Essex

25mm Byzantines

reviewed by Lance McKenzie

Essex Miniatures has added yet another range to an ever growing line of 25mm ancient and medieval figures with these being some of the nicest to date! This just released range consists of Nikephorian/Thematic Byzantines. The range is quite extensive and includes a mounted general, a Klibanophoroi lancer and rear rank archer, a Tagmatic lancer and rear rank archer, a Thematic lancer and archer, a Trapezitoi, two Varangian guardsmen, a front rank Skutatoi, a second rank Skutatoi, and a Skutatoi archer, an infantry officer, a Psiloi archer, crossbowman, and slinger/ javelinman, and a Greek Fire suponeer. In addition, there are three new horses, one half and two fully armoured. My personal favorites were the Klibanophoros and the infantry officer, while the Skutatoi archer was my least favorite.

As with most figures, there are good and bad points. The drawbacks to these figures result primarily from the large size of the foot and rider figures when compared to other "25mm" troops. This makes them incompatible with many of the lines currently available from other manufacturers, although the horses may be an exception to this. The size of the figures is accentuated by their stockiness, and by the slightly overlarge faces and heads, although the large faces do lend them a good deal of character. The above mentioned drawbacks are offset by the many good points inherent in these figures.

The detail is the best yet from Essex with, for example, the individual links of chainmail being brought out. The metal quality is excellent, and there is a lot of metal for the money. Also, the molding is superb as I had to look closely to find mold lines on the Skutatoi shields. Incidentally, the shields are cast separately from the figures in most examples. Large size has been mentioned as a detriment, but it can be deemed as an asset as it adds greatly to paintability, and for those players with big egos here are the figures for you! it should be mentioned that this group of figures when combined with other Essex figures, such as the Rus spearman or Pechineg horse archer, makes a very complete range.

This is a major strong point, and therefore if the size does not bother you, the Essex Byzantines are highly recommended. Ratings: Detail, 0.9; Paintability, 0.9; Animation, 0.7; Anatomy, 0.7; Casting, 0.9; Total, 4.0 out of a possible 5.0.

More Reviews

Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. V #2
To Courier List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1984 by The Courier Publishing Company.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com