Review "The Knight" from Medieval Forge Miniatures

Nap · Jun 15, 2018

Hi everyone

Back to reviews for me so I thought I would start with what is a new company to me , we have seen them announcing releases here on PF since 2017 ....the company being :

Based in Russia and set up by Dmitry Fursov and have been releasing some nice looking subjects mainly depicting Russian warriors

As suggested in the title we have a Medieval Knight

Here is the new box artwork

Details of the release:

Title: The Knight 15th

Reference: C-75-002

Scale: 75mm , 1/24th

Material: Gray Resin

No of parts: 16

Sculptor: Roman Voloshin

Box Art: Roman Smirnov

General Comments

Well packed between foam in a strong cardboard box

Minimal prep ..primarily removing pieces from casting mounts and posts

A choice of 2 weapons and heads ( one bareheaded one helmeted ) and 2 shields

Background

We have all seen the image of the knight on horseback , the "tank" of the period , but armoured knights also fought on foot wearing protection that allows for ease of movement , that's what we have here , wearing full armour with a choice of equipment and heads to choose from.

Some reference pictures for you

Weapons were particularly lethal amongst them the war hammer , coming in many styles

a painted shield seen in the period

Fighting with a "buckler" shield

As always books are available here are some I recommend for interesting reading and adding to the library

Continued in next post

Nap

Nap · Jun 15, 2018

Lets open the box

All are cast in gray resin a, a total of 16 pieces , well packed in foam as stated , with a unpainted picture on the top of the box ( box art has since been done )

Prep consists of:

Removing casting posts from pieces

Slight removal of excess resin around belt

Select weapons and head you wish to use

Wash and prime the piece

Enjoy the modelling!!

If you like armour then this is the ideal figure as he is covered from head to toe !!!

Parts consist of: Main figure , 2 arms , 2 different heads, , 2 shields , 2 weapons ( sword or war hammer ) , a sword handle , a empty scabbard , choice of hands depending on your choice , a small money bag and a base

In this part I am going to look at the main figure

Standing flat footed with both feet firmly planted on the ground perhaps in a final defiant action ready to deal with any attacker , the legs are wide with the right foot forward in a strong pose

Under the armour he wears a quilted type of "jack" ( this was often filled with rags to bulk out sections and stitched in) providing not only protection but also a padding for the armour . we see small parts of this at the lower waist and neck area , nicely worked.

Wearing armour including a neck protector this is a well off knight ,the armor itself is very well defined both in shape and casting , he definition between the pieces are sharp with the straps at the sides also being well shown , as are the ones holding the leg armor in place.

The skirt of the armour or " fauld" consist of 3 shaped plates at the front and 3 straight ones at the back , again held in place by nicely sculpted straps

Needless to say we have no "cod piece" to protect his vitals !!!! but he wears a stout under garment underneath his armour

The good work on the armour continues as we get down to the legs , the thigh pieces known as "cuisse" are well shaped at the lower edge near ankles with the knee pieces or "poleyn" again being well worked with sharp undercuts.

The shoes are of good quality as befits this knight and are of the period , with them being held together with 2 small straps.

A well detailed set of armour with good undercuts and sharp work both in sculpting and casting

Continued in next post

Nap

Nap · Jun 15, 2018

Lets look at the remaining pieces

Starting with the choice of Heads

As you can see we have a choice of 2 one helmeted and one bareheaded

The choice is yours but I love that haircut !!!

Facial features are that of a shouting man with teeth bared , furrowed brow with the mop of straggly hair , nicely textured with it "styled" straight as is the fashion ..then not now !!!

Features are all there but in my opinion a little roughly defined on the bareheaded one ( at the cheeks but never the less full of character .

The helmeted version is better facially with the helmet or sallet well shaped particularly at the sides where it meets the face , its angled sharply at the back with the fitment point for the visor having a indentation on each side.

Visor and Money bag

The visor is a good shape and fits easily to the helmet the option to have it in various positions is there including fully down , work on the visor has a eye slit with a small bit of additional armour above the eye slit

The waist bag is certainly full of something ...hopefully money or perhaps some treasured items from home , stitching is sculpted at the top with retaining straps also in place, under the bag there is a small dagger with a nicely shaped handle , fit to the figure is simple by a small blip of resin to a cut out .

Arms

These are very well sculpted with the individual plates being well defined , the elbow pieces are particularly well done , continuing down the arm we have lower arm and wrist pieces , at the underside there are again well worked strapping , fit to the torso is not bad with a tiny bit of filler needed.

Hands/Weapons/Shields

Depending which weapon you chose depends which hand you want , for the war hammer then its the full armoured version with the handle for the small "buckler" shield

If you choose the shaped shield the there is a hand sculpted to the back

Or if the sword is your weapon then the individually armoured finger version is for you

I like the variety and choice options given in this piece so a well done to Forge for this

Both the hammer and the sword were warped but as we all know to resolve that a dip in hot water ( be careful ) will sort that ...or use SWMBO hairdryer ( be careful there as well......lol )

The hammer looks lethal even in this scale with the sword handle being sculpted with the hand ...both fit into position with no issues .

If you use the hammer you have been supplied with a sword handle which fits nicely into the scabbard ...another nicely thought idea there

The shields are again a choice of 2 , a buckler or a small shaped version , again hands are sculpted to both with the appropriate armour for the hand

Base

As we see with other releases a more than suitable base is provided , littered with rocks and a textured ground , there are areas where the feet of the figure fit to , I would suggest pinning as well , you could of course also incorporate into a larger base

Final thoughts

A good release to get that "mojo" going on painting armour , particularly like the various options that are offered , painted up you will have a striking figure and of course you could always paint a design on the shield!! .

Presentation is good with no major prep to worry about .

There will be more from this up and coming company and I hope we might see some busts as well in the future

A BIG thanks to Medieval Forge Miniatures for the review piece

For more details on this and other releases

E mail: [email protected]

Message via their facebook page ( well worth following )

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005997551341

https://www.facebook.com/groups/758541954318951/

Message via PF to Medieval Forge Miniatures

Of course also thanks to you all for looking in

Happy modelling to everyone

Nap