"ECW uniformity" Topic

My ECW Armys, sans the Cavalry and Dragoons, arrived today and I'm excited to start painting.
The question is how uniformed should they look? Ignoring the new model army.
A. Pike with breast plates. Should they me mixed in as the odd figure in all or some regiments or should I have them mainly in particular regiments?
B How common do we think Regiments were uniformed? What sort of ratios should I aim at generally.
C Should my Cavalier with breast plates be mixed in with those with out in a even amount or should some Cavalier be all wearing breast plates.
D Would Parliament horse be more likely to wear helmets?
I'd be grateful for any pointers.

a: when i was doing some research for my stuff, i found that some units were listed as "armoured" and some where not. even then i would still mix in some with or without armour(depending on how they were listed). I'd just sue the "armoured" designation to mean the majority were. but a majority could be 55% or 90%, or anything in between, so you can play with the mix a bit without anyone really calling you on it. that's what i think anyway

B: i really just did what i felt like. some times it was one completely different figure per stand of 4, and some times I'd trow n a different coloured coat or trousers, or sometimes 2 or (rarely) all 3 of the above.

Can't speak to the last 2 much. never got that far before halting the project.

First, real, accurate info is spotty on uniforms of the period. That being said, different armies during the first war did receive delivery of uniform coats- Oxford army etc. So some fairly uniformed regiments with the odd non-uniform figures would not be out of place. The rules Forlorn Hope are a good resource for the individual army makeups, including standards and uniform coats where known. However, lack of uniform info outweighs known info, so you can get away with what you think looks good.
Mike D

Agree with the above, Clarendon I think noted that the Royalists put the armoured men in the front rank (cavalry) at Edgehill.

Uniformed looks best, but some units would have been in little more than civvies. Also, there is the spectacle that re-issues of uniform to the same regiment would have changed colour and so could lead to a mixture within even well-provisioned units. If you're not planning on following a particular campaign/army, then you can do as you please. The state of the appearance does not necessarily reflect the fighting quality…

Cavalry on both sides would have worn armour/helmets where they could get it. Parliament had access to the armouries earlier and so theoretically it follows that they would have better access to armour, however this didn't necessarily do them any good in the early stages of the war.

Even the New model army took to the field before it was fully-uniformed.

Overall, if you want to have your parliamentarians exclusively in Lobster pots, and give every Royalist an ostrich feather, then I say go for it. I personally try to paint each unit a distinct coat colour, but use them sometimes as Parliamentarians and sometimes as Royalists, depending on the need. I haven't done any truly ragged troops yet because I like brighter colours.

Hope you enjoy your new figures.

Leigh

Thanks everyone for your comments, its been very helpful. Wanting to start on your army but not having a background on the period makes you scared of messing things up. So its nice to have that bit of licence on regimental uniforms.
Though I noticed after painting the jackets and pants of my first Regiment that the big brimmed hats and apostles are giving them a very Mexican appearance atm. :o)

Just to confuse you, on the battlefield different regiments of foot were often brigaded together, so you could possibly see several different coat colours in a single formation…..

Thats welcome news Etanger. I have decided to organise my regiments in 24's of 8 pike and 16 shotte. But to play the "Pike and Shotte" rules as I understand them I'd need at least 16 man pike stands meaning different uniforms. So you've solved a problem for me thanks.