The First English Civil War in 28mm miniatures.

The English Civil War in 28mm -  The Red Regiment of The London Trained Bands.
The First Regiment of Parliamentarian Foot has been completed over the weekend,  I chose this regiment to start the ball rolling because of the colour scheme red uniforms with black armour looking quite smart. They were present early on in the war and formed part of the Earl of Essex's army.

28mm Bicorne Miniatures ECW range provided almost all of the figures, with the odd redoubt mini thrown in for luck.

 The Banners are in tin foil for durability, folded around wire shafts, the flags finials and cords are provided by Front Rank miniatures.

 I thought 4 banners per regiment would be a good compromise between too few and too many banners.

The odd Redoubt miniatures figure makes an appearance namely the banner bearer with a bicorne miniatures head from their spares range.

Based on 3mm plasticard for durability.

Basing effects use my 2mm and 4mm grass tufts available through this blog or on Ebay.

Finally matt varnish testors dullcote was sprayed on to even out the colours and for protection.

Uniform.

The Red Regiment of the London Trained Bands I assume would be well equipped and sponsored by the City of London. The officers, drummer and sergeants all wear red tunics and breeches the other ranks wear red tunics and grey breeches. The Red regiment was the first regiment in order of precedence, the other regiments being the white, yellow, blue, green and orange. Its flags were red with notable white wavy 'piles' or rays and was recruited from the wards of Aldgate, Tower and Billingsgate.

Formation.

The London Trained Bands were the City of London's militia, composed of householders who fulfilled thier statutory obligation to maintain arms and serve in the defence of their city. They were under the juristiction of the Lord Mayor of London and were commanded by officers appointed by him and the Aldermen. Members of the Trained Bands met regularly at the Artillery Garden in Bishopsgate and the Military Garden in St Martins'-in-the-Field to practice weapon handling, drilling and other military activities under the guidance of officers from the Honourable Artillery Company. These officers made the Trained Bands an effective fighting force, providing professional training for its part-time members. 

Active Service

They were part of the Eastern Association commanded by the Earl of Essex and were present at the relief of Gloucester and a number of battles including 1st battle of Newbury 1643, the London Trained Band Brigade seems to have been equipped with 11 cannon and 3 drakes (light guns) at this time.

Anyhow the next Regiment on the painting board are Charles I Lifeguard of Foote.