Battalion of the Queen Dowager's Regiment (Kirke's)15mm.

I started these tiny figures by dry brushing a buff colour over all the belts and pikes. I am trying to train myself to paint these 15mm figures a bit faster than my 28s. So, with one brown colour I paint all of the hair and muskets etc. Some of these hair colours may be tweaked later when I have the black contrast colour on my brush.

Contrast paint is fantastic for just going over stuff and tweaking it later in the process.
 

Buff belts for everyone!

GW red paint is used to block in the coat. I found it better to paint the big cuffs and trousers first.

As there is so much red, I did take the opportunity to highlight it with a lighter colour. One of the officers was painted in a very bright red, so it looks like he's coat is made of superior cloth. Above we can see the three makes of figures, now they have paint on I think they go together okay.

The two standard bearers with their brass coloured spear tops.

Grenadiers with 20mm US cavalry behind.

Essex, Furiko, Irregular miniatures.

It's really nice trying to think of a colour to paint the main officer, I chose a nice grey outfit for this gentleman.

The Essex figure is growing on me because he's so accurate. He is a tiny bit smaller but it's not really noticeable as his hat is the same size as the others.

These will be washed with Army Painter strong tone to shade them, nice and quick.

The Kirke's drummer with his reversed coat colours.

UPDATE; The troops are finished and now based up. I hit a bit of a query about what size base to put them on. 50mm seemed the most logical, but it didn't leave a lot of room. I knew I wanted four figures across...so opted for 60mm instead.

I felt like I was rushing in the end, as I based them before varnishing them. I thought it might be easier once they were stuck in place.

I throw in a couple of extra figures and these helped to fill out the ranks.

Theres certainly more troops here than 18 and it wasn't that hard to crack through them all. I haven't counted them but there must be around 32 or so.

60mm base showing the spacing. I suppose they could of been a bit tighter but I do have to base them yet. Painting glue in-between those tiny legs will be a bit easier on this base.

A wolf hound is a nice touch from Irregular miniatures, it came with their little 100 figure deal. It just gives a bit of period character to the regiment.

This was my other option, 28mm. He seems giant compared to these little fellas.

UPDATE; I've given it some thought and looked at more references in the rule books and decided to rebase them on 50mm.

Looking at the lovely pictures in the rule books, the infantry seem pretty close with no gaps. This was the last straw and I bite the bullet while the glue was still wet and rebase them. I think they look better for it to, much more shoulder to shoulder than before.

This looks more like it.

Before I took the leap.

Afterwards...much better.

Being on a smaller base makes for a better looking pike block too.

I cut a 50mm base in half for the command base.

Picture of the Week

 Found this old picture while sorting through some old stuff, made me smile.

zulu shield patterns

 This is a guide I drew up a few years ago to help me with my Zulu war project. It might prove useful to someone else getting into the era. I hope it helps, Simon.

Essex and Irregular 15mm

So a day on and the Essex delivery has arrived. The Essex figure is the first one, he is a bit shorter with a bigger head, but that shouldn't matter once he's mixed in.
 

I think they work well together, it'll be nice to have a bit more variety on the bases with slightly different poses.

I also ordered a pack of the kneeing soldier too from Essex. This one works particularly well I think, especially with the loading figure from Irregular.

The main reason for ordering these extra Essex troops was the fact they have powder flasks around them (apostles). As I want to create Jacobite regiments with their slightly older equipment. I thought a few of these mixed in would fit the bill. Irregular don't seem to do the earlier period. At 15mm it doesn't really matter, as a lot of the detail will be lost in the smaller scale, so a nice mix of both should look good.

The two makes work even better from above which is how they will be seen most of the time.

UPDATE: Next up Luriko figures.

They have finally arrived, the last of the three to turn up. I have seen them described as 'heroic' in scale and I can see why. What they lack in historical accuracy though, I think they make up for in charm. They remind me of 15mm Front Rank figures, if that makes sense.

The Luriko figures have bigger heads and features, but lack the long coat of the period unfortunately.

The standard poles I made 35mm in length, with the pikes being 45mm. I think this looks right.

I measured the standard poles against the standards just to be safe.

Luriko and Irregular figures, you can see the irregular ones are better proportioned. However, the Luriko look much easier to paint and have a bit more character to them.

Height wise the two work well with eachother.

From above they should work too, my plan is to use Luriko now to create the regiments, with a sprinkling of other makes to add variety.

A bag of brush bristles I brought from the old house has come up trumps again, as it is the perfect size for 15mm pikes etc. I knew it would be a good idea to bring them with me and so spent a good while cutting off the bristles with scissors. They also make great spears for 20mm Native Americans. They have also been known to litter the bases of 28mm War of the Roses bases as arrows...very useful indeed.

The pikes are given my usual treatment honed in 28mm, with the ends flattened and shaped. I also flatten and shaped the metal tangs just below the blades with the pliers. They should look good when painted.

The 30 man regiment is stuck to card ready for spraying.

The standard bearers, one of each manufacturer.

The smaller Dixon figures don't work so well with the Luriko. Still, one or two will find their way into the regiments why not, shame to waste them.