Brown Paper Parcels Tied Up With String

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...were one of Julie Andrews's favourite things. Here's one of mine. A blast from the past, some old Minifig's boxes. A couple of the fabled Hinchliffe blue boxes, and a more recent offering from Foundry*. Okay, completely superfluous and adds an extra cost to figures, but you've got to love a little box haven't you?



* don't worry, I haven't gone over to the 28mm side, I bought some paint from them.

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The Sealed Knot - ECWS: re-enactors

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Bank Holiday weekends usually mean that The Sealed Knot, and The English Civil War Society are re-enacting somewhere. If you have never been to a re-enactment they usually take on two forms - a small demonstration with maybe just one regiment, or major battle with horses, cannon and hundreds of foot soldiers.


The Sealed Knot recently put on one of their major meets at Deene Park in Northampton. Here's a photo album as painting inspiration, or as a taster of what to expect.

The living history camp...


Prior to the battle 

the apprentices regiment drilled...

...and Hesilrigge's Lobsters rode out

The battle


The resident kites weren't sure what to make of it all








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Hovels Ancients Range

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Always on the look out for buildings and scenery that 'works' with Peter Pig figures, and matches Hovels and Peter Pig buildings I returned to the Hovels website. This time I had a look at the Ancient 15mm range - hidden amongst the Roman marching camp and Celtic round houses are a few wattle and daub farm buildings which have seventeenth century potential.

My rationale to myself: cheap construction and maintenance methods would no doubt continue to be utilised until a cheaper better option became available. Hence wattle and daub thatched outbuildings are a 'winner', but not roundhouses.

First up is the 'Raised Grain Store' 14D5.


Next, 'Oblong Thatched Store' 15D5. During my initial teacher training it was drummed into us that we should never ever use the 'o word' <shudders>, they are rectangles. So for all you teachers out there I apologise, I am merely quoting Hovels's title of their rectangular thatched store.


Last offering from the…
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Colonel John Pickering’s Regiment of Foot

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Colonel John Pickering’s Regiment of Foot was raised in 1644 and was part of the Eastern Association. Stormed Lincoln in 1644 before taking part at York, Marston Moor, Sheffield, Bolsover Castle and Second Newbury. In 1645 they were garrisoned at Abingdon before becoming part of the New Model Army.


The Regiment is re-enacted by Colonel John Pickering's Foot part of the Sealed Knot.



Pickering was a lawyer who acted as a diplomat for parliament  conveying messages and reporting back from the Scottish privy council. Pickering originally commanded a regiment of dragoons, before taking command of his regiment of foot.


Pickering's was my guinea pig unit answering my 'how long does it take?' question.


The regiment have a published history (Glenn Foard, Pryor Publications). Out of print but available from online auction houses and ABE Books.


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The Battle of Alton, 13th December 1643

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KeepYourPowderDry packed it's passport and ventured South in search of Sir William Waller's Southern Association campaign trail. First stop - the Battle of Alton.

I must confess to being rather fascinated with this battle since being a small person, we had a copy of the 'AA Book of British Towns' at home, and when there was nothing on the tellybox (which was nearly all the time, it was the early 1980s after all) I often used to leaf through it. One thing lodged in my memory, Alton Church having musket ball marks in it's door.

So, as I was in the area, I thought I should go and see this famous door.


St Lawrence's Church
September 1643, Sir William Waller was ordered to muster forces for the protection of Hampshire, and the western approach to London. By November his command was expanded to take in forces from Kent, Surrey, Sussex, supplemented by some of the London Trained Bands regiments and the remains of his own regiments (who had been seriously duffed up at R…
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A New Regiment - How Long Does It Take?

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A question that arose to myself the other day was: "I wonder how long it takes me to 'do' a regiment?"

So I've decided to time and document the process. I already had the figures, had researched which regiment it would represent (coats and flags), and emailed my request through to Maverick Models to have the flag produced. So I imagine I have excluded a fair chunk of time there. Nor have I included 'prevarication' time - all that time spent deciding what colour to chose, trying to find elusive pots of paint that aren't where they should be, deciding what music I should listen to whilst painting, cleaning brushes, filling water pots, drying time etc

This is one of my standard regiments of foot: 34 figures with separate pikes, and a casualty marker. I'm not the most accomplished painter, my painting style is more akin to waving a brush in the vaguely right direction. Nor am I the quickest. I am of the school that believes if the sculptor put the det…
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Duke of Hamilton's Regiment of Foot

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The Duke of Hamilton's Regiment of Foot, unlike all of my other Covenanter Regiments of Foot, did not take part at Marston Moor.

Hamilton's were raised in Lanarkshire in1648 for the Second Civil War. A short lived regiment they fought in the Preston campaign, Penrith, Appleby, Stainmore, Winwick Pass, before surrendering to the New Model Army at Winwick and Warrington.


The regiment carried black flags with a white saltaire, apart from the Colonel's company who had a white flag with an ermine field.


I must confess I struggled to get started painting these figures; I think my experiment in working out how long it took to paint a regiment hung heavy around my neck like the ancient mariner's albatross. Once I had got jackets, trousers, wood and flesh out of the way the process became less onerous.


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Sir Arthur Aston’s Regiment of Foot

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Sir Arthur Aston’s Regiment of Foot were the garrison regiment at Oxford. Needless to say they didn't get out much. Raised in Oxford in 1643, a detachment went to the relief of Greenland House, which is about as exciting as their battle honours get, before surrendering in 1646. Nice flag though.


We don't know what colour coats his regiment wore, but as governor of Oxford Aston was often accompanied by a company of red coated halberdiers - possibly Yeoman of the Guard, but could easily have been from his own regiment. Red coats it is!


Aston was a colourful character: learnt his soldiering on the continent (Polish-Swedish War, he fought for both sides); as governor of Reading he was struck on the head by a roof tile (dislodged by cannon fire) and rendered dumb - which rather handily meant he absolved personal responsibility for surrendering the town to the Parliamentarian besiegers; made governor of Oxford, and lost the job after breaking his leg in a riding accident, worse was …
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Lieutenant General James Wemyss’ Regiment of Foot

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Lieutenant General James Wemyss’ Regiment of Foot were firelocks serving as artillery guard to Waller’s Army of the Southern Association. Raised in 1643 they participated at the Siege of Arundel Castle, Cheriton, Cropredy Bridge, and Second Newbury before being disbanded in 1645.




The regiment wore blue coats in 1644. Like all of my firelocks/commanded shot units they do not carry an ensign.



Wemys was a Scot who was a 'master gunner of England' and 'general of the artillery in Scotland': he was captured at Cropredy. He was held captive for many months before being exchanged in a prisoner swap.

His uncle invented a leather gun for field work, which James improved the design.

Re-instated as 'master gunner of England' by Charles II, a post he held until 1666, after which he returned to his home in Scotland, dying shortly after in 1667.
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Prince Maurice’s Firelocks

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One of two planned 'commanded shot' units for my Royalist army. Prince Maurice’s Firelocks are believed to have taken part in the Battles of Leicester and Naseby, definitely taking part in the battles of Denbigh Green and Stow-on-the-Wold.


None of my commanded shot units carry ensigns, and are probably much too large in comparison to my regiments of foot, as they were most likely only a company or two of musketeers. No coat colours are recorded so I've plumped for red.


Maurice was Rupert's younger brother, he was given his first command in 1643 leading an army, reasonably successfully, against Waller in the Welsh borders. Eventually he took command of the King's western army, before surrendering and being banished from England in 1646.

In 1648 he joined Rupert in the Royalist navy off the Americas. He was lost at sea during a storm in 1652. Rumours persisted that he had survived and was a prisoner of the Spanish.
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Streeter, Streater, Sprigge or Sturt?

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The famous engraving of the order of battle at Naseby is generally known as Streeter's map. In fact that is how I refer to it throughout this blog.

Eagle eyed amongst you will notice that there are two versions of the plan of Naseby, one with a portrait of the Fairfax top right, and one without. The Royal Collection, and the British Museum both have a copy with Fairfax on and attribute these to Streeter.

Robert Streeter, sometimes Streater, 1624-80 (or 1621-79 depending upon your source material) was a painter and etcher. Widely known and celebrated he was mentioned by Pepys in his diaries.


This is where Sprigge comes in: the plan is sometimes attributed to Joshua Sprigge as the illustration appeared in his book "Anglia rediviva: England's recovery: being the history of the motions, actions and successes of the army under the immediate conduct of His Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, Captain-General of all the Parliament's forces in England". Sprigge wrote the book …
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