Thistle and Rose

15mm Dark Ages

by Rod Burr

The Thistle and The Rose, a new entrant in the miniature figures field, has started with an extensive series of Dark Age and Medieval figures as their first release. The figures are cast by Grenadier Models U.S. for The Thistle and The Rose and the casting quality is quite good. The detail is crisp and there is only a little flash. The alloy used is pliable enough that it should be easy to modify figure positions.

The initial range includes Late Saxons (14 foot), Vikings (18 foot), Normans (19 foot), and Rus (7 foot). Since many of the figures can be used in several of these armies, this allows the gamer an opportunity to field units with a great variety of figures, which is appropriate for these armies. There are also 3 foot with pole arms (WRG's 2HCT class) and 3 crossbowmen for medieval armies. Six mounted Normans and four horses are currently being resculpted. The originals of these were displayed at Historicon but less warmly received than the other figures in the series. Further figures planned for release shortly will include Welsh, Picts, and Scots/Irish.

These figures are intermediate in size between Mike's Models "true" 15mm and Minifigs so called 18mm figures, and could probably be mixed with figures at either end of the range of sizes. They are only slightly larger than the Essex 15mm Vikings and Saxons and should mix with these quite well. While all of these figures appear to be by the same sculptor, there is substantial variation in their proportions. The best of the figures are well proportioned. Many of the figures tend to the stocky side, although less so than most Mike's Models. A few, especially in the Viking range (e.g., V1-V4, V7), suffer from being farto the stocky side with large heads, which gives them the appearance of dwarves. All of the figures appear to have almost no neck. Many of the figures are molded with separate shields and weapons to allow further variety. There is a good variety of poses without any really stiff or static ones.

The price for these figures is $.25 per horse, or foot or mounted figure. They are available from The Thistle and The Rose Miniatures, 3079 Bridgeton Court, Woodbridge, Virginia 22192.

Jamie McLaughlin Fish, the proprietor of The Thistle and The Rose, is compiling a mailing list and would like to receive the following information from gamers interested in being on the list: name, address, phone, preferred armies or period, and permission to release their names to other gamers in their area if they wish it.

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