"Honk Honk! We are here!" Byron's Helblitzen of Gusseldorf - Rank and File Month (235 pts)

This month's entry is the start to my regiment of halberdiers: the Helblitzen of Güsseldorf. So far they are only 12 strong, but I plan to expand them a bit as the competition goes on. I painted them in the Güsseldorf colors of Blue and Yellow. Their feathers are painted whitish grey to look like goose feathers. 

This regiment's standard bears the Goose of Güsseldorf vigilant, gripping a halberd, and on a blue field. On the reverse the banner has the regimental motto/battlecry "Gack Gack! Wir sind hier!" Translated to English it means "Honk honk! We are here!" embodying the vociferous, aggressive, and sudden presence of Geese on the attack. I had to look up what sounds geese make in German. As we all know animals sound different in each language. Apparently, Bretonnian geese say "Ca car."

This regiment stands out from the other infantry I have sculpted in terms of their poses. The spearmen and bowmen I sculpted have very timid poses. These halberdiers are meant to represent more enthusiastic troops - perhaps mercenaries or a standing army - so they have armor and all have aggressive poses to suggest the unit has an air of élan. Like the other fairytale German models their aesthetic borrows (by which I mean it is an anachronistic mess) primarily from historical illustrations and 19th century children's books.

Finally, there is the wizard, Olbrecht the wanderer. I wanted him to have a sort of Gandalf vibe while also matching the material culture of the other Germans. I painted him in shadowy colors so perhaps he uses some sort of shadow magic? I have a handful of this model from the casters perhaps I should paint up a few in case I want to represent wizards from different disciplines. 

Point totals for February

Halberdiers x12 (9 points each + standard)         117 pts

Wizard Champion                                                 118 pts

Total                                                                      235 pts