Renaissance Miniatures

The Assault Group comes through again! Italian Elmetti...

2011-10-13T19:53:00.001-07:00

...straight from period artwork.

Pictures pulled from the web...

2011-10-13T19:24:00.000-07:00

...not my stuff. If I knew who created these photos, Igive proper credit. They are from the Old Glory 25mm Wars of Religion Range from the period of the French Wars of Religion.

Miscellaneous Comparisons

2011-10-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

These are some comparison photos/scans I took over the past couple of years and posted on The Miniatures Page. I believe they are self-explanatory.

Comparisons pulled off the web ...

2009-02-15T16:51:00.000-08:00

The Antagonists: Francis I and Charles V.

2008-01-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

For decades, Francis I, King of France, and Charles V, The Holy Roman Emperor, competed for control and domination of Italy and various regions bordering their realms. Redoubt Enterprises produced two sets depicting these leaders as they appeared in the latter phases of these wars. Code RX25 contains Francis I and an attendant dressed in armor with tabard and holding a lance. Francis is mounted holds a mace as depicted in the painting to the right. Code RX26 is the Emperor Charles V. He, too, has an attendant that is dressed in a "Landsknecht" style dress with a large floppy hat and wearing a tabard. The Charles figure is mounted and seems to be based on the painting on the left.

I was pleasantly surprised by the detail and quality of the sculpts. Every aspect, from the seemingly correct anatomical proportions of all the figures, to the details of the armor, horse barding and trappings, to the facial features. These figures are nothing short of marvelous.

Gli Stradiotti (The Stradiots) (28mm)

2008-01-04T17:21:00.000-08:00

Next among the cavalry are the stradiots, introduced into Italy by the Venetians probably sometime in the 1470s probably to counter Turkish raids into the Friuli region. The French Memoirist, Philip de Commines described them:

These Estradiots are of the same nature as the Genetaires; they are attired like Turks both on horse and on foot, except they wear no turbans on their heads. They are a rugged people, couched all the year round on their horses. They were all Greeks, coming from places possessed by the Venetians, some from Napoli di Romagna [Nauplion], others from Albania at Durrazzo, and their horses are good and are all from Turkey...

The Redoubt figure comes with detached arm so that it can be posed in a variety of positions. All figures are empty-handed, so that any of the many weapons that the Stradiots carried can be used. Only the Connoisseur figure comes with shield attached. I prefer them detached, but the Connoisseur figure is rather nice. My least favorite is the Old Glory figure, mostly because of the horse.

Early 16th Century Landsknecht Pikemen (28mm)

2007-12-29T13:01:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I do not have Foundry pikemen, and the Old Glory pikeman is in a lower pose than the others. These figures are fairly compatible in overall size and appearance, although the Essex landsknecht is a bit thinner than the rest, and the Mirliton seems a little taller. If used in the same units, they should mix well, especially given the greatly varied appearance of the landsknecht soldier. The only real consideration is the poses. All the Old Glory pike are in the advancing pose with pikes held at approximately a 45 degree angle, for example, whereas most of the Mirliton have their pikes at the level.

I especially like the Old Glory landsknechts. I think the poses are well suited for the tabletop (no pikes scratching paint off charging gendarmes!), and the costumes are very varied. A nice mix. The Essex figures are crisp and detailed enough, and would fit in with the Old Glory figures.

Early 16th Century Landsknecht Arquebusiers (28mm)

2007-12-29T08:12:00.000-08:00

The samples of Landsknecht Arquebusiers from Old Glory, Foundry, Mirliton, and Essex seem compatible in height and "thickness." Unfortunately, I do not have an arquebusier from Redoubt or Connoisseur--although I have other figures from those lines, so an "educated guess" as to compatibility of those figures with the aforementioned lines can be made.

Early 16th Century Gendarme Horses (28mm)

2007-12-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

And, now for the horses. The Redoubt and Foundry horses look like "Clydesdale" horses as compared to Eureka, Connoisseur and the others. I think that many of these could be used together in the same units, but the different "thicknesses" and some height differences might be a bit too much.

Early 16th Century Gendarmes (28mm)

2007-12-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

Riders first! The photo shows some of the samples I've gathered over the past four years or so. They are "straight out of the bag (or blister)" so to speak. The Eureka Gendarme is from the recent 100 Club production and appears in its unassembled state (i.e., no weapon arm attached). The riders, in my opinion, would basically mix fairly well together, if not always in the same units, then certainly on the same game table. Interestingly, it's the horse size variation that may cause "mixing" problems. (Horses will be next).

Another Day, Another Blog...

2007-12-28T06:42:00.001-08:00

There seems to be a proliferation of wargame related blogs these days, so I thought I'd join the fray. What I intend to accomplish with this blog is a cataloging and a photographic comparison of Renaissance Miniatures currently available on the market. Every effort will be made to classify the miniatures according to time frame (e.g., mid to late 15th Century, early 16th Century) and scale (or size). "Early 16th Century", for instance, roughly corresponds to the first quarter of that century. Since I collect miniatures in 15mm and 28mm, I will focus on those sizes.

I intend to cover the mid-15th Century through the early 17th Century, roughly from the end of the Hundred Years War and The Fall of Constantinople through the French Wars of Religion, with the so-called Condottieri Wars of the 15th Century and the Great Italian Wars of the late 15th through the mid-16th Century as my primary focus.