Updated: 2 October 2009:
We recently showed off the sculpts of our Pike & Shotte Irish Brigade musketeers and jugdging by the reaction you loved them! Now we’re very pleased to be able to show off more for this range – Irish Brigade Pikemen:
As you can see we haven’t taken the character of these models lightly. From their bedraggled kit to their shoeless feet, you immediately get the impression that Mac Colla and these boys were not fighting with the best that Montrose had to offer his men.
These models will be perfect for representing veteran campaigners who are both tough as nails and desperate to survive. All of the interesting details on these miniatures warrant a few extra minutes with the paintbrush to make sure they are noticed on the tabletop as the dead hard fighting men that they are!
It’s not all English and Scots you know! The Irish Brigade under the Earl of Montrose and the snappily named Alasdair “The Devastator” Mac Colla fought mainly in Scotland. Here’s a taster of this new metal army! See what we did there? We get jokes:
The Irish Brigade was made up of 3 regiments.They were good fighters for sure, and even stopped a Covenant cavalry charge with a barrage of thrown stones!!! We’re not sure why musket fire would not have worked better. Supply perhaps?
While being led by Mac Colla under Montrose, the Irish Brigade waged a successful campaign during the Scottish Civil War and saw success in the battles of Aberdeen, Auldearn, and many others. Mac Colla’s sworn enemies were Clan Campbell and he wasted no opportunity to punish and butcher them whenever possible.
Montrose and Mac Colla eventually parted ways as Mac Colla’s interest lay in the Highlands of Scotland while Montrose wanted to control the Lowlands. However, by this time, The Irish Brigade were some of the most seasoned troops in the English Civil War due to their time spent fighting on the continent and their pillaging of Campbell territory whenever possible.
These troops may have carried half pikes, which makes them look a bit different on the tabletop. To represent this you can either snip off bits of our pikes, make your own, or even use the spears we have in The Armoury.
We have done the Irish Brigade in their distinctive trews rather than breeches and they wear a predominance of knitted caps – said to be native of Ireland. We have also mixed in other styles as they won 11 battles in a row and had plenty of opportunity to loot all manner of Government coats, hats etc…
We also have had great fun in “distressing” some of the troopers to show the effects of harsh campaigning in the Highlands of Scotland in a famously cold period of history. Some are bare legged, some shoeless, and some have tattered doublets and plaids. Many of these will also serve quite well as generic campaigning ECW soldiers, for surely that is how many infantry would have looked.
We’ll have more to show you of this savage regiment in the near future, as well as The Devastator himself. All alleged 7 feet of him! No matter what his true height he surely was a loony and not to be trifled with. While you’re waiting for us to finish these savage miniatures up, make sure you get the rest of your Royalist forces in our in the Warlord webstore. Next: Highlanders!!!
Dan Hewitson
Josh Berridge