28mm Italian Wars Pike, Gendarme and more

I've not been posting much on the Italian Wars Project as it grows and with a few units added to the ranks it was time to reveal them to the world.

TAG Pike Block 

Where as all of the foot figures I have used so far are from the Perry's these are from a Company called The Assault Group or TAG as they are more commonly known. Still 28mm and similar in proportion to the Perry figures they are slightly smaller and a lot "cleaner" (there is a comparison at the end of the post).

I have to be honest and say that while I was painting these I really wasn't very sure how they would come out, no criticism of the figures but the flatter less contoured sculpts of the TAG line don't really fit well with my painting style and I wasn't sure on the faces either. However when I came to photograph them I was more than pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

The pike on the rear ranks are quite upright and the figures have a bit more armour on than I would like for this far back in the Block but I'm nit picking. 8 figures per base on 60mm x 50mm mdf. Flags are Petes a Borgia Crest in white and the Papal Cross Keys in Red.

Middle ranks have a slightly lowered poke and we have another Borgia Papal flag this time in Red and then a Family Flag. The eagle eyed will notice I have placed the flags in the rear at the top of pike and then reduced the size of the flag pole in the middle ranks so that all four flags are visible from the front.

Front ranks on the extended bases I used on the other block although TAG don't do levelled pike figures these are around 45 degrees. I have been quite loose with the clothing in the Block using mostly Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and White as per the flags.

So that's 3 pike blocks of 48 figures so far, obvious a group shot required.

The Perry and TAG figures look fine side by side, I wouldn't mix them in the same unit but as part of the same Army no problem.

Gendarme

I've added a couple of 6 figure Gendarme units since the last YG blog post, both 28mm Foundry Figures with Petes Flags. The above photo includes my first Command Stand, two figures on an 80mm round base. The officer figure is metal Perrys whilst the Standard Bearer is from the plastic Light Cavalry box set. It was a bit of a light bulb moment realising that the plastic set included 12 perfect mounted flag carriers !

The second unit uses the same figures, this time with some Papal Flags, these Foundry Figures have been around for years but still cut the mustard. Good excuse to put all 6 units in the same shot.

Artillery 

Just the one Artillery piece to date, this one from Foundry.

Sword and Shield 

These figures are from the metal Perrys Range, described as Light Italian Infantry, they are armed with a sword and a oval shield. I have painted them up in a the red and white theme I have used earlier in the project.

I also kept up with the Command Stand push adding a Papal themed base with two figures from the metal Perrys Range and another plastic flag bearer.

Stradiots 

I also revisited my Stradiots adding another 6 figures to the 6 I already had making a 12 figure unit.

It was also a good excuse to get a Command Stand done for my light Cavalry, this time both figures are from the plastic Light Cavalry box set.

So there we have the latest Italian Wars Project updates, the first phase of building the army is nearly done, I have a couple of Infantry units left along with 1 more Gendarme and a couple of light Cavalry units to go before the initial metal pile is spent. Just waiting to get them on the table now.