Prototype Images (6 MAY)

Samurai and Mongols (updated 6 MAY)

The Gempei War which took place between 1180 and 1185 was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself as Shogun in 1192, governing Japan as a military dictator from the eastern city of Kamakura.

The name Gempei or Genpei comes from the words Minamoto (Gen) and Taira (Hei, which was pronounced as pei)
These two families were fierce rivals, both were ancient families, descended from royalty.
The Heike or Taira had close ties with the court, and were well known as accomplished artists and men of letters as well as great warriors.
The Genji or Minamota were rustics, and each side derided the other for their chosen lifestyles.

More images in Samurai category.

Macedonian Phalanx (more images in Greek area)

TROJAN WAR

Greek Infantry

The War Chariot, was the first mobile fighting vehicle, and seems to have originated in Mesopotamia in the third millennium BC. The highly mobile two-wheeled war chariot, carrying a driver and a warrior armed with a long spear or short composite bow, revolutionized military tactics. In Homer’s Iliad, Pandarus is a renowned archer (in right side chariot) and the son of Lycaon. He fought on the side of Troy in the Trojan War and led a contingent from Zeleia.

Paris was the son of king Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy.
He is best known for his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War.
Later in the war he fatally wounds Achilled in the heel with an arrow as foretold by Achilles’ mother, Thetis.
Homer’s Iliad casts Paris as unskilled and cowardly. Although Paris readily admits his short comings in battle, his brother Hector scolds and belittles him after he runs away from a duel with Menelaus that was to determine the end of the war. His preference for bow and arrow emphasizes this, since he does not follow the code of honour shared by the other heroes.

Later in the war, after Philoctetes mortally wounds Paris, Helen makes her way to Mount Ida where she begs Paris’s first wife, the nymph Oenone to heal him. Oenone refuses, and Paris dies later the same day.
After Paris’s death, his brother Deophobus marries Helen, and was then killed by Menelaus in the sack of Troy.

Deiphobus was a son of Priam and Hecuba. He was a prince of Troy, and the greatest of Priam’s sons after Hector and Paris.
Deiphobus killed four men of fame in the Trojan War.
According to the Iliad, Deiphobus along with his brother Helenus, led a group of soldiers at the siege of the newly constructed Argive wall and killed many, and wounded the Achaean hero Meriones.

Some accounts hold that it was Deiphobus and Paris who ambushed and killed Achilles while luring him to their sister Polyxena.
After the death of Paris, Deiphobus was given Helen as a bride for his deeds in the war.
During the sacking of Troy Deiphobus was slain by either Odysseus or Menelaus, and his body was mutilated. There are accounts which state it was Helen who killed him, as she had decided she would rather return to Menelaus.

Glaucus, the son of Hippolochos, accompanied Sarpedon to Troy along with his troops from Xanthos. Himself a prominent warrior, Glaucus meets the Greek hero Diomedes on the battlefield, who is leading the Greek forces with the help of the goddess Athena. Glaucus and Diomedes exchange words and upon learning about each other's ancestry, the two warriors decide to not fight each other despite being on opposing sides. Coincidentally both their grandfathers shared a bond of friendship in the past. They continue the tradition of friendship by giving each other their own armour as a gift and part ways as friends.
After the death of Sarpedon, Glaucus, filled with anguish and sorrow over his fallen commander and cousin, reminds Hector of his duty to the Trojan allies. Fierce fighting breaks out around the body of Sarpedon as both sides aim to claim the body of the Lycian commander. Just as Trojans take the armour from his body, Apollo appears, accompanied by Hypnos and Thanatos, to cleanse the body and ease it back to Lycia. Glaucus follows in the steps of Sarpedon by leading the Lycian troops after his death

The new additions to the Troy and her Allies series will be available later this year.

Future El Cid releases

The age in which El Cid lived has since been termed the “Reconquista”, or Christian reconquest of Spain from the Moors, and was one of the most colourful periods in military history.
The armies are spectacular and varied, ranging from the noble Christian Knights to the Muslim Andalusians, through to the religious zeal of the African invaders, the Almoravids and Almohads.
Although the period is often portrayed as a simple war of religion, it was in fact a great deal more complex, with Muslim commonly fighting Muslim, and Christian fighting Christians, with both sides using allies and mercenaries whenever it suited them.
This period, during the lifetime of El Cid 1040-1100AD saw the rise of heavy cavalry charges and other northern European influences, especially in the kingdoms of Aragon and Catalonia, which had the strongest links to France.
This period involved two forms of campaign. The first involved raids of varying magnitude designed to seize valuables, livestock and prisoners. These expeditions were obviously carried out by mounted troops and were of limited duration.
The longer campaigns had the intention to seize and hold territory. Naturally this involved more troops, especially infantry. The lack of a fully developed feudal system influenced the military organization of this period. Most soldiers were paid mercenaries, but fully armed citizen militias were formed to defend towns and major cities.

Nearly all the warring factions in Spain during this period used local Andalusian troops as allies in their armies.
Andalusian mercenary infantry archers were commonplace and were often deployed behind spearmen in battle.

The sketches below are for future releases (Updated 1 FEB)

Fur Trade Protos

Troy and Her Allies - Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons

Helen of Troy - Trojan War - Troy and Her Allies

Armies & Enemies of Greece & Macedonia - Persian Sparabara Spearman

Macedonia Phalanx

Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni

King Alfred the Great

1066 Saxon Archer

The Genpei Japanese Civil War (1180-1185)/Mongol Invasion of Japan (1281)
Mongol/Korean Auxillary Archer

The Genpei Japanese Civil War (1180-1185)/Mongol Invasion of Japan (1281)
Warrior Monk Gochi-in No Tajima holding Shobuzukuri Naginata

Jacobite Rebellion - Prince's Lifeguards - Trooper #1

Bagot's Hussars

Conquest of America - Skraeling Archer

Jamestown 1620 Virginia Indians

Armoured Iroquoian Warrior

Jamestown Militia, 1620

The Rendezvous - Fur Trade - Trapper and Trapped

Mother & Two Daughters (16) Horse & Travois (16A) Crow Indians - The Fur Trade

Fur Salesman

War of 1812 - MAJGEN Phineas Riall

ADC British Army

Drums Along the Mohawk - Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton

Battle of Cowpens, January 27, 1781

17th Light Dragoons Trooper - Battle of Cowpens, January 27, 1781

Brigadier General Daniel Morgan Battle of Cowpens, January 27, 1781

1st Battalion, 71st Regiment of Foot
Battle of Cowpens, January 27, 1781

American Civil War - Union Artillery Crewman - First Battle of Bull Run, 1861

Update 25 OCT

Image of Maratha cavalry coming from Wellington in India series (more images in Wellington in India series)

13 Sept - images of coming castle from Jenkins. Now available (25 OCT).

Shelf Backdrop as in picture below, 4” depth x 32 ½” length x 12 ¼” height (15 ½” including Flags)

Three different pieces - gateway, wall and tower.

24 MAY 21

A return to War of the Roses ! Some future releases.

Some casualty figures and 3 new Retinue figures which will represent Sir Thomas Howard, of Ashwellthorpe, Earl of Surrey, and his banners.

1 MAR 21

ACW protoype images - The 39^th New York Infantry Regiment, known as the “Garibaldi Guard” after the Italian revolutionary, Giuseppe Garibaldi, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.