My friends and I started wargaming back in the late 1960s with 1\72 plastic figures. By the mid 1970's and into the 80s, 25mm metal figures made major inroads into our collections.
The companies that made 25mm metal that I used were primarily Minifigs, Hinchcliffe, Garrison and Ral Partha.
One of the armies I had in 25mm metal were Anglo\Saxons or Anglo\Danes for the 1066 period. I also had some Normans and some Vikings.
Sometime in the early 90s I left the hobby and sold off 95% of my collections. (kick self here)
When I got back into the hobby back in 2014 the figures of choice were 1\72 plastic sometimes supplemented with 20mm metal figures. The use of 1\72 plastics, in addition to the low expense was a nostalgia itch that was scratched.
Within a short time I started to collect odds and ends in 25mm vintage metal figures from what I could find on eBay. The intent was to collect a few, paint them up and display them. Like many a wargamer and collector would attest to, the word "few" is mostly meaningless. It always seems we like what we like and the unpainted collections seem to grow faster than the painted pile.
A good friend dating back all the way to our early days discovered a huge stash of old 25mm metal in a local shop that does not advertise. Strange, but apparently this guy has some cool stuff and there my friend found hundreds of vintage Garrison, Minifig Dark Ages figures along with a substantial number of newer Old Glory Dark Ages. The total number of figures was 1,000 or more.
My friend knew I had started to work on my small collection of eBay figures and offered me hundreds of what he had found. I HAD to accept even though the stack of unpainted figures did not need reinforcement.
I decided to do a Hastings project to be followed by a Stamford Bridge project, to be followed by a 1st Crusade project-all in 25mm metal. Those who have ears to hear will understand totally.
The Hastings Project received immediate attention since I had a few units already.
Below is where I'm at with the project. Some of the Norman units will do double duty as units for the 1st Crusade.
The units are all organized for Lion Rampant 2.
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| Overview of units thus far. There are 10 units of Anglo\Danes and 14 Norman pictured |
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| I put skirmish units out front, Select Fyrd and Huscarls in a Shieldwall and 2 units of Fyrd in the back, |
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| Same arrangement on the other flank |
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| The Norman unit on the far left is a split unit in LR2. They were painted more for the 1st Crusade project than Hastings. The small unit next to them are supposed to be dismounted knights for the 1st Crusade. |
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| Norman crossbow skirmishers are in front, with Norman spearmen behind and behind them 4 of my five knight units. |
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| The unit adjacent to the mounted knights are painted for the 1st Crusade as are the split unit in front of them. |
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| A closer look at two of the 1st Crusade (Norman) units. The front unit are Minifigs and the back unit is Garrison. |
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| This unit of Norman spearmen is particularly special. They were even to me by my friend. They are 25mm Phoenix miniatures who at one time made historical figures. An eBay search for Phoenix historical figures consistently turns up zilch. |
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| Getting some of the 25mm Garrison Norman Crossbowmen was great. I can use them as one unit or two units of skirmish types. |
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| Close up of the dismounted knights for the 1st Crusade. They are Minifigs from their Dark Ages line which are still available in the UK. |
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| My two units of Ral Partha Normans. I have a late Byzantine army with many of the Ral Partha 1200 A.D Byzantines so the Partha Normans fit right in. I got most of the Partha Byzantines and Normans off of eBay. The 1200 A.D. line still commands a good price on eBay but not anywhere near what Iron Wind Miniatures who now carries the line charges! |
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| Minifig Normans, although I think these poses are from the Minifig Crusades line. |
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| These are Garrison Normans and they are another unit that is special to me. Garrison figures are very rare on eBay (in the USA). At one time my Anglo\Saxon army was almost entirely Garrison. |
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| I have two units of Minifig Normans finished at this time. The banner is actually a 28mm banner but close enough. |
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| This unit of Select Fyrd are all Minifigs. |
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| Minifig Anglo\Saxon archers |
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| My two units of Huscarls. The one on the left is Garrison figures. I had just enough with the Danish axe to give the unit the right flavor. The unit on the right are Ral Partha. The Danish axe is prominent as it should be. |
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| Minifg Anglo\Saxon Fyrd used as skirmishers for LR2. |
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| This is a composite unit of Select Fyrd or Veteran Heavy Infantry in Lion Rampant 2. The composite contains Garrison, Minifig and Ral Partha figures. The banner is from Maverick Flags in the UK. Maverick will scale his flags to whatever size is desired but he has a very limited selection for the Dark Ages. |
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| Another unit of Fyrd. For LR 2 purposes I might use this unit as Light Infantry instead of Heavy Infantry. The figures are all Minifigs. I believe the bareheaded figures come from the Slavic portion of Minifig's Dark Ages line. |
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| Fyrd Light Infantry. The unit is mostly Garrison with a sprinkle of Minifigs. The two lines are very compatible. |
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This unit of Fyrd Light Infantry are all Garrison figures and one of my favortites. Garrison made the best general Fyrd back in the day.
I have yet to do a game with the collection but when the time comes I intend to have it on a larger table with appropriate terrain. |
