Impetus Disorder Markers

With three years of Impetus gaming under my belt, I've finally begun to get tired of using colored wooden markers for marking DISORDER and OPPORTUNITY. A month ago or so I ordered some 15mm medieval casualty minis from Essex. They're all based on round GW plastic bases.

Knights

Light Foot and Spearmen

Archers

With just over 20 units in my Free Company army I'm hoping that I'll never need more than 18 disorder markers. In any event, these little dioramas should greatly improve the look of our Impetus games.

Thanks for reading,
JET

Mounted Men-At-Arms (unit #4)

Impetus Unit Type: CP
Base Size: 8cm x 6cm

Special: none
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli
Comments:

With all of my "must finish" projects completed I've started focusing on painting things just for the joy of it. I've wanted to add a couple of units of mounted English Men-at-arms to the Free Company for a while now. Although their VBU is slightly lower than their French counterparts, they lack the impetuous special rule so I'll be able to keep them under my control. This fact makes them a perfect unit to support a line of archers because they won't go charging off until I'm ready for them to.

To show that the unit is more under the control of the general I've painted the models to represent an English knight and his personal retinue. These common men-at-arms (unlike bases of more individualized impetuous knights) will hold the line and wait until their lord gives them the command to charge.

Armed Peasants (unit #2)

Impetus Unit Type: FP
Base Size: 8cm x 3cm

Special: none
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli
Comments:

I'm hoping that a couple of units of peasants led by a unit of dismounted men-at-arms marching behind a screen of Breton javelins will make a nice cheap flank command. As you can see, although the unit is based on a heavy foot base, I've decided to suggest the unit's mob-like formation by using eight instead of the regular ten figures.

Armed Peasants (unit #1)

Impetus Unit Type: FP
Base Size: 8cm x 3cm

Special: none
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli
Comments:

15mm Impetus is getting its second wind in our group and, motivated by the excitement, I dug into my Corvus Belli collection in search of something to paint. I love these peasant models and, aesthetics aside, they offer a valuable addition to my army. Where my dismounted men-at-arms cost 25 points per unit, these fellows cost only a mere 7 points in comparison. Having a cheaper infantry option gives me a great deal more flexibility when designing lists, especially lower points-cost ones.

As you can see, some unfortunate young knight has been given the rather inglorious charge of keeping the peasants in line, which is to say, keeping them from getting in the way of the "real" army.

Dismounted Men-At-Arms (unit #4)

Impetus Unit Type: FP
Base Size: 8cm x 3cm
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli
Comments:

A pious mercenary? It's possible, isn't it? Perhaps this gentlemen fights as a mercenary and gives part of his share to Mother Church. Or for more cynical readers, we could assume that the kneeling knight is a hypocritical fool who puts on a sanctimonious show while burning, pillaging, and amassing wealth. So, he's on the way to becoming a medieval bishop then :)

It's been close to a year since I finished the first 400-point chunk of my Free Company army for Impetus. Now that I've been playing the army for a while, I realize how well heavy foot works in concert with formed missile units, especially since new rules amendments were released in Extra Impetus #3. With that in mind, it was time to add a fourth unit of heavy foot so that each unit of archers would have its own dedicated unit of men-at-arms.

Free Company Army for Impetus

Although I've displayed each individual unit of my Free Company army as part of my Hundred Years War (Impetus) thread, I wanted to formally finish-off the project by showing some photos of the entire 400-point force arrayed as an actual army on the field. First the photos - then all of the boring commentary.

Mercenary men-at-arms gallop into position before battle. The three units are led by (L to R) the impetuous Rodger of Lynn, the battle-hardened Etienne de Garde, and Beauregard LeFleur, a great French tactician, as well as something of a charmer with the ladies.


Commander-in-Chief Sir James Stockwood (black and white livery, holding helmet) employs units of out-of-work English archers to form the main battle line of his army.


Chief Engineer Marcelo Rocco (far right) adds long range fire support during siege warfare and defensive actions.


Mercenary crossbowmen fan out ahead of dismounted men-at-arms in an attempt to soften up the enemy.


Terrain that would be impassable to many is easily traversed by the skilled Breton javelinmen. The combination of their fleet-footedness and fieldcraft makes for highly mobile and effective skirmishers.


Reflections & Commentary:

The rest of the posts in this thread display each unit individually and form the "living" gallery that I used to track my progress. Now that I've completed Impetus armies in 6mm, 10mm, and 15mm, I can say with assurance that 15mm is my favourite scale, both as a painter and a gamer. I find that this scale allows me to approach each figure as an individual, but the smaller size (relative to 25/28mm) allows me to paint at a speed that gets results in a reasonable timeframe. That isn't to say that I'm done with 6mm or 10mm - far from it. However, for the forseeable short term I will be sticking with 15mm projects.

If I may presume to advise, I would strongly recommend the unit-by-unit approach when painting an Impetus army at this scale. I found that concentrating on selecting, cleaning, painting, and basing one unit at a time helped me to stay focused and kept the oppressive "Will I every finish this project?" feeling at bay. A medieval army provides the perfect project for those who get bored easily and who don't want to get caught in painting the same colour scheme over and over and over again.

Thanks to all who followed me on this project. The enquires, comments, and compliments were very motivational and I hope you'll all be sticking around to watch the next army grow.


Thanks for reading,
JET

Mounted Men-At-Arms (unit #3)

Impetus Unit Type: CP
Base Size: 8cm x 6cm

Special: Impetuous
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli
Comments:

My third unit of heavy cavalry is led by French knight Beauregard LeFleur. I tried out some new horse colours this time round, including black (blue & yellow heraldry) and the rusty brown (yellow tack on the edge of the base). This marks the final unit for my 400-point force.

Mercenary Crossbowmen (unit #3)

Impetus Unit Type: S
Base Size: 8cm x 2cm

Special: Crossbow B
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli

Dismounted Men-At-Arms (unit #3)

Impetus Unit Type: FP
Base Size: 8cm x 3cm
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli
Comments:

For this unit I mixed dismounted knights and billmen models. My goal was to produce a base of men-at-arms almost exclusively armed with two-handed weapons. I found both of these model codes very quick to paint - even more so because of the small number of shields.

Breton Javelinmen (unit #3)

Impetus Unit Type: S
Base Size: 8cm x 2cm

Special: Javelin
Manufacturer: Feudal Castings

Artillery & Crew (unit #1)

Impetus Unit Type: Art A
Base Size: 8cm x 4cm

Special: Artillery A
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli
Comments:

Another beautiful set by Corvus Belli, and so suitable for Impetus big bases. The gent covering his ears in anticipation is my favourite model in the set. I had originally painted two archers to add to this base, but I decided at the last minute not to add them. I didn't want to clutter the base with filler.

I really appreciate how Impetus basing is so free-form and has completely broken free of the "pack on as many as you can fit" paradigm. Makes me wonder if I ever really liked that esthetic or was I "convinced" by certain companies that I was supposed to like it.

Free Company Camp

Impetus Unit Type: Camp/Baggage
Base Size: 12cm x 8cm
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli, Tents by Baeuda
Comments:

This piece was quite a fun project, and in fact, was the first camp element I'd ever painted. The Baeuda tents were a real joy to paint and I can't recommend them enthusiastically enough. Those who have kept up with the developing army will notice that the tent colours match the liveries of my two generals; Sir James Stockwood (black & white) and his nephew, Rodger of Lynn (yellow & red).

When I started painting this element, I knew that I would have two tents and some guards standing around. However, I also wanted something a little extra - something indicative of the Free Company army. When I thought about painting guardsmen in both livery colours, I got the idea of longbowmen sharpening their skills through a friendly archery competition. The arrows are straight pins cut and glued, while the fletches are made from tiny pieces of a cereal box carefully (and mind-numbingly) glued in place.

Close-Ups:

Stockwood's advisors William Boar (L) and Benito Tucci (R)


Guess where carelessness on the practice field gets you... guard duty.


"Not a bad shot... for a Lynn man!"

Mercenary Crossbowmen (units #1 & 2)

Impetus Unit Type: S
Base Size: 8cm x 2cm

Special: Crossbow B
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli
Comments:

These crossbowmen models, combined with the Corvus Belli range of mounted knights, are all the justification I would need to start a Medieval French army. I'm already too far down the road I'm on now to consider that possiblity, however, I just had to have some of these in my Free Company army, for the visual appeal if nothing else.

English Longbowmen (unit #4)

Impetus Unit Type: T
Base Size: 8cm x 4cm

Special: Longbow A
Manufacturer: Corvus Belli