When the Archbishop of Rouen's cobbled-together army marched to break the Duke of Normandy's siege of Mont Matthias, I sat back and smiled. My medieval painting project was officially complete, and the product of a year and a half's labor was fighting it out on the tabletop.

My friends were kind and "oohed" and "ahhed" over the knights in their panoply. I was especially proud of the leaders. Chipco's "Days of Knights" utilizes separately mounted captains, marshals and kings. This allowed me to indulge in banners and vivid splashes of heraldry. I had decided to paint my medievals as generically as possible, but some of the leaders were outfitted historically. The leaders were the nucleus my semi-historical series of battles would be based upon: A fictional brood of Norman nobles and their internal squabbles, raids and battles.

The two main protagonists are the Archbishop of Rouen -- a none too holy devourer of Ancient Roman tactical treatises -- and the lord of the barony of Garvais, nicknamed "Baron Steel." He epitomizes the cruel, rapacious "robber baron" of late medieval Normandy. This pair of antagonists and their compatriots are the key figures in the battles I have planned.

My 15mm miniatures are a mix of Essex and Rank & File. I love Rank & File's wondrously-varied foot figures. I painted up 16 stands each of their halberdiers and longbowmen. However, I'm not crazy about t heir two piece mounted figures (the lower body is cast onto the horse -- you glue the upper torso atop it). Plus, I think they are simply too larger and fragile. I anticipate the soft metal lances to be frequent casualties. Essex fills this gap nicely, though. Their huge line of medievals allows me to mix and match, ensuring variety. I also used Essex's crossbowmen. Rank & File's has a massive patch of flash on the weapons themselves, and I didn't want to be bothered doing major retrimming of 48 figures.

Changes to The Herald

You may have noticed this issue feels a little thinner. I have dropped down to 40 pages for a number of reasons. At 48 pages, I pretty much use up all the articles submitted. I'd like to build up a bit of a reserve, and this may enable me to do it. Also, it may lessen my work load a tad, which a deadline time, is fairly substantial. I get some of the lost space back, though, by reducing the "Clubs" and "Down at the Hobby Store" sections to 9 point type. Feel free to e-mail me if you feel strongly about any of the changes. Maybe I'll change back.