Early 1500's - Spanish Expedition

 

My 8th diorama in 28mm depicts a Spanish expedition, somewhere in the New World, early 1500's. Perhaps Francisco Pizarro, Hernando de Soto or Vázquez de Coronado.

I have used lots of bits and pieces from Perry Miniatures, Steelfist Miniatures, The Assault Group, Warlord Games, Wargames Atlantic, Artizan Designs and Bicorne. I have sculpted some things aswell with green stuff.

Francisco Pizarro explored Peru and conquered the Incan Empire in 1532. The small force consisted of only 168 soldiers, 62 of them on horseback. Sebastián de Belalcázar joined with 30 men and Hernando de Soto brought around 100 volunteers. He served as one of the captains, along with Pizarro's younger brothers Juan, Hernando and Gonzalo.

The conquest led to spin-off campaigns into present-day Chile and Colombia, as well as expeditions to the Amazon Basin and surrounding rainforest.

Later Hernando de Soto would explore vast parts of southern United States between 1539 and 1542, venturing into Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North-and South Carolina, Mississippi and Arkansas.

At the same time another big expedition was led by Vázquez de Coronado. Between 1540 and 1542 he explored southwestern United States, beginning with northern Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. His expedition marked the first European sightings of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, among other landmarks.

I hope I have managed to capture the true look and atmosphere of the time.

At the end are several amazing pieces of art that I have used as inspiration.

 

 

Art by Augusto Ferrer Dalmau.

Art by Marek Szyszko.

Art by Giuseppe Rava.

Art by Luis Armando Alarcón.

Art by Luis Armando Alarcón.

Art by Giorgio Albertini.

Art by Michel Saez.

1520's - Spanish artillery (28mm Diorama)

My 7th diorama in 28mm. It depicts Spanish artillery in the early 1500's, perhaps during the conquest of Mexico.

I did lots of conversions and sculpting with ''green stuff'' to get the correct look for the conquistadores that I had in mind. Bits from different brands such as: Perry Miniatures, The Assault Group, Artizan Design, Steelfist Miniatures, Eureka Miniatures and Warlord Games. I decided to use the artillery from Perry and Eureka Miniatures, since I liked them the most.

We know that Hernán Cortés's expedition in 1519 had a total of 14 artillery pieces at the beginning. The chronicles cite a variety of cannon during the conquest, with emphasis on bronze cast guns, most of them low caliber. There was a rapid technological development for gunpowder weapons and artillery at the beginning of the 16th century, with cannons becoming larger and heavier with each passing decade.

However, big pieces were unwieldy and expensive to ship to America. Therefore, slightly smaller, light guns were used instead. Older variants from the 15th century were still being reused well into the 16th century. With names such as bombards/lombards, pasabolantes, falconets and culverins, scholars still debate their sizes and calibers.

The bombard was the oldest type of artillery piece of those mentioned and could be made of iron or bronze, and consisted of a carriage that could be of various types (including the carriage with wheels, with greater mobility). The late medieval cannon, such as the aformentioned bombard, was a breech-loading piece. This meant that it was loaded at the rear with a ready charge of gunpowder, filled in a kind of cylinder. Cannonballs were rolled in as usual at the front. The cylinder was then wedged with a block and hammer which would cause a tight pressure. More modern, muzzle-loading types in bronze were also used, such as the culverin.

Still, the standard ordnance on most campaigns was a breech-loading cannon called a falconet. Usually mounted on the topside rails of ships to repel boarders, they were transported inland and remounted on new carriages or timber scaffolds.

Cannons were generally difficult to use in the tropical climate and unwieldy to transport over the difficult terrain of the New World. But once the conquistadors used the full force of their artillery against tightly packed armies of Aztecs, Mayans or Incas, the results were devastating. Loaded with scrap or grapeshot transformed them into huge "shotguns" with terrible effect. The sound they produced seldom failed to terrify indigenous peoples who associated such weapons with the supernatural forces of thunder, lightning and volcanic eruptions.

Worth remembering is that the Spanish were usually outnumbered - only a few hundred, surrounded by thousands of enemies. In that way, the technological advantage was extremely important. Weapons and armor in steel, crossbows and arquebuses, cannons, horses and wardogs.

Witness accounts written by the likes of Bernal Diaz and others describe the challenges of keeping a massed enemy at a distance. Guns could inflict horrifying damage on vastly superior numbers, but they took a great deal of time to prepare, load and fire. Crossbowmen were ideal for providing cover for the gunners. While the artillery and arquebuses fired and reloaded, the crossbowmen stepped in and shot their bolts, while soldiers equipped with swords and shields protected against the rain of projectiles or dealt with the occasional enemy who came too close to the line.

The majority of the Spanish conquistadores were equipped with swords and round shields called "rodelas". Also the typical heart-shaped leather shields, so-called "adargas", were popular and originally came from the Moors of North Africa. Some of the individuals who participated in the conquest of Central and South America were veterans of the Italian Wars (1494-1559). But most were of low-nobility or ordinary workers and artisans seeking to find success, honor and wealth.

 

 

Lombard. Art by Adam Hook.

Bombard.

Culverin.

Falconet.

1521 - The last stand of Magellan (28mm Diorama)

My 6th diorama from 2023 depicts the defeat of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew.

Ferdinand Magellan organized and launched the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe, from 1519 to 1522. The expedition consisted of 5 ships: Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Santiago and lastly Victoria - the only ship which completed the journey and made it back to Spain, under the command of Juan Sebastián Elcano.

The crew numbered around 270 men, mainly Spaniards, but also 40 Portuguese. Members of other nations were also recorded, including 29 Italians, 17 French, and a smaller number of Flemish, Greek, Irish, English, Asian, and black sailors. Counted among the Spanish crew members were at least 29 Basques (including Juan Sebastián Elcano), some of whom did not speak Spanish fluently.

In 1521 Magellan reached portions of the Philippine islands, which he named the ''Islas de San Lazaro'' and claimed for the Spanish crown and promptly got involved in the rivalries of local chieftains. He had managed to secure the allegiance or submission of these chiefs, the most important being Rajah Humabon of Cebu. One chief did not submit: Lapu Lapu.

The battle of Mactan took place in the archipelago of the Philippines on April 27, 1521. The indigenous warriors under the chieftain Lapu Lapu overpowered and killed Magellan and 8 of his men. The small Spanish force, retreated in disordered panic to the ships and left the islands.

Thanks to the Italian chronicler Antonio Pigafetta's eyewitness account, the events of the battle have been preserved. Magellan fervently believed that his men were so superior to the natives that he only deployed 49 of his crew to face off against a force of 1,500 enraged natives. He was so confident that he refused the help of his allies, Rajah Humabon and Datu Zula, and asked them to just observe the battle.

According to Pigafetta, they arrived at the distant shores of Mactan three hours before sunrise. Magellan sent a message to the natives saying that if they still refused to recognize the Spanish king and pay them tribute, they would demonstrate how effective their swords and armour were.

The boats of the Europeans were unable to approach the shore, supposedly because of rocks or corals in the water, which also prevented the large ships from supporting Magellan with their artillery. When the sun rose in the morning Magellan and his men left their boats, leaving 11 men behind. They had to wade "three crossbow flights" with water up to their thighs before they could reach the shore.

Magellan divided his small force into two and ordered his men to engage the local warriors with their arquebuses and crossbows. However, the missiles had little appreciable effect since the local fighters were at the extreme range of the Europeans' projectiles. Furthermore, Lapu Lapu's warriors dodged the bullets and crossbow bolts with great dexterity. Apparently, the shields of the warriors of Mactan were made of light materials and were easily pierced by the European missiles, but this had no effect on the warrior wielding the shield. Despite his best efforts, Magellan was unable to stop his men from wasting their bullets and gunpowder, and the Europeans kept up their missile fire for almost half an hour. In response, Lapu Lapu's warriors subjected the Europeans to a heavy and demoralizing barrage of arrows, spears, fire-hardened sticks, and even stones.

Magellan was hit by an arrow and called for an orderly withdrawal. Though his men were so shaken and demoralized that they beat a hasty and undisciplined retreat, abandoning Magellan with just 6 or 8 men. Magellan tried to cover his army's retreat with his remaining men.

Antonio Pigaffeta recounts:

''When they saw us, they charged down upon us with exceeding loud cries, two divisions on our flanks and the other on our front.

The natives shot only at our legs, for the latter were bare; and so many were the spears and stones that they hurled at us, that we could offer no resistance. We continued to retire from the shore always fighting up to our knees in the water. The natives continued to pursue us, and picking up the same spear four or six times, hurled it at us again and again.

One of them wounded Magellan on the left leg with a large cutlass, which resembles a scimitar, only being larger. That caused the captain to fall face downward, when immediately they rushed upon him with iron and bamboo spears and with their cutlasses, until they killed our mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true guide.''

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Many different brands of miniatures has been used for this diorama. Bits and pieces from TAG, Steelfist, Perry, Warlord Games, Artizan Designs, Wargames Atlantic and 1st Corps.

Since there are no Philippine warriors available on the market, I had to create them myself. I used Zulu warrior bits from Perry and Warlords Games, combining them with 1st Corps Burmese/Thai warriors and some Sudanese Tribesmen, also from Perry miniatures.

In the end are some inspirational pictures.

 

Art by Marek Szyszko.

Art by Oliver Frey.

Art by Neil C. Defeo.