Bloody Miniatures

 

I first heard of Bloody Miniatures on The Lardy Oddcast, when Richard Clark waxed lyrical about them and how they had inspired him to write a set of rules for ECW skirmishes. The English or British Civil Wars, or the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, have never really caught my attention for wargaming but I was intrigued by how Rich raved about the quality of these figures, so I popped over to their website. After all, there's no harm in looking is there?

Well, I was floored by what I saw. Even allowing for the fact that Richard (the owner of Bloody Miniatures) is an amazing painter, the figures are stunning. The sculpts are full of individual character, as befits a range intended for recreating the myriad of small skirmishes, sieges and raids that characterised the bulk of the fighting. The figures are large 28mm, having been designed to match the figures released by Bicorne and the now-defunct Renegade Miniatures. There are some useful shots comparing Bloody Miniatures with other manufacturers, and they are appreciably bulkier than some e.g. Warlord and Perry. This doesn't bother me too much, as I don't intend to get many (famous last words!), so Bloody Miniatures and Bicorne Miniatures should provide everything I need for some small-scale ECW skirmish gaming.

Richard also produces an excellent painting guide which I found very helpful, even if I am nowhere near as good a painter as he is. 

I have bought several packs - Richard does several deals where you get a discount if you buy several packs, so that's what I did! I actually finished the first of these a month or so ago but hadn't got around to posting them.

First up we have an intrepid lady, ready to defend her manor against rapacious Roundheads, or cowardly Cavaliers! She is escorted by her bodyguard of dismounted Cuirassiers, their hefty armour provides good protection but they won't be going anywhere in a hurry. The female figure is from 'The Gallant Ladies' pack and the bodyguard unsurprisingly is from 'The Unhorsed Cuirassiers'.

 

Next up we have a detachment of dismounted troopers, armed and armoured with back and breast-plates, pistols and carbines. Richard is a big fan of carrying out small conversions and to this end he produces two sets of heads and weapons to use with his figures. He argues that with a simple hand or head swap you can effectively produce a new figure, and he has numerous examples on his FB page. I have to agree - the figure raising his sword 3rd from right in the picture is actually from 'The Pistoleers' pack and has had his original floppy hat replaced with a lobster-tailed helmet. The figure on the right is also from 'The Pistoleers' pack and the others are all from 'The Dismounted Troopers'.

The light wasn't great when I took these pictures, so I think they are a bit washed-out - I tried adjusting the colour saturation on this photo but perhaps it has gone too far teh other way! Heigh-ho.

The last group is probably my favourite so far and represents an aggressive forlorn hope. Jacket colours in the ECW are a contentious issue, and at the end of the day the evidence one way or the other is often inconclusive or non-existent. Having said that, one of the attractions of the period is the colour - and having looked at the beautiful pictures in the gallery on the Bloody Miniature's website, I was set upon some snazzy jackets, so I have made my choice happy in the knowledge that it looks good to me (even if it might be wrong)! These men are meant to be from Waller's Regiment of Foote and are wearing their yellow jackets with pride!

I have several more packs to go, including muskets and pikes and some devout Scots Covenanters, which I hope to get done over the course of the annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge which I have signed up to for the first time in a few years.

Finally, if you are looking for some suitable ECW reading material, I can thoroughly recommend The Siege of Loyalty House by Jessie Childs, which is full of ideas for scenarios, as well as being an absolutely cracking read.