A few posts ago I covered my "Moorish" late Reconquista army that I put together for DBA following my recent trip to Spain. One army on its own isn't much use, so here's the "historic pair" I did to go with it.
This one is IV/68d Castillian/Spanish from late 14th century through to the fall of Granada. It's the army of Ferdinand and Isabella. As with the Granadines I went with the Essex Army pack, which provided what I wanted with one slight quibble we'll get to below.
Here they all are, complete with the options, so that's why there are 14 elements not 12. The option is to exchange the two javelin Ps/Sk elements out front for the two 3Ax javelins in the battle line. I expect I'll mostly be using the 3Ax, unless I'm up against elephants.
Here's the Knight General (3Kn), representing Ferdinand. He comes with a trumpeter and standard bearer. I briefly considered removing the cast standard and replacing it with a simple pole I could glue a flag to. The flag of Castile-Leon is a lion rampant quartered with a castle. In some versions it is also quartered with the vertical red/gold stripes, so it is a bit of a devil to paint. Especially on a furled flag. Removing the flag would have probably meant taking off the hand and remodelling it, so I decided against it and went with the simple red/gold look, which is also easier to paint on the trumpeter's surcoat. The king figure is a nice pose, with good detail. I didn't go for painted heraldic barding, as the horse comes with some nice embossed detail that I picked out in gold instead. A nice combo of figures.
Two elements of 3Kn, on a mix of barded and unbarded horses. They work well for the mid-late 15th century. I improvised some Spanish heraldry on the surcoats, but again kept the horse bardings plain. I like the mace wielding figure more than the spear carriers but they've come up okay as a group.
I do like a line of solid Spears or Pikes. I probably prefer Spears overall, as I like the look with the shields. Again a mix of improvised heraldry/badges. The one on the left has my attempt at a Madonna and child, which looks better in the photo than in real life. I had a go at a Castillian three tower castle on the one three from the left. Mixed emotions on how effective that is.
It's Spain, so you get jinetes. I didn't get this picture quite right, as the guys on the left are a little out of focus. Simple paint scheme, with lots of brick red.
The 3Ax are wearing hoods, which makes them decidedly 14th century, so a little out of period with the Ferdinand figure which is a pity. Still, it means you can play around with the colours a bit more.
The Ps archers are a good mix of poses, and I like the tin hats. Unlike the Granadines I have mostly gone for simple stripes on the foot figure tunics. I think this makes a good but subtle contrast with their opponents.
The Ps Slingers have hoods, like the javelin men. It's a clean, simple figure. Slingers get a rough deal in most rules sets. They were really effective against unarmoured horses and could break a bone with a clean hit.
These are the "swap outs" for the 3Ax. I prefer this figure generally, partly due to the lack of hood, partly because the shield is bigger and easier to paint and partly the pose. Shame I won't be using them much.
Finally the "camp", which is a resin model of Seville Cathedral I picked up when on holiday. As with the Alhambra for the Granadines it is probably a little too small, but I couldn't resist it.
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