THE OLD SCHOOL MEDIEVAL LOOK

I've been taking stock of mountains of old school lead that reside in the attic, wondering how I want to progress with my own armies. Simple , shiny and medieval sum it up. This got me thinking about the influential films which I saw as a youth which filled me with fervour to recreate the armies portrayed in miniature (not that I have done yet, but there is still time hopefully)

The look of the troops in the following stills is the sort of look I would like to recreate. A lot of the armour has that brushed steel look, plenty of colour and no mud or grime in sight

above are 3 stills from El Cid. What a fantastic film. The battle scenes still inspire me.

These 3 above are from the 1960 Polish film Krzyzacy (Knights of the Cross) about the battle of Grunwald in 1410.

I can't remember where these 2 are from, but the soldiers in the picture directly above look just like Revell/Accurate medieval figures.

2 stills from Henry V . The charge of the French knights was rather splendid.

Any other suggestions of similar films?

SPECIAL OFFA! SAXON KING AND GUARD NOW LISTED

Just listed a Saxon King and his guard which were nice to paint. I think they must be mid Saxons, so about 8th century? Early Vendel type helmets, but also a Coppergate helmet and 2 Benty Grange (I know my Saxon Hats)!

Some Normans coming soon, and then a unit of Teutonic Knights I think!

ECW REGIMENTS BY MALPLAQUET MINIATURES

More figures recently listed among which are these 2 English Civil War regiments. I started painting these a few years ago, but the project stalled, so I have dug them out, finished them off and am now selling them.

(EDIT: ECW UNIT ABOVE NOW SOLD)

A unit of Norman cavalry sold this morning, so I packed them up and they are now heading towards Sienna! Clearly Italo-Normans.

THIRTY YEARS WAR PIKEMEN BY MALPLAQUET MINIATURES

Another shameless commercial , as Mammon reigns in the Atticus household. Just finished this batch of grubby pikemen which were great fun to paint. Renegade Miniatures have real character without being too goofy like a lot of Foundry figures, or a bit bland like Perry's.

Block paint, drybrush, wash and highlight worked well to give that ragged look one associates with the TYW.

Available to buy here, or comment below and I'll be in touch.

(THIS UNIT NOW SOLD)

I am tempted to do a small TYW force for myself (Mansfeld's band of mercenary scum would be jolly). 

I have just taken delivery of a small order of medievals from Front Rank for my Venetian army. Lovely crisp castings. Roll of February when I can start painting for myself.

MALPLAQUET MINIATURES

Buoyed by the success of selling my 1/72 figures mentioned in the last post for a goodly sum, I have decided to have a go at painting figures for sale. Now, I am well aware of my limitations as a painter but as I have sold the odd batch before, someone must like my style (or pity me).

I think the secret is to find a niche in the market that there is some demand for, and I tend to make extensive use of washes which speeds up the process. This tends to make the figures look quite grubby, and combined with drybrushing they look dusty as well! This grotty realism seems to be all the rage at the moment, and although I prefer my own figures to be nice and bright and shiny, I find painting the grubby way much quicker and fairly therapeutic.

A slot I have thought about is painting Oldschool style traditional regiments for sale... Spencer Smith, Minifigs, Warrior etc..... what do you think? Nobody else seems to do this, but demand may be non existant.

We'll see how things go. I sold a few hundred quids worth last year, so I starting the new year with a plan to paint one month for sale, and one month for myself. So far this year, I have painted 8 Spartans, 6 Norman Cavalry, 14 ECW infantry, 12 Outlaws or rangers and 3 LOTR trolls! It is rather fun chopping and changing periods and keeps my interest up.

Pricing is a contentious issue... I wouldn't dream of buying prepainted figures myself, but then that is the best part of the hobby for me, gaming comes a long way second. For others the game is everything and there seem to be plenty of folk with no inclination or time to paint, but who want painted minis to play with. There are some stunning figures for sale on ebay...I was amazed to find one painter selling plenty of 28mm historical infantry miniatures at £60+ EACH. They were works of art, but even if I could paint that well, I'm not sure I could spend all that time on one figure without getting bored. It just shows there are plenty of punters who have funds to spend on their hobby (and good luck to 'em). Conversely there are some pretty basic paint jobs that are selling as well.

(EDIT: ECW UNIT ABOVE NOW SOLD)

I am pitching my figures at about £6.50 for infantry and £15 for cavalry which of course includes the cost of the casting, but nor basing. I've sold at this price before, and it seems an average price for workmanlike figures, which I hope mine are.

(EDIT: NORMAN CAVALRY UNIT ABOVE NOW SOLD)

Anyhow, I will post new units as they come up for sale, and please pop over to my page here at Malplaquet Miniatures ebay sales.

Any constructive comments would be much appreciated as well, and commissions even more so!

BACK, BUT JUST FLOGGING STUFF!

Hello all...it's been a manic year and ages since my last post. I have been painting, but lack of any form of camera has put paid to my posting progress. The current project making good headway is 28mm Italian Wars and I'm well ahead with a Venetian army. This post is just to put up some pictures (taken on Mrs. Atticus' phone) to show a prospective buyer my 1/72 TYW figures I am selling to finance more purchases (including a camera).

 EDIT... ALL SOLD THANKS!