"Old Glory Revolting Peasants" Topic

I just picked up three packs of the Old Glory Revolting Peasants.

Anyone else get them?

Any suggestions, painting or otherwise?

Anyone run any games with them?

Looking at the range of figures, you have a mix of rural and townsfolk in each pack.
Therefore, clothing would range from homespun to medieval ‘chic' and colour schemes should reflect that.
A search of illustrations of medieval townsfolk found this:
link

A search of Peasant Revolts should locate the major uprisings.

This was one example of a rural community in Normandy resisting English foragers.
link

Foundry has ancients and medievals peasants on their website which are painted. That may help?

I'd go through the individual figures and see which look like a generic revolting peasant mob and which look like they might have possibilities for something else. I don't know which packages you got, but the woman wielding a skillet would be a good cook for the inn, if you do RPGs. A couple look like they aren't oppressed enough: one might be Sir Percy Blakeney disguised as a peasant. You get the idea.

Historically, we hear about the major peasant revolts, but before they became an army, they would have been small bands of peasants coming together, which has some possibilities for skirmish games. After the peasant revolt was "officially put down," the survivors frequently broke into small bands functioning as outlaws in the forests, marshes, or hills who would need to be crushed by the local knight (nice scene of that at the start of the movie "Just Visiting," with Jean Reno). Some of them could become camp followers for your knightly army. I think there was a column of peasants in the First Crusade, wiped out by the Moslems while crossing Asia Minor. They might be adherents to some break away religious group, like the Cathari in southern France. Since some of them carry torches, perhaps they hope to burn Joan at the stake, and the French have to rescue her.

I haven't bought them, but I have had my eye on them for several years.

Grelber

Following Timurilank's observation, have the townsfolk under the Bishop going out to collect overdue taxes/tithes from villagers under their local baron, who are disinclined to pay. Hard knocks ensue.

Another idea: panic-stricken peasant mobs hunting out witches, trolls, and vampires in the Great Woods between the villages. Umpire's choice as to whether witches, trolls, and vampires are real or not – but in any case outlaws, gypsies, and King's Foresters certainly are.

As far as painting, serfs would probably be in woolens either undyed, hodden grey (a weave of threads from white and black sheep), or natural vegetable or earth dyes (browns, off-greens and yellows); more prosperous townsfolk might add darker (i.e. more expensive) shades of these plus madder reds and woad blues.

I've painted a few bags of them. Browns, greens, grays, maybe blues. Nothing fancy. They are a bit more medieval than dark age but I use them for both (not buying different periods of medieval/dark age peasants). They contain a good variety of poses, genders, and ages. One thing though I did have a handful with some big casting issues. Nothing green stuff won't fill but a bit frustrating to have to stop the assembly line process. They do make good test figs if you're thinking of getting into speed paints or some other technique. While people like the civies in the game usually they are really nothing more than terrain pieces so I wouldn't spend all day painting them, that's my opinion though.

Just a thought, but contemporaneous illustrations from the plague days might afford some insights.

I've bought a few pack from that range and use them all the time from Dark ages, Medieval through the 17th century games. A very versatile set along with the middle eastern peasants too.

P.

I found inspiration for painting my Old Glory peasants by examining the color plates in Osprey's book on the German Peasants' War: link

Thanks all, some really good suggestions here.

I only bought the woman and children pack and the two packs with farm tools, clubs, and throwing stones.

It really does make a tidy little force.

The women and children pack provided about a dozen fighters that I will mix in with the males and the balance can be used around a D&D village.

I looked at the other two packs (leaders and looters) and decided to take a pass. I have enough D&D types for leaders and don't really see the utility of the looters.

Per Kevin C, I use some of them for my German Peasants' War army. In short, I sorted the ones that could pass for early 16thC dress, then culled the (ahem) less desirable poses.

As to colors, I would say don't overdo it with the browns, greys, etc. Medieval folk not only loved color (sometimes to excess) but employed whenever they could. Obviously they lacked chemical dyes so the colors would be more muted and tending to fade, but you shouldn't skimp on blues, reds, yellows and greens.

One other thought, Col Durnford. I've had good luck buying a bag of Old Glory figures, pulling out half of them for my own evil purposes, and turning around and selling the other half here on TMP. The Women, children, dogs, and old men set from the Plains Indians line made good villagers for my Skraeling force, but I really didn't need 30 of them. I can see a use for a few looters, but 30?

Grelber