I started painting these guys about a year ago, in preparation for a War of the Roses-themed tournament at Millenium Con last November. They were only half-finished at the tournament, which probably accounts for my lacklustre performance. I finally completed the army in March of this year.
First up are two pics of the entire army:
I based the figures on Warmaster bases, and pretty much in a style consistent with that game, though still usable for DBA. So each infantry stand has a dozen figures on it, the knights have six, and the artillery element is equivalent to two Warmaster bases. I might at some point paint additional infantry stands to make Warmaster units of three bases each. The army presently has three units of billmen, and six units of longbows, so if I paint up six of the former and three of the latter, I'll have a total of three Warmaster units. I could similarly add a couple half bases of knights to create two Warmaster knight units, and the artillery is already the right size for Warmaster. Adding more billmen would also allow me to field them in the DBA army in lieu of the knights.
I divided the infantry into three different retinues or contingents, each from a different, important Lancastrian leader. I don't think the three I chose (Exeter, Beaufort, and Roos) ever actually fought in the same battle, however. The first is Lord Thomas Roos's retinue.
In each contingent, the lord's standard (the long one with rounded tails) is carried by the billmen, while one stand of archers carries a square livery banner. However, I didn't have a livery banner for Lord Roos, so his archers are accompanied by Roos's personal banner. This is a bit unusual, but leaders sometimes deployed their personal banners separately from their persons, so as to confuse the enemy. A good explanation of the different types of banners can found here.
Next is the contingent of Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter. I made him the general, since he had a distant claim to the throne. This is reflected in his coat of arms, which is displayed on Holland's personal banner, carried by one of his knights. His archers have a livery banner, which simply depicts the livery colors of white and red, and one of Exeter's personal badges, a spike of wheat. Small versions of the badge would often be worn on the liveried troops' surcoats, however, I didn't attempt that detail with 10mm figures!
Another shot of the Exeter lads.
The final retinue is that of Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. The Beauforts were particularly staunch Lancastrians. The scandalous rumor as to why recites that Henry VI's heir was in fact a Beaufort.
Again, in a defensive formation.
Finally, here are a couple elements which don't belong to a particular retinue: a company of mounted knights, and the artillery. The artillery were presumably mercenaries from the continent. Although such troops probably didn't wear livery, I have painted them in a burgundy and yellow scheme, because (1) it looked better than random colors, and (2) it's possible a mercenary company would have gone for a consistent look in order to improve esprit d'corps. I put the knights in a wedge formation purely because it looks cool.
I'm looking forward to trying out this army with the new DBA 3.0 draft rules, because blades and bows have undergone some significant changes under the current draft. And maybe they will win a game, now that they are fully painted!
