Project Auldearn 1645

Story so far

2011-11-08T20:53:00.000-06:00

Here's the covenanters in all their glory. Project on hold until Royalists catch up!

Clearance - for sale - fantasy

2011-10-17T21:00:00.001-05:00

Like it says on the tin - misadventures in lead....

Halflings

Elves

Dark Elves

Dwarfs

Goblin Boar Riders

Chaos Harpy

Hobgoblins

Empire

Clearance - for sale - Historicals

2011-10-17T20:56:00.001-05:00

Running out of space so time to make some - here's the historicals - the last of my Viking miniature Normans which were my first fully painted ancient army.

Just posting the images here for tmp advert - will delete from sight once they are sold.

Ride of the Valkries

2011-10-16T21:27:00.000-05:00

Been pretty quiet on the painting front of late. Got back from the Alps, found my shoulder was wrecked (MRI next week!!) and then had the folks over. So now that the cards are laid aside and the drink has been drunk I thought I'd get back in swing.

This is one of the coolest models GW have ever made. It's been sitting in undercoat for over a year now so Conor has been happily playing with it scantily clad to say the least! Like all his armour, it's been painted up in a Russian WW2 scheme mainly because I have had these transfers sitting around from when I decided to do Johnny Reds Mosquito when I was about 14.

So a couple of washes and highlights later it was ready to go and the insignia just set it off. Now it's ready to see of some 40K taliban, no doubt sponsored by dark-elder t-party officionados. Photos no the best but just rejig'd the camera so normal service soon.

Northern Levies

2011-08-13T14:11:00.001-05:00

Of all the government regiments, the northern levies are the most enigmatic. Raised locally, they are recorded to have been raised by the Laird of Grant and the Fraser's of Beuly. As the biggest population centre locally is Nairn, it is likely that these troops included a fair number of drafted fishermen as well as the local crofters. Given that this isn't the "deep" highlands, I've chosen to depict them without kilts, as they probably had more in common with the common population of Scotland rather than the "wild" clans. However, given that they were probably levied rapidly, its unlikely they would have been given more than a bunnet, and so would be wearing their own clothes. Thus I've pained them with some grey, but also a variety of natural tones. The officers are a bit more snappily attired, reflecting their landed qualifications - continental fashions having reached even these parts! The standard colour's (red and white) reflect those of regular regiments raised locally to Nairn, the colonels standard includes the stag's head crest of the Fraser's.

Again the photo's are not the best, it was over 100 outside and the figures were almost to hot to handle! will do a full army shoot in the autumn. Next regiment on the list is the earl of Findlater's, but don't think it'll be done till late October. Mind you I've now passed the half-way mark on my contribution!!

Northern Levies - Complete

2011-08-02T19:41:00.002-05:00

Been busy painting these guys over the last month - will do the bases in the next week and get some better photos plus a write up of the unit and the rationale behind the flags.

Not the best photos - flash or no flash that is the question....

Auldearn The Movie

2011-06-26T13:53:00.000-05:00

360 from the summit of Garlic Hill.

Auldearn Battlefield

2011-06-26T13:45:00.000-05:00

Auldearn has got to be one of the smallest battlefields I've ever been on. This means that the butchers bill must have been pretty high where the action was (though a good lot of the covenanter casualties must have occurred during the rout.

Walking the terrain was good for although the hills are not that big the main three (Garlic, Castle and hill of the town) controlled not only what could be seen from any given point but also the nature of the drainage.

On either side of Garlic hill the ground is still marshy today (even with modern drainage). This would have helped funnel the government troops along the axis of the hill, pushing MaColla and the Irish back towards the town.

However, the curve of the hill veers towards the present high street where most of the oldest houses of the village are situated. Here the land rises up again into both the town and towards the Castle hill.

From the summit of Garlic hill it is impossible to see anything other than the town and it's hills. so the strength and position of the royalist army would have been hidden. However, from the top of the Castle Hill, the royalist command would have been able to see most of the Covenanters and would have noticed how the regiments where stacked on top of each other, unable to bring their superior numbers to bear on the assault occurring in the village.

Garlic Hill from Castle Hill

The Doocoot on top of Castle Hill - this is a 18th century structure replacing the one which stood here during the battle

The view down the main road of Auldearn towards the front of the village - the fighting would have been down at the bottom end.

View towards Auldearn from the summit of Garlic Hill. The Royalists would have been able to assemble their forces behind the village without the Hurry seeing how many where there and where they would be deployed. Main road into Auldearn is on the left.

Castle Hill with the doocoot on the summit. The field below and to the other side of the road is still marshy. The royalist cavalry swung round behind this emerging to the left to flank the government troops.

Public Information

2011-06-26T13:23:00.000-05:00

Visited the battlefield during my holiday and the weather was even nice! Was surprised to see signposts announcing the battlefield on the main road and even more surprised to see the two signs below. The first was at the bus-stop, just outside the Covenanters Inn (where we stayed). The second was on top of Eren's hill, the old motte of the medieval castle upon which a doocoot stood. This had a bit more detail and some illustrations from Stuart Reids Osprey campaign book!

Northern Levies - work in progress

2011-05-31T07:43:00.002-05:00

Last shot for a while as I'm away on me holidays - 16 figures still to do, plus all the hair, standards and tartans.

Image quality is pretty pish but you'll get the gist of it

When the Levee Breaks...

2011-05-28T12:36:00.002-05:00

Things moving on at a snails pace. Quick work in progress of the Northern Levies - these guys need their hair done, and another 6 compatriots are waiting on the tartan.

Moved away from the hodden grey - makes them look more irregular - only having government issue head gear.

Looking forward to seeing them done (late July??).

Anniversary

2011-05-09T08:49:00.000-05:00

Well it's the 366th anniversary of the battle today. Northern levies are coming along, slight diversion with a Macbeth vignette, so nothing much to report.

However, here's a nice shot of the battlefield. Hopefully I'll have some good shots once I 've visited in June (if the rain can stay off).

Drummond and Lawers Horse

2011-04-24T18:23:00.002-05:00

This is the smaller of the two Covenanter cavalry regiments. It represents the three troops of Morayshire cavalry, the remanants of Lord Gordon's regiment who did not defect to the royalist cause. In game terms they really shouldn't be rated any different either tactically or in levels of experience or moral. The balance of the unit is the troop of Campbell of Lawers. Rather than have them in two small units it looks better to bulk them up. Given most rule sets don't really make much of supports this is probably okay.

The flag is pure conjecture - there being no record of the original. That being said I tried to use traditional motifs (cross-swords, thistles and covenant slogan) and chose a green back ground in contrast to the the red of the other unit (Halkett's). This will probably be the last post for a while as I'm working on the Northern levies just now and it's going at a snails pace.

Arab Cavalry - Shawlands Light Horse

2011-04-17T17:40:00.000-05:00

Been a wee while since I posted - work been mad. New regiment of covenanter foote have begun - always a struggle to get started on a big regiment. So in the mean time here are some Musketeer Arab cavalry I painted - flags and shields all me (sorry LB). These where great fun to paint - the horses especially - Ebobs are in a different class. These are some of Bill's earlier sculpts but they are really nice. I went for a colour theme - blue and white - thinking of doing a themed army but thats a while away - if they see the table they will be some allies for those Silcilian Normans.

Covenanter Cavalry 5: Flags and Stuff

2011-03-21T17:51:00.001-05:00

March has been a busy month at work and the painting has been stopped as I've dug into motifs for the Covenanters standards. Although at first pass their seems to be a lot of info on the Covenanters standards from those captured at Dunbar, Inverkeithing, Worcester and Preston - none of them really tie to the regiments at Auldearn. So had to be a bit creative within the realms of historical accuracy. That being said, I'll document the logic when the regiments are fully painted and written up.

In the meantime here's the first cav unit based up waiting for their colours.

The following image shows some work in progress on the rest of the standards - pretty daunting at first but a wee change from Little Big Mans.

Off to Rio so unit should be done in two weeks.

Covenanter Cavalry 4

2011-02-27T15:10:00.001-06:00

Unit finished - only got the standard to paint and then the bases to do. Once that is done I'll get some proper shots taken - but can't really knock the utility of the old IPhone!

Going to be a bit tricky getting the spacing right due to the officers sword. Back row sits nicely though.

Covenanter Cavalry 3

2011-02-19T16:13:00.001-06:00

Some more of the troopers. Back row will be swords at the ready, front the command and charging types.

Covenanter Cavalry 2

2011-02-18T19:46:00.001-06:00

Some work in progress on the cavalry. Should be another half dozen along soon - hopefully have the whole unit done by the end of the month. I'll do a write up of the regiment then - will have to be creative with the flag unfortunately - going to be harder painting on something a quarter the size of the infantry.

This will be an officer for one of the command vignettes. I really like the tone on this horse, doesn't really do it justice. The plaid is the same as on the Lord Chancellors regiment.

Bit to much reflected flash. These are the real thing though - good front rank cavalry, especially the two with swords raised "gerrintaethem". Black horses not to my cup of tea - the triad makes them too grey. Think I might have the solution though, a black ink wash (see trooper on the lefts boots) darkens it all up again, whilst retaining some of the form.

Second Irish Regiment WIP 1

2011-02-06T12:00:00.011-06:00

As my co-blogger in Houston has recently shared some WIP photos of his cavalry horses, I thought I would post some WIP photos of my second Irish Regiment for Auldearn. I have recently completed 24 Irish musketeers, which will form 2 shot sleeves of 12 each. I have also completed a couple of Scots government casualties that will be used to add some interest to the multi-figure bases. This regiment will be depicted in a desperate charge, the typical tactic the Irish used to bring their battles to a close. The figures are the excellent Eureka Irish, in charging poses, some clubbing with muskets. The casualties and Irish sergeant are Perry figures.

The unfinished bases are shown (above) arranged as per the final unit basing, with 2x12 man shot sleeves, plus the central pike block of 16, comprising 12 pikemen plus 4 command (Leader, Drummer and 2 Ensigns).

Close up of some of the Irish shot. The chap in the green smock with maroon trews (far left, middle distance), is painted as a tribute the the Sealed Knot re-enactors of "Laghtnan's Irish Regiment" who in earlier days wore this livery as a speculative uniform. Nowadays they wear the more accepted hodden grey of course.

Above, a couple of unfortunate Covenanters fall victim to the murderous irish mercenaries.

I have also included a shot of a new MacColla conversion. I have modified the Eureka MacColla figure with the addition of a beard, Scots blue bonnet, sporran and highland targe slung on back with shoulder strap. All were added with green stuff, with the targe coming from Bicorne. The green tartan trews and some highlights on the sporran are the only painting unfinished. The conversion and paint scheme is based on the depiction of MacColla by Angus McBride in the Osprey "Highland Clansmen" (Warrior 21), a beautiful painting in which he is shown desperately defending a cottage in the village of Auldearn during the heat of the battle. He can be seen below with the Perry sergeant, who will be joining the charging Irish.

I am presently working on Eureka charging pikemen (with half-pikes) and Perry Advancing command and hope to have the entire unit ready soon. I will post another WIP when the pike and command are complete.

Covenanter Cavalry 1

2011-01-22T21:39:00.002-06:00

Been a while since anything has been posted and even longer since it was relevant to the blog. However, now back into the swing of things and looks as if I'll have a good run at it for a while with only a few distractions. The photo below is a "good-faith" work in progress shot of all the "cuddies" for the covenanter cavalry. It's been a bit of a trial to get variety in colour and learn to paint them ala Foundry but I think they came out okay. My biggest problem is painting horses in batches of 6, so I mixed them up with some dark age stuff to make sure I got plenty variety of colours. This resulted in 19 Covenanter horses, plus 9 arab, 6 dark age scot's and 7 norman nags too!

My cohort in India has picked up his paints too, so some more Irish are in the offing. Rumour has it he might be moving to a new location so we can only wait to see if Montrose and Baillie finally get to grips!!

Bits and pieces

2010-09-16T23:16:00.000-05:00

Picked this up about a year ago and just got round to painting it. Went really fast - probably about 4 figures worth. The rhino got the blue ultramarines paint job but with the three point red-oxide by foundry. This triad looks great - big hit!

These are what comes in the barricade set - bit of a misnomer since they are all wall based but... didn't do two much - bike could easily do with some more work but had more than enough stuff to be getting on with.

Predator

2010-09-16T23:12:00.001-05:00

This is the first tank I painted - only space marine one. Pretty much followed the scheme on the box. Based round ultramarine blue, black wash, then more blue on highlights. Scuffs and burns applied later. GW really know how to make a good kit - guess I'll be inheriting this to fight the hoards of Imperial Guard......

Smaller Buildings

2010-09-16T22:57:00.001-05:00

The bright sunshine really damped down the colours in these. All were down with cheap acylics, with the only detail time being spent on the lights (even then these painted fast). It was good fun once I got going, batterred them out over two weeks.

Factory

2010-09-14T21:13:00.000-05:00

Tones on this came out great - like the rusted look to the chimney. Had a blast with the rubble and stuff - heavy bolter looks suitably abandoned.

Cityscapes

2010-09-09T18:22:00.000-05:00

Been diverted with some 40K stuff for the last few months

First up the biggest building - Cadian's by Conor

Saxon Standards

2010-06-15T21:33:00.000-05:00

Some of my favorite mini's - looked duff before i painted them - glad i did - Gripping Beast - magic!!!!

Viking Command Bases

2010-06-15T21:31:00.000-05:00

had a lot of fun doing these - do them for all the character bases of my armies now - brings em alive

Vikings

2010-06-15T21:27:00.001-05:00

Almost done - some dead guys and one command to add

Vikings Work In Progress

2010-02-17T07:14:00.001-06:00

working on a big swathe of Vikings - trying to get this army finished and out the way. These finish off two units of Hirdmen and provide some materials for some command vignettes. At the same time I thought I'd paint up a couple of Saxon standard bearers who have been kicking around and a couple of Normans.....

Should be receiving the last few archers and bondi/thralls from the painter in the next couple of weeks. It's been quite successful doing the big batches again, even using the foundry system but I'll not be doing it for the Covenanters.

7th Armored Division

2010-01-25T13:02:00.000-06:00

These are the first 15mm figures I've painted. It was a scale I never really fancied - too fiddly - but Flames of War system looked good fun and the models are really rather cool. Walter had bought a bunch of British and Germans before he headed off to India so I thought I'd focus on some of the elements he didn't have in his forces. To that end I took the easy option of the 7th Armored box set, with an additional squadron of tanks thrown in for good measure. I've got a couple of typhoons to add. Now I've got to start thinking about the germans who should be a different proposition when it comes to painting.

The infantry took as long to paint as all the vechiles - so 15mm Napoleonics is not appealing in the slightest!!!!!

Mech Infantry - 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade

Objective Marker - 4th County of London

Forward Artillery Observer - 5th Royal Horse Artillery

Artillery Support - A Troop, 5th Royal Horse Artillery

A Squadron - 1st Royal Tank Regiment

B Squadron - 1st Royal Tank Regiment

C Squadron - 1st Royal Tank Regiment

Company HQ - 1st Royal Tank Regiment

Lizardmen - Weearrapeepel Confederation

2010-01-23T22:14:00.000-06:00

Did these for my son. He helped a bit with the skin tones and shield but the figures are so complicated they ended up getting some treatment. I tried to keep the painting as basic as possible - so the metallics are pretty poor, but some of the other bits got the full treatment.

Needless to say by the time they were done he'd moved on to tanks and 40K. So he's on his own now (mind you the Imperial guard tanks would look good as space soviets....)

In the meantime here are the Weearrapeepel Confederation.

Lord Whoozahun

Slann Lord - Swallies, Scar Veteran - Dongiesanyyerkeech & the Clan Tongsyabass

Scar Veteran - Gienitlaldy

Flying Squad - Haudmebak Clan

The Yerbrethsmingen Clan

Boab

Shamman Izaturez

Shamman Noratzmine

The Weenaftz

Madmentalyoungteamz

The Weemalkies

The Ellfidelows

The Uraphud Clan

The Uraphani Clan

A song For While I'm Away

2010-01-23T22:06:00.000-06:00

Been far to long for posts - but since other class blogs can get away with it (Saxon Dog?!?) I thought I'd post an update and show what else has been on the painting table (and prove I'm not a work-shy fop).

Things ground to a halt after my cohorts posting to India, but with his return rumoured to be imminent we might get the show back on the road. In the near future expect to see some background on the commanders and the battle itself. On the painting table, plans are afoot for some presbyterian horse and the Northern Levies.

But in the meantime - two side projects....

Warhammer Lizardmen

Flames of War - 7th Armored Division

The Lord Chancellor's Regiment

2008-11-16T08:31:00.002-06:00

John Campbell, eldest son of James Campbell of Lawers, was made Earl of Loudon in 1637. A staunch covenanter like his father, he was rewarded with the title of Lord Chancellor in 1641. The Lord Chancellor's Regiment was raised in Glasgow in 164? and was also known as Loudon's Regiment.

I couldn't find any record of its standards so was left with a lot of room to be creative. The Regimental standard was the Saltire, broken into alternating red/blue eigths, with the usual invocation to the covenant. The colonel's colour incorporates the actual crest of the Scottish Lord Chancellor, so though it may not be correct historically, it offers a link to the real role.

The tartans for the blankets again bring the unit together, whilst a little diversity from the hodden grey gave the unit a weathered appearance. A couple of dead and wounded figures also broke up the firing line, making for a couple of dramatic vignettes.

Three Steps to...Scotland's Taliban

2008-11-13T13:37:00.001-06:00

Below are shots of the general approach we have used to painting on this site. Most of the colurs we use are from Foundry's range and as such the general techniques have utilised the 3-step layering process. That doesn't mean we are adverse to using other manufactures wares or applying other techniques (washes, dry-brushing etc.) but you will see nothing that has been dipped!! - This means this project will take years.......

Anyway here are some shots of some covenanter foot musketeers loading - Perry Miniatures. Blankets have been left undone as I like to do the tartans last.

View 1 - Back

View 2 - Front

View 3 - Back detail 1

View 5 - Front detail 1

Auldearn Battlefield

2008-08-01T16:29:00.000-05:00

Picture taken 31st July, 2008 from Castle Hill. The hill in the centre is Garlic Hill, the site of most of the fighting. The Government army advanced from the right (west) along the crest of the hill, avoiding the boggy low lying land to the south and north of the hill. The Royalists were based in and around the village of Auldearn visible on the left (East).

Another Royalist flag added....

2008-07-09T18:59:00.001-05:00

There haven't been any updates for a while, and thats because I (the Royalist) am in the process of packing up and preparing to move to India with my family, and my fellow blogger (the Government) is off on his world travels; a combination of summer vacation and business trips.

Although all my Royalists are safely packed, I was recently treated to excellent rendering of the Strathbogie Regiment flag in white chocolate. It was my 40th birthday recently and my wife conspired with a talented cake-making friend to surprise me with an extra special, and undoubtedly unique birthday cake....

At first I thought it was just a standard scottish Lion Rampant (me being Scottish and all), but then I noticed the text. It's the flag of Huntly's Strathbogie Regiment, and one of my favorite ECW flags, and it's on my birthday cake in coloured white chocolate!

They had sneaked into my painting room and discretely removed some pictures of the flag and had worked on this over several days. It was a great birthday surprise, and left me quite speechless. An explanation was also required for the gathered guests, which led to me "coming out" as wargamer to several friends from whom I had previously hidden my love of toy soldiers.

Anyway I thought I would share that, and because it cheered me up no end I decided to share the miniature flag that I created to use on my own WECW Strathbogie regiment, with you all for use in your own Scots Royalist armies...

The flag is based on contemporary descriptions temselves based on an order placed for regimental colours of the Strathbogie Regiment. The text and field colour is described, as is the presence of the rampant lion, however the exact layout is speculative.

Flags for the Irish Brigade

2008-05-02T17:04:00.002-05:00

The colours used by the Irish are not described at all in any of the contemporary accounts of Montrose's 1644-45 Campaign. There is only a brief mention of MacColla's lifeguard carrying a yellow colour at the Battle of Auldearn.

This has been interpreted by Nigel Tranter in his fictional account of the campaign as being the King's Standard (a red rampant lion on a yellow field), which MacColla carried to attract the attention of the covenanters while Montrose rallied the rest of the Royalist army. Stuart Reid, not unreasonably, supposes that the Irish would have carried colours similar to those described for the Irish Confederacy forces in the Ireland, and that the yellow colour is one of 12 colours described in the contemporary gazette, "The True Informer".

Reid lists the descriptions of all 12 colours in his book "Scots Armies of the C17th. III: The Royalist Armies, 1639-46" (published by Partizan Press). Two of those descriptions form the basis for the colours given to my first Irish Regiment. Most of the colours have overt catholic imagery, and latin religious mottos, both features that would not have endeared them to the presbyterian burghers of Scotlands towns and cities.

All of the colours are thought to have featured a red saltire on a yellow field in the canton, and the Royal Crown and cypher (CR), together with the latin motto "Vivat Carolus Rex", or "long-live King Charles".

The first is a green sheet, with "Christ carrying his cross on his shoulder", and the motto "PATIOR UT VINCAM", which translates as "I suffer so that I may conquer".

The second colour is a red sheet with "the name of Jesus", which I have chosen to interpret as meaning the common Catholic abbreviation "IHS" for "Iesus Hominum Saviour", or "Jesus, Savior of men". The motto on this sheet is "IN NOMINE JESUS OMNE GENU FLECTITUR", which loosely translates as "In the name of Jesus all knees shall bend".

At this time, fear of the Roman church ran so deep, that just having an Irish accent in Scotland could prove fatal. So Montrose's use of Catholic Irish mercenaries to press the King's will in Scotland could not have gone down well with the locals, and no doubt these colours fluttering over his victorious army would not have helped matters.

Both flags were made in photoshop, and printed on paper. They were subsequently entirely painted over, to give them the hand-painted look. They were also cut to give a torn and ragged campaign look. More flags to come. Next: MacColla's Lifeguard.

Alasdair MacColla, "The Devastator"

2008-04-29T21:16:00.003-05:00

MacColla was appointed commander of the Irish Brigade by the Earl of Antrim. He landed the brigade in Scotland in July 1644, and in August the force met Montrose in Atholl where the King's standard was raised marking the start of Montrose's campaign in Scotland.

This rather dandy MacColla is produced by Eureka. He is an exceptionally tall figure, reflecting the description of MacColla in Celtic poetry as being 7 feet tall.

James Graham, Marquis of Montrose

2008-04-29T21:05:00.001-05:00

James Graham, the Marquis of Montrose and the King's appointed Lieutenant-General in Scotland from 1644 until 1646.

This excellent figure is from the Old Glory Scottish ECW Personalities pack.

The Fightin' Irish

2008-04-29T20:17:00.001-05:00

My first regiment of the rock hard Irish brigade are finally finished. Experienced soldiers and good catholic boys, they formed the solid core of Montrose's motley Royalist army. They are mainly Eureka Miniatures Irish pike and shot, with a few Perry ECW English, and at least one Foundry ECW casualty figure.

They are painted using mainly Foundry paints, with Granite, Quagmire and Slate for the greys, Bay Brown and Peaty Brown for the browns, Drab and Arctic Grey for the unbleached wool trews. Bonnets have been added using green stuff.

The occasional highland targe has been added, using Old Glory Highland shields. The pikes are 80mm long Foundry steel pins.

The flags are printed on paper from homemade Photoshop designs. They were subsequently hand-painted over, and attached to shortened Foundry steel pins.

The bases are 3mm plywood from Litko, with flex-steel base bottoms. The bases are finished using sand glued on wood filler. After painting the bases were flocked with static grass in 2 stages; first green, and then an autumn brown. Small pieces of dark green clump foliage were added, and this were sprinkled with purple flock to represent heather.

This unit represents the Irish that took a forward position on Garlic Hill together with MacColla and his Lifeguard (to follow). These units held off the government army long enough for the the rest of Montrose's surprised army to rally and organise a counter-attack.

Flags for Campbell of Lawers' Regiment

2008-04-16T18:48:00.001-05:00

The colours for Campbell of Lawers' Regiment are not well documented. A single colour captured at Dunbar (1650), bearing an older version of the Covenanter inscription, is thought to have been carried by the regiment. The flag is a traditional Scots Government colour with blue field and white saltire. The absence of any additional documented colours from Dunbar is attributed to the fact that this tough regiment retired from the field in good order despite the Scottish defeat.

"Company" Colour

For this project we are providing each regiment with 2 flags. A typical company colour, such as the blue saltire above, and the colonel's colour. The colonel's colour for Campbell of Lawers' regiment is unknown so we have decided to use an unknown colonel's colour, captured at Dunbar (1650), depicting a gold thistle on a white field and the motto "Nemo me impune lacessit", an ancient Scottish motto which translates as "None provoke me unpunished".

"Colonel's" Colour

The flags were created using photoshop. In this case the flag designs were then copied onto foil by hand, and hand-painted. They can also be printed on paper and either used as is or painted over. The level of subsequent hand-painting is down to individual preference and can range from a complete paint-over to some additional minor highlights and shades.

All flags created for this project will be shared on this site. Up next - the Irish.

Finished Campbell of Lawers' Regiment

2008-04-06T14:57:00.001-05:00

Heres some shots of the finished regiment - should worry those papist's.

Standards painted onto foil to get the windy look. Bases from Litko, with woodfiller, local sand textures, base coat, highlights - two flocks and some bushes. If anything, some purple highlights will be placed on the bushes to give that heather look.

Goverment Troops oan the horizon

2008-01-29T14:33:00.001-06:00

Campbell of Lawers' Regiment

Although not finished yet (still missing two privates, the standards, a good coat of Testors and the scenic touches) these shots should give the general feel for the style of painting and shape/form of the regiments.

The regiment has been unified by having the same ribbon colour on the trews and green/ochre plaid. The later didn’t come out as well as I wanted so don’t know how far I’ll pursue this (painting tartan).

This was the lead regiment of the Government line at Auldearn so glad to have them in the bag.

Painting Covenanters

2008-01-18T14:25:00.003-06:00

What could be more boring than a grey army? Connotations of John Major aside, it still doesn’t inspire you with a lot of passion. After all the rest of the war of the three kingdoms had some pretty colourful troops, with white, green and red all making a show.

But if you are fighting the war in Scotland you take what you get (or you’ll have your porridge and like it (and mind just salt, nae namby pamby sugar like yon Sassenachs)). So the question was how to make the painting of the governmental regiments interesting enough (upwards of 150 infantry) but allowing a show of uniformity.

With the move to Foundry paints, this wasn’t too much of a problem as they have a wide variety of dour paint types. However, to try and attain some uniformity, but with suitable raggedness, and also distinguish the individual regiments the following painting scheme was adhered to.

Jackets – Slate Grey (majority), additional Rawhide, Drab and Granite
Trews – Quagmire (majority), additional Rawhide, Drab
Socks – Raw Linen (majority), additional Moss
Webbing/Belts – Buff Leather (or rawhide if over Buff Coats)
Buff Coats – Buff Leather
Cuffs and Collars – Arctic Grey/White
Bonnets – Night Sky/Storm Blue
Shoes – Bay Brown

Guns – Spearstaff (wood), Boltgun/Chainmail (metal – GW’s), Boneyard (matches)

Bandoliers – Bay Brown
Powder Pouch – Conker Brown
Tassels – Night Sky/Storm Blue
Scabbard – Conker Brown
Sword Scabbard – Bay Brown
Sword Hilt – Boltgun Metal/Chainmail (GW)

Blankets – varied by regiment – uniform colour/plaid choice
Trews Ribbons - varied by regiment
Drums - varied by regiment

Officers/Ensigns/ Drummers – potential for some additional colour in jacket and trews selection.

Additionally, for some variety, one regiment may get some red jackets, implying they had returned from active service in Ireland where the English parliament had undertaken to clothe Scots troops in the field. However, this is not tested on the figures yet.

WECW List for Covenanters at Auldearn

2007-08-18T14:00:00.001-05:00

Sir John Hurry - Major General (100 Pts)

Sir Mungo Campbell of Lawers' Regt - Foot (468 Pts)
16 Veteran Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (180 Pts)
12 Veteran Shot (144 Pts)
12 Veteran Shot (144 Pts)

Lord Chancellor's Regt - Foot (468 Pts)
16 Veteran Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (180 Pts)
12 Veteran Shot (144 Pts)
12 Veteran Shot (144 Pts)

Earl of Lothian's Regt - Foot (468 Pts)
16 Veteran Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (180 Pts)
12 Veteran Shot (144 Pts)
12 Veteran Shot (144 Pts)

Earl of Findlater's Regt - Foot (188 Pts)
16 Raw Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (68 Pts)
12 Raw Shot (60 Pts)
12 Raw Shot (60 Pts)

Detachment from Buchanan's Regt - Foot (152 Pts)
8 Steady Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (68 Pts)
6 Steady Shot (42 Pts)
6 Steady Shot (42 Pts)

Earl of Seaforth's Regt - Foot (212 Pts)
24 Raw Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (92 Pts)
12 Raw Shot (60 Pts)
12 Highland Rabble; Longbow (60 Pts)

Earl of Sutherland's Regt - Foot (212 Pts)
24 Raw Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (92 Pts)
12 Raw Shot (60 Pts)
12 Raw Shot (60 Pts)

Northern Levies - Foot (148 Pts)
16 Raw Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (68 Pts)
8 Raw Shot (40 Pts)
8 Raw Shot (40 Pts)

Sir James Halkett's Troop - Horse (224 Pts)
16 Steady Trotters; Leader, Cornet, Trumpeter, pistols (224 Pts)

Major Drummond's Troop &
Campbell of Lawers' Troop - Horse (176 Pts)
12 Steady Trotters; Leader, Cornet, Trumpeter, pistols (176 Pts)

Scots Government Army = 2816 Pts

Alternate List Options: The detachment from Buchanan's Regt could be fielded as shot only. Drummond's and Lawers' Troops of horse are combined in the list above but they could be fielded seperately. Lawers' Troop as a minimum size unit of Steady Trotters. I have listed Drummond's Troop as a small unit of Gordon Horse (borrowed from the Scots Royalist List), as this troop is thought to have been formed from the remnants of the Gordon Horse that remained loyal to the Government when the Gordon Horse defected to the Royalists after Inverlochy.

If both alternatives are used, the updated total points for the Government army is shown at the bottom of this post.

Detachment from Buchanan's Regt - Foot (160 Pts)
20 Steady Shot; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (160 Pts)

Campbell of Lawers' Troop - Horse (92 Pts)
5 Steady Trotters; Leader, Cornet, Trumpeter, pistols (92 Pts)

Major Drummond's Troop - Gordon Horse (176 Pts)
8 Gordon Horse; Leader, Cornet, Trumpeter, pistols (176 Pts)

Scots Government Army = 2916 Pts

Notes: I have used the Scots Government Army Lists in WECW as a basis for the points estimate and unit stats, except for borrowing the Highland Rabble and Gordon Horse from the Scots Royalist List. The unit size is based on the OOB below at a 1:10 figure scale and matches the basing suggestion below.

WECW List for Royalists at Auldearn

2007-08-18T00:14:00.001-05:00

Jame Graham, Marquis of Montrose (140 Pts)
Royal Standard (100 Pts)

Strathbogie Regt - Scots Foot (284 Pts)
16 Steady Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (116 Pts)
12 Steady Shot (84 Pts)
12 Steady Shot (84 Pts)

Gordon of Monymore's Regt- Scots Foot (204 Pts)
12 Steady Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (92 Pts)
8 Steady Shot (56 Pts)
8 Steady Shot (56 Pts)

Irish Companies - Irish Brigade (548 Pts)
12 Irish Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (164 Pts)
12 Irish Shot (192 Pts)
12 Irish Shot (192 Pts)

Irish Companies - Irish Brigade (372 Pts)
8 Irish Pike; Leader, Ensign, Drummer (116 Pts)
8 Irish Shot (128 Pts)
8 Irish Shot (128 Pts)

Macolla with Lifeguard (380 Pts)
1 Alasdair MacColla (120 Pts)
13 MacColla's Lifeguard; Leader, Ensign, Piper (260 Pts)

Lord Gordon's Horse (392 Pts)
20 Gordon Horse; Leader, Cornet, Trumpeter, pistols (392 Pts)

Viscount Aboyne's Horse (392 Pts)
20 Gordon Horse; Leader, Cornet, Trumpeter, pistols (392 Pts)

Scots Royalist Army = 2732 Pts

Option: If you subscribe to the idea that Montrose had a full 600 Gordon cavalry at Auldearn then you can simply add a second unit of 20 horse under Viscout Aboyne. This would add another 392 Pts to the list bringing the total to 3204 Pts. However, with 400 Gordon cavalry (2 x 20 models) you will already have more horse than you know what to do with, and the points conveniently balance quite nicely with the Covenanter Army.

Notes: I have used the Scots Royalist Army Lists in WECW as a basis for the points estimate and unit stats. The unit size is based on the OOB below at a 1:10 figure scale and matches the basing suggestion below. I have not honoured the WECW list restrictions, but have tried to reproduce the historical OOB.

WECW Basing for Covenanters at Auldearn

2007-08-16T20:46:00.001-05:00

Here is a suggested basing plan for the Government Army at Auldearn. As with the Royalist plan, the figure count is based on the Auldearn OOB listed below at a 1:10 figure scale, adjusted for use with the Warhammer ECW rules. Pike to shot ratio is listed in the OOB - I have used 1:1 for raw levies, and 2:3 for government raised regiments.

A detachment of Buchanan's Regt was present at Auldearn (the rest of the regment remained on garrison duty in Inverness), and I have given that a pike:shot ratio of 1:1 to give a reasonable number of pike models. But this detachment could also be fielded as 20 commanded shot models with no pike.

Campbell of Lawers' Horse is too small at 30 troopers to field as a WECW unit at 1:10 figure scale. This would be only 3 models, so I have combined Lawers' Troop with Drummonds to give a single unit of 130 Troopers, or 12 models at 1:10 with 2 ranks.

However, if you prefer to field these two horse units seperately in penny-packets, as they were in reality, you could split them into two units of 5 and 8 models respectively, or even 6 and 7 models. This gives them at least some limited staying power to make a contribution to the battle using the WECW rules.

WECW Basing for Royalists at Auldearn

2007-08-15T23:47:00.001-05:00

Here is the basing plan I am using for my Royalist Army. The figure count is based on the OOB below at a 1:10 figure scale. The pike to shot ratio is based on those listed in the OOB with some rounding up and down where necessary to give complete ranks. Unit frontage for infantry is shown at the top of the plan.

Pike blocks are coloured purple and contain pike models (P) and command models; Ensign (E), Musician (M) and Officer (O). I plan to have two colours in each pike block, more on the regimental colours later. Shot sleeves are coloured yellow, highlanders are in green and cavalry is in blue.

Inspired by some of the ECW armies showcased online (links below) I will use predominantly multi-figure bases. 40mm x 40mm bases for 4 infantry models and 50mm x 50mm bases for 2 cavalry models. As will as avoiding problems with "ranking up" models in awkward poses, such as charging pikemen, it will allow some creative diorama basing with casualties etc.

As Warhammer English Civil War requires removal of individual casualties, each unit, sleeve or pike block will have at least two models based on standard single model Warhammer bases; 20mm square for infantry, 25mm x 50mm bases for cavalry. Remaining infantry models will be on 40mm x 20mm bases containing 2 models.

I want the 4 model command stands to be located in the centre of the pike block. To do this with 4 model wide pike blocks means that the command stand must be flanked on both sides by a 2 model 40mm x 20mm base.

I am basing my first couple of units just now, using Litko Aero wooden bases, and will post pictures of how they turn out as soon as they are ready. Covenanter basing scheme to follow soon.

In the meantime, some online inspiration...

David Imries ECW Scots

Phil Olley's ECW Showcase

Auldearn OOB

2007-08-15T21:15:00.001-05:00

In the lists below, next to each unit name are the estimated unit numbers in (backets) , followed by a guess-timated pike:shot ratio for infantry units.

Scots Royalist Army
Commanders
Lt General James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose
Maj General Alasdair MacColla, "The Devastator"
Infantry
Macolla's Lifeguard (140), 0:1
Irish Mercenaries (600), 1:2
Gordon of Monymore's Regiment (300), 2:3
Strathbogie Regiment (400), 2:3
Cavalry
Lord Gordon's Horse (200)
Viscount Aboyne's Horse (400/200)

Scots Government Army
Commander
General Sir John Hurry
Infantry
Campbell of Lawer's Regt (400), 2:3
Earl of Loudon's (Lord Chancellor's) Regt (400), 2:3
Earl of Lothian's Regt (400), 2:3
Earl of Findlater's Regt (300), 1:1
Detachment from Buchanan's Regt (200), 1:1
Northen Levies (400), 1:1
Earl of Seaforth's Levies (500), 1:1
Earl of Sutherland's Levies (500), 1:1
Cavalry
Campbell of Lawers' Horse (30)
Major Drummond's Horse (100)
Sir James Halkett's Horse (160)

Notes
There is some uncertainty as to the exact numbers present in both armies at Auldearn. It is generally accepted that the Covenanters outnumbered the Royalists by about 3:2, however the overall quality and experience level of the Royalist army was better that the Government force, in which over half the infantry were poorly trained, recently raised levies. The Royalists also had recently acquired a formidable cavalry wing with the defection of Huntly's sons to the Royalist cause after Montrose's previous victory over the Covenanters at Inverlochy. The exact numbers in the 'Gordon Horse' is highly uncertain and could range from 200 to 600. Reid's interpretation of the primary sources proposes a whopping 600; 200 under Lord Gordon, and 400 under his brother, the Viscount Aboyne.

Why Auldearn?

2007-08-05T17:46:00.001-05:00

Auldearn is a great place to start a foray into the Campaigns of Montrose, and not just because it is one of the most well know battles of the campaign. For the wargamer and modeller the armies that fought in this battle on both sides were incredibly diverse, as was the terrain over which they fought.

The royalists had the usual infantry core of Irish veterans, as well as a mix of lowland and highland regular foot. But what is most remarkable is that for the first time in the campaign the royalist could field a large force of good quality cavalry under Lord Gordon and the Viscount Aboyne (they had recently defected from the government).

The Covenanters brought several regiments of quality foot, including veterans from Marston Moor, as well asraw lowland conscripts and highland clansmen levies, some of which were bow armed. They also had some horse of variable quality.

The battlefield that was fought over covered some of the most interesting and varied terrain of all the battles in the campaign. There was the long narrow ridge and open killing ground of Garlic Hill, surrounded on 3 sides by boggy marsh, and along which the covenanters advanced towards the village of Auldearn. The village itself, on a seperate ridge, protected from advance by a narrow boggy stream and cluttered with the homes, gardens, walls and fences, as well as the old kirk, through and around which there was some desperate street fighting. The village is flanked at its northern end by the steep flat-topped stump of castle hill, the remnants of a long gone Norman motte and bailey fort, and the lofty position from which the royalists ploughed flanking fire into the covenanters attack.

Orders of battle and battlefield layout to follow...

Welcome to Project Auldearn

2007-08-05T16:20:00.001-05:00

I first became interested in the 1644-1645 Campaign of Montrose back in 2003, at around about the same time I was getting back into the miniatures hobby after a break of over 15 years.

It's a fascinating few years of Scottish history with which most wargamers are reasonably familiar, but which sadly the general public is not. This is even true in Scotland, where you will be lucky to find a person under the age of 40 who can tell you who Montrose was, or who can name any of the battles of this campaign. The battlefield sites themselves are often not marked, and if they are you'll find precious little or no on-site information as to what happened there.

However, the period has a special resonance for me as many of the battles (Justice Mills, Fyvie, Alford and Auldearn) were fought within an hour of my home town of Ellon in the Northeast of Scotland. Many of the men who fought on both sides were local northeast men such as the Marquis of Huntly's three sons, the Aberdonian mercenary commander Sir John Hurry, the loyal Forbes lairds of Udny and Tolquhon (Ta-hoon), who raised their tennants for the government fencibles, and the brave burghers of the Aberdeen Militia, regular citizens and part-time soldiers who volunteered to stand in defence of their city.

This blog will follow our progress as we assemble the armies and terrain to refight the battles of this campaign on the tabletop. Here we plan to post details, such as orders-of-battle, basing and painting guides, figure selections and table layouts etc, as well as just sharing the ups and downs of putting a project like this together. We hope to keep it interesting with plenty of pictures. So if the English Civil War in Scotland is your thing, bookmark this page and visit often.