According to Osprey's 'Armies of Medieval Burgundy' Charles the Bold sought mercenaries in Italy and one Condottiere mentioned by name was Nicola de Monforte, Count of Campobasso.
So my first unit of Italian mercenaries is made up of crossbowmen and handgunners from Campobasso. The unit is a mix of plastic Perry's and old metal 'Marksmen of Miragliano' from GW's Dogs of War. Although the metal figures are a little smaller and fatter than the plastics, they seem to match up well.
I tried to duplicate the arms of Nicola de Monforte on the pavise, however my skills were insufficient to paint the four small red roses in each corner realistically and make look like roses too. So I settled for one larger one in the centre and this one looks more like a four-leaved clover than a five-leaved rose. Crap happens, I suppose.
I converted one plastic figure into a kneeling position to hold the pavise. I know it was done earlier in Flemish, French, Italian and Hungarian armies that one man held the shield with an crossbowman behind him. Maybe no longer in the 1470's but I thought it looked neat none the less. The miniature was converted without any greenstuff or other sorts, just a knife, file and glue.
This metal figure has a simple conversion, he has gotten the plastic handgun and hands from the Perry mercenaries box; perfect fit. The chap next to him is a plastic Perry with an old plastic head from the Mordheim box, fits like a glove.
Next up: another unit of crossbowmen and handgunners, levied from the guilds of Antwerp.
