Sunday 16 September 2012

A Landsknecht Review



I think you might like this update.....

I have been meaning to re-base some of the Landsknecht pike that I have for a few reasons; mainly as some were on rather flimsy card bases and also because there were a few rear rank troops that looked great but were out of sight and vice-versa. Furthermore the bases weren't as compact as I would like when in a square.

Here's the way they used to look

Not bad but it had niggled me for ages and I just needed to sort it - I'm sure you know the feeling.

I thought long and hard about how best to approach the matter and finally settled upon using 120 x 60mm rectangular MDF bases from those lovely chaps at warbases.

This way the units are each compact compositions with better command vignettes and that crucial wider frontage to display my best efforts - hopefully you'll spot some chaps you may never have previously noticed. I have also got the pike to halberd / blade ratio the way I want it (about 1/4). Lastly, each base has two banners; so far I have elected to use a city / ducal banner and an imperial banner on each stand which I think is quite a good formula. Below are units of Bavaria, Worms & Memmingen;





The other pleasing thing about using a 120mm frontage is that two of these together make a neat medium sized pike square;


The way I have positioned the flag bearers each square looks great when you look through the unit. Eventually I intend to double the size of the square below;


I don't really game that much so this impetus style of basing really suits my preference to try and display as much as possible without obscuring figures whilst also still being practical and with the right look for the few occasions I do game. I use DBR (stop sighing!) so for reference each of these bases represent 4 individual units in that rule system, or to put it another way 400 men in real terms.


Here are a few 'eye candy' compositions to brighten your Sunday evening showing a few different compositions and different types of supporting unit arrangements with a finale of Georg von Frundsberg reviewing his dear troops.




I hope the photography is also to your liking, I've put in a lot of practice of late and have almost got the aperture and exposure values just right....almost.

All the best

Stuart

12 comments:

  1. Great looking re-based units, definitely an improvement on the old ones. The Impetus style bases are really good for showing off figures, the size giving lots of possiblities.

    Oh, and sorry, I can't stop sighing. Any mention of DBR has that affect on me.

    Thanks for the Sunday eye-candy. Nice.

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  2. Absolutely stunning and amazing work.

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  3. Stuart,
    Hard to imagine that you've improved on these great figures, but I agree with others that the rebasing and composition was worth doing. They look the business and I like the larger bases, as well as the 'passive', waiting for it all to happen poses. How many figures on each base may I ask?
    Simon.

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    1. There's 13 or 14 per base whereas under the previous system there were 16 so it's a bit less crowded.

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  4. Looks even more impressive then before.

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  5. A definite improvement Stuart, they looked excellent before and now look superb!

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  6. Stunning !!!!!

    Lovely looking units !

    Best regards Michael

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  7. Beautifil paintjob and they do look more impressive now on the new bases.

    Regards,
    Matt

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  8. Those look great Stuart the photography is also top notch!

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  9. I have just discovered this amazing blog, and although not my period, I can not simply not ignore the level of skill and detail displayed in your work. Beautiful.

    Frank
    http://adventuresinlead.blogspot.com.au/

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