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Defensive Stakes for Your Bretonnian Bowmen.

There can be two reasons to add defensive stakes to your archers. 

There can be two reasons to add defensive stakes to your archers.

1- You have archer models from previous game editions and you need defensive stakes to play them.

2- You want to field archers using a frontage of 5 or 10 models and the stakes sold in the Bretonnian Archer box only cover 4 men , and two sets of them only cover 8 models.

Click here... ..to enlarge.

Take a small piece of balsa wood 5mm thick. Size it to the dimensions you need. I have made two pieces 10cm long and 2 cm wide. In that way, if I deploy the archers on a hill, I'll use only one of them.

After you've cut the base, mark the points where you're going to glue the stakes. ( Post construction comment: I suggest you put the stakes at the backedge of the base. This will compensate for the weight of the wooden sticks moving the balance point back toward the center of the base and then the stakes will not want to fall ahead).

Go in any garden or park with trees and look for very small and straight sticks, like the one below.

Choose sticks of the right length. The official GW ones are 5cm long, like a cavalry base.

Now it is time to make pointed stick from a simple twig. Use a utility knife.

The official GW stakes have a 30° angle from the ground. It's a good idea to make a reference sheet using a protractor to mark the exact point.

Use the reference sheet to angle the sticks and then glue them on the balsa base.

I've used vinyl glue, since it is perfect to attach wood. I've also added some small pebbles to make the back of the stakes heavier so they will not fall ahead all the time.

To make the stake very similar to the GW one I've added small chains, which you can find easely in any modelling hobby store. The rings around the stake are made with greenstuff and they are useful to help attach the chains although a drop of super-glue helps also.

I've also added to fill the base some scenographic elements like a Knight's helm, a goblin shield and some arrows.

Now you can prime the stakes to paint the base and the scenographic elements. The other main reason is to protect the wood from deteriorating with the passage of time.

I've painted the stake's bark with dark brown and then I've done a drybrush with medium brown. The carved wood is light brown with a Yellow+Brown highlight. The small rocks have been painted dark grey with a light grey drybrush, while the chains are gunmetal with black wash/ink and a silver highlight. Synthetic grass was added on the open areas of the base.

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