak' can be visited via a path from the House.


Son of Royal Oak, and great grandson* of Ro…
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Houses of Interest: Staffordshire

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The continuing ECW Travelogue miniseries looking at houses/churches and places that have a Civil-War-connection-but-not-tied-to-a-bigger-event continues, this time focusing on Staffordshire. For some reason, rather than looking at the bit of Staffs that is a hop skip and a jump from Château KeepYourPowderDry I've started with the corner of Staffs that is furthest away.

The first entries look at the escape of Charles II after the Battle of Worcester.

First up is Moseley Old Hall on the outskirts of Wolverhampton, and is cared for by the National Trust. Moseley bills itself as "the home that saved a king" - considering the number of close calls that Charles had during his escape, this isn't really the unique selling point that you might expect it to be. I do wonder how many other houses, along the Monarch's Way could also make that claim?


Built about 1600, the National Trust have recreated a seventeenth century garden on the estate. A rather splendid knot garden be…
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Sir William Brereton's Company of Firelocks

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Sir William Brereton (the same William Brereton whose coffin got washed away in a flood when his body was being returned home for burial) was commander of Parliament's forces in Cheshire.

He fielded a regiment of foot, a regiment of horse and a regiment of dragoons. From 1644 the dragoons were often referred to as firelocks - whether this just refers to their weapons, or to them doing their soldiering on foot (with firelocks) we do not definitively know, although the general use of the term at the time meant foot soldiers (with firelocks).

From 1645 the regiment appears to have had many in it's ranks who had swapped sides after the battle of Nantwich - including men from Thomas Sandford's and Francis Langley's companies of Firelocks. Again this supports the notion that some of the dragoons at least became foot soldiers.


We actually know quite a bit about his regiments - their battle honours, officer lists and so on, but like so many Civil War units we only know that th…
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Winstanley

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Recently picked up a copy of this on fleabay.

Widely available from internet behemoths for a lot of money, this can be picked up for less than a tenner if you have patience from a certain on-line auction house.

An eagle-eyed reader reports it is available from the BFI web shop for £9.99. 


Winstanley was released in 1975, and "no" younglings your screen isn't broken, films and telly box were often black and white in those days. We had it hard back in the day...

Armour used in the film was borrowed from the Royal Armouries collection; the V&A and the Museum of English Rural Life helped with the rest of the costumes, and advised on locations.

Whilst the costumes and locations were top notch, the cast were mostly amateurs.

The film tells the story of Gerrard Winstanley  and the Diggers attempting to create a community on St George's Hill, Cobham, Surrey.

Slightly slow placed*, this film is well worth the effort of watching it; although it does make more sense if you r…
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Baggage, Cannon and Limbers

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In yet another case of déjà vu I sit thinking how to write a blog entry about baggage and artillery.

"But you said..." I hear both my readers cry; and yes, I did say no more baggage. But, well...I had a good rummage around in the spares box, and well, a surfeit of dragoon horseholders were crying out to be used.

So here they are , two more carts for the Parliament's baggage train.


And two more for the King's.


As well as two carts Parliament has gained a demi-culverin (heavy gun) and a saker (medium gun), both with limbers and casualty markers.



As has the King.


As always, the men and cannon are from Peter Pig; wagons and limbers from Museum Miniatures; custom casualty markers from Warbases with a Peter Pig poorly person.
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Houses of Interest: Cheshire

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The County of my birth, and just a few miles away from Château KeepYourPowderDry, so why has it taken so long to writing an entry?

Lyme Hall has already been briefly mentioned in the first part Rupert's March North. A National Trust property (so expect lots of Colin Firth memorabilia, travel blankets and expensive boiled sweets for sale in the shop). Let's get Colin Firth out of the way first: yes, Lyme was the location for that lake scene in the BBC Pride and Prejudice. Surprised there isn't a statue of Colin emerging from the lake...

The Legh's were staunch Royalists, although didn't really have much to do with the soldiering due to a series of unfortunate events. Peter Legh XI inherited the property from his father just before the outbreak of war. He was elected MP for Newton in 1640, but died from his injuries sustained in a duel in 1642. His son, Frances inherited the Hall but died without issue in 1643. Frances's nephew inherited the hall. Richard was a mi…
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