Mirliton

25mm Cavaleieri Italiani
1250-1300

by Chris Parker

This package contains 4 different Italian riders and horses circa A.D. 1250. Horses are a mix of cloth and mail caparisons (horse armor.) Riders are all in mail covered by a cloth Surcoat.

Riders come with separate heads and weapons for a wide variety of figures. One head is a great bishop. Weapons and shields are mostly separate. Detail is crisp and raised which will allow for wash style painting techniques as well as easy dry brushing.

The right weapon arm on most of the figures is at an angle to the body that forces weapons to held up in the air. I find this sort of pose subjects the figure to a lot of damage from handling. Weapons in the air tend to break or bend easily. The saddle is part of the rider body, this in itself is not a bad thing however there is a huge chunk of the horse cut out where the saddle should go. The merger of the saddle portion of the figure to the horse is imperfect and it leaves a noticeable gap that will need to be filled with putty. Lances are made of lead and bend easily, in fact they arrive bent. Wire would have been better.

I matched these figures side by side with a 25mm Old Glory Crusader and an Essex mounted knight. The Essex rider is just a bit rounder than the others but all four makes will mix well together on the same base so inclusion in the same army is a given. The figures measure 29M on the Barrett Scale, considering that the measurement was made on a figure designed for horseback, the standing figure would be taller if all was kept in proportion! Available fromMiriliton USA, 3435 Westervelt Ave., Baton Rouge LA 70820; www.home.bellsouth.net/personalpages/PWP-mirilitonusa

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