Back to the Crusades- Putty Out! horse Caparisons!

[Atheling]

The putty work was started on this particular miniature well over five years ago and was only recently rediscovered after trawling through a pile of stuff in my bits box! How a mini with delicate putty work ended up in my bits box is a mystery to me. Perhaps I was very hasty in my flight from my previous property? ;>) [Joke]

As soon as I caught sight of the half caparisoned horse and the Perry Miniatures First Crusade Knights sitting in the box it all cam flooding back to me! The Hospitallers, unable to take the withering arrow directed at Richard I's lines finally breaking ranks and hurling themselves at their Muslim foes at Battle of Arsuf! That is what has initially inspired to do the conversions. Then came my four or five year hiatus away from wargaming and the project, neglected was put away- not very carefully I might add!

Regular readers of my blog will know that last November I had started an 11th Century Spanish Reconquista project with a view to putting it on Zalaka/Sagrajas at Partizan that year.  The plans like so many of us had, were scuppered by the arrival of Covid. The project was shelved, which was a real shame as my "Rule of Threes" had kept all my projects running, if not quite on target then at the very least with satisfying consistency. I've made the decision to resurrect the Arsuf project as I will be able to use all the Spanish Muslim units. Also with the new Victrix Normans on the near horizon (see bottom of page for the Victrix pictures) it was high time that I pulled out the putty again and started practising again. Granted, with the Perry Horses being metal the going is more difficult; there is quite a lot of filing which needs to be done to make way for the putty, especially on the head but if I can finish a unit of twelve in time for the Victrix releases I will hopefully have garnered enough skill to keep my enthusiasm on par.

The caparison is a little rough and ready but I am not going to let that put me off. Already the lessons passed on to me by John Morris of Mystic Spirals fame vie the Lead Adventure Forum have been reabsorbed. I have finished the modelling for the shoulder, back, loin and docks of the horse and now have to tackle the rather more fiddly head. I think I have achieved a reasonably smooth surface which is half the battle. I've made a couple of rudimentary mistakes, for example, the horses tail should technically be covered by the caparison but overall, I'm happy with my first serious attempts in five years.









The Victrix Normans:

[Roo]

Good start mon ami

[Atheling]

Good start mon ami

Thanks Roo. 

I've resized the pictures to give a more favourable view of my meagre sculpting skills 

[Captain Blood]

It looks good to me Darrell.
It may be historically ‘correct’ for the caparison to cover the tail, but a tailless horse always looks weird and unbalanced, so I’d go with ‘tails out’ as you have here

[James Morris]

Looking good so far! 

Like you, I am eagerly awaiting the Victrix Normans. Not quite sure what to do with them, but they do look awesome.

[Atheling]

It looks good to me Darrell.
It may be historically ‘correct’ for the caparison to cover the tail, but a tailless horse always looks weird and unbalanced, so I’d go with ‘tails out’ as you have here

Thanks Richard.

I'm kind of stuck between the two  I'm just going to keep banging them out bit by bit and see what looks the most convincing.

Looking good so far! 

Like you, I am eagerly awaiting the Victrix Normans. Not quite sure what to do with them, but they do look awesome.

I have a sneaky feeling that your huge collection of 11th CE Spanish stuff will be be added to James!!  

I do hope so! 

[OB]

I think you got a nice sense of movement there.

[Atheling]

I think you got a nice sense of movement there.

Thanks. I'm now trying to work out whether I should fill in the gaps in the caparison- like a real sculptor would  (I can dream  )

[HappyChappy439]

The sculpting's turned out honestly really impressive! Keep up the great work!

[janner]

Whilst true that surviving evidence indicates that the tail was normally covered, exceptions do exists, such as illustrated on the seal of Renaud of Trie dated to 1237.

As an aside, the claim made by Ambroise that the Hospitallers lost control at Arsuf is not, in my opinion, safe. Aside from the linked account in the Itinerarium, it runs contrary to other Latin or Muslim sources - including eyewitness accounts.

[Atheling]

The sculpting's turned out honestly really impressive! Keep up the great work!

Cheers Happychappy. It's the horses head and the surcoat on the kniggets that are worrying me as the putty will have to be quite thin and thus more difficult, at least for me, to work with.

Whilst true that surviving evidence indicates that the tail was normally covered, exceptions do exists, such as illustrated on the seal of Renaud of Trie dated to 1237.

Yeah, it appears both were on the table. It's also true that not that many horses belonging to the upper echelons of society in 1191 would have been caparisoned. I think in wargames rules we often get a little bit confused between what a caparison, primarily (though not exclusively) to show off the heraldic arms/order of the bearer is and what a bard is, protection. If you cast your mind back WAB was one of the prime culprits, getting a benefit against even short range missile fire from having "cloth barding"

As an aside, the claim made by Ambroise that the Hospitallers lost control at Arsuf is not, in my opinion, safe. Aside from the linked account in the Itinerarium, it runs contrary to other Latin or Muslim sources - including eyewitness accounts.

I'll have to look that up. I'm not surprised that the Muslim accounts differ from that of the "Franks". And visa versa. Also, 829 years is a long time to lose information.

[janner]

Yeah, it appears both were on the table. It's also true that not that many horses belonging to the upper echelons of society in 1191 would have been caparisoned. I think in wargames rules we often get a little bit confused between what a caparison, primarily (though not exclusively) to show off the heraldic arms/order of the bearer is and what a bard is, protection. If you cast your mind back WAB was one of the prime culprits, getting a benefit against even short range missile fire from having "cloth barding"

Yes, it is challenging to determine when ‘trappings’ turn into a meaningful form of protection and deserving to be treated as barding. Then, in the late 12thC, we have knotty issue of who might have carried their own arms, whether familial variations were widespread, and that members of retinues that may have carried the arms of their lord (or a variation of them on their shields) etc.

I'll have to look that up. I'm not surprised that the Muslim accounts differ from that of the "Franks". And visa versa. Also, 829 years is a long time to lose information.

The Muslim accounts describe a mass charge - a wargaming historian may have even written an article about it 😉🤷‍♂️

[Atheling]

Yes, it is challenging to determine when ‘trappings’ turn into a meaningful form of protection and deserving to be treated as barding. Then, in the late 12thC, we have knotty issue of who might have carried their own arms, whether familial variations were widespread, and that members of retinues that may have carried the arms of their lord (or a variation of them on their shields) etc.

Given the nobility's attachment to what were their rights I personally would go with a firm no. But, like you rightly say, it depends on how far back you go as the evidence diminishes.

The Muslim accounts describe a mass charge - a wargaming historian may have even written an article about it 😉🤷‍♂️

Sounds like my cuppa then 

[Maniac]

A very nice looking start.  I've done a couple caparisons, and they are not easy to pull off.

The religious orders are an interesting bunch.  Depending on an author's view they get very different treatment.  From hot heads to cool and collected.  Depending on who is talking they were either the one group of units to hold it together on Richard's march south or the guys who rashly charged out.  Most of the works I've read in the last 10 years tend to favor the Hospitalers and Templars as the main component actively working to keep Richard's column moving and solid vs the lay desire to lash out at the harassing attacks. 

I for one tend to favor the more disciplined view as that fits better with what we know of medieval monastic life.  Tack on a chronic shortage of men (not only theirs, but they also lacked sufficient regular infusions of long term lay knights/troops to maintain campaigns in Outremer), and they couldn't afford to be rash with their men's lives.  That said, humans are human, and prone to doing what they know not to under stressful situations.  So whether they broke ranks rashly, saw an opportune moment, or moved in support of some blockheaded lay knights, who can really say for sure?

[Atheling]

So whether they broke ranks rashly, saw an opportune moment, or moved in support of some blockheaded lay knights, who can really say for sure?

No one. It was merely the invocation of that image in my minds eye that rekindled my interest in the project. That and finding the half converted mini