The army was completed a while ago and was to represent the earlier Hussites commanded by Jan Zizka. The infantry and cavalry were fairly simple to sort out and are a mix of Essex Miniatures and Donnington Miniatures, it was just a case of getting the equipment, armour and clothing correct for this earlier period. The wagons were a different matter however. Many 15mm figure companies produce war wagons, but the more research I did the sooner I came to realise that none of them produced a wagon that was appropriate or accurate for the Hussites. The main issue was that the side panels were too low (and subsequently any competent enemy archer would have easily picked them off, or anyone with a long spear for that matter). The fighting crew needed to be enclosed within the wagon and therefore had to be damned hard for any Imperialist Crusader to hit. The best option I found was made by Minifigs in their Hussites War range... yes, good old Minifigs! They even had the defensive boards that went below the wagons to stop any sneaky enemy soldiers crawling underneath. All I needed to do was to raise the side panels higher, and prop them up with steel pins! The finished wagons look the part I think. What is annoying (but good news really) is that Museum Miniatures are now producing a proper Hussite wagon, and I will be getting some of them soon for the same customer in America. Hope you like the pics!
Just to show its not all about wagons....here are the infantry!
Prayers for the dead sinner! Who's next?!?
Below: The Cavalry units...a mix of Bohemian nobles supporting the cause, and lesser armoured Hussite cavalry.
And Finally the commanders:
Jan Zizka the man himself. I converted him from a Donnington Miniatures French Hundred Years War Personality figure, as nobody seemed to produce anything that came close to looking like him.
I was really pleased with how this army turned out, and so was the customer!
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