Painting Guides 1st Crusade

[Rogerc]

Hi, I am potentially looking at a 1st Crusade project and looking for advice on painting guides, uniforms plates etc for the period, any advice gratefully recieved.

[Dice Roller]

The good news is, there were no uniforms.
At the time of the first crusade there were no military orders.
And there was no heraldry either.
So that all makes life a bit easier for you.
Think Normans. That's the look to go for.
Just do a Google image search for something like '28mm Norman Army' and you'll have some idea of what to go for.

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

You can add a cross symbol somewhere on the figure as most crusaders appear to have worn one, though this would be much smaller than the ones on the surcoats of the military orders which, as Dice Roller states, did not yet exist. Nor did surcoats, for that matter. It was often painted on the shield but did not - or not usually - take up the whole front of the shield as is frequently depicted. On figures smaller than 28 mm it may not be worth painting in most cases.

[Dice Roller]

Crusaders and pilgrims wearing a small cross on clothing or painting it on shields didn't become popular until well into the 12th century.
It's more of a third crusade thing, NOT first crusade.

[Cholmondely Percival IV]

OK. Evidently my memory was at fault.

[MM]

Simple shield designs should go a long way.
Aside from crosses and monocolor you can do halves, quarters, straight or wavy lines (2, 3, 4, 6...go wild!). Maybe the rim another colour. I used LBMS transfer designs as inspiration when I painted my 1st crusaders.

Clothing colours quite colourful but not too bright I'd guess. Also depending op status.

No metal rims on the shield probsbly!

Which miniatures are you planning to buy?

[SJWi]

As already said the 1st Crusaders would almost look like Normans or other W European knights. I'd look for whatever Little Big Men shield decals are available for the range of figures you intend to buym

[Rogerc]

Thanks guys, I should be more specific I was thinking about Muslim and Byzantine forces, appreciate the lack of uniforms, but colour schemes etc might be useful.

[Rogerc]

I have made a rooky error here by not sharing my plan and the gaps. Sorry.

I already have small forces for El Cid in 28mm, most of the Christians will be just fine for 1st Crusade I typically used Normans and Perry first crusade figures for the bulk with a smaller number of specifically Spanish troops so 10 units of Knights, 2 of light horse, 7 of foot spearmen and one each of archers and crossbows gives me a decent head start. I am far less sure about the Muslim troops. Some might some might not translate, the Berbers have a particular look that may not fit Outremer.

I will need to add a few Normans to the Christian side but the Muslim forces will have maybe 5 units of horse I can use at best. I doubt anything I have will pass as Byzantine.

I need to get my head around the regional differences between say the Anatolian Muslims and Syrian Muslims, the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, the Seljuks and the Turcomen. What sort of mix of troops would be in different armies and the type of thing they wore.

Seljuks will look very different from Berbers no doubt.

So ideas on where to get colour plates and army lists would be ideal.

[SJWi]

Roger, I'm no expert but the Muslims the 1st Crusade encounter in Anatolia are mainly Seljuk Turks, but Syria and Palestine had been part of the Fatimid Caliphate based in Egypt. For a quick painting guide I would look at the Perry's 1st crusade range on their website as there are lots of painted examples, as well as being IMHO the best range of figures. Again, Little Big Men produces a superb range of shield decals. The various Ospreys have nice plates but are a quite expensive way of getting them.  I guess lists will be "ruleset specific". I use Simon Miller's TTS and am happy to tell you what he recommends for the various forces.   

[Rogerc]

Thats a great start thank you.