Rodeleros or Shield-Bearers

This post covers a new unit of pikemen for my Thirty Years War forces and includes a brief discussion of shield-bearers also known as Rodeleros, or sometimes as sword and buckler men.

28mm Imperial pikemen by 1898 Miniatures and Avanpost Miniatures.

I've been on a bit of painting hiatus since the preparations for Salute back in April. Most of my recent hobby time has been spent in research for potential new projects, but I have tried to keep some painting going as well. My Imperial forces are missing a few pikemen and so I have painted up a few bases using pikemen from the 1898 Miniatures and Avanpost Miniatures Thirty Years War ranges. 

Also in my pile-of-potential were some Avanpost 'sword and buckler' men that I have been looking for an excuse to use.

Background

The Spanish "Rodeleros", translating to "shield-bearers", seem to have started as a component of the Spanish infantry Tercios in the late 15th / early16th century.  The term "sword and buckler men" also seems a popular way to describe them. A small proportion of the Tercio would be armed with swords and small metal shields to try and break deadlocks when pike formations met.  They seem to have fallen out of fashion, perhaps due to their vulnerability to mounted opponents, and to have been replaced by halberdiers.  

A stylised picture of early 16th century infantry combat with rodeleros fighting through a pike formation in the centre.

By the Thirty Years War I'm not sure of evidence for separate formations of infantry with sword and shield. There seems to have been some discussion in the period of their use in support of pikemen, and of having the equipment to hand in the baggage to use when troops were called on to storm breeches etc.  It was also suggested that larger metal shields would be able to protect pikemen from the shooting of musketeers, but I'm not sure of any evidence that this was tried. 

Detail from The Battle of Kirchholm (1605) by Snayers - officers with shields at the front perhaps?

The wonderful Kadrinazi blog by Michal Paradwoski (here) points out some figures in the Battle of Kircholm by Snayers that are carrying shields.  The unit represented is part of the Swedish army and Michal wonders if Snayers may have been using his knowledge of Imperial infantry for inspiration here. 

 

Shield Bearers

Sword and shield armed soldiers also appear in 17th century contemporary art in association with the colour parties of infantry formations.  I assume that their role was to defend the colours.  This was probably partly ceremonial as well as functional.  

Shield bearers lead the formation of the Cracow Militia on the Stockholm Roll

Two shield bearers are typically shown with their swords drawn so that they are always ready for any danger that threatens their formation's colours.  

The Night Watch by Rembrandt.  Can you spot the two Shield-Bearers?

Detail from The Night Watch of one shield bearer.

Detail from The Night Watch of the other shield bearer.

Even one of my favourite 17th century pictures includes these shield bearers!  Perhaps not at first obvious but the two shield-bearers are in the picture, carrying their shields, and with their swords drawn as expected with the company's colour on show and therefore in need of protection.

Forming The Unit

At least two 28mm Thirty Years War ranges include shield-bearers or 'sword and buckler' men: Warlord and Avanpost.  When Avanpost released their figures I had ordered some due to the very nice sculpts.  As I was selecting figures for the pike unit I was reminded of these figures and so decided to add them in as 'interest'.  It is also worth noting that Avanpost and 1898 scuplkts fit together very nicely.

Pike with command group - command group 28mm Avanpost.

When the pike unit has a command stand placed in the front it looks like the shield-bearers are there ready to defend the ensigns carrying the colours. 

Pike unit with included shield-bearers.

Without the command stand the shield bearers provide some added colour.  

Close up of the shield bearer.

The other shield bearer in a nice burgonet with shoulder armour in addition to the back and breast plates.

I like the 1898 Miniatures pikemen sculpts in the rest of the unit as they are in a really nice variety of slightly relaxed poses; here looking like they are 'catching their breath', adjusting their equipment, as they prepare for the next assault.   

I would be very interested to hear what other people think about Rodeleros, or shield-bearers, in the Thirty Years War period. 

Until next time!

Andy @ The Friends of General Haig.

Åke Tott’s Cuirassiers

After several months focusing on my new 1620s Polish army, this blog post shows a new unit of the Pole’s adversaries in my Swedish army; Åke Tott’s cuirassiers.

28mm Cuirassiers from Avanpost Miniatures

I was inspired to create this unit after seeing the new cuirassier figures from Avanpost Miniatures (available from Mezzer’s Minis in the UK link).  I’ve written before about the superb detail on the Avanpost figures and these cuirassiers are no exception.

History

Cuirassiers were the supreme shock troops in many armies in this period. Encased in three-quarter armour, riding large horses, and armed with swords and pistols, they were fearsome opponents on the battlefield. As the Swedish king, Gustav Adolph, built up his army in the 1620s he decided he needed more of these heavy cavalry in his forces, particularly when he had to face the dreaded Polish Hussars.  By the battle of Dirschau in 1627 there were several companies of  cuirassiers in the Swedish army, although how complete their armour was is not clear.  It is not uncommon in this period for a unit of cavalry to be raised as cuirassiers, but for them to be missing parts of the armour expected for cuirassiers. This may be because the armour wasn’t available, or because the troops ‘lost’ those elements that were uncomfortable to wear over a campaign.

I’ve chosen to represent this unit with a fair proportion of figures in the classic cuirassier three-quarter armour, but one or two figures, relegated the the rear rank, are less armoured perhaps representing newer recruits.

Avanpost Miniatures

The Avanpost figures are bought individually and each comes in a small zip lock bag. Most require some assembly; typically arms and scabbards. You can see in the picture the typical contents for a bag. 

I would recommend giving the resin figures a wash in warm soapy water to get rid any residue from the production process. I used a large, child’s paint brush to make sure I could get in to all of the nooks and crannies as well as being gentle with with the thin resin pieces. You need to be gentle with the swords and scabbards in particular. 

Once washed, and dried on paper towels, the figures are very easy to assemble using small amounts of super-glue.  There are not many options for varying pose without resorting to scalpel and putty, but as there is a good selection of different figures available, this isn’t a problem.  Here are a few of the figures made up.

Avanpost don’t currently offer a trumpeter figure so I added an arm from the Warlord plastic Pike and Shotte cavalry sprue that is holding a trumpet, with a smidge of green stuff to match the figure.

As the weather was wet I couldn’t spray prime the figures outside, as I normally would, and so I primed the figures by brush.  I typically use Humbrol Enamel paint for brush priming as it gives a really good base to paint on top of.  In an attempt to have an easier to use product (i.e. you don’t need to clean the brushes in white spirit!) I have been using this product from AK Interactive and it works really well - very matt and good adhesion to the figure; metal, plastic and metal. 

Åke Tott

After painting a few brightly coloured units I decided to paint this unit as a complete contrast.  Swedish (and German) troops’ armour was typically blackened in this period, to protect the metal.  I therefore kept everything else on the figure also in very dark tones.  I think this gives the unit an ominous look.  For a cavalry standard I chose to use one that is attributed to Ake Tott’s regiment.  

As his name could be interpreted as ‘death’ in German, Ake Tott played on this theme with his regiment’s standards, using a black field and a skull motif.  Who doesn’t want a flag with flames bursting from a skull’s eye sockets?!  The flag is from Flags of War.

Åke Henriksson Tott (1598–1640)

Here is the completed unit: 

Conclusion

These Avanpost figures were an absolute joy to paint; such crisp detail and beautifully sculpted figures. I’m not sure that I would mix the horse figures with other manufacturers in the same unit, but I have used the riders in the same unit with Warlord, Perry and TAG.  I enjoyed this unit so much that I have ordered another unit’s worth from Mezzer’s Minis.  

Base with the figure I converted to a trumpeter.

Love the action pose of these figure that look like they are about to pistol some poor infantry.

I included the Avanpost Mounted Commander figure in the rear rank - lovely figure!

I plan to make some more conversions on this second unit, but I think the Swedes will soon have another cuirassier unit!

Until next time!

Andy @ The Friends of General Haig (FoGH)

Avanpost - a mini review

This blog post covers my experience with the Thirty Years Wars (TYW) figures from Avanpost Historical Miniatures.

28mm figures from Avanpost Miniatures - more details below.

I first became aware of this company a couple of years ago from posts on the Lead Adventure Forum (link), and I was instantly blown away by the quality of their figures. They are superbly detailed and lifelike.  I immediately ordered a few figures to see what they were like in the hand, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Avanpost are a Russian manufacturer and don’t have a traditional website/shop. They use a Facebook group to advertise their ranges (link).  You can also buy them through Mezzer’s Miniatures (link), a UK distributor. They have two main 28mm ranges; Napoleonic (French & Russian) and Thirty Years War (TYW). They also produce a range of really lovely 75mm models for collectors and painters. Their full ranges are available in cast resin, and most of the 28mm ranges are also available in metal. They are on the small side of 28mm and fit perfectly with Perry Miniatures ECW range. I have mixed them in happily with TAG and Warlord as well. However they might seem a bit incongruous in the same unit with Bicorne or Renegade which are at the bigger end of 28mm.

Most of the figures require some assembly, such as adding arms and sword scabbards.  I assume they are designed like this to make the casting process easier. The figures I received have needed little cleanup and fitted together very easily, whether metal or resin, with small dabs of super-glue. 

I have only purchased figures from their TYW range so far.  Unusually nowadays, the figures are sold individually which is a real boon when you are trying to find that extra drummer figure, or officer, for example. They cover pike and musket armed troops in a wide variety of classic poses. They also cover artillery (guns and crew), dragoons, harquebusiers, and cuirassiers, with command figures for all types.  The TYW range is pitched at the first half of the 17th century and would work equally well for the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (ECW). 

Avanpost figures straight form the packet - resin on the left and metal on the right.

Here are a couple of figures as they arrived from Mezzer’s Minis.  On the left is a resin wounded horse and dismounted cavalryman (an unusual and perhaps unique to Avanpost set!), and on the right a metal sergeant with halberd.  The separate pieces were easy to snip from the sprues, and to tidy up with craft knife and file before assembling with superglue. 

Avanpost wounded horse on a Charlie Foxtrot - dial / counter base

Here is the wounded horse after construction.  This is on a Charlie Foxtrot ‘dial counter’ base and will be used. as stamina / wound counter in Pike & Shotte games.

Avanpost sergeant in metal

Here is the sergeant after construction.  I intend to swap his halberd for a standard and he’ll join some of his colleagues on a foot command base.

Avanpost resin and metal figures - front view

rear view

Here are a group of resin and metal foot figures after construction. Hopefully the picture shows the fabulous level of detail in these figures, both resin and metal.

Here is a completed command base using figures from the previous picture. The figures were a joy to paint.  (One caution would be that the figures, both metal and resin, could do with a quick wash in warm soapy water before priming. )

The flags are from another supplier new to me, Adolfo Ramos (link), who is based in Spain. These are really nice flags, and there is a lot of flexibility available when ordering to choose the size of flag you want, and also to have them mounted with cords etc. I chose this ‘full service’ option for these two and was very pleased with the result.

Above is the completed mini diorama for the stamina counter base.  I realise this is perhaps a rather morbid scene, but it’s a good reminder of how horses suffered in this period of warfare. I’m glad that Avanpost chose to include this in their collection so we don’t forget this point.

I have also purchased an artillery piece from Avanpost.  The gun carriage is in resin and you can choose to have the gun barrel in either resin, or beautifully turned brass! These brass gun barrels are little works of art.  I will probably paint over this, but it does provide the option of just weathering the bare metal for you finished model.

Avanpost artillery piece, with optional brass barrel included. I will use this as a light, regimental gun.

I have just two cautions that you should consider with the Avanpost figures. Firstly is that the resin is reasonably delicate and so when there are small parts that stick out on the resin figures I have found them prone to breaking when not carefully handled.  For example, the scabbards are very fine items, and a couple of times, when I have carelessly picked up a resin figure, I have broken their scabbards.  These are fairly easy to repair, but if you expect to be rough with your figures you should beware of this.  

The second item is, I suppose, both a plus and a minus.  Wargames figures from other manufacturers have traditionally been sculpted with parts of the figure slightly exaggerated; for example heads, hands and weapons.  This has been partly to do with what we think looks good, and partly to do with traditional sculpting and casting methods.   The Avanpost figures, on the other hand, seem to be very accurately sculpted from a scale model point of view, and this is apart of their appeal.  This scale accuracy includes their equipment and this means that when you compare an Avanpost figure to say, a Perry or Warlord figure, the Avanpost figures’ muskets appear to be much finer and smaller than those on other manufacturers’ figures.  Variety in figure height is ok by me (real people are different heights) but differences in equipment scale can be incongruous. For example, I would be nervous of fielding Avanpost musketeers with musketeers from other manufacturers in the same unit because of the different musket sizes.  I know that actual 17th century muskets did vary in size, but there is only so much difference my eye will accept. I would suggest you get a sample of two to compare with other figures to check for yourself. 

In summary, Avanpost offer a range of beautifully sculpted miniatures, some of which are unique to this period.  If you are interesting in playing games in the first half of the 17th century then I’m sure there is a space in your forces for some of these miniatures!  The range is still expanding with the recent release (in resin) of sword and buckler armed infantry. 

The final pictures show the command base with an also newly completed 1898 unit of musketeers.

An Avanpost command group leading a unit of 1898 Miniatures musketeers.

A “wargamer’s” eye view!

Until next time! 

Andy @ The Friends of General Haig (FoGH)