Friday, May 4, 2012

WOTRs: Yorkist Commanders

Accompanying Edward (who can be seen in this previous post) in his bid to retake the throne of England were his two steadfast companions, Richard, Duke of Gloucester and William, Lord Hastings, who had both been his companions in exile. The then eighteen-year-old Gloucester's first battlefield command was on the foggy field of Barnet, where he acquitted himself rather well; he would go on to earn a reputation as a sound warrior and skilled commander. As for Hastings, the overlapping flank of the Earl of Oxford (the fog had skewed the positioning of the troops, causing the battle to be fought in a sort of pinwheel shape) made quick work of his men who fled into the town. Fortuitously, the failure of Hastings to hold his men (to his defense, in admittedly perilous circumstances), however, did not win the day for the Lancastrians, as the Earl of Oxford's men did not capitalize; they instead set about pillaging and looting. The performance of Hastings at Barnet is the suspected reason for Edward IV's decision to reverse the deployment of his battles at Tewkesbury: he preferred to have the capable Gloucester facing the more experienced Duke of Somerset. Hastings did not go unrewarded for his loyalty, of course, as he was granted the lieutenancy of Calais once Edward had retaken his throne.

Here are some pictures (bases unfinished--par for the course). The commander figures are from Perry, while the others are all Old Glory 25s.


Richard, Duke of Gloucester


William, Lord Hastings

Enjoy!

S. V. B. E.
-The Fox

7 comments:

  1. Figs are looking good!

    Look foward to seeing them again once you have done their bases!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot! Basing is such a chore! But I will be sure to post some pics once they are polished off.

      Delete
  2. Great job, looking forward to seeing the units with thier commands

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! That should be coming soon enough. I have a unit of currours almost done, and then will only have an artillery section to paint before I reach my original goal for the force. At that point I will get everybody's bases finished, and snap some shots of everyone together!

      Delete
  3. Fine painting, and Richard's flag is superb... GMB?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I actually made the flag in Photoshop, scaled and color laser printed it on heavy paper. Then I give it a good couple of coats of Windsor and Newton matte to seal the colors so that they don't run when I coat the flag in diluted Elmer's glue to shape it. Once dry, I touch them up with paint and give them some depth.

      It all sounds elaborate, but they are pretty easy to do. And I love designing flags in Photoshop.

      Delete
  4. Fantastic looking figures. You've blended the two manufacturers together well. Best, Dean

    ReplyDelete