Under the Bunny Rampant Banner

I FINALLY finished up the last of the options for my (first) Lion Rampant retinue. By “options” I essentially mean I have painted FAR more units for this retinue than would be allowable in the standard 24-point retinue the game suggests – and far more than I’d ever be able to scrape together an opponent for… Heck I could make TWO retinues out of this batch!

The force is based around retinue of Baron Philippe du Lapin - a character I used as the leader of a  Brettonian Warhammer Fantasy Battle army… oh… 25 years ago (and possibly used as a character In Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play)!? (and in many other medieval skirmish games since then!) In fact some of the soldiers in a few of these units are from that very army – a mix of Citadel and Wargames Foundry figures that were all made by the Perrys (and I swear identical figures were marketed by both GW and the foundry at the same time!).

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version):

The Entire Retinue – 52-56 points, depending on upgrades taken…

Mounted Men-at-Arms – 6 points

These are the figures I just finished up this week to finish off the Retinue. The Figures are from Crusader Miniatures which I picked up as part of a Lion Rampant Deal from North Star Figures.

Mounted Sergeants (with Mounted Crossbow Upgrade) – 4 points

Old Citadel Miniatures (now sold by Wargames Foundry) - that I’ve had for over 25 years. They’ve been rebased a few times and a few were touched up recently…

Foot Men-at-Arms #1 – 6 points

A mix of old figures (mostly Wargames Foundry/Citadel MIniatures) I’ve had for 25+ years – all have been re-based, some have been entirely repainted, some touched up, others… not so much…

Foot Men-at-Arms #2 – 6 points

More of the Crusader Miniatures which I picked up as part of a Lion Rampant Deal from North Star Figures…. Why the heck did I feel I needed a second unit of Foot Men-at-Arms…!? I didn’t… They were just to pretty to give over to the opposing force/bad guys… I had to paint them in red with bunnies…

Foot Sergeants – 4 points

The last of the Crusader Miniatures which I picked up as part of a Lion Rampant Deal from North Star Figures that I kept for this force (the rest became part of my “opposing force”/Bad Guy retinue that I’m doing mostly in green and yellow).

Expert Foot Sergeants #1 – 6 points

Mostly old Wargames Foundry figures that I’ve had for decades.

Expert Foot Sergeants #2 – 6 points

Again, I really (REALLY) didn’t need ANOTHER unit of “Expert” Foot Sergeants… but I had these guys… and they were really nice figures (They’re Front Rank Figures, I think I got them in a trade a few years back…?)

Bidowers – 2 points

The only units not in red and white – because they’re sneaky-skirmishy woodsmen! More of the old Wargames Foundry figures that I’ve had for decades.

Archers #1 – 4 points (could be upgraded to “expert” for another 2 points…)

More of the old Wargames Foundry I got at the same time as the bidowers above – for the most part – there are a few home-cast figures hiding in the back that I added to fill out the ranks!

Archers #2 – 4 points (could also be upgraded to “expert” for another 2 points…)

As Archers#1 above…

Crossbow – 4 points

Same story as all the archer above (Wargames Foundry)

Casualty markers – some are from Crusader Miniatures, other are from “Casting Room Miniatures” which I bought from their ebay webstore (but were shipped from Wargames Foundry…?)

I’d like to do a few units of Serfs and Peasants to possibly field with them (or any other retinue) at some point…

Of course these could also be used for any other game that doesn’t have too specific basing requirements – I have used some of these in A Song of Blades and Heroes (and many would be perfect for Song of Arthur and Merlin) – which I still love for lower level skirmish gaming.

I do have stuff for two more Lion Rampant retinues. Another Generic Medieval (the “opposing force”) and a not-so-generic Medieval Irish retinue – with lots of Fierce Foot and Bidowers and a few hard-hitting Gallowglass!).

I’m quite looking forward to Dragon Rampant - perhaps I’ll be able to reorganize a few more of my old fantasy forces into small units for slightly larger scale actions with this system. 

Also my kids have been working a couple of ) Lion Rampant retinues of their own (or WERE working, rather, as they’re onto other stuff at the moment). I picked up a pile of Hät 28mm plastic El Cid figures from a store that was blowing them out - originally for them to make DBA armies, but then are more interested in individually based figures for skirmishing with… The Boy has a force of Andalusians and The Girl has a force of Almoravids. I hope someday they get them done!

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

One would think having finished these off I’d get to finishing one of the opposing force retinues… but I probably won’t as much as I’d like to play Lion Rampant, I need my basement gaming room cleaned out… and that likely won’t happen until the fall or winter… just too much other stuff to do… (which is why we’ve been doing a lot of boardgaming lately and not so much miniature gaming – boardgames can easily be set up on the kitchen table!)

I’m kind of torn as to what to work on next. I really should prioritize and make the best of my limited painting time… probably 40K or fantasy skirmish stuff… seems most likely to be needed/played with in the not-to-distant future.