Keep Your Powder Dry

 Jings and crivens! Even more baggage? I'm afraid so. The last part of my Montrose/Solemn League/Irish Confederate baggage extension is complete. Erm... actually it isn't. Now that I have discovered that I can't actually see the figures properly when painting, and that 2.0 readers from the cheapy shop help enormously, I will be tidying these up. The strap work on those bags is shocking! The Irish Confederates have two pack horse trains. These are Chariot figures from Magister Militum. Magister Militum are in the process of shutting up shop, and these figures are now unavailable; MM are finding new homes for their ranges, to date I haven't heard any news about anyone talking the Chariot range on yet. Originally the pony handlers had Scots bonnets, they have been replaced with Peter Pig Irish heads. The Confederates also have two, two-wheeled carts added to their baggage train. Both from Museum Miniatures' extensive baggage range. Each cart has a Peter Pig dragoon ho...

I've watched enough nonsense on the telly box to know that every historical/supernatural setting requires a prison wagon (effectively a cage on wheels) in which the good people round up witches/monsters, or alternatively the evil henchmen (who are all, almost certainly, called Igor) round up innocent civilians to aid their master's fiendish plans. (delete as appropriate). In fact, spurred on by a regular reader (hello), and their questions about Witchfinder General they asked me where my prison wagon was. Well, as I didn't have on, nor any excuse to not have one, I was spurred into action. I decided to utilise the chassis of Donnington Miniatures' CB14 Open 4 Wheel Wagon. The wagon comes as a kit, flat bed, separate sides and baggage. I ditched the sides, and will utilise the baggage elsewhere. Four Museum Miniatures' draught horses from my spares box will pull the cart. But how to fabricate the 'cage'? A few test pieces proved that I could utilise matches a...

Reading books doesn't half cause problems, and I don't just mean finding shelf space for yet another book. Glenn Price (Soldiers and Civilians, Transports and Provisions) argues that a significant hindrance to the Scots armies manoeuvring in Scotland, was the quality of the roads - their baggage and supplies had to be carried on pack horses rather than carts in the main part, roads were often impassable to carts. Which ultimately means a bit of a rethink on my Scottish and Irish baggage trains. My Covenanter army has a couple of pack horses (one hander to one horse), and a four wheel heavy cart. Fine for the lowlands and their excursions south of Hadrian's Wall, but no good for campaigning in Scotland. Throw into the mix Magister Militum shutting up shop, I decided to pick up all the remaining packs of pack horses. I also purchased some two wheel carts from Museum Miniatures. With a little reorganisation, this gives me a slightly more appropriate baggage train. Each of the ...

Bit of a buy one, get two more free post today, kickstarting a new year. Regular readers (hello all twenty of you) familiar with my Cannons for The Catholic Confederacy post will know a little about the state of Ireland's C17th roads. (TL;DR they were a bit pants). As a result of the rubbish roads, it is sort of inevitable that the Irish baggage train would be light carts and pack horses. But, as we know that they did haul demi-culverin around they would have been able to move heavier carts around too. So here's my fledgling Irish baggage train: a heavy cart from Museum Minatures. Additional drum from Peter Pig, a Peter Pig dragoon horseholder (with a headswap) as a drover, a SteelFist drummer rounding the base off. I will be adding some light carts to my two Scottish armies and my Irish army at some point. With Magister Militum shutting up shop, I have managed to pick up the last three packs of pack horses in stock, and some Scots horseholders; hopefully, a buyer will be found...

 The seventeenth-century siege was 'an affair of artillery', but the Irish had no proper artillery Raw Generals and Green Soldiers, Catholic Armies in Ireland 1641-1643 Padraig Lenihan The above quote sums up the state of the Irish Confederate artillery train  rather succinctly; plus, it also explains why they didn't fare particularly well in a war of sieges.  Demi-culverin Clearly the Irish had some guns, but what did they have and how many? Details are scant. The Irish did not have expertise in gun-founding, just two gun foundries existed in Ireland and they were in the Anglo Scottish settler communities: Boyle's foundry at Cappoquin and Blacknall's at Ballinakill.  Irish attempts at artillery manufacturing did not go well: Viscount Clanmalier had a tin cannon made that simply did not work; the leather cannon used at Ballyalla was even worse as it effectively blew up. They fared much better making fake cannons: a wooden cannon helped Daniel O'Dunne capture Cas...

You've seen the armies of Montrose, the King, clubmen, and Solemn League... so just one army outstanding. That of Parliament. So here they are... the army consists of the following: Regiments of Foot  - 18 units, each 34 men strong Combined Shot  - 3 units, each 24 men strong Regiments of Horse  - 21 units, each 16 men strong (1 unit are cuirassiers) Regiments of Dragoons  - 3 units, each 21 men strong Siege Engineers  - 10 men Assault party  - 6 men, and 4 petard teams Train of Artillery: demi-culverins  - 2, each consisting of a crew of 4 men and a limber Train of Artillery: sakers  - 3, each consisting of a crew of 4 men and a limber Train of Artillery: minions  - 6, each consisting of a crew of 4 men and a limber Baggage Train  - 15 assorted pieces of baggage Command  - 19 individually based 'generals', Essex, Waller, Fairfax and Cromwell are based with an ensign. One chaplain. Any old excuse to post lots of pictures... In ...

My original Which Figures posts have grown exponentially, so much so that I decided to revise the information. For the full picture see:- Which Figures?   - the original post, where I ruminate about what I want from figures, and what led me to choose Peter Pig  Which Figures? What is Available   - the state of play with current 'ECW' 15mm figure ranges; a continually updating look at what figures are available, and what is included/missing from ranges. Which Figures? Part 2a: Size Matters: Foot  - I take a look at what is available in 15/18mm and show side by side comparisons  Which Figures? Part 2b: True 15mm/Epic Compatibility: Foot   - a more in depth look at smaller 15mm compatibility Which Figures? Part 3a: Size Matters: Horses   - I take a look at what is available in 15/18mm and show side by side comparisons  Which Figures? Part 3b: True 15mm/Epic Compatibility: Horses  - a more in depth look at smaller 15mm compatibility (th...