And now for something... slightly different..

After a request from Bedford I've taken a couple of pictures of my Towton themed Yorkist army to show you guys. They have been painted up to represent Lord Fauconbrg's retinue at the 1461 battle in the snow. Admittedly my painting has improved a bit from some of the earlier pieces!

This is one of my bill units (there's one more - but it doesn't look as good). I decided to model them as if they were advancing into an arrow storm, hence why the musician's clutching his throat and why two members of the second rank appear to be throwing some dodgy dance moves. Hard to see in these photos but I threw a few of the mercenary heads into this unit, as I was waiting impatiently for the metal Swiss heads to be released.. The banner is a livery banner I concocted myself, but I'm fairly sure should be reasonably accurate to a point.

These guys are probably one of my favourite units. The majority are Perry metals but I've also added a few plastic models in harness from the 'bow and bill' box. Before I put them together I'd been reading about the mass grave that had been found at Towton and that one of the theories behind the buried men's demise was that they had been caught while fleeing and executed by the victorious Yorkists. As a result I converted some of the plastics up to be either dead or in the process of being killed, hence why that guy is kneeling down. I have tried to place the front ranks in such a way as to look as though they are watching what's happening in the centre.

This is the Burgundian contingent. I'm not even sure if there are any records of Burgundian mercenaries fighting at Towton to be honest, but I remember reading recently that an early handgun barrel had been excavated near the battlefield - not too much of a stretch to imagine Burgundians being hired for the campaign, since Edward IV and the Dukes of Burgundy were fairly good mates it seems. They're all Front Rank and the handgunners have had a few headswaps with Games Workshop Empire models to get a little variety in. The St. Andrew's Crosses are sculpted from green stuff.

Here's Lord Fauconberg himself with his favourite drinking buddies. Again the models are all Front Rank, sadly I haven't managed to get round to get hold of Fauconberg's personal standard as of yet.

Finally here's something completely unexpected -  a phalanx of Immortal Spartans. I bought these sometime last year and this is all I've got done so far. Sure one day I'll end up back doing them again though! I couldn't resist a quick pic though, since they're right behind my WOTR stuff.