Wednesday 4 May 2016

Morris dancers

Yes some more VBCW figures. Next post something different I promise! Again these are all painted for my good friend Matt at the wargames club. And again they are all 28mm and VBCW figures. The sculpts are (I am told) by Woodbine design and several have been converted with weapons added to give them a more military feel. Some came with weapons as well but Matt has added more guns.

The first 2 pics are them all together and then some in more detail. If you are not English you may be forgiven for not knowing what Morris Dancing is. so here is a link to the Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_dance and if you are English you probably think it is a sad waste of time and even try to quote others disparaging remarks about it. But I will have none of that on my blog.

There are in fact several different forms of Morris dancing and they all stem from Pagan routes and are mostly to do with celebrating erhm... fertility... yes, yes Fertility that is the right word! And each of these forms is geographically based but sometimes with linked themes and traditions.

Along with the dancing there is usually plentiful amounts of beer and cider consumed and now adays the Morris Dancing mostly takes place in country pubs. And there is little wrong with that. But Morris dancing is not for everyone and and an be seen as a joke by those city folks who do not understand the feeling of nature and traditions. Each to their own.

These have been painted to represent a generic Morris Dancing Troop and not a specific group as colours and clothing does vary greatly in both eras and locations. So realistically any colours could be taken and still look authentic. But that said I did settle on Dark blue and cream as the feature colours. I also regulated the colours of the flowers in the hats although they could be any colour that would grow in the gardens and fields of England.

The flag is by Solway ( painted by Pete Barfield) and is of Rochester, the Cathedral town in Kent (It did used to be a cathedral city BUT the local council did not fill in the right and proper paperwork so the government has demoted the City to now a town.... Local government, I say no more!)

The flag also has the Kent emblem of the white horse which neatly brings me on to "Oodening!" I do not expect anyone to know that word as it is sometimes spelt "Hodening" but with a deep Kent accent it is actually OOdening as the H gets dropped and the O vowel sound does get lengthened!

Anyway it dates back to 12th century English possibly coming from the Norse god Odin who had a 6 legged horse if I remember correctly. Anyway in Kent Morris dancing also had a pretend Hobby horse which was usually draped in sackcloth as shown in the early black and white picture circa 1905.  While the use of a hobby horse (Now used as children's toys) was "Exported" to other areas of England it was started in Kent where we set our VBCW. And as the symbol of Kent is a white horse I was of course obliged to paint the horse as a grey! (Yes a white one).

While the man/rider is dressed in greens and a few browns as the colours of the forest as he represents the Green man from English pagan folklore. I do realise that most of you will have gotten bored by now and stopped reading so thank you if you are still here. The Green man usually makes his appearance (traditionally) on the 1st of May bringing in the growing season.

Anyway that should explain the colours used and the reason behind their use. I know there has been a bit of reading today sorry about that.


Right at the very end I have put a Youtube video about Morris dancing. But kindly remember while the music and dances my be traditional the clothing is not in most of the dancing troops. Just in case you have never encountered it before and want to know more.

I apologise to anyone if I have any facts wrong as this is just how I see it and not based on participation, just observation.

Thanks for looking today and more in a couple of days, when I get some more painting done!

Cheers Clint








30 comments:

  1. Dancing about with bells on your legs is very strange - nearly as strange as buying lumps of metal, spending hours putting paint on them & then pushing them around a table while throwing dice about!

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    1. Thank you CM. Many things in life are truly bizarre when you start to examine them. And Wargames definitely fits that bill.

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  2. Fabulous work Clint, I have to confess that I have a hankering for these myself. Spent an enjoyable day at the Lamas Festival in Eastbourne last year, where various troops of Morrismen, and ladies, performed - splendid beer tent, I seem to remember.

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    1. Thank you Michael. A good Beer tent is a very valued thing indeed.

      They are nice figures, not much |(if any) cleaning up to do at all.

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  3. Very quirky, Clint, and most definitely an acquired taste. I do have one 28m scale Morris dancer figure myself. It probably won't surprise you to learn he's a zombie Morris dancer! I shall refrain from further comments!

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    1. Thank you Brian, zombie morris dancers sound like a Dr who plot all in itself!

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  4. When you first mentioned your Morris men, I got very excited, (as ex Morris-man myself), but where are the beer bellies and beards ? This lot are certainly fitter than we ever were.
    Great looking 'team' and will bring a bit of colour and a wry smile, here and there, when they're fielded - great stuff Clint.

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    1. Thank you Joe. Some have beards but you are right they need beer bellies as well. Feel free to take issue with the manufacture if you choose.

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  5. Wrong on so many levels but not the painting old boy. Top notch!

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    1. Thank you fran. I could just imagine the Rejects Morris dancing.... or at least quaffing Cider!

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  6. Nice Morrismen Clint :)

    Sleipnir had eight legs not six, just for info :)

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    1. Thank you Tamsin. You are of course right 8 legs.... The things I learnt in my youth are now fading from my.... what was I going to say?

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  7. I Love your VBCW stuff and this might be my favorite unit. I love seeing fun/not too serious units on the gaming table.

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    1. Thank you Adam. I feel the same way. We all need a few light-hearted units to take the field it improves the games not to take them so seriously.

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  8. Nice work Clint, as the son of a Morrisman I heartily approve (mostly about the drinking....)

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    1. Thank you Gobbo. When it comes to drinking all things in moderation I am sure you'd agree.

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  9. Excellent work on some very original figures. As a Pratchett fan I know to fear the Lancre Combat Morrissmen and as a Scotsman I never disparage a pastime which involves a Beer tent.

    Fatman

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    1. Thank you Fatman, I suspect your first comment on my blog so welcome. All that needs to be said about Beer tents is that Beer tents are cool!

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  10. Nice minis, Clint! There IS a good joke there with the Verger, Nun, and Morris Dancers! ;)
    I will never disparage any celebration that involves a Beer Tent. A Beer Tent is a requirement for any reputable event IMHO! ;)

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    1. Thanks David. Beer tents are cool. No more on that subject need to be uttered. I may well make a beer tent piece of scenery! I am after all planning a beer wagon.

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  11. Great post Clint, very informing and very time-appropriate!

    We have a similar thing here (similar as in its pagan in origin and it looks weird), but it's happening at the end of February to "invite the spring to the lands".

    And lastly - it looks like any place worth mentioning is somehow connected to a white horse!

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    1. Thanks Mathyoo, the white horse is the symbol of Kent, the county I live in. So I will include it as often as I can!

      being time appropriate was just luck and not planning. But I do thank you for noticing it!

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  12. These are fantastic mate. Don't forget to use this in 7TV as well!

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    1. Thanks Simon. They have now all gone back to Matt so I may not get a chance of &TV with them or DR Who. But they would fit in very well indeed.

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  13. Spectacular colors and beautiful paint brush!

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    1. Thank you Phil. I am kicking myself as It is long past overdue for me to post again.

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  14. These are briliant fun Clint!

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    1. Thanks Sander. They were fun to paint as well. I smiled every time I was painting them

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  15. Excellent converted and painted figures!

    Greetings
    Peter

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    1. Thank you Peter. But they are commercially availiable from "Woodbine Miniatures" and were not converted by me, I just painted them.

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