"10mm Thirty Years War; what are the options?" Topic

Hi.

Looking for 10mm figures suitable for the earlier part of the 30 Years War, say 1618 to around thr Swedish intervention.

What companies' figures would you recommend.

Photos of your painted forces would be most welcome.

Thanks

Hi.

Looking for 10mm figures suitable for the earlier part of the 30 Years War, say 1618 to around thr Swedish intervention.

What companies' figures would you recommend.

Photos of your painted forces would be most welcome.

Thanks

Pendraken would be my choice. Although their 30 yrs war range is limited, their ECW range has quite a few useful figures as well.

You will probably have to use some 10mm ECW ranges to fill out your TYW armies. Ranges include: Pendraken, Old Glory, Lancer, Minifigs (more of a 12mm) and Irregular.

I have been working on my 10mm TYW project since late summer and use primarily Old Glory. The armies are based for In Deo Veritas and specifically for the Battle of Fleurus (1622). I also have some Pendraken, Lancer and the odd Minifig sculpt in there. Generally I find the Old Glory and Pendraken infantry and horse can be mixed in the same unit. I like the OG strips because they make for nice quick painting. Pendraken have awesome sculpts and some dedicated TYW figures. Lancer infantry can be mixed in with OG and Pendraken infantry. Lancer and Minifigs cavalry are considerably bigger than Pendraken and OG cavalry.

Here are some links to my figures:
link
link
TMP link

I haven't posted any recent updates on my blog but finished my Spanish army and I am nearing completion of the protestant army.

I should also add that all of my pike are Old Glory, they come without pikes and you need to drill holes in their hands and insert wire. I thought it would be difficult but its actually incredibly easy and allows you to have pikes the size you want without fear of them looking like boiled spaghetti.

My musketeers are a mix of OG and Pendraken, as are my cavalry and commanders. I think these are the best options since they can be mixed together. My Spanish cavalry brigades are either cuirassiers or mounted arqubusiers, I used the ECW cuirassiers and mounted dragoons from OG and Pendraken to make these units. My protestant cavalry are a motley mix of figures in buff coats, breastplates, 3/4 armor, helmets, and hats. Only a few select units are proper cuirassiers to reflect the ragged, near mutinous mercenary cavalry units present at Fleurus.

Thanks very much Prince Albert

Thanks for the pictures of your 10 mm P.A.R……. really love the units… Tercios look great.

Prince Albert, are their particular Old Glory figures that work best for the Thirty Years War?

Bob: I should start by stating I am no expert on either the ECW or the TYW. I did do a decent amount of research on the armies and costumes of the early portion of the TYW (specifically Fleurus) for this project however. The clothing of the early part of the war was a bit more flamboyant than the later period. Most of the figures available probably more accurately depict the later portion of the war but we can get by with whats available.

The Old Glory pikemen come in strips (either helmeted or soft hat options). The helmeted guys are fairly uniform in pose and wear a morion. The soft hats are more diverse in pose and headgear (floppy hats and the occasional knit cap). For the Imperial infantry I snipped the knit cap figures off the strips as this appears to be more northern European attire. I saved these guys for my protestant infantry.

The OG musketeers come marching (in strips) or as a skirmishing forlorn hope (loose individual figures). I again removed the knit caps for the majority of the Imperial infantry.

Regarding the horse; For the Imperials the cavalry would be split into cuirassiers and mounted arqubusier squadrons. The OG cuirassiers are good for TYW cuirassiers. Early in the TYW, the mounted arqubusiers were probably more armored than what the OG mounted dragoons (who are unarmored) depict. They quickly ditched that armor as the war went on so I decided that the OG mounted dragoons would do.

I haven't been able to get as much detailed info on the protestant horse but those at Fleurus, who would have also probably been present at the Bohemian campaign, were referenced as fine cuirassiers but also as mutinous rabble. I made a few cuirassier units out of the OG and pendraken cuirassiers and the rest are a mix OG cavalry in buff coats/helmets, buff coats/hats and also the mounted dragoons. I wanted to make them look more ragged in appearance.

Regarding painting guides, you can do no worse than this guide on the Vexilia website: link
Helion also have some nice books on early TYW which always include color plates for inspiration:
link

Hope this helps and gets you started with things!

PAR, that's awesome. Thank you very much.

Have a look at Newline 10mm. They have a new ECW range you could use, and they go very well with Pendraken. Be wary of Irregular Miniatures, however; tiny heads and flimsy pikes.
Are you really in Cambodia? Living in Bangkok, I find that interesting….

very nice, 10mm TYW is one of my 'in the lead pile' projects to do! lol