Which shields?

[Mr.J]

I'm currently working on a small medieval force. I'm hoping to keep the miniatures generic enough to represent warriors of Henry II to King John, allowing me to fight through all the dynastic disputes, wars with France and the First Barons's War.
I'm leaning towards the latter end of this period however probably more Richard the Lionheart/John.

My question is which shields to use? I've already painted a few minis but held off doing their shields as I am unsure whether kite or heater shields would be more appropriate, or maybe a mix of both?

I've read a few sources about shields but there seems to be much discussion about the evolution from kite to heater and I just thought I'd pitch the question on here and see if any of you folks can help me out.

Below is a very quick shot of my force so far:



Before I buy any more figures I'd like to know which direction I'm going with this.
Thanks in advance for your help.

[OSHIROmodels]

I would recommend predominantly heaters (both large and small) with a few kites.

I'm sure someone with a bit more knowledge on the subject will be along later 

cheers

James

[The Gray Ghost]

I like heater shields myself.

[Dan]

From what I have just read on the period I'd say Heater with a few kite for the poorer troops, but then I'm no expert on this period its just what I'm going to do.

BTW what make are your figures?

[Mr.J]

Thanks guys you've pretty much just confirmed what I was thinking.
The figures are gripping beast.

[Paul]

Both...heater and Kite...but the kite was still in use and the heater type didn´t turn up (and get taken into full use) until around 1250 so a bit outside your chosen period,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heater_shield
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_shield