Long promised and at last they are here. Wargames Atlantic has released their Conquistador and Renaissance Cavalry boxes. I picked up mine from Michigan Toy Soldier the day after they came in (I have been waited for these for some time now). These kits share a lot of common parts so I'm going to combine the reviews. As usual they are molded in a medium hardness gray plastic that exhibits no flash and minimal mold-lines. All the sprues have excellent detail and crisp lines. The anatomy of the riders, horse and dogs (yes dogs!) is excellent, natural and realistic, no wild gymnastic poses and the horses display a powerful look (as one would expect from a horse carrying a man in plate armor). All-in-all this is top-notch stuff!
Renaissance Heavy Cavalry These minis will cover the period of 1525 through the 1600's. They can be assembled as Demi-Lancer (lance-armed heavy cavalry) or as Reiters (armored cavalry whose main function was to provide pistol fire before charging with sword in hand). This set comes with the option of providing the mounts with armor if desired. Armor was used less as time passed due to the increasing effectiveness of firearms. The set comes with the option of a completely un-armored horse as well.
box front
back of the box, some nicely painted minis give painting ideas
the box with contents
there is a comprehensive set of choices as to posing your minis; pistol at the ready or presented for fire, sword shouldered or being wielded, and a lance, there is also a good selection of arms either armored or shirt-sleeves
sprue side B
all the riders wear back and breastplates with tassets for leg protection
horse trapping are separate items and the horse sprue has the heads without armor
pistols, you can easily spot the difference between the match-lock and wheel-lock guns
the riders are crisply detailed,
the buckles holding the tassets are clear and the lace-ruffed collar is a nice touch
Conquistador Cavalry
box front
back of the box, more assembly and painting ideas
box with contents
the Conquistador body sprue, side A
these figures wear the padded armor which was both lighter and cooler in a tropical environment
side B
These are not limited to use in the Americas, Spain's long-running effort to free Iberia from the Muslim invaders saw widespread use of lighter cavalry such as these, as did conflicts in Italy and the Balkans
The Horses I was happy to see that Wargames Atlantic had used their heavier horses sculpt to provide the horses in this set. Not only are more powerful horses appropriate for the period I delight in having a wider set of choices when assembling my minis. These are large, powerful-looking horses with deeply sculpted muscles, they will reward speed-painting and will look even better if carefully shaded and highlighted. The provision of the saddle and other additional equipment as separate parts opens up the use of these figures over a very wide time-period
sprue, side A
sprue, side B
the armored heads from the Renaissance cavalry set
the heads are excellent
The quality of the sculpting get better with each set
Dogs, Heads and Shields Another sprue shared between the sets is the provision of heads, shields, saddles and fighting mastiffs together on a sprue. As usual you have a superabundance of heads in many styles wearing helmets that vary from simple chapeaux-de-fer to fully enclosed burgonets. The shields will be of use to Conquistadors or light cavalry in the Mediterranean area. Wardogs were a common feature on late Medieval or Renaissance battles, they were useful for running under pike arrays and closing rapidly with opposing skirmishers. They were usually about the size of a modern Rottweiler
side A
disappointingly the backs of the shields are blank
side B
but there are loads of heads and spare swords
the war-dogs look powerful and pugnacious
and the faces are good enough to set of the facial recognition software on my camera
the burgonet helmets look menacing
This is an excellent pair of issues. They best part is that the parts will easily mix and match between the sets to provide even wider variety. With a little work you can assemble cavalry for just about any army in Western Europe or the Americas in the period of 1525 to about 1620. The quality of the sculpting in both sets is superlative. I heartily recommend these to anyone even remotely interested in the period.
Very Highly Recommended!
what a gorgeous looking box set
ReplyDelete