Paint and Glory

Part 1 – Introduction & Peasants
Part 2 – Peasants Cont.
Part 3 – Knights
Part 4 – Special Characters
Part 5 – Accessories & Honorable Mentions
Budget Empire Project

My apologies for the long break, but I’m back for the last post in the Budget Bretonnia Project, covering accessories, 3d printing, and a few miniature lines which deserve honorable mentions.

Shields

In a few prior posts I’ve made recommendations for units which traditionally have shields, but the budget picks didn’t come with shields. While you certainly could field my recommendations without shields (they are proxies, after all), I do have a few budget options.

The true budget choice is the shields you already have in your bits box. If you are lacking in shields, I’ve found that some eBay searching is good way for budget shields. Some of the eBay bits lots I’ve seen sold end up being about $0.25 or less per shield.

If you’re looking for something specific, I also recommend shields from Gripping Beast ($0.22 per shield), Perry Miniatures ($0.41 per shield), Winterdyne Commission Modeling ($0.45 per shield), and Fireforge Games ($0.49 per shield). Two specific shield packs deserve special mention, as they make great conversion bits to really personalize your knights. The Fireforge Games Albion Shields ($0.74 per shield)) and Anvil Industry Decorative Shields ($0.76 per shield) have a great Bretonnia feel about them, with a variety of heraldic symbols sculpted on.

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3D Printing

I’m a big fan of 3D printing, especially for terrain, as I own a FDM printer. While not quiet up to the task of printing miniatures, if you own a resin printer, or have access to one, there are a few Bretonnian options out there. Yeggi.com is great 3D model search engine, searching across multiple sites for both free and paid models. With some quick searching I found the Thingiverse profile for Cor Beau, offering free files representing Grail Pilgrims, Grail Reliquae, Prophetess/Damsel of the Lady, various Knights, Trebuchet, Mounted Yeomen, Peasant Bowmen, Pegasus Knights, Louen Leoncoeur, Men at Arms, and mounted lords. Tartesso Miniatures also sells files for infantry, knights, and lords.

Honorable Mentions

There are a lot of medieval and fantasy miniatures out there. While my focus has been on low budget picks, there are a few companies which deserve honorable mentions, even if their prices are a bit higher.

Perry Miniatures

Yes, I know I’ve mentioned Perry Miniatures as a recommendation for almost every single unit in this series. Most of my recommendations have been their plastic sets, but Perry has huge line of high quality metal figure, really too many to go through. I recommend checking out their Crusades, War of the Roses, European Armies, and Agincourt lines to see what they offer.

Norba Miniatures

Norba Miniatures has run five successful Kickstarters to create their miniatures line. All of these miniatures are also available, after the fact, on their website. Their Bretons line are very clearly designed to be proxy Bretonnians, and can easily serve as Men at Arms, Grail Pilgrims, and a Lord on Foot. Their Facebook page also says that they have a Bretonnian Knight Kickstarter coming this September.

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TMS Miniatures

The last honorable mention, TMS Miniatures, makes figures for The 9th Age, an unofficial 9th edition of Warhammer Fantasy. Their Kingdom of Equitaine line serves as a proxy Bretonnia and features a Lord on Hippogriff, Pegasus Knights, three different mounted Knight units, a Demsel on foot and horse, Men at Arms, and Peasant Bowmen (with crossbows). The photos on their website are all a bit small, so detail is hard to make out, but I have read good things about the quality.

Wrap Up

A huge thank you to everyone who has followed my second budget project. I do have plans for more in the future, though having finished the Empire and Bretonnia, historical miniature companies will become less useful as a source of budget models. If there’s a particular army you’re interested in, make a comment. I’ve already received requests for Cathay and Araby, so those would be some pretty unique lists!

_{Please note that the photographs provided were not taken by the author, and no copyright is claimed.}

Part 1 – Introduction & Peasants
Part 2 – Peasants Cont.
Part 3 – Knights
Part 4 – Special Characters
Part 5 – Accessories & Honorable Mentions
Budget Empire Project

Welcome to part four of the Budget Bretonnia Project! Today we’ll cover the last remaining elements of your army, the leaders and special characters (and the missing Pegasus Knights). A lot of Bretonnia’s individual models can serve double duty, with your Lord in one game acting as a Paladin in another, so I’ll be grouping some units together. I’ll also be splitting up a single unit type (such as the Lord) into multiple sections based on what they are mounted on, which obviously changes the figure significantly.

Finally, this post really stretches the bounds of “budget.” In my past posts, I’ve kept my infantry recommendations under $1.50 per figure and cavalry under $3.00. For some of the special characters I’ll recommend using a figure from a box I wrote about previously, such as using an extra mounted Knight as a Lord. For the more exotic characters, however, prices will start to go up (though nowhere near eBay prices for classic Bretonnia figures). I’ll also recommend a few figures I personally consider just outside of the budget realm but have a bit more pizzazz, though, of course, a lot of this comes down to personal preference.

Lord/Paladin on Foot

The best budget option for your unmounted hero is from the previously recommended Perry Miniatures WR1 Plastic Wars of the Roses Infantry. Each box of 40 figures can build up to 30 bowmen and 18 Men at Arms, but we are interested in the 4 command figures, clad in full plate and with a variety of swords, halberds, arms, and heads (but no shields). If you’re using this box for your infantry, the lord/paladin is effectively free (but really $0.65 per figure). You can also buy the sprue separately for two figures at $3.25 per mini.

Although I’m ending my recommendations here, a lot of the Lord/Paladin on Horse recommendations are two packs, with one mounted and one unmounted figure. Look to that section for more armored figures on foot. I’ll also be recommending some more-than-budget figures from smaller manufacturers in a final post, so keep an eye out in that post for a few extra recommendations.

Lord/Paladin on Horse

Ah, the classic ideal of the mounted noble, riding into battle on a heavily armored warhorse. There are a lot of options here, but the least expensive would be to use an extra figure from my Knights recommendations in my prior post. If you want something that looks little more individualistic, you can start with the Crusader Miniatures MCF019 – King/Prince. Foot and Mounted, with two miniatures for $3.90 per. While not as over the top as some Bretonnian miniatures can be, the crown on his helmet really lets you know that he’s in charge.

Perry Miniatures has a large number of mounted command packs, with 3 metal miniatures for $3.90 each. My top recommendations, in terms of matching the Bretonnian look, would be WR4, WR5, WR8, WR9, or AO15. Any figure not used as a special character could easily be mixed into a Knights unit, especially if your Knights are also Perry Miniatures.

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The final picks are the most expensive so far. Fireforge Games sells packs of characters with a mounted and unmounted figure for $18.88 ($9.44 per model). The Richard the Lionheart, Simon de Monfort, Templar Grandmaster, and Teutonic Hochmeister would all work very well as Lord/Paladins on horse. You can also buy the generic Leader on Barded Horse, which does not have a matching unmounted figure, for $11.80.

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Paladin with Battle Standard

No Bretonnian army would be complete without a Paladin bearing either his Lord’s colors or a symbol of the Lady into battle. As with the mounted lord/paladin, the true budget pick would be to convert a figure from the Knights recommendations in my prior post. Additionally, if you already purchased the Perry Miniatures WR4 or WR5 I recommended as a Lord/Paladin, one of the 3 figure is a great looking standard bearer. Otherwise, Crusader Minatures has two good budget options, the MCF020 – Knight Bearing Banner and MCF047 – Teutonic Knight Bearing Banner, both 2 figures (mounted and unmounted) for $7.80 ($3.90 per mini). The downside to these is they don’t come with a spear/pole or banner, so you’ll need to buy/make your own.

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Lord/Paladin on Pegasus & Pegasus Knights

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While there are a decent number of pegasus figures out there, not many of them come with a knightly rider, or any armor. The only budget options I’ve found (non-budget picks to come later) are both from Fireforge Games. The Pegasus Knights are exactly what they say on the box, include four knights, and cost $9.44 per figure. The riders are actually the exact same as the Albion Knights I recommended in my last post and come with all the same bits. If you don’t want a whole unit of pegasi, the Noble on Pegasus comes with one mount (but two riders!) for $23.60 and is a little fancier looking.

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Lord/Paladin on Hippogryph & Louen Leoncoeur

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First things first. Everyone should agree that the 5th edition metal Louen Leoncoeur looks better than the 6th edition plastic figure. If you disagree, please go build a different army 🤣. Second, this is going to be a hefty model and the first to really exceed $10 per figure. Both of my recommendations come from Signum Games. Galahad the First Spare of Empire ($23.75) and Roland the Proud, Marshall-Protector ($33.25) are both ornately armored hippogryphs and riders, perfect for a Lord/Paladin who are blessed enough to ride a noble hippogryph.

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Grail Prophetesses/Damsel on Foot

Moving onto the ladies of Bretonnia, the Grail Prophetesses and Damsels have a very specific look. Finding female human magic users that don’t fall into the “almost naked” or “old crone” categories was a bit hard. The North Star Figures FGVP07 – Frostgrave Wizards II comes with enough parts to build 8 female magic users ($2.44 each). While not all of the bodies, heads, and bits will be useful, there are easily enough parts to build two or more Grail Prophetesses/Damsels and then have leftover sorceresses for other projects. If you really don’t need 8 figures, the FGV117 – Sigilist & Apprentice II would also work well for a lower total cost but more per figure ($3.90 each).

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Battlezone also carries an Enchantress for $3.90, though I’m not sure how easily available this company is, and thus ordering one mini from one company may be cost prohibitive once shipping is included.

Grail Prophetesses/Damsel on Horse & Fay Enchantress

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Black Tree Design has a very nice FA0853 – Mounted Sorceress, whose headpiece works very well as a Grail Prophetess ($4.50). For a little more money, Reaper Miniatures has a figure with a bit more detail, Lady Devona, Crusaders Mage ($14.99). While neither of these ride a unicorn a simple addition of a horn would turn the into the Fey Enchantress.

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Repanse de Lyonesse

For everyone’s favorite Joan of Arc cosplayer, I have a budget historical option and a slightly less budget fantasy-ish choice. The every present Perry Miniatures sells AO33 Jeanne d’ Arc, La Hire, ‘Bastard of Orleans’ ($3.90 per figure for 3 minis). I will admit, the Joan of Arc figure (complete with 90s kid bowlcut) does not really do it for me, but the other knights have use in other units, making this a multipurpose buy. For something with a little more umph, the Fireforge Games Lady Ravenclaw comes with both a mounted and unmounted figure, with two different heads, and one holding an actual grail! The long lance would also work well to add a Fleur de Lys Banner.

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Green Knight

Last, but not least, the once and future king of Bretonnia arrives from the mists, ready to fight the enemies of the Lady! My apologies for being repetitive, but converting a Knight model you purchased from my prior post is the true budget option. If you’re not one for a big conversion job, TMS Miniatures (who make minis for The 9th Age) produce KoE – Green Knight, a perfect match for the spectral knight at $23.60.

Wrap Up

Wow! That was a lot, but we are done! As far as I’m aware, I have now covered every unit available to Bretonnia in 8th edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles. I will have one more article going up next week, covering shields, 3D printing options, honorable mentions, and some really great lines of miniatures that missed out due to budget concerns. See you then!

_{Please note that the photographs provided were not taken by the author, and no copyright is claimed.}

Part 1 – Introduction & Peasants
Part 2 – Peasants Cont.
Part 3 – Knights
Part 4 – Special Characters
Part 5 – Accessories & Honorable Mentions
Budget Empire Project

Part three of the Budget Bretonnia Project gets to the true heart of any Bretonnian army. If the peasants are the potatoes, cheap and filling, the knights are the meat, expensive, tasty, and what everyone is really sitting down for.

This post will take a somewhat different approach from the last few. Rather than providing two recommendations per unit, I’ll be lumping all of the horse mounted knight together; Knights Errant, Knights of the Realm, Questing Knights, and the Grail Knights. I’ll then then provide ALL of the budget knight options below $3 per figure (seven recommendations in total), describe what arms and armor come in each box, and rank them on a four star system (⭐⭐⭐⭐).

• Zero Stars ( – ) – No armor, unbarded horses, light weapons. Mounted Yeomen would fall under this category.
• One Star (⭐) – The most lightly armored, mix of barded and unbarded horses, lack of over the top, fantasy iconography.
• Two Stars (⭐⭐) – more heavily armored, all barded horses, some minor embellishments.
• Three Stars (⭐⭐⭐) – heavy armor, all barded horses, embellished armor.
• Four Stars (⭐⭐⭐⭐) – Heavy armor, all barded horses, embellishments are completely over the top.

Bretonnian knights are also a great place to use bits and conversions. Mixing and matching parts from various kits (especially if they’re from the same manufacture) or making bits with a resin 3D printer (more on that in a later post) can really help give your knights character. You can also use this to set the different types of knight apart, giving your higher ranked cavalry a more ornate look.

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A Note on Scale

A request I’ve gotten a lot in the comments was for pictures of my recommendations next to Games Workshop Bretonnian figures. Unfortunately, I do not own any GW Bretonnians and I only own a fraction of the miniatures I have recommended (though they all have positive reviews from trusted soures). What I can say with fair certainty is that all of these miniatures will be smaller than Games Workshop’s by 1-2mm when on foot. This is mostly due to my recommendations being 28mm, while Games Workshop has suffered from scale creep over the years. Some of the manufacturers, such as Perry, tend towards slimmer, more realistic proportions, while others, like Fireforge and North Star are of the more heroic style, with big heads, hands, and weapons. If you are interested in a particular box, the best I can recommend is to google that particular set along with “size comparison” to look for articles and images others may have created.

With that, onto the Knights!

Conquest Games Medieval Knights ⭐

While I haven’t been able to find very clear pictures of the completed miniatures, Conquest Games Medieval Knights are the least expensive of my recommendations, costing $1.63 per mini for a box of 16. The plastic kit comes with unbarded horses, riders clad mostly in chainmail and cloaks, a mix of kite and heater shields, lances, mixed hand weapons, and a good variety of heads with open helmets. If you don’t mind the chainmail, these could be used for Mounted Yeomen instead.

Perry Miniatures AO 70 Agincourt Mounted Knights 1415-1429 ⭐⭐

The runner up in the cost department, the Perry Miniatures AO 70 Agincourt Mounted Knights 1415-1429 are $2.17 per figure and come in boxes of 12. The plastic kit comes with unbarded horses (and bits to bard them all), riders in full plate, lances, a mix of hand weapons, and a number of fully enclosed and open heads. There are a few shields on the sprue, but it does not appear to have enough for every figure. If you would like to add shields, I will have recommendations in a later post. This box also comes with parts to allow you to build half the figures as light cavalry with bows or light lance, so it could double as your Mounted Yeomen.

Perry Miniatures WR 40 Mounted Men at Arms⭐⭐

Making a return from my Empire recommendations, the Perry Miniatures WR 40 Mounted Men at Arms are a bit too renaissance for Bretonnia (in my opinion) but could allow you to mix bits with the Agincourt Mounted Knights box for a ton of variety. The cost, number, and types of parts available are all the same as the other Perry kit above.

Fireforge Games Sergeants at Arms ⭐

The first of four recommendations from Fireforge Games, the Sergeants at Arms are a good set for some lower ranked Bretonnian cavalry. Costing $2.66 per figure and coming in a box of 12, the Sergeants at Arms come with 6 barded and 6 unbarded horses, are clad mostly in chainmail and cloth, come with lances and hand weapons, and also include shields, cloaks, and crossbows. A mix of heads with open helmets finish the kit. If you don’t mind the chainmail and crossbows, the 6 unbarded horses with riders could serve as Mounted Yeomen.

Fireforge Games Templar Knights ⭐🌠

I’m giving the Fireforge Games Templar Knights ($2.66 per figures, box of 12) an one-and-a-half star rating. While they should technically only earn one (6 barded and 6 unbarded horses, clad in mail and cloth, mix of lances and hand weapons), they earn an extra half star for their extras. Firstly, they have so much flowing fabric on them it’s easy to think they have a full metal breastplate under the tunics. They also have a good mix of open and fully enclosed helms, unlike the Sergeants at Arms. Finally, they come with some great extras, including a horn for a musician, a variety of heater and kite shields, and plastic banners and pennants to add to their lances or serve as a standard.

Fireforge Games Teutonic Knights ⭐⭐⭐

As far as I can tell from pictures, the Fireforge Games Teutonic Knights ($2.66 per figure, box of 12) are the exact same box and sprues as the Templar Knights, with all the same chainmail armor, shields, weapons, and accessories, but with two main differences. All 12 horses are now barded, and, most importantly, full enclosed helmets with silly stuff on top! No high ranking Bretonnian noble would ever go into battle without a ridiculous thing on top of their helmet! The plain helmets even have flat tops, which makes adding your own silly helmet thing very easy.

Fireforge Games Albion Knights ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The reigning champions of silly stuff on top of their helmets (in a good way), the Fireforge Games Albion Knights are, once again, the exact same sprues as the Templar and Teutonic Knights. The only change is the fully barded horses, the extra silly helmets, and the additional shoulder pauldrons which can be added to the mail arms. As with all Fireforge cavalry, the cost is $2.66 per figure for a box of 12.

Wrap Up

I said I’d cover the Pegasus Knights today, but I wanted to just focus on the horse mounted cavalry. The next post will cover them, as well as leaders, special characters, and named characters. After that I’ll write a final post with some honorable, non-budget, mentions as well as 3D printing recommendations for bits and even full figures.

_{Please note that the photographs provided were not taken by the author, and no copyright is claimed.}

Part 1 – Introduction & Peasants
Part 2 – Peasants Cont.
Part 3 – Knights
Part 4 – Special Characters
Part 5 – Accessories & Honorable Mentions
Budget Empire Project

OK! Part two of the Budget Bretonnia Project, covering the remaining peasant units; Mounted Yeomen, Grail Pilgrims, Grail Reliquae, and the Field Trebuchet. Let’s get going!

Mounted Yeomen

The key traits of the Mounted Yeomen we are looking to match is their lack of armor. Both the horse and the rider have little to no armor, either plate or even chainmail, though helmets are OK. I’ll prioritize models armed with spears, but really prize figures with both spears and bows, while avoiding crossbows.

As is already a trend, I’m recommending plastic boxes from two different manufacturers, Perry Miniatures and Fireforge Games (but only because North Star doesn’t make mounted Oathmark humans yet!). The first budget picks are the Perry Miniatures WR 60 Light Cavalry 1450-1500 and AO 70 Agincourt Mounted Knights 1415-1429, both boxes of 12 for $2.17 per figure. The Light Cavalry are a perfect match for Mounted Yeomen, having no armor (except helmets) or barding, and with light lance and bow options. The sprues also come with a trumpet (for musician) and one of the light lance could serve as a standard. The Mounted Knights (not pictured here) will also be a recommendation in my next post about Knights, and are only mentioned because half of the 12 Knights can be built as light horse, although with a bit more armor than the Light Cavalry.

The Fireforge Games recommendation is the Mounted Sergeants box, with 12 figures for $2.66 per model. The Fireforge box is a little more armored than the Perry recommendations, but not quiet to the level of knights. They don’t come with any bows, but do have light lances, horns (musician), plastic molded pennants, and lots of hand weapons which could be used to vary your knightly units when we get to them. If you don’t use the shields for your Mounted Yeoman, you could also then use them for the Perry Miniatures WR1 Plastic War of the Roses Infantry I recommended for the Men at Arms, but were lacking their own shields.

Grail Pilgrims

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The Games Workshop Grail Pilgrims have a very… unique look; a little less realistic than our prior peasants and little more grimdark. This could actually be a benefit for my first recommendation, the ever versatile, oft returning North Star Military Figures OAKP401 – Oathmark Human Infantry, costing $1.08 per mini for a box of 30 and including swords, shields, and standards (musician comes in a separate blister). If you used Perry or Fireforge miniatures for your other peasant units, the different look of the Oathmark Humans could help set them apart.

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The second recommendation is, like many of Fireforge Games offerings, a bit more heavily armored. The Fireforge Games Templar Infantry (box of 24 for $1.33 per figure) make for a good looking “holy warrior,” since that’s what they are! They have a bit more chainmail than the Oathmark models, but feature hand weapons, shields, cloaks, hoods, and musician and standard bearer parts.

Grail Reliquae

Being the first truly non-historical unit, this will be a hard figure to closely match to the Games Workshop miniature. For the accompanying warrior monks, use the Grail Pilgrim recommendations from above. For the Grail Knight’s skeletal remains, however, I’ll need to get creative.

For the true budget choice, I recommend the Perry Miniatures CU15 Clerical Command, which costs $11.70. Featuring four ecclesiastical miniatures, we’re most interested in Peter the Hermit on donkey and mounted Abbot with true cross. Convert the cross to something more grail-like, or just use Peter the Hermit, then surround them with Grail Pilgrims and call them living saints. Voila! A counts-as Grail Reliquae! Us the other minis for… something else, or sell them!

If you insist that your Grail Reliquae include the bones of a dead knight, then there is good and bad news. The good news is that TMS Miniatures (who make figures for The 9th Age) sell a Sacred Reliquary, which looks very much like the Games Workshop kit (and includes it’s own warrior pilgrims). The bad news is it costs $35.40. Your call, but the budget-minded gamer in me says go for the Perry option.

Field Trebuchet

The last unit for today is the Field Trebuchet, along with its crew. This is actually a recommendation where the least expensive option is not my primary recommendation. The Honda of God (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) from MOM Miniatures includes not only a pretty good looking trebuchet, but also 4 Bretonnian looking crew for only $21.24. The main downside is that it is out of stock at the time of posting, but that could change in the future.

If you have a 3D printer, you could, of course, find a trebuchet file and then make crew out of whatever Men at Arms or Peasant Archers you purchased. If you don’t have a 3D printer and the Honda of God (throws Civics?) is out of stock, try either the Fenris Games FGMEK1 – The Lazy Trebuchet ($19.50) or RAFM Miniatures Trebuchet ($15.95) depending on your taste, availability, and shipping costs. Neither comes with crew, however.

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Wrap Up

That’s it for this post. Now that all of the dirty peasant units are out of the way, we can move on to the figures which make Bretonnia great; noble cavalry! Next post will be a little different, taking the Knights of the Realm, Knights Errant, Questing Knights, and Grail Knights all together and offering as many budget options as I can find. I’ll also cover the Pegasus Knights, which will not have quite as few options.

_{Please note that the photographs provided were not taken by the author, and no copyright is claimed.}

Part 1 – Introduction & Peasants
Part 2 – Peasants Cont.
Part 3 – Knights
Part 4 – Special Characters
Part 5 – Accessories & Honorable Mentions
Budget Empire Project

Welcome back, everyone, to my second Budget Warhammer series. Although I joined the miniature gaming hobby after the death of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, my time spent playing the Total War: Warhammer series has given me a great appreciation for the lore and models of this bygone era.

Unlike my prior series of posts on the Empire, Bretonnia no longer has ANY figures currently in production at Games Workshop. Luckily for us, however, Bretonnia is also the Warhammer Fantasy faction most similar to actual, medieval human armies. There are so many manufacturers of high quality 28mm medieval miniatures, in fact, that it was hard to sort through all of them! I had to spend some time thinking about what the goal of this blog series is in order to narrow the number of recommendations per unit I made, otherwise these posts would just be a list of every medieval miniature ever produced.

Mission Statement

As the title says, I will be focusing on how to build a budget Bretonnian army. I will be calculating the per-figure-cost of various manufacturers and sets to determine how to make the best looking, but least expensive force. I will also be converting all prices into US Dollars (since I’m American) and using the list price from the manufacturers’ website. You can very often get these sets for less. For example, a $26 box of 12 cavalry from Perry Miniatures is only $20 from my favorite online shop. I’m also not factoring in shipping, as that will vary by where you live, what vendor you order from, and whether free shipping is available on large orders. Finally, many boxes include bases, but in a variety of shapes and sizes, so I will be largely ignoring this, as each player will want to base figures in slightly different ways.

For each unit I will be providing two budget recommendations, usually from two different manufacturers. In some cases (like today), when there are three very strong contenders, I’ll include a third recommendation. In a later post, I’ll also recommend some small manufacturers who make very nice “Bretonnian” models, but at prices I couldn’t recommend in my primary budget lists.

Before starting the list, please note that I am not a Bretonnian player, and most of my knowledge of them comes from Total War: Warhammer, which includes some modified units. The units I will be including in these posts all come from the 1d4chan WFB 8th Edition Bretonnia article. If any units are missing from the following list, please let me know and I’ll add them in a later post.

• King Louen Leoncoeur
• The Green Knight
• The Fay Enchantress
• Repanse de Lyonesse
• Bretonnian Lord on foot, horse, pegasus, and hippogryph
• Prophetess of the Lady on foot and horse
• Paladin on foot, horse, pegasus, and hippogryph
• Paladin Battle Standard Bearer on horse
• Damsel of the Lady on foot and horse
• Knights of the Realm
• Knights Errant
• Questing Knights
• Grail Knights
• Pegasus Knights
• Men at Arms (with polearm and shield)
• Peasant Bowmen
• Mounted Yeomen
• Grail Pilgrims
• Grail Reliquae
• Field Trebuchet

After all that, let’s start looking at some of the basic peasant units you’ll field.

Men at Arms

The beating heart of the Bretonnian army, the peasants of the Men at Arms provide an inexpensive filler unit to back up your expensive, but powerful knights. The true budget winner for this unit is the Perry Miniatures WR1 Plastic War of the Roses Infantry box, at $0.65 per figure. There are some caveats, however. Of this box of 40 infantry, only 18 can be built with polearms, the rest are archers and armored command figures. If you don’t need archers and don’t want to use armored figures on foot to serve as Lords, Paladins, or peasant champions, then the box is no longer worth it. If you’re willing to use most of the box, however, it’s a crazy good deal. The other problem is that these figures are armed with polearms, but no shields. If you’re fine without shields, again, great deal! Otherwise you can raid your bits box or buy some shields (recommendation later) and still end up with the least expensive Men at Arms per figure. Note the box does come with trumpets and an extra long spear to serve as a standard.

Another excellent option is the Fireforge Games Foot Sergeants at $1.03 per figure (box of 48 miniatures). The big difference between this and the Perry box above is the figures are sculpted to use shields (which are included). Unfortunately, there are no musician or standard bearer options on the sprue, so you may need to buy non-Fireforge figures to add to your unit.

Finally, for about the same price as the Fireforge miniatures, the North Star Military Figures OAKP401 – Oathmark Human Infantry cost $1.08 per mini for a box of 30 and include spears, shields, and standards (musician comes in a separate blister). They don’t quite match the Men at Arms look as well as Perry or Fireforge, but it’s still a good option.

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Peasant Bowmen

Again, the true budget champion for this unit is the Perry Miniatures WR1 Plastic War of the Roses Infantry box, at $0.65 per figure, with similar caveats as above (only 30 bowmen in a box of 40). Even if you threw out the 10 non-bowmen figures, it’s still only $0.87 per figure, a very competitive price. Still includes trumpets and an extra long spear to serve as a standard.

Another box making its second appearance, the North Star Military Figures OAKP401 – Oathmark Human Infantry cost $1.08 per mini for a box of 30 and includes bow and arrow arms, as well as standards (musician comes in a separate blister).

The final recommendation is the Fireforge Games Medieval Archers, a box of 24 for $1.33 per figure. While they are a little more expensive than the other two options, they are probably the closest match to the Games Workshop figures. Like the other Fireforge recommendation, above, there are no musician or standard options.

Wrap Up

Thank you to everyone who read my first budget Warhammer series and I hope this second one will be as useful. Again, please let me know if the list of Bretonnian units I listed above is incomplete. The next post will finish up the peasant units, covering Mounted Yeoman, Grail Pilgrims, the Grail Reliquae, and a Field Trebuchet.

_{Please note that the photographs provided were not taken by the author, and no copyright is claimed.}