Wolfshead Warriors.

Creating Outlaw Figures for King Henry's War.

Wolf's Head: "Such persons were said to carry a wolf’s head, (caput lupinum;) for if caught alive they were to be brought to the king, and if they defended themselves they might be slain and their heads carried to the king, for they were no more to be accounted of than wolves." (Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed)

Under the cruel and evil tyranny of Hugh de Puiset, many innocent Haliwerfolc of the Liberty of Durham were unjustly proscribed as outlaws and condemned to eek out an existence in the dark and savage margins of society. These wrongly dispossessed were branded "Wolf's Head", outside the law, and legitimate targets for any who wished to eliminate them!

I decided a while ago that my Great Revolt of 1173 skirmish campaign needed some extra forces to bolster the resistance to the acquisitive machinations of the Bishop of Durham and his French allies. The last battle was a total disaster for the "Good Guys", ending up with most of them lying dead on the battlefield by the Char Beck. I could have painted up more Fireforge spearmen and archers in the black and yellow livery of Hugo Flambard, but I was itching to try something new and use up some of the hundreds of figures, from various historical periods, that are cluttering up my painting shed.

I think it was while I was browsing on the Footsore Miniatures web site, that I came across their sets of "Outlaw" figures for "Barons' War", that the idea of creating a band of outlaws for the campaign first began to materialise. I had a few nearly empty sprues of Gripping Beast Dark Age Warriors, which would provide a good basic torso for the outlaws. The only issue with the figures is that they only come in two basic poses; a left arm stretched out for a shield and a Yawkshireman using his left hand to clutch onto his purse, but their dress is perfectly passable for a feudal outlaw.

The first outlaw on the work bench was put together from all GB parts, so I decided to make him more feudal age looking by giving him a Green Stuff cowl. At the first attempt, I only had a picture showing someone wearing a cowl from the front and it was only after I'd finished him that I discovered that the cowl should have the peculiar pointy bit at the back!

A bit of tinkering with some more Green Stuff resulted in the extra material and a figure that looks uncannily like my Dad.

 

In spite of only having the two basic poses, the application of some bending, shaping and appropriately applied Green Stuff, makes it possible to make a group of figures who all have their own indidual characters.

Each Group in King Henry's War needs a leader and this one has a Fireforge head and a Greek cloak with a Green Stuff fur collar and bit of ragidisation with a nice sharp craft knife.

The rest of the group all have assorted bits of personalisation using parts from different manufacturers or the application of Green Stuff.

The Outlaws will, of course, need Heroes to lead them into battle and, at the moment, I have created two; Brother Gilbertus and Fulke Everill. Gilbertus was an absolute must, as all bands of Outlaws have a rebellious monk to be found somewhere amongst their ranks, although this one is a bit more out there in terms of military demeanour, wielding a weapon that could do a lot of damage. 

Fulke is definitely a more conventional hero, simultaneously brandishing sword and bow, meaning that he can be used in both missile and melee attacks with equally heroic prowess.