Rebasing Royalists

Right, well this is something that has been eating away at me for a while.

 A few years ago I had the idea of basing my Royalist cavalry on larger bases than the Roundheads. This was so I could spread them out and make them look like they were charging. It was only another 20mm on the depth of the base so I thought it would be okay.

The finished bases looked good with the horses spread out, very dynamic!

Well, recently I have been thinking about this decision as I gear up to paint some more squadrons of dashing cavaliers. I've made the hard but right decision to rebase these first four bases to match the ones of Parliament. Both sides have to be mounted the same, this will make things a lot clearer with movement rates etc. The big one is a routing unit being caught by a persuer. If the unit being chased is on deeper bases it could lead to confusion over measurements.

It was a pain to do, with a few casualties due to the thick basing mud paste. However, now it's done I feel a lot better. I will repair the chipped paint and match the basing as it was before. I will also improve a few things as I go.
 

I also dug out some plastic horses, the last of my oil painted batch. These were paired up with heavy troopers from Dixon miniatures.

A poor cavalier lost his sword in the carnage, so a shaped brush bristle was crafted for him. Now his sword is stronger than before.

A mix of Royalist troopers. The Essex figures have really nice detailing on their lobster pots. I sorted out all the ornate looking Dutch style helmets to use in the Royalist ranks. The Essex miniatures are a little stylised but they have a lot of excellent qualities, helmet detail being one.

A Bicorne miniature will add some variety with another classic Royalist helmet design.

Another reason I've sorted out a troop of heavy troopers in helmets, is to try and get away from the floppy hat look so loved by early historians. I love the idea of the sides looking identical apart from a few little touches. The Dutch helmets will look great pitted again the three bar pots of the Roundheads.

These Royalist horses are mostly cantering at speed, a nice contrast to the trotting mounts of the Parliamentarians. 

I think these plastic horses will be a little bigger than the older Essex mounts of Parliament. However, this could just be the King and his gentlemen having access to better horse stocks early on in the war. I can live with it.

Some nice close ups showing the detailing on the Essex troopers. Nice heavy buff coats too making them a carbon copy of their Roundhead foes.

So here they are, the moment of truth, all rebased. 

I had the idea that I could still make them look dynamic without adding the extra depth. The trotters of Parliament are riding knee to knee, so are in nice straight lines.

So, by simply staggering these troopers on their energetic horses the unit looks like it is moving at speed. Perfect, job done and everything is legal and above board. No tricky measuring nightmares to come in the future.

'Gallopers' living up to their name.

The thunder of heavy hooves.

Another idea I will use in the future is arranging a squadron in a wedge formation, this will lend itself to a charging look.

These mounts are definitely not trotting, their formation has broken up slightly as some mounts pull ahead of others in the dash.

Here is a before and after shot, the newer bases look a bit more in formation which I like, but still has the staggered look on a charge.

Full tilt now, nothing can stop these men of the King, not even a ragged shower of pistol shot.

It was a bit of a faff to do but it was a 'no brainer' in the end. The bases look great, both forces are now the same and I feel much better. 

God save the King!