Jim Patrick
A Fixture
Ok, this review will be full of pictures. Upon opening the box, you see 17 well cast and sculpted pieces of metal. Nothing unusual here, Pegaso's normal standard. Honestly, I have been putting this review off for a while because I thought there were some problems with the figure. As it turned out, I was wrong on several of these points and probably right on a couple. More on this as I go.
The ground work comes in two pieces and when assembled, there is a noticeable gap between the two. Nothing that will stop you from finishing or buying the figure, just so you know. Easy fix here with the ever present putty.
After both leg halves were put together, there was a noticeable gap between the two halves right behind the belt. Nothing hard to fix again, more of a pain than anything else. It is in a pesky spot though.
Once the upper torso was placed on, there was also a gap between the wall section and the cape worn by our battle hardened veteran. I think this one can be fixed simply by playing with the figure a little and repositioning the torso on the legs. After that, the arms were tacked in place with my ever present "Blue, sticky stuff". The shield is really neat as well. Already has cuts in it.
Now on to that infamous head. I looked at the head against the second one you get and I just can't see how it "looks" smaller. Here are a lot of pics, same angle, light, etc., etc.
*See note below*
On to the standard. Here is where the problems still exist. I'll refer you to the top of the page and notice the standard. Now here is the actual image that was captured in Tannenberg, 1410.
*See note below*
You will notice several things wrong with the standard. First, you can see where the "tail" portion of the standard (the white portion) continues all the way up to the staff. This is not so on the painted standard. Second, the "tail" is squared off on the kit supplied standard when it should come to a point. Lastly, look at the crown on top of the Lion. The Pegaso example is painted white. The actual crown is gold. The standard belonged to Hannus Von Heydeck. He was the commander of the castle Konigsberg and a high ranking Teutonic Knight. If you choose to use the standard in the kit, he really can't be a Grand Master but can be painted as a high ranking knight in the Teutonic Order. Of course, this standard was captured at Tannenberg, 1410. So I guess it stands to reason that this standard did exist before Tannenberg but how much sooner? I don't know.The knights armor sets him squarely in the 14th century. Not the 15th. So you can't simply paint him up and say "He's at Tannenberg". I can thank Mike Blank for that one. He really knows a lot about this time period and was especially helpful in returning e mails from me. Thanks Mike.
In case you have a very hard time freehanding a pattern like this on the standard, your'e in luck. Andrea makes a set of transfers with this paticular crest on it. Not sure as to the number, look through their website and see what you find. Now to the shield. The shield pretty much sets this Teutonic knight as a Grand Master. If you choose to instead paint a high ranking Teutonic knight, you could use the kit supplied standard, but keep in mind. In all probability, the shield would be white with a plain black cross on it. Should you want to paint something a little more colorful, you should make another standard. Here is the standard of Ulrich von Jungingen who was killed at Tannenberg. He was the Grand Master at the time of his death.
*See note below*
As far as different possibilities for the crest on the shield, there are several. I found these while doing a google search but forgot what I typed and where it was.
*See note below*
Now some of you are wondering why you should even get this figure I'm sure. Even without some of the inaccuracies (I'm still not positive there are), this is a BEAUTIFUL figure. Remember that Robert The Bruce I did? Well, it's about inaccurate as they come. Without diving into what is historically correct and what isn't, keep this in mind. I painted that figure because it was a terrific looking figure. I had a blast doing it too. Paint what makes you happy. If you want to paint this figure as is, I HIGHLY encourage you to do it. Besides, who am I to tell Pietro Ballonia he can't paint? Iv'e seen this guys work in person and believe me when I say to you, his painting is outstanding.
Make sure you pin the living crap out of this figure though. It's about the weight of 5 or 6 54mm figures. It is one heavy ass figure. By the time you add the standard to the top, your'e also going to have a top heavy figure. When you do assemble this figure, I reccomend using a steel rod for the standard. Less bending that way.
As far as the scale goes, I like these 70 and 75mm figures. I really do. Not too small and not real big either. The sculpters can put a ton more detail in a figure now. There should be some interesting days ahead for us. Now if I could only get some 75mm Napoleonic figures from Pegaso!
In any case, I highly reccomend this figure to everyone. It really is a beauty. If there is anything, research wise I left out, PLEASE add it to here so that we all can share it. I really don't know a lot about this time period. Just enough to make me dangerous. I really don't know a lot about knights either but I know a beautiful figure when I see one and this is one I have seen. In questions, shoot away.
Hope you enjoyed this,
Jim Patrick
*NOTE*- I had too many images in this post so they will appear in a follow on post.
