Conquest Games Normans

[Codsticker]

I have had these for quite a while; I bought some Norman Knights and Norman Infantry as part of my kit-bashing 11thC Reconquista project almost 10 years ago now. As part of a project to reduce The Mountain of Shame, I decided to hack together a 4 pt Norman warband for Saga. Here is 1 point of knights:

And a half point of levy archers (the other 6 are under construction):


A few more images on my blog (link).

[OSHIROmodels]

Nice 

[Captain Blood]

The knights are very nice.
Honestly though, I have to say I think the archers are some of the worst figures I’ve ever seen. Not your painting, I hasten to add, which is well done. But the figures themselves... everything about them... the anatomy, the stance, the positions of the arms... wrong.
I bought this set when it came out. Apart from a few of the heads, which are quite characterful, I’ve never been able to use any of the rest of it.

Sorry to rain on your parade - V rude of me. But it really points up that the standard of plastic multipart figure kits is actually very variable. They are not all great. And a few are pretty terrible.
As I say, the Conquest Norman knights are perfectly fine. I just can’t understand how the archers ended up looking like they do

[Codsticker]

Not rude at all Captain- an honest opinion. I do disagree though. Do you have the Norman Infantry set?

[Atheling]

The knights are very nice.

Yeah, I have to agree. The horses especially are very natural looking when compared to some other plastics. I do not include the Perry's in this arithmetic as all their plastic stuff stands head and shoulders above the rest. Nor the latter Victrix stuff, which just keep improving.

Honestly though, I have to say I think the archers are some of the worst figures I’ve ever seen.

Again, I  agree with Richard on this point. The miniatures look bent out of shape and as Richard has said this is in no way a reflection of your brushwork , which is great. The guy at the front of the group looks more like he if offering a "fist bump" than drawing or loosing a bow.

I don't want to stray too OT but, at least in my mind, this seems to be a growing problem in the hobby. Some manufacturers seem to be accepting sub par stuff and releasing it anyway with the knowledge that the market is open enough for the company to make an almost guaranteed profit simply due to the fact that people are willing to pay less for said sub standard product on the grounds that it is cheaper.  We all love cheaper stuff, but I think we we to be holding the manufacturers to a higher standard in many cases. Not a perfect example by any means but I remember the excitement when the Foundry ranges really started to get off the ground and the buzz going around wargames shows at just how fluid and realistic the poses were.

Food for thought methinks.

[Captain Blood]

Not rude at all Captain- an honest opinion. I do disagree though. Do you have the Norman Infantry set?

No, I don’t. I do have their later feudal knights set, which isn’t too bad at all, although I haven’t actually used them yet either.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Great work! I like your color palette.

[Codsticker]

Thank you guys.

Again, I  agree with Richard on this point. The miniatures look bent out of shape and as Richard has said this is in no way a reflection of your brushwork , which is great. The guy at the front of the group looks more like he if offering a "fist bump" than drawing or loosing a bow.

I agree, the hands are poor, and neck design of the heads is a problem. However, the clothing is better sculpted and the detail crisper than in either of their previous 2 kits, the knights and the infantry. I disagree on labelling them the "worst I've ever seen" as I can think of quite a few kits from other manufacturers that I would rate below this kit.

[Sir Walter Rlyeh]

If those archers are the worst sculpts you have ever seen, I'm guessing you don't own any Minifigs puppy. 

[Captain Blood]

If those archers are the worst sculpts you have ever seen, I'm guessing you don't own any Minifigs puppy.

I used to own lots of Minifigs in days of yore. Things have moved on a bit since then though, haven’t they? 

To clarify... as far as the current generation of plastic ‘historicals’ go, these are amongst the worst figures I’ve seen in terms of anatomy and posing.
But as ever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I used to like Minifigs. Especially the second generation ones.

[Atheling]

But as ever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I used to like Minifigs. Especially the second generation ones.

I've still got some somewhere! Humbrol glossed as they are..... methinks they are better off in a box in my loft 

It has to be said, they were great for the time. As a very young man I remember staring at the display cabinet in the Wargamers Den in Durham for hours at a time. My poor Dad used to have to drag me out of the shop 

[Sir Walter Rlyeh]

I just had to bust on you because we have all gotten spoiled!  I seem to remember a wargame book with a how too chapter on converting Airfix American Indians into Roman auxiliaries. 

[Atheling]

I just had to bust on you because we have all gotten spoiled!  I seem to remember a wargame book with a how too chapter on converting Airfix American Indians into Roman auxiliaries.

"Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a corridor! Woulda' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House!? Hmph."

[Storm Wolf]

"Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a corridor! Woulda' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House!? Hmph."

You `ad it easy, I used to get up before we went to bed. We would lick road clean before breakfast of gravel and broken glass!
Aye spoilt I say, spoilt.

[n815e]

Really love your painting on these.