Normans - a slow project

[Cubs]

I've been really interested in the Normans lately, specifically the de Hautevilles in Italy and on the First Crusade. I can't remember what first started me off on this latest jaunt but I have been devouring various titles (including some I'd already read, but now enjoying understanding the various participants in better context) and then remembered I had some old Citadel Normans knocking about on my shelf doing nothing.

So, here's part one of their journey to … well, perhaps just another cul-de-sac project, or perhaps something a little more long term, who knows.

First off, the poor fellas were all missing their shields and the leader (I think of him as the leader, he's certainly posing in management style) was missing his weapon. I decided to give him an axe from a Viking sprue and then ran into the problem of the shields. I could have bought shields I know, or used round ones from my Viking sprue, but I decided it would be more fun to make them. They're thin Forex plasticard - a light, almost spongy type of plastic sheet used in signage. It's great stuff if you can beg a company who is throwing out their old signs after an expired promotion and is really easy to cut, sand and paint. I cut to shape with a craft knife and sanded to smooth out, keeping them rimless. A hole was cut for the bosses, then the backs of the shield got their detailing - a greenstuff square pad and then card straps after they were glued on the arms. It was pretty fiddly and the back of the spearman's shield got minimal detailing because it was hard to get to, but I do like the effect so far and think they'll paint up really nicely.

[Belisarius]

The Normans are an excellent army to collect as they fit into so many different lists . Norman  obviously, Saxon , Early Crusades , Later Crusades as Sergeants , Sicilian Norman , Spanish , Early French ect . Just a few off the top of my head. 

[Cubs]

Yeah, I have a smattering of Perry Hospitallers with very Norman-like kit, so they should fit in rather well as armed dudes lacking the most up-to-date kit.

[gostgost]

Glad to see some one else makes straps for shields!

[Cubs]

Glad to see some one else makes straps for shields!

In fairness I don't always bother, but since I was making them from scratch and they're just for me (plus that leader dude is deliberately showing the back of the shield) … I thought yeah, time well spent.

[Orctrader]

I like those.   

[rumacara]

Will follow with interest. Nice shields.

Did you read Jack Ludlow series Mercenaries?
Its about the Hauteville family.

[Cubs]

Will follow with interest. Nice shields.

Did you read Jack Ludlow series Mercenaries?
Its about the Hauteville family.

Yes! Now I'm embarking on both volumes of 'The Normans in Sicily' by John Julius Norwich. It's a hefty tome (it's both volumes in a single paperback copy) and goes for a hefty wedge when new, but I got a 2nd hand copy on eBay for a fiver, so I'm merrily grinding my way through it. It's actually a light read, aimed very much for entertaining education, but it's physically damn heavy to lift!

[rumacara]

I have to check  'The Normans in Sicily' by John Julius Norwich.
If you have other interesting tittles do please recomend.
I have almost nothing here in Portugal.

[Cubs]

I first read about the De Hauteville boys - in this case Bohemond and his nephew Tancred - in books about the First Crusade (first the BBC book with Terry Jones and then more in depth ones such as Thomas Asbridge's). It was great to be able to find their backstory and see how their family reshaped Italy and had such an enormous impact on history, fighting their way from relatively humble beginnings and obscurity in Normandy, to mercenaries, then warlords, then Princes. As JJ Norwich says, it's almost unbelieveable that such an important and influential family should have so little attention in (English language) historical literature.

[armchairgeneral]

Really enjoyed reading John Julius Norwich’s books on the Normans in Sicily. He has the knack of turning the most complex historical issues into an enthralling and readable narrative.

I came across these books after reading his outstanding history of the Byzantine empire.

[Cubs]

Here we go, they're done. What lovely sculpts, they really do make it a doddle to paint them; the faces are so full of expression and the crisp detailing is a delight. I hope I get the time to keep going with this project, because it was lots of fun. The shields were hard work (front and back) but probably time well spent at the end of the day. All things considered, next time I might well keep the shields flat-faced without a boss and use a transfer.








 

[OSHIROmodels]

Corking 

[Captain Blood]

Tasty Cubs, very tasty 

[armchairgeneral]

Very nice indeed