Mounted Medieval Figures for WAB Corner Collection

(The "inspiration" for my Lion Rampant retinue:  From Monty Python and the Holy Grail)  

Before my Easter Break, I wrote about my acquisition of medieval figures from my friend Dean, author of the popular WAB Corner.

Somewhere in cyberspace, (I can't seem to find where), Dean replied that all I needed to complete my Lion Rampant retinue were some mounted figures.

The other day, I realized:  I do have a handful of knights on horseback.  They're just not anywhere near as well-painted as my gaming friends can do.

When I was stationed in Germany--about two dozen years ago--I'd buy a handful of figures, made by a company once called Fantasy (Metal Magic), every pay day at a local hobby store.  At the time, they were about one German Mark each for single foot-bound figures, while the ones on horseback were about two Marks.

This was before Europe adapted the Euro, so if I remember correctly,  one Mark equaled 60-70 cents, depending on the exchange rate.  Despite the great prices, I still didn't buy every figure listed in Metal Magic's catalog.

Someday I'll take a complete inventory.

Today's short subject though, is about my handful of Mounted Paladins.

I painted these figures shortly after purchasing them, so the paint job is over 20 years old.  I never attempted painting heraldry on these or any of my medieval/fantasy figures. 

Fortunately, only a few figures show wear & tear.  One knight is sporting a lance with a broken tip.  Several years ago I added matboard bases to add more stability to the figures.  Then a few years ago, I went on a flocking spree, adding grass & grit to the bases of these--and most of the figures in my entire miniature collection.

Anyway, this is probably the shortest photo gallery I've posted, but it turned out to be one of the most frustrating.  Because of how my Plain Paladins are stored, the knights aren't glued to the saddles.  So during my photo shoot the knights would become "unhorsed."  Even if they managed to remain in the saddle some don't appear to be sitting straight.

Here's how the master craftsmen at Metal Magic envisioned their knights-in-shining armor:

(Image from a scanned copy of Metal Magic's catalog)

And here's a look at my Plain Paladins:

(Five knights, mounted on caparison-draped horses, prepare to charge)

(Knights patrolling the realm)

(A more ground-eye's view of the knights and their caparisoned horses)

(Three knights mounted on horsed encased in barding prepare to charge)

(Patrolling the realm in full plate armor)

(A more elevated view of the plate armored patrol)

Whether my paladins are wonderfully or woefully painted, at least I won't be committing the faux-pas of fielding bare metal figures.

Besides, they'll probably perform some variation of this well-known maneuver in any tabletop encounter...

(Image by:  Dyemelikeasunset)