28mm Milanese Army

[Hertsblue]

If the Black Bands are those of Giovanni dei Medici you need a special rule that says if the boss gets wounded everybody goes home - as they did at Pavia. 

[Techno]

Sorry to be an ignorant oik again, all
But could anyone explain why the figures' left hands grip over the shaft of the halberd, rather than under ?
Would it make the halberd easier to use as a 'stabbing' weapon if held like this ?
Genuine question from a thicky. 

I was getting very strange looks from Mrs T as I wandered around the house....arms out....holding an imaginary halberd, and twisting my left wrist back and forth to try and figure it out.

Cheers - Phil

[toxicpixie]

Cheers for pack info & figure piccies, ordered some stuff today. I'm "bath tubbing" it for a small & portable ish game so pike are four by four on 40mm square bases whilst foot & cavalry line will be 40mm by 20mm, 5-8 figures depending on lighter troops to battle line and four for mounted.

Not quite the mass effect my megalomania pointed me to (like 64 strong pike units in an eight by eight formation!) but test basing it suggests it'll look the part acceptably, be cost efficient and hopefully be enough to interest the club mates!

[Leman]

Citadel designer would know the answer to that one. I suspect it mimics the way some Swiss pike used their pikes overarm, but that's just a guess.

[toxicpixie]

Banging halberd drill into google gives some good links, the first of which has so e evolutions that I *think* might generate that grip - http://bryn-gwlad.ansteorra.org/baronialguard/HalberdDrills.pdf

Might be to put more force into driving the point down into the target and driving them down with it, pinning them ready for a bit of murder on the muddy floor?

[Hertsblue]

I always understood that the halberd was wielded in a figure-of-eight movement so that the power stroke was diagonally across the body. Charles the Bold of Burgundy was killed by a Swiss halberdier whose stroke split him from shoulder to crotch in spite of full plate armour. Obviously, halberdiers had to operate in very loose order to avoid killing each other.   

[toxicpixie]

That would fit with the drill manual and the big downward top of right shoulder sweep down to left foot, I think...

[Techno]

Thanks Guys.
What you've said makes a lot of sense !
Cheers - Phil

[nikharwood]

These are beautifully done - and really helpful with my thinking for Italian Wars (using Pendraken though) 

[Leman]

I'm going to put my 10mm late medievals a few years earlier as mid-C15th condottieri armies.

[Leman]

Well, back on message with this lot again. Inspiration coming from To the Strongest. I've been in touch with Simon Miller (the author) and he has kindly sentt me his amendments for the Italian Wars, which are very interesting and include some nice little tweaks for the period. Thus inspired I got out my bare metal Romagnol pikemen (Redoubt) in their skirted tunics and ancient Greek-style helmets. Tried them out on some of Simon's TtS 15cm style bases (they are irregular around the edges and designed to take mini-magnets for safer storage and transportation). This is all panning out really nicely.

Out shopping in Southport this afternoon and thought I would pop into Wargames  and pick up a couple of Vallejo blues. Then I wondered if they had any of the Perrys' plastic late C15th/early C16th light cavalry in. Lo and behold there, nestled among the boxes of Warlord Games offerings, was one solitary box of Perrys' light cavalry: successful mission!

[SV52]

Excellent work old boy. Gotta love the Italian Wars for colour and variety. 

[FierceKitty]

Lovely period.

[Norm]

Really lovely and inspirational.