The Barons War – Free book adventure
Recommendations: 772
About the Project
In March 2022, if you were part of a gaming club Footsore were giving away single copies to clubs of The Baron's War Rulebook. (Until they run out try this address... [email protected]) Got one of the free rule books for my club. (Thank you Footsore Miniatures & Games.) I think we will probably try the Dark Age Conquest supliment version of the game first because I have a painted Saga minis collection I can point up. That likely route to playing hasn't stopped me starting to kitbash a retinue from fantasy and Dark Age sprues to be playable in the actual Barons War period around 1215.
Related Game: The Barons' War
Related Company: Footsore Miniatures and Games
Related Genre: Historical
This Project is Active
Retinue complete - Mounted knights
Finished up the last two knights for this list to make it 4 knights.
Leaning on the diamonds theme on the shields and wanting to add more yellow to the force because the Scots force have blue in their theme also.
The gore and mud has been dialled back a touch compared the the mounted sergeants kitbashes of the Scots as I got comments that it was a bit OTT. de Percy Foot Sergeants
The shields were fun on these. The de Percy lion rampant and diamonds coming to the fore again.
Enjoyed the weathering on these.
Still keeping to the Zandri dust, morghast bone, wraithbone and Steel Legion Drab muted off-white palette for the padding and basic clothing. 
This retinue is almost done. Just a couple more mounted knights and I will be there.Archers! LOOSE!
Got these done. All six green archers for this unit completed.
Yellow and blue theme, but apparently the convention of tabards and livery was still some way off. It was more likely that they would turn up having sourced and paid for weapons and armour themselves.
Enjoyed kitbashing this one from a FireForge Games Foot Sergeant body, Frostgrave Soldier arms (with the shoulders smoothed over) and a Conquest Games Medieval Archers head.
Bold knights completed
I have a history of naming minis, but something about this game makes me think that minis won't stick around long enough to get too attached to 
Might consider naming minis that survive the first playthrough.Knights of old
Crusader Miniatures metal minis were an affordable option. 8 minis for £11. There are duplications and the poses aren't as dynamic as some of the Footsore ones, but they're single piece and suit the period nicely.
Trying to pick shield designs that are directly associated with the de Percy family, but will have fun playing on the theme and as long as they don't look too much like my Galwegians on the tabletop I'll be happy.
Archers so far
Kitbashed this one for variety. Conquest Games Medieval Archers bow hand, draw arm and head on a FireForge Games Foot Sergeants body and shoulders. Improvised knife and scabbard from a sword hilt and a bolt scabbard.
And these two are just straight from my medieval archers sprues. I like the understated weathering and the greens and off-white being swapped between the two.
It will be a unit of six. All green troops.de Percy Foot Sergeant Spearmen
The fish emblem is apparently only associated with the Percy family much later, but I think it's more interesting than sticking strictly to the blue lion rampant and the diamonds that seem to be key parts of the hereldry. I will make the knights closer to the sources that suit my theme, with these Foot Sergeants being derivations of their masters' designs.de Percy Lord
Looking at the de Percy hereldry... Blues and yellows suit him fine and the red cloak shows that he's wealthy.... But having so many knights in this retinue I am having to get creative to find de Percy symbols, colours and themes. Need to try and have the knights be individuals but with common crossover to keep it one force.
He's from the Footsore Welsh model range... But a knight mini is a knight mini and he looks cool. 😊Changes already.
Painted up another archer to be added to the Douglas green archers I have already
The more I look at the de Percy list the more I think there's a balance issue so the elements I said I would add earlier (small shield added to Spearmen for WYSIWYG, galowglas up to 4 minis not 3, back fill archers) are now being added.
The lists have been altered so that both forces are now up to 520 points. Might be a tiny change, but it just feels better this way. Galwegian Retinue Completed
I wonder whether a 500 pts list in this game should be more elite. I think that the de Percy retinue matches this one fairly, but am conscious that only one side has knights beyond the leaders and this seems important though this is without playing the game yet.
I am already considering the changes I might make to progress to a 750 pts list without vere playing a game. I realise that this could all have been a folly if I don't like the playing aspect of the game. I enjoyed Test of Honour, I have found an interest for the Barons' War era so I hope there will be a hook in the game that continues to hold my interest.
I will probably add small Wargames Atlantic Irish shields to the spearmen here and unit the two spearmen units and add some foot nights to build up this force.
I will definately find a way to send the archer galowglas back to his three fellows and make them a veteran unit as I build the retinue in points.Spearmen - padded out the list
The last of my Antediluvian Miniatures purchase are painted up and my 500 PTS is painted.
Painted in the same fashion as my shield adorned group of 4 I think I may just add some small shields to these guys in future and lake them a unit of 8Percy procrastination
I should be finishing my first retinue. Instead I found an excuse to build and paint these fellas. De Percy crossbowmen from FireForge Games.
Keeping the yellow and blue theme and keeping them a little cleaner than the other force.
A head swap from a Frostgrave Soldier sprue seems a touch small, but variety is fun.Shield designs - The command group is completed
I asked the below on The Barons’ War FacePage.
“I don’t mind if things stray from the historically accurate. It’s a game. Acting out a skirmish that never happened this way with toy soldiers.
That said… We know perhaps what the Knights and Barons had shield designs and colours wise because of the snippets of heraldic history from the age… But would the retinue have the same shield design as their lord, or would there be a distinction. I know the colours on their tabards etc. would help link them to their lord, but what about shield design?”
The consensus was that the knights often kept their heraldry strictly to the head of the family / strictly to the person earning their knighthood, but occasionally sons of the Lord / Baron.
The heraldry conventions hadn’t been as formalised as it was later in the period and apparently uniform tabards that matched your Baron’s family colours etc. were also a way off being a convention of war.
The Douglas battle cry was “A Douglas, A Douglas!” which suggests to me that you had better shout who you are for fear of being stabbed by your own side. That the name carried an element of fear that would perhaps make a less determined combatant find someone else to fight or somewhere else to be.
Archibald of Douglas with his pennant and foot sergeants. Archie holds the three star shield, but his men have an additional black band to show they are kin or trusted retinue but they are not The Douglas.
The lion rampant on the blue field is a Lord of Galloway device and there seems to be evidence that if you didn't have a shield of your own family, or something provided from your Baron's armoury, you could carry something related to you region. (That's my excuse and I am sticking to it.)
The black stripe is enough of distinction for me. The Douglas clan didn't really get the distiction of the Black Douglas / Red Douglas distiction until later in the era, but it allows me to have fun and keep close to what I was doing before.Starting with the enemy. De Percy Mounted Knights
I tried some freehand diamonds and found it tough. I have plenty of practice to come, so fingers crossed.
I looked up Percy hereldry later in the period and found fish as an emblem so tried my hand at some pike/salmon type fish.Spearmen - mail males - Antediluvian Miniatures
These turned out great.
I hadn't seen the shields when I bought them. Enjoyed the freehand on this one.
Now that I know they have the shields I can add those against their point cost when I go to build higher point retinues with what I have.
I am enjoying the weathering on this project. Not sure why poor Angus deserved such trauma to his eye. Perhaps he'll die before the story is properly told.
Very cool pose drawing his sword. I might have to get more of this style of minis. Very nicely sculpted.Painted galowglas
These guys were easy to paint up. Grey primer. Dark washes and then added the base colours, weathering, touchups, done . Finding that you do lose some time washing early, but I really like that you see a lot of details clearer as you start to pick out your base colours. 
Grey Seer highlights and Nulin Oil shadows gave me the grimdark I was looking for.
I think I used Army Painter Pure Red and then a new Vallejo orange red as highlight. (New to me, will update with name).
I usually try to draw in all the lines of my plaid, but for this one I added some red and white dots and at a short distance it looks more interesting. Up close it doesn't look as great, but I am content. 😊Dürer Galloglass
Had to look up the sketch that inspired the sculpts I picked up from Antediluvian Miniatures. Was fascinated by the odd helm being worn by the spearman and wondered how to paint it.I had always heard about galloglas / galloglass warriors from Ireland and the fact that they fought in the same styles and with the same gear for centuries. The Dürer Galloglass sketch has been one of the few sketches taken / survived of this fearsome, much sought after mercenary warrior class but much later in the period. Thankfully nothing about their look stands out as late medieval so they will give my retinue the Galwegian Irish Scots flavour I was hoping for.
Antediluvian Miniatures Dürer GalloglassGalwegian Archers
Fun mix of minis and I think the scheme drags them together. 
A commenter on Facebook had this to say "Alwyn could not hit the broadside of a barn, but he had ways to compensate for that :D" I usually name my own minis, but Alwyn was christened for me.
Primed with Halfords red primer then hit with different washes and Contrast paints and they look similar enough to the Bretonian in the group to keep unity.When I look to swell my ranks to a higher points game I think these archers will get a few more men, remain green, but Alwyn with the huge sword will be added to my foot sergeants with double handed swords instead. With more points to play with that unit can be pushed up to veteran perhaps so they pack more of a punch.
Painting the mounted sergeants.
These are painting up OK. I think grey horses are typical in the era. The shields are a touch too grubby given that they are mostly out of the mud in their saddles.
The tan / off white is made up of steel legion drag, zandri dust, morghast bone and wraithbone. Not all mixed together or layered with all of them, just selected and the lighter colours supporting as highlights depending on what area I am painting.
Grey Seer for the main body looks nice amongst the tan of the others 
I am adding different horse colours for variety. Not sure I enjoy painting horses, but it's a necessary evil.
