Venetian Cavalry and more

Back in the middle ages…

And back to the blog

I am not dead, not yet. Finally I had the will to tackle again the Blog. Last year (yes, it was still 2012) I started a small 28mm project exploiting the awesome Perry’s plastic miniatures for some small detachments from the late XV century Italy. Being a great supporter of the Republic of Venice my first effort was directed to the Venetian army… and then problems started what rules? How to base? What to field? How to restrain me from jumping into an huge project I was unable to fund and finish? For a while I edged toward Condottiere rules by Frank Chadwick but, being the typical Foundry production, the rules push you toward large armies… so in the end the Condottiere project was moved to 15mm to exploit my large collection (half already painted, half not) of Essex, Venexia and Mirliton (more on them in an upcoming post).  Anyway renouncing to the Perry’s goodness was too much for a weak willed gamer like me so in the end I ended with adapting the excellent Spanish Fury Actions by the ‘Perfect Captain’ to my evil deeds. The adaptation is straight forward, some kind-hearted gamer has already prepared cards for the Italian Wars and the rules have already companies generators for Italian, French and Spanish that can be easily ‘interpreted’ in XV Century style. For those who do not know what Spanish Fury Actions is, well it is a nice (and free http://perfectcaptain.50megs.com/sfactions.html) set of rule for re-fighting small scale actions (but not in the skirmish vein, you have stands and formed units) of the second half of XVI century. If you confine yourself to small size forces you can have a perfectly playable force with 8-12 stands. 

I painted a unit of Venetian Elmeti (or Men at Arms) and one of hand gunners quite quickly, but then I lapsed in adding the Stradiots… no Venetian force deserving its name can be without Stradiots. At last I acquired a pack of Perry’s westernized Stradiots and last week I finally painted them! Now the small cavalry force of the Venetian Republic is ready for battle.  I have decided to place this little project against the background of the Salt War between the Venetian League (Venice and the Papacy under Pope Sistus V) and the Estense League (Ferrara, Florence, Milan, Naples, and France, by the way I was originally from Ferrara…). The war was also fought in the region where my Italian village is located so I think it is a perfect fit. It has 5 bases of Heavy Cavalry, 3 of light horse and 4 of hand gunners. I know it is not as big as other people forces, but I like the look, it is cheap and it is a perfect fit for my budget.  

And now, without further ado… let see them.

The first picture is a group shot. 

As usual my photographic skills are erratic at best...

 

Now the Elmeti. 10 miniatures from the Perry’s plastic Mounted Men at Arms box. The commander is painted with the Colleoni coat of Arms. Both him and the standard bearer are Perry’s metal. The flag has been done with a transfer from the Battle Flag range.

 

Now the Stradiots. The horses are the medieval plastic horses (without added armor) with metal riders.  I hand painted the shields, not perfect… but well I am not so good, this is the reason why nowadays I tend to use LBMS shield transfers on my 28mm… Still I am pleased with the final effect.

In the shots you can also see the hand gunners. They are plastic miniatures form the 'Mercenaries' box.

Ok for now is all. Stay Tuned for further updates, next addition to this project will be a Papal infantry company