It's not often that I get behind Kickstarter projects but this one is rather special, a chance to be a part of something and with a bit of luck you could get your hands on some really bespoke pieces, so have a look at the fabulous pieces on offer at Oliver's Kickstarter;
There's some dedicated work here, I don't consider these as merely figures but works of a real master craftsman. These are display pieces really, figures that can really enhance your units or merely to have as mini works of art to inspire you.
That's the very reason I'm getting behind this, that feeling of imagining an entirely new unit, army even, on the basis of a figure. The figure on the right from the pair above is just that in appealing to my early Tudor interest. It is very much reminiscent of the 1527 'Genouilhac' armour, the earliest surviving garniture from Henry VIII's Greenwich workshop established 1511.
Its first outing was a joust held on 5 March 1527 when Henry was seen to appear in a 'newe harness all gilte of a strange fashion that had not bene sene' what would later become known as the Greenwich style encapsulating the various Western European influences of the international armourers in Henry's employ. This harness was manufactured by the Almain (German) armourers with the addition of a ventral plate - a feature unique to this workshop; at that time a closely guarded revolutionary W shaped plate worn beneath the cuirass to evenly distribute weight.
That's just one figure that my obsessive niche interest picked out immediately.
Moreover, these are all awe inspiring figures, one could create an impressive Scots or English command for Flodden, there's also a figure with a unique late transition sallet which would be suitable as a knight or a very mean doppelsoldner for your Landsknecht ranks. There's also scope here for an interesting Foot Combat typical of the tournaments of the period.
At this stage there are six miniatures on offer covering - what I consider - the 1500-1530 period with an onus on the early 1500's. Oliver has clearly got very much into the Maximilian style favoured during this period which I imagine is not an easy armour to tackle with green stuff. Perhaps a contributing factor in there being almost nothing on offer to cover dismounted knights of the early Renaissance.
In addition there are further representations of armour in contemporary Western European styles which, within a relatively modest collection perfectly represent this experimental and fluid period of late armour development.
It gets better, at the time of writing half the target has been reached - if successful there's more in progress which I believe will include figures in more static standing poses - just add a pike and your Scots Flodden command is looking rather nice indeed.
Have a look at the Kickstarter link to see more photographs and accompanying design notes.
All the best
Stuart
Just backed it this minute,can't wait...
ReplyDeleteAlan
Should we try Kickstarter for fundraising?
ReplyDeleteAriel photography