First, the horses. From the left
Legio Heroica, Essex, Mirliton, Black Hat, Alain Touller.
The Touller horses have been redesigned since I bought mine and I haven't seen them.
Again, from the left
Legio Heroica, Essex, Mirliton, Black Hat, Touller
The Black Hat knights aren't quite as versatile as their infantry, being noticeably smaller than other ranges. The Legio figures are a bit taller but it is their bulk which makes them stand out next to other figures. Their shields are just about identical in size to the ones from Mirliton though a little thicker. The Mirliton figure is one of the later ones in this range. Some of the earlier ones are a little smaller though not so much that it couldn't be natural variation. The Essex figure is one of their Spanish range wearing obsolete gear for the mid- to late-13th century.
From some pictures I've seen elsewhere, the Old Glory 'Crusader' range is a pretty good match for size and build of the Mirliton figures. Most of this range carry heater shields more typical of the mid 13th century than the 3rd Crusade. The ones in the 'Holy Order' range have larger shields which are of an earlier form though still more early 13th than late 12th century. The range seems to have a mix of early 13th century 'face mask' helms and mid century full helms. Both of these were found earlier, but full helms in particular seem to have been extremely uncommon pre-1200 and not predominant for another generation or more. The Old Glory figures also have most of the knights on barded horses which were probably uncommon before 1200.
I've used Mirliton figures for my Italians as well as French and German forces which are in progress. I used Touller figures for the Spanish. My current project is a Feudal English army of roughly the time of Simon de Montfort. I've had the urge for a while to paint a few figures bearing the arms of the nobility who held lands close to where I live. I've found even more information than I hoped and so now I shall do a whole army. About a dozen figures done so far so watch this space.
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7 comments:
How easy are the figs to work with if one wishes to adjust a figure's pose? I'm a big fan of the soft alloy used by Essex. It's a breeze to move an arm of a Essex figure or to cut off a piece of the figure.
Hi Rune
Which company's figures?
I don't think any of them are particularly harder to bend than Essex, though Legio's certainly seem heavier! Touller are perhaps even easier to bend.
The figures from LH, Black Hat & Alain Touller. I know Mirliton which is harder, more brittle metal than Essex. BTW is Mirliton's shields approbiate? They are rather large compared with other companies. Very nice if one wants to paint a quartered heraldic design, but still ... big.
I think the Mirliton (and LH, which are very similar) shields are fine. If they are a shade too big, it doesn't hurt the aesthetics - and as you say it makes the heraldry easier!
I've slightly bent a couple of LH arms and it was okay.
I've had a look at Armies of Feudal Europe. I'd say the LH and Mirliton shields are pretty much spot on for the mid-13th century, covering roughly neck to groin and virtually shoulder width. Going by this book and the source material in David Nicolle's "Arms and Armour of the Crusdaing Era" it looks like heater shields became a bit smaller towards the end of the 13th.
Do you think Alain Touller Feudal Spanish knight mix well with Essex Spanish and Mirliton Communal? And the infantry..for example almughavars from Essex and Touller and Mirliton communal Infantry?
I think the Mirliton and Touller figures go together well although the different types of shields would be noticeable. If I was doing these now I would probably mix Touller with Donnington who have recently released Spanish of the same era.
I don't have any Touller Almughavars to compare with Essex's but I think they might be a bit bigger. The Essex figures have very active poses which might not work well with the Mirliton figures. Eureka's almughavars are very varied but also quite expensive. They would also probably mix with Donnington.
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