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Landsknecht Ogre Planning!
May 12, 2021 Wargames Atlantic

Landsknecht Ogre Planning!

Having had a great discussion with Landsknecht Ogre submitter and winner Michael Stockdale, we've settled on an approach for this set that we'd like to share with you.

First, we need to lock down a size and proportion for these boys as they are our first "monster" size. Having looked around yesterday we settled on the excellent Westfalia versions. I have really loved their design aesthetic and their half-men were an inspiration to me when starting Wargames Atlantic. If you haven't seen their work click on this image to go to their site: 

 

So these fellows will come in around 45mm or so. This will be a full frame set aiming for three unique bodies on the frame.

The bodies will be armored cuirass with square-toed shoes/boots to emulate the classic Landsknecht look. Slashed style sleeve arms will hold a variety of historical/fantasy weapons including Zweihänders (very big two-handed swords), halberds, a matchlock style hand cannon, large, ornate dueling-style pistols. Spear or double-duty standard pole. We will experiment with some options. Maybe a dagger or mace too. Will need at least one larger shield and some buckler style for the swordsmen. Perhaps some segmented plate armor pieces for the legs. The iconic floppy hats and helmets will be included and Morion helmets as an extra option. 

Since this is a Wargames Atlantic set, we can't leave it there though! Alternate arms with heavy autoguns and plasma weapons with shoulder pads on the arms, futuristic helmets and bare heads, and a  variety of packs comm units holsters etc to equip the bodies will also be included to sci-fi up these fellows. 

Officially this set will be part of our Death Fields AND the Classic Fantasy ranges. Within DF the backstory will be that these are a group of abducted Landsknecht - The Vain - who after some time on the circuit succumbed to flattery and allowed themselves to be genetically modified to be bigger and stronger. Their alien owner of course didn’t explain that they would also become grotesque. They now operate as guns for hire and are lent out to the highest bidders as a supplement to regular teams on the Death Fields circuit.

For fantasy they are also mercenaries fighting for and against the High Queen - a band of brothers united in their love of fashion and fighting.

We hope you like these ideas for this set. We hope also that we can fit all the ideas we keep coming up with onto the frame! Let us know what you think below!

Artwork credit: Landsknechts in the Sack of Rome, 1527 by Angus McBride (1988)

Previous article STATUM ATLANTICUM MMXXIV

Comments

Axel - May 13, 2021

@Iain
No need to worry. There was no distress in your request, neither in intent nor in the wording. If somebody feels distressed its because the internet communication makes us to project intend into communication that lies in ourself, not by the sender.

You asked for something you deemed usefull, and some others (me among them) brought a counterargument. If somebody gets personal or distressed in the process, it is not your fault, and you should simply ignore it. :-)

Iain - May 13, 2021

Well I appear to have caused a bit of a storm in a tea cup! I only asked for an option to include female miniatures because I like to have as many options as possible in my units and thought it would be fun. Please be aware that you can choose not to included female in your build if you don’t want any. I find it rather sad that I have caused distress to anyone there are enough horrible things happening at the moment in the real world we all need to enjoy or hobbies and have FUN.

All of you relax and enjoy your hobby.

Iain - May 13, 2021

Well I appear to have caused a bit of a storm in a tea cup! I only asked for an option to include female miniatures because I like to have as many options as possible in my units and thought it would be fun. Please be aware that you can choose not to included female in your build if you don’t want any. I find it rather sad that I have caused distress to anyone there are enough horrible things happening at the moment in the real world we all need to enjoy or hobbies and have FUN.

All of you relax and enjoy your hobby.

Axel - May 13, 2021

@M Fitzgerald:
>It isn’t ‘actual Landsknecht infantry’, because ‘actual Landsknecht infantry’ didnt have ogres in it.

Reading the above story, the modification towards Ogres came after the abduction, so that “Death Field” users can assume that an actual Fähnlein was abducted. Perhaps with female camp followers to create new blood, but as the problem of regenerating a unit pops up for ALL Death Field units I would assume cloning processes rather then the natural biological process. Or we need female dwarfs, and I do not dare to predict how hard the battle over female beards will be fought :-)

Renaissance Ogre Landsknechts of course have neither the process of genetical enhancement nor do they need a reproduction within the unit (assuming these Ogres come from anywhere).

In history Landsknechts developed in the 1480ies, combining the Burgundian way of administering an army with the Swiss way of fighting using German volunteers loyal to Maximilian. The latter was dropped pretty fast by the units when he ran out of money and others did not. The core unit is a Fähnlein with 3-500 men in it, self governing except at the head with many democratic elements, resulting in a martial tradition that could create effective fighting units for money. The fancy clothing was the transgression of laws concerning outfits, a statement that “we are not allowed this fancy stuff, but just try to stop us”. When that law was specifically dropped for Landsknechts around 1500 things quickly got extravagant.

Ogre Landsknechts would mean there is both a background of mercenary regiments and Ogre populations, unless we assume some kind of transformation of humans into Ogres to enhance their martial abilities. If the former, they probably inhabit an independent region either within some kind of disfunctional empire or between conflicting states, offering mercenary services for being left alone.

Now, to pair this with the Spaniards…
Perhaps WA could provide, as part of the Ogre release, a light conquistador artillery (eg a falconet) that uses just barrel and mound doubling for an Ogre arquebus. Then we could pair the Ogre who holds the cannon with a human soldier that lights the fuse, or gives directions. Or… alike the Ogre with Halfling paymaster I see one of these ogres lifting a Spaniard up to observe the battlefield. Plastic conversions …. here we come…

Sorry for the rant. I collect all kind of Renaissance minis with Landsknechts as focus. There is probably not a mini in 28mm around with slashed trousers of puffy shirt that is not in my collection, so I am naturally pretty excited about this release.

Neil - May 13, 2021

This sounds like an excellent set! Assuming everything goes in as planned, I intend to buy multiple boxes to build an army for the return of The Olde Worlde – as I suspect a number of people are.

With that in mind, can I suggest that you lean into the proxy market a bit? For example, instead of “Butchers” you could have “Brewers” or indeed “Bakers” bitz on the sprue; instead of a “Hunter” you could have a “Hawker”… but with a 28mm scale Golden Eagle in his arm 🤪, and hunting bears…

Keep up the good work!

Jess - May 13, 2021

@Shaun Gooch

Guy.

Buddy.

Fella.

Dude.

Like I asked you before, read that back to yourself.

You’re writing a little essay about how I’m “overreacting”, trying to tell me all about your big Sisters collection, using multiple exclamation points. You’re getting incredibly defensive about miniatures studios “appeasing SJWs”. Yelling about Captain Marvel. This has very little to do with anything I wrote.

Why do you think companies make products? Do you think companies spend money to make you upset? That’s conspiracy thought.

And just like, fyi, call her Ms. Marvel, Warbird, whatever, but Captain Marvel has been a woman since well before I was born.

JTam - May 13, 2021

Please no female Ogres. There’s only 3 bodies planned. Thirtythree percent of the unit having identical female bodies is weak sauce.

Tim Peterson - May 13, 2021

For the guys asking for ‘A’ female body, or ‘A’ guy in an owlbear cloak, the obvious answer is NO. There are 3 bodies per sprue, so there could be 1/3 of the set with a female body (all the same pose) or 1/3 of the set with the unique cloak (all with the same pose) – I’m not arguing against either idea, I honestly don’t care. I’m just pointing out that for any body, it’s 4 or nothing. There are no single figures as options.

Tim Peterson - May 13, 2021

For the guys asking for ‘A’ female body, or ‘A’ guy in an owlbear cloak, the obvious answer is NO. There are 3 bodies per sprue, so there could be 1/3 of the set with a female body (all the same pose) or 1/3 of the set with the unique cloak (all with the same pose) – I’m not arguing against either idea, I honestly don’t care. I’m just pointing out that for any body, it’s 4 or nothing. There are no single figures as options.

Tim Peterson - May 13, 2021

For the guys asking for ‘A’ female body, or ‘A’ guy in an owlbear cloak, the obvious answer is NO. There are 3 bodies per sprue, so there could be 1/3 of the set with a female body (all the same pose) or 1/3 of the set with the unique cloak (all with the same pose) – I’m not arguing against either idea, I honestly don’t care. I’m just pointing out that for any body, it’s 4 or nothing. There are no single figures as options.

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