Cry Havoc: The Shortbowmen

It's about time this blog had an update, and I have now completed the six shortbowmen that come with the Cry Havoc game. There is less variation in these than in the peasants, but on the plus side, I feel they match the counters more closely:

Aylward:

Bowyer:

 Chretien:

Engerrand:

Fletcher:

Mathias:

Finally, the obligatory group shot:

Although I painted all of them, I only require two shortbowmen for the first Cry Havoc scenario. This will be the next entry in the blog before I decide what figures and scenario are next.

Cry Havoc: The Peasants

I have finally received and painted the first group of figures for my project. Here are the results, presented with the original counters for comparision. As discussed in my previous post, I have taken some liberties with the figures, but by and large they have turned out pretty much as I had hoped.

Baker:

Carpenter:

Cedric:

Farmer:

Gam:

Giles:

Gobin:

Radult:

Salter:

Smith:

Wulf:

Here is one from the other side showing the stats on the bases:

Finally a group shot of the whole motley crew:

So there you have it. Next up, the shortbowmen and after that a play of the first scenario.

First figures ordered

Last week, I ordered the first figures for this project and am eagerly awaiting their arrival. They are all from 15mm.co.uk, the first time I have used this supplier.

I got six of the following bowmen. Only 2 are needed for the first scenario, but the game needs 6 in total, so I thought I'd buy them all at the same time:



My first break from the counter depictions, was the  choice to buy peasants with pitchforks instead of staffs (or should that be staves?). Basically I just think it looks a lot better! I needed 3 of these.



The next 'deviation' was my choice to buy peasants with flails instead of ones with swords. I struggled to find ones with swords and felt the flails were quite appropriate. Also, the ones with swords didn't have a significantly higher attack value than the ones armed with a staff, so I decided it was not a big deal. 3 of these went in the shopping basket.



Another issue came up when I saw that 3 of the peasants were armed with swords and bucklers. Unlike the sword/flail substitution, I could not really justify a switch in this case as the counters armed thus have a higher defence value than the other peasants. I opted for a figure which, although not technically a peasant, should be okay when painted up in 'peasanty' colours. Again, 3 of these were required.



If there was a single good reason for going with the range offered at 15mm.co.uk, it was that they offered two figures which were exactly what I required.

The peasant by the name of 'Gam' is armed with a polearm and it just so happens that 15m.co.uk sell a peasant armed with a bill. Perfect for what I wanted. Gam is a bit of a powerhouse among the peasants, with a whopping 7 strength. Such a character deserves a figure to match.



Similarly, Gobin has a unique depiction for a peasant, being a stout fellow with a large club.  Although the figure I found was not of particularly robust physique, it did have a club, and that was good enough for me.



So that covers all 11 peasants and 6 shortbowmen. Looking forward to getting on with painting these when they arrive!

Considerations before starting

Now that I have decided to carry on with this project, I need to sort out a couple of things before diving in.

• Manufacturers: I think Donnington will be used to supply many of my figures, as I have had good experience with them in the past, but am open to other suggestions. I have had Miniature Figurines suggested to me already as a supplier for a figure for Phillip the Peddler, which I was expecting to be hard to find. Although I suspect that the figure is of a female... Also looking at ranges from 15mm.co.uk, Essex and Irregular.

•  Basing: This is always going to be an issue with this game. I am going to base the figures on squares of thick card the same size as the counters, but need to decide if I will be recording the information on the bases. As I am only gong to be using the figures for this project, I am currently leaning towards yes, although I could just write on the name and record the rest on a record sheet. I will probably paint the bases green rather than to match the hex boards. If I change my mind later this can always be altered.

• Precision: I have decided I am not gong to try and match the figures 100% as that would likely be a thankless and almost impossible task. This will make life a lot easier and the figure should look fine so long as it is painted in the correct way. I will try and be accurate as much as possible, but realise there are limits. Variety is also a reason. The peasant counters have one or two distinct characters, but several are the same except for the colours. I will likely retain the colour scheme but make use of the range of peasant figures available and have some armed with flails, pitchforks etc.

Ultimately, however, this is supposed to be a fun and reasonably light-hearted project, so with these considerations in mind, I think I am all set to go.

What’s it all about then?

Cry Havoc is a classic hex and counter skirmish wargame set in the medieval period. I won’t repeat a full description here, rather I shall point you in the direction of these two websites which are full of useful information:

Cry Havoc Fan

BoardGameGeek

In essence it is a great little game, which , while fairly simple (or should that be archaic) in how it plays, has a ton of character. This is provided in no small part by the detailed pictures on all the counters and the provision of at least two for each character, showing unwounded, wounded, stunned and dead statuses for each. This use of both sides of the counters extends to all living creatures in the game, so pack mules, oxen, cart horses and so on have a healthy and dead side too...

The boards are large, varied (if you have other sets in the series) and attractively painted. I’m a bit vague on the reasoning behind choosing a yellow background rather than green, but this is a minor quibble.

So why this blog? Well, despite extolling the virtues of the multiple counters mere sentences ago,  I have to say it is a little inconvenient having to sort them out and get them organised before a game and I have often wondered about using 15mm figures instead. There is something appealing about taking the 2D image of a knight and turning it into a nicely painted 3D model and it really is a testament to the  art work that it inspires in such a way.

And that it exactly what I intend to do. Taking the colour schemes and general appearance of the characters on the counters, I intend to paint a 15mm replica of each one from the game, and hopefully the expansions also. I will blog on my progress and also report on the scenarios as I play them. The scenarios will form the structure for my efforts and I will choose them in such a way that my painting is minimal between each one, as I add the few new characters required each time. I hope that way my motivation will remain.

I hope you find this project as interesting as I do and decide to follow me on this journey!

“Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war!”