The Not so Grand army of Bretonnia (wip)

Tullaris

Member
I remember back in the day when I was looking at pictures in warhammer catalogues how cool the Bretonnians looked.
I just loved the 1990 or was it 91 release, all the chainmail and bucket helmets, cannons and lively colours.

Then I remember my disappointment with the 5th edition army book release.... Now I still like the book. But I had some issues with the overall look of the army, it looked a bit cartoonish. Where was all the chainmail? (i'm a sucker for chainmail) and what's with all the stuffed animals on their heads.....

Now many many years later, I'm going to try and fulfill my childhood fantasy of making a bretonnian army the way I imagined it, using the 3rd edition rules. For this purpose I've ordered a lot of historical 28mm miniatures as well as some of the original foot knights sculpted by Michael and Alan Perry originally released by Citadel Miniatures in 1986.

The overall goal of this army is to have it very character driven, no ducks.... sorry dukes, Grail knights or questing knights.
These are some of the lesser knights occupying southern Lyonesse who all depend on one another in times of need. Some are rich others poor, noble and corrupt.

I want to move away from the idea of every army having huge units of grail knights, as I feel one of these should be no less than a lord lvl character, so until I expand the army to 4000 points (currently at 3000 pts) No grail knights.
As for questing knights, lorewise they're all over the place, and I want my army to be a stable regional force.

My original Idea was too use the chaos concept of making an army. Create a character and his personal retinue and repeat the process. However, too many of my characters (11 characters for a 3000 pt army) were linked to my generals house.



Yay postman, there's more coming, but let's see if I can make some silly kniggits starting out with this lot.

the slogan is... less plate more chain, less antlers more.... chrome?



First step..... clean up this mess of a worktable.....



Here's my general getting close to being finished.
Some of my chevaliers de notre dame de bataille in the background.


closeup... liquid green stuff alone doesn't seem to do it for the horses neck gap...

That's it for now, I'll update as soon as the general is finished painted.
 

Golgfag1

Moderator
Nice figures, I've admired them from afar for sometime, but I've not brought any, as I already have a Bretonian army of my own from back in the day.

Here's hoping they look as good has the packaging, when you've completed your re-modelling :grin:.

Paul / Golgfag1
 

Sleepysod

Member
Really keen to see how this pans out. I had a Brettonian army in the early 90’s made And since starting painting again have been trying to pull together a perry/Foundry/1st order army. Trying to avoid plastics but am tempted by the perry stuff. The scales are all over the place - especially as I have some very early citadel cavalry... but it’s getting there... as soon as a I work out how to post photos I will share
 

Tullaris

Member
I could probably continue forever, But I have roughly 50 more to finish so I'm gonna say it's a wrap.


This is Comte Edouard de Villaret. He will be leading my not so grand forces, until a goblin with a one-hit kill weapon finishes him off.
De Villaret is a failed questing knight, returned to Bretonnia to take his late father's place and govern the south eastern parts of Lyonesse.




Well, here you have him... Comte Edouard de Villaret, oppressor of peasants, defender of the realm, lover of fashion.
At his side as always is his household, wife, two sons and an army of vassal knights ready to do his bidding, when threatened by peasant revolts, border disputes, and weird things crawling out of mousillon.
I will expand upon the backstory of every unit and character in the upcoming months.

What did I learn after my return to the hobby after so many years?
Well, my drybrushing skills have gotten a bit... dry.
My patience on the other hand has increased sevenfold.
Never will I ever again paint bright colours over a black undercoat..... That blue took about 11 layers to get to the current state, and I'm not 100% happy with it.
Always make sure the mp3 player is properly charged.
Don't go on a coffee binge at work, when you have a paint date planned for the evening :roll: .



Size comparison to one of my ancient Bretonnians... These miniatures are a bit smaller even though they're classed as 28mm. Nothing I can't live with though.


Foot knight in the works.

Until next time :)
 

Tullaris

Member
KingOfTheLeadPile":vmpz1kkf said:
As I still have some Bretonnian knights to paint in my Oldworlder Ally Contingent, I will watch this thread for paint schemes to 'borrow' :)
Feel free to do so.... I can't exactly claim copyright since I uhm, borrowed roughly 50 paint schemes from google images :razz: .
 
Tullaris":3kemd8q4 said:
KingOfTheLeadPile":3kemd8q4 said:
As I still have some Bretonnian knights to paint in my Oldworlder Ally Contingent, I will watch this thread for paint schemes to 'borrow' :)
Feel free to do so.... I can't exactly claim copyright since I uhm, borrowed roughly 50 paint schemes from google images :razz: .

:)

On that blue knight, are the symbols painted by hand? They look awesome!
 

Tullaris

Member
KingOfTheLeadPile":tsd72avx said:
Tullaris":tsd72avx said:
KingOfTheLeadPile":tsd72avx said:
As I still have some Bretonnian knights to paint in my Oldworlder Ally Contingent, I will watch this thread for paint schemes to 'borrow' :)
Feel free to do so.... I can't exactly claim copyright since I uhm, borrowed roughly 50 paint schemes from google images :razz: .

:)

On that blue knight, are the symbols painted by hand? They look awesome!


No they are water slide transfer decals, I got a huge chunk of them cheap off ebay.
 
Tullaris":u4vpzck3 said:
No they are water slide transfer decals, I got a huge chunk of them cheap off ebay.

Puh, that puts my mind at ease :) As I am currently struggling with painting designs freehand and know the results, if yours would have been free hand I would probably have quit the hobby ;)
 

Tuskerton

Member
I like the back story of Comte Edouard de Villaret! :) Can't wait to read about the rest of his army! Good luck with the project!
 

Tullaris

Member
Finally got this one done, I had to redo her skin 3 times, and changed the colour scheme on the clothes 3 times as well...


Introducing the Wit.... I mean Echantress.... let's just say spellcaster. Yasmin.

Many years ago Sir Edouards wife died of a mysterious illness. In his ever growing depression, he set out in quest for the holy grail.
His quest led him to the lands of Araby. Why one would go to the desert in search for a lady that makes her home in aquatic environments, such as ponds and lakes, distributing drinks from a golden chalice, in the first place, might be a tad odd for the local peasant to understand. But of course, they're only that... peasants....
Anyway, Sir Edouard never did find the Lady of the Lake, but he did find the lady of the sands.
15 years after his departure, he returned to Bretonnia with his new bride riding behind him on a mighty black stallion, clothed in the exotic fashion of her own people, causing much head shaking among the local Bretonnians.

As for her exact origin, no one is sure. Some say she was bought from a merchant prince. Some say she was rescued from a mad Sultans harem, while there are others that say she is a witch who has cast a spell on their Lord.
Of course no one thinks these thoughts out loud, because she is now Comtessa Yasmin, and they belong to her.

Also introducing---- This guy.




Aka


The black knight

In the eastern border of Comte Edouards domain, near the forest of Arden. There is an old tower, all that is left of an ancient ruined castle. When the sun has set and darkness creeps over the land, the portcullis opens and out of the tower rides the Black Knight. He carries no heraldry, his armour is rusty and his clothes dirty, filled with old gore.
His name and face are unknown. It is rumoured that he took up residence in the old tower at the same time Lady Yasmin settled in with her new husband.
When Orcs or fouler things emerge from the forest of Arden, it is said that the peasants would rather try mobilize their own defenses than to seek out help from the black knight.... they say he smells funny...
But He always answers the call to battle when the Comte marches to war and always stays close to the Comtessa.



Yasmin was a bit of a pain to finish. She arrived with no arms, so I had to chop of the arms of another model. I also tried to make her skin a little more middle eastern, but I botched it when it came to highlights.

As for photography, I've just learned how frustrating it can be to shoot miniatures. All the subtle highlights meld together and despite a matt varnish the light reflects from everywhere.
Gonna try and take some pictures before I do the varnish next time and see if it makes a difference.


Current state of the army as of january 2018.

Until next time:)
 

Tullaris

Member
Ok, so I'm back, I can't believe I started this in 2017.... Time to get back to work
I was a bit frustrated at the time since I had no light primer, and painting bright thin colours over a black undercoat is no fun. Since then however, I've acquired some light primer as well as some GW paints.
Most of the stuff I'm posting now however was nearly finished painted in 2018.



Here's a unit of Chevaliers D'Honneur


These are among the richest and well armed knights in the land.
When Comte Edouard is summoned to battle by the Duke, these are the knights he will call upon to assist him.


These are my first photos when my red is actually red and not pinkish.
The knights are mostly Agincourt knights from Perry Miniatures. The knight wearing bucket helm is part Templar/Agincourt conversion. The Horses are Templar horses from Fireforge Games. Getting the legs on the knights to fit was a pain.
For some reason Goblin Green stopped being cool sometime after the 90s. But Goblin green bases with green flock blend in pretty well with my gaming board.




Baron Phillipé Beauchamp. More commonly known as Phil le Magnifique.
He is a lvl 15 Hero with a degeneration lance.


When it comes to pompous, obnoxious nobility, you don't have to look much further than Sieur Beauchamp.
Most knights can't stand him, but he has become quite popular among the peasantry as he hosts grand balls and distributes the leftovers to the commoners.


Phil leads the charge of the Chevaliers D'Honneur



Most of my infantry is assembled, need to smoothe out some mold lines etc.
Bowmen and crossbowmen using french and english infantry from Perry miniatures.
Retainers to the right using Normans from conquest games and some foot templar from fireforge games.
The brigands are made from a multitude of parts.



Also work in progress


Bragging rights.... yes there's still paint in it. Bought it back in 95:) They don't make them like they used to.

That's all for now, see you in 4 years.

ok, I should have something a little sooner than that.
 

Old Hob

Member
Oooh. Following this. Your knights remind me of happy Saturday afternoons watching 1950s swashbucklers on TV. It never bothered me that Lancelot spoke like a cowboy as long as hundreds of extras were going hell for leather with balsawood swords! These are going to look stunning galloping full tilt across a games table. Will you be adding any rascals and rapscallions? Always loved the juxtaposition between the shining knights and the peasant scum in old school Bretonnian armies.
 

Tullaris

Member
Old Hob":ojm9flj2 said:
Oooh. Following this. Your knights remind me of happy Saturday afternoons watching 1950s swashbucklers on TV. It never bothered me that Lancelot spoke like a cowboy as long as hundreds of extras were going hell for leather with balsawood swords! These are going to look stunning galloping full tilt across a games table. Will you be adding any rascals and rapscallions? Always loved the juxtaposition between the shining knights and the peasant scum in old school Bretonnian armies.


Thank you:)
Well I won't be taking any rapscallions or rascals at least not as they are named in the army book. I'm using the following White Dwarf article which replaces p65 in the army list.



The feudal Levy however is pretty much the same thing statwise and with weapon selection. I Was planning on a unit of these, but I'm still tinkering with the last 500 points, so we'll see.
 

symphonicpoet

Moderator
Lovely stuff! :) Your knights look fantastic and I expect your archers and dismounted knights will look great too when the time comes.
 

Tullaris

Member
A Horse With No Name


Getting ideas for Characters.


Sieur Pépin Clouseau, aslo called Sieur Lanceless (no horse, no lance), Pépin the Unfortunate or the Beggar Knight.

Those names are all very suitable, as Pépin has been struck with a series of accidents lately. First his castle sank into the swamp.
Shortly thereafter he encountered a red knight as they were both about to cross a stream. Neither knight willing to move back for the other, they decided to settle the matter with their lances.
As they clashed against each other, Sieur Pépin fell into the water while the red knight remained in his saddle.

As custom is in the land, the winner of a joust is entitled to the losers horse and equipment, although this privilege is rarely taken advantage of, as it is considered dishonourable among many knights.
But the red knight felt no such restraints and quickly claimed his horse. He also demanded that Sieur Pépin stripped and handed him his armour. Pépin however threw himself into the water and let the stream carry him to safety...




The Brotherhood of the Broken Sword.

In times of war, famine and just general poverty, life can be cruel and short, Bretonnia is no different.
The Brotherhood of the Broken Sword is a band of desperate men who have lost everything and will do anything to survive in a cold cruel world.
Although they started as little More than chicken rustlers, they eventually became more daring becoming.... sheep rustlers and later highwaymen and soldiers of fortune.
Most of their gear is scavenged from battlefields.


Their fate would soon change however as they ran into Sieur Pépin Clouseau.
He challenged their leader for leadership of the group and won without much trouble.



Now Sieur Pépin leads the Brotherhood of the Broken Sword. Under his leadership they have become a disciplined group of sellswords roaming the lands eager for gold and fortune.
Pépin however has sworn vengeance against the knight who humiliated him, if he needs to raise a fullblown army for it to happen, then so be it.




Baron Geoffray Duval, also called the robber knight or the greedy Baron.
Sieur Geoffray is a man of small stature and great appetites. It is claimed that he once took upon himself the questing vow, but somewhere between the banquet table and the castle gate, he got hungry and changed his mind.
This is most likely an exaggeration though.




The miniature is from Foundry, one of the 1980s Bretonnians. On the right is a horse with no name. The Baron recently claimed him after a joust and uses him as a pack mule for all his weapons.


Henri the bastard is the Barons personal servant, taking care of his horse, weapons and cooks a pretty good eggs and bacon breakfeast. I'll probably keep him in the baggage train.

I've gotten pretty much done this week as I've been painting every single knight instead of wasting time on youtube or gaming.
Until next time.
 

Tullaris

Member
symphonicpoet":32qhw4x8 said:
Lovely stuff! :) Your knights look fantastic and I expect your archers and dismounted knights will look great too when the time comes.

Thank you very much :)
 

Old Hob

Member
Your kerniggits are looking great and the fluff is just wonderful.
The Tale of Sieur Pépin Clouseau is genius :lol:
 

dazza36

Member
Very nice paint work and a Monty Python quote thrown in as well ! Love the Baron paint job, red and yellow can be very tough colours to work with (as I know all to well) but you've done a great job. For such an old sculpt he still seems to hold up well. Where are the Brotherhood of broken sword from ? Pepin is another Citadel but what about the rest ?
 

Tullaris

Member
Old Hob":2sdnug8q said:
Your kerniggits are looking great and the fluff is just wonderful.
The Tale of Sieur Pépin Clouseau is genius :lol:

Thanks :) I find the character background creation to be the most interesting part of the hobby, especially for Chaos and Bretonnian armies.
 
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