Russian Artillery, 1550-1700

Here are my two medium cannon for my later Russian army. I'm a strong fan of TAG Miniatures, I have a fair number of their Ottoman Turks, so I decided to order some Russian artillerymen. To my surprise, the castings appeared to be somewhat smaller in scale, but this is not an issue as it was the intention to attach them to my Hinchliffe Streltsy battalions which are actually the same in size. The TAG arrived flash free and were quick to paint up. Their fur headdress was rather flat so I decided to add some milliput. Keen to have a few gunners in coats, I converted two Hinchliffe streltsy drummers, which I think have integrated quite well.The cannon are from Warrior Miniatures, their ECW range. This later Russian army is a light project, often comprising somewhat dated castings, but I will still enjoy owning and using them on the wargames table. MGB

Re-organising my Arab and Moorish collections for 2016 (1)

Having recently sold several hundred miniatures, mainly arab and moorish figures, I'm now re-organising the remainder and acquiring additional figures. Here are my three reformed foot units. The first are Almohad-Marinid armoured warriors, largely Musketeer Miniatures. Those mainly dressed in white are North African corsairs (attached to the Hafsids but available for hire). The third are Granadine city militia in blue and red.

Still to be painted are 36 crossbowmen, mainly Black Tree Miniatures, which will furnish three small units for the armies listed above. My heavy/noble cavalry, and artillery contingents are still quite strong but the lighter cavalry will need to be completely re-raised. MGB

Late Medieval Russian Artillery and Crew

Its been a particularly bad weather day here in Devon so decided to clear another project. The bombard has been painted but out of active service for at least ten years, waiting for a suitable army. The figures were part of a batch of O.O.P. Essex Cossacks and Russians I picked up off ebay about 6 months ago. Today I was able to finish painting up the crew, and clear some card and wood to construct a suitably primitive, yet archer proof cover for my new Muscovite siege bombard. Michael

First Band of Cossacks completed

My late medieval Muscovites can now call upon some cossack skirmishing cavalry in their fight against the Tartars. MGB

Russian Boyars with banner of St.George (1350-1550)

Here is my third unit of Muscovite Boyars. I have decided to allow myself out-of-scale banners for this army, the potential of using icon images is too appealing and it deserves a larger rendition. This first banner is of St.George, sure to have another with the more usual 'slaying a dragon' image. Have also made some progress on sixteen Cossacks but I must raise a few 18th century figures for a coming battle. MGB

Akinji and Ghazi Horse Archers (Ottoman)

For many years my Ottoman collection could only muster six Turkic 'irregular' horse archers. This has now changed with the original unit of Akinji being drafted into two new formations: a medium armoured Ghazi unit of eight, and a light Akinji unit of six, soon to be eight. With twenty-four Tartars also at my disposal, this section of the army is now suitably represented. Figures are 28mm Hinchliffe, Essex, and The Assault Group. MGB

Russian Boyar Cavalry (1350-1550)

Two more units of Russian Boyars are ready for the wargames table. The figures are Hinchliffe. Those with the large heater shield are listed as Lithuanian Boyars and came with an embossed emblem. As I prefer to paint my own designs, it was not difficult to file the shield flat. As previous entries have mentioned, these figures are to cover a wide period of service. With their lance pennants added, I'm pleased with the general appearance. MGB