Saturday, 19 September 2020

War of 3 kingdoms (ECW) 7, 3 units of horse.

The recent games of For King and Parliament have pushed through some terrain (all those hedges) a pair of commanders and now some troops, 24 horse organised into 3 units of 8 for pike and shot but broken up into units of 6 in For King and Parliament, so 3 or 4 units.
They're (all bar one) Essex figures, cutting edge in 1986,which apparently was a long time ago, how did that happen?!
 I rather like them, possibly also because they were my most successful foray into Ebay,  £18 for an Essex army of 32 horse,a cannon and 60 plus infantry, I think the £10 postage must have put people off? Never to be repeated sadly!
 Either way it has made me indulgently disposed towards them and they can do little wrong in spite of their age, it also helps that they are easy to paint .
Unusually for me they were primed in an old army painter spray brown and then washed in Windsor and Newton  burnt umber diluted ink that I usually only use on terrain and then highlighted in the colour I wanted,it's a fast and dirty finish but,I cry ,it's good enough!
The only non Essex figure is a Foundry command figure waving his hat that I was given by my nephew as he has an aversion to duplicate figures, as I already have this figure I have no qualms about using them in different units!
All the standard bearers and 2 of the musicians have plastic arms,spare from the warlord cavalry sets. Two units with red sashes and one with blue,at the moment they all have Parliamentary flags from the pike and shot rule book blown up ,printed and touched up.














So I was prepping 2 units of cuirassiers and 2 units of dragoons, however, late Roman/Romano Brits are now being prepped and Pictish cavalry are on the painting tray, I would think it's more terrain next but who can be sure?! Legacy blogger still seems to be working on my phone, for how long who knows?
All the best Iain 

Posted by at

42 comments:

  1. Aly Morrison19 September 2020 at 11:41

    These Essex figures have certainly stood the test of time...
    I think it’s the simplicity of the design that gives them longevity...

    All the best. Aly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147119 September 2020 at 12:20

      Yes, I think it's the nice big areas and a lack of fussy detail, happy to have them on the table!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  2. Dave Stone19 September 2020 at 11:55

    Excellent work on the cavalry Iain, and great use of the flags from the book. Look forward to seeing whichever you post next.
    Good to hear your managing with blogger so far, hope this remains

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147119 September 2020 at 12:22

      Thanks Dave! They'll be something I'm sure!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  3. Phil19 September 2020 at 12:42

    Inspired job with this cavalry, looks great lain!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Delta Coy19 September 2020 at 13:19

    Happy memories. My first ECW army was made up of Essex figures (now long gone), we used a set of rules that I think were called 1644? Cheers Greg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 08:26

      Glad they brought back happy memories! I started the army based on Foundrys 1644 set, before pike and shot came out.
      Best Iain

      Delete
  5. Jonathan Freitag19 September 2020 at 13:44

    Your horsemen look great, Iain! Not too dirty at all to my eye. That was quite a nice eBay bargain, wasn’t it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 08:27

      Thanks Jonathan! Good enough and you have to be lucky sometimes!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  6. Gonsalvo19 September 2020 at 14:12

    They came out very well, and I agree, not too dark at all. FK&P has certainly sparked a major enlargement of my own ECW forces, and I also want to try out the ECW rules for Field of Battle, 2nd edition. I have a very few of these nice Essex figures in my collection, used as "Gallant Gentlemen" for FK&P.
    Finally, that was an epic buy! The best deal I ever got was the Macedonian madness purchase a few years back, many of which have been painted this year at last... although there is still quite a bit more bare lead from that purchase remaining.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 08:28

      Thanks Peter! Great buy,not as good as your Macedonian one though!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  7. Michal DwarfCrypt19 September 2020 at 14:40

    Looking great sir!

    ReplyDelete
  8. nundanket19 September 2020 at 14:45

    It’s more that good enough Iain.

    I like these figures. Nice and proportionate.

    ReplyDelete
  9. DeanM19 September 2020 at 14:52

    Inspirational post Iain. I may start on some ECW firelock guys thanks to this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 08:35

      Thanks Dean! Looking forward to your firelocks!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  10. fireymonkeyboy19 September 2020 at 15:36

    I've come to appreciate simplicity in figures. Easy to paint means likely to be painted, and anything that gets things finished and on the table is to be applauded.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 08:37

      Absolutely! Although I imagine all those Khorne types are a bit complicated? Maybe it's just the design I chose when I was painting a Khorne army in the 20th century!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  11. Lawrence H19 September 2020 at 21:30

    Nicely done Iain, and I too think the Essex figures still look good. They certainly come up beautifully with a skilled paint job such as you have given them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 08:38

      Thanks Lawrence! They certainly brush up nice enough I think!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  12. Suber19 September 2020 at 22:28

    They certainly look more than nice. The goup pics look imposing, I love them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 08:39

      Thanks Suber! I'm happy with more than nice!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  13. Norm19 September 2020 at 22:37

    An excellent buy and characterful in nature. Muted colours exactly right.

    1986 - indeed, how did that happen!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Cyrus20 September 2020 at 02:34

    Fine ECW cavalry units and a bargain as well!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Stew20 September 2020 at 04:16

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen Essex figures in person so can’t comment on them, but the pics posted look good to me! 😀
    You always need at least one figure waving a sword or hat or some such. And I can vouch that 1986 was certainly a long time ago, a Loooong time. I should go put on some Oingo Boingo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 08:41

      Thanks Stew! Yes hat waving is essential in both our and your civil war! I suppose it must be!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  16. 'Lee.20 September 2020 at 08:40

    Lovely figures and a great buy Iain. I still like Essex figures in both scales, possibly because of all the Saturday mornings spent browsing in the shop beside the production unit where every single figure was on display painted. We would load the kids and the dog into the car, drive down to Canvey Island, I would go in and spend some cash then stop at the Country park for a dog walk followed by McDonalds in the car on the way home. Lovely figures :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 10:38

      Thanks Lee! Nice bit of reminiscing! Toy soldiers and a dog walk sounds great!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  17. rross20 September 2020 at 11:38

    They look pretty good for 36 year old figures Iain - 1986 was definitely a long tome ago - I didn't emigrate to NZ till 1988 and I have been here more than half my life now - by several years in fact!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 10:39

      Thanks Keith! I know, well, intellectually it was a long time ago, it's just emotionally it seems more recent?!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  18. Matt Crump21 September 2020 at 09:12

    Lovely unit Iain and a very impressive cavalry force.......a period I am now starting to think about more and more 😀

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147121 September 2020 at 10:41

      Thanks Matt! Slippery slope, hmmm, that battalia box from warlord games seems good value!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  19. Dmitry Svidlo21 September 2020 at 11:14

    Nice cavalry units Iain. I agree it's more than just good enough. Amazing balance of velocity and accuracy. So the whole group of cavalrymen looks great.
    BTW Shipping cost to Russia is £20. So £10 sounds like a gift :))))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147123 September 2020 at 08:54

      Thanks Dmitry! Glad my rapid method looks alright! International shipping is really expensive!
      Best Iain

      Delete
  20. Zabadak21 September 2020 at 12:43

    The Essex figures are much better than I remembered them, but I'm probably confusing them with minifigs and of course your paintjobs are much better than anything I came up with !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147123 September 2020 at 08:56

      Thanks Joe! I guess they were a little later than minifigs, I think of them being more 1970s?
      Best Iain

      Delete
  21. Secundus25 September 2020 at 00:11

    I love the Essex cavalry, like you I found some on eBay and never looked back. They have fantastic lobster pots!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. caveadsum147126 September 2020 at 15:25

      I think it was your post that reminded me to paint them, I've still got the cannon to paint and I'm looking forward to it!
      Best Iain

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)