Lord Stanley (1st Earl of Derby) has answered Lord Darcy’s call for military assistance, as Piggy Longton is under the certain threat of Yorkist attack.
Stanley has sent two contingents, bowmen and a fine body of men-at-arms. Though he is not present, Stanley has sent Sir. Raymond Roddington to command the troops.
Lord Darcy plans to have Roddington command the right and he will reinforce him with additional bow and billmen.
Firstly he needs to simply to make up the numbers on that wing, but secondly, Darcy has a slight mistrust of Stanley and wants to make sure that he has enough of his own troops on that wing, to keep Stanley true!
These two bases here are all Perry plastic and have just come off their painting sticks. They seem to be defending a particularly flowery / tufty plot of land! :-)
They have been painted up from black primer, matt varnished and then a satin varnish dragged over the metal for some highlights.
The flag is from Pete’s Flags on E-bay, which comes in a set of three, including a banner that would be a good fit for a Stanley Command base, which might be a nice addition to do at some future point for Bosworth related games.
Notes - Lord Stanley is a powerful magnate, with extensive estates across Cheshire and Lancashire. His contribution here is a significant act, as he has a reputation of ‘hedging his bets’.
He managed to keep his soldiers stay out of the battle at Blore Heath in 1459 by ‘not arriving in time’, though his brother, Sir. William Stanley did fight for the Yorkist side.
Lord Stanley had been involved in both getting Edward (Yorkist) to the throne and then returning Henry (Lancastrian) to it, so was gaining a reputation of duplicity based upon political expedience.
[post note - later this same year, Eleanor, his wife will die and Stanley will marry Lady Margaret Beaufort, of Lancastrian persuasion and the mother of Henry Tudor, a future Lancastrian King (1485 - Bosworth and all that, when Stanley again would appear to serve two masters) ….. so who knows which way Lord Stanley sees the wind blowing today!]
With Stanley arriving in the camp and news that Sir. John Delves also approaches with help from Somerset (4th Earl), things are escalating. Edward and Lord Trebian (Yorkists) will realise that they must strike before Darcy grows too strong.
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More great build up Norm, and mention of Lady Margaret Beaufort places this lord Stanley in context for me, as I well remember her character (and her husband) from the 'White Queen" TV series based on Philippa Gregory's novels - may not be 100% accurate but I think the main characters and the roles they played are close enough!
ReplyDeleteHi Keith, if there is a sense of political rivalry and associated shenanigans, then it will be close enough :-)
ReplyDeleteOne hundred per cent, there is Norm!
DeleteWith a Stanley involved the outcome of future encounters in the Piggy Longton environs cannot be certain for either side. Nice painting by the way.
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil, yes, I will follow with interest as a Stanley can only mean intrigue 🙂
DeleteAhah I sense a battle in the offing! Excellent.
ReplyDeleteHi JB, the tension is building here, the men are restless and something must break soon🙂
ReplyDeleteHi Norm - those troops look superb. Very much ready for a fight. I love the first stand holding the colors and bristling with weapons, they look quite dangerous!
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve, they do indeed look dangerous, but which side ….. treachery!
ReplyDeleteAt last we see a return to Piggy Longton the addition of Stanley certainly spices things I am looking forward to this engagement it will certainly be a highlight of my enforced hospital stay
ReplyDeleteHi Graham, I hope you are on a track of improvement and that your stay can be at the shorter end of things …. After all, there are figures to paint🙂
ReplyDeleteAgain, the Piggy narrative is leading me, rather than the other way around!
A pair of very fine looking stands. Pete’s Flags are really terrific and give a unit an extra ‘pop’. Is treachery brewing?
ReplyDeleteThanks Jonathan, yes, I like Pete’s Flags, I got 3 sets this time around, the two Stanleys and Fauconberg.
ReplyDeleteTreachery? It is hard to say with this character. In his favour he has actually committed troops, as opposed to sitting off in a non-committal way, plus some of his best men are there ….. so Lord Derby can only hope and if there is to be an ‘in game’ die roll, then he must really hope :-)
Nice build up and fluff as always Norm and a fine unit to boot! As always looking forward to seeing what happens next when the latest publication from the Chronicle lands on our door mat:).
ReplyDeleteHi Steve, happily there is always something to keep the chroniclers busy.
ReplyDeletegreat job on the painting. I wouldn't mind fighting in all those flowers. It'd make my grave all the more pretty.
ReplyDeleteI always thought that WoTR would take forever to paint, because of all the livery, am I right?
Hi Stew, no, it doesn't have to. I keep livery to just basic two colour tabards and so they don't rare much more work than your 1066, though it is possible to really go at it and produce beautiful figures with a lot of fin detail. I am keeping mine to more of a wargame standard and that full armour helps speed things up a lot.
ReplyDeleteWonderful figures as always Norm and a great build up.
ReplyDeleteLord Stanley sounds like he would make a perfectly fine modern politician - able to bend with the wind. 😁 No allegiances except for himself.
Thanks Ben, It is good to get back to the storyline. Considering we are looking at over 500 years ago, it seems true that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
ReplyDeleteSplendid looking troops! Plus a nice build up towards a game, even better!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain, I have started sketching out the storyline ….. and reading Hail Caesar.
ReplyDeleteVery nice figures Norm, but don't turn your back on them down a dark alley.
ReplyDeleteHi David, we can only hope that Darcy hasn’t already been ‘bought and sold’!
ReplyDeleteSir Raymond Roddington has arrived in Piggy Longton, how wonderful! I must say that's a clever touch with the satin varnish highlighting the armour and the bases look great. Cheered me up this morning following the sad passing of Graham Cummings yesterday. Thanks Norm.
ReplyDeleteLee.
Hi Lee, yes, very sad new about Graham. His voice is just above, saying that he is glad that Piggy Longton is returning. I will be thinking about him when that game is played out.
ReplyDeleteI know you satin varnish all your troops and it does wonders to enhance the intensity of the colours - for the armour, it does bring them back from that drabness that the matt varnish gives when I spray the base.