This is my latest project an El Cid/Reconquista period army for Warhammer Ancient battles that I\'ve been intending to do for years
now,but just finally got it together to do it.
It\'s an all mounted force that is mercenary in nature where at times it found itself employed by Muslim Taifa Kings ,but more often
then not in the employ of the Christian kingdom of Aragon between the years 1090(King Pedro) and 1135(Alfonso I) covering both El Cid\'s period and the early Reconquista under Alfonso I \"The battler\".The time line,personalties and armies involved,plus the look is my favourite for this period.
The General is Christian by nature and for using the lists in the book,but after that it has a real mix of Christian and Moorish cultures in appearance to reflect their various masters they have served over the years.
I want the army to look as if they are all part of the same force,but still retain their individuality.So,I did the bases,shields and banners in uniformed colour,but varied the designs to keep the individual look.By doing this, I was able to paint the clothes in different colours without losing an army identity and still stay somewhat within period background.
I did some minor conversion work in helmet adjustments and adding more length to their garments to try and give more of Spanish knight feel to them.
The army is done using army painter,but with added highlights which costs significant painting time,but is still faster then black lining
and doing the eyes.However,I will add that the white charger,white bits on the horses,shields and banners were all painted normally without AP.
First up is a unit of unit of Caballeros Hidalgos(Noble Knights) who were the cream of the Christian armies consisting primarily,but not exclusively of the wealthynoble born.Like I mentioned they have a very Moorish flair to them to represent their cultural make up and their various employers they fought for both Christian and Moors.
The General is naturally the grizzled veteran on the white charger.I decided to grey his hair and even add some white to represent the
hardship of years of hard campaigning.The army standard is carrying the large Lion banner which represents the commanders personal heraldry.The other knights are his personal bodyguards and most loyal supporters.
More pics on my blog for a few more angles
http://christopher-bunkerhill.blogspot.com/.
Thank you for reading and viewing. :sm_pirate_smile:
Caballeros Hidalgos(Noble Knights)
Christopher
