Baron Shield

Here's the last photo of our Empire range, and this time is another shield I had done up for another knight. Funny thing is, I only realized it looked like the Iron Cross used by Germany (especially in WWI), and doing up the cross like that made the knights look 'Imperial German-ish'.

The calvary have been a source of hope and reprieve, provided they came at the right time and you could use them well. Imperial knights are a pretty solid core level unit, with good armor and respectable strength (if they charge with lances). However, that doesn't mean they can be deployed with little thought as I have learned in my experiences...got my butt kicked against Vampire Counts by having my entire knight regiment wiped out by morale failure (even worse is that I forgot to re-roll misses since I had a priest who adds hatred on first round).

Cynically speaking, mistakes are one's best teacher sometimes...

Lionized Empire

Hey Everyone

Today we have a look at the shield I painted for my First Knight in my only painted regiment of Imperial Knights. Note that this knight has a Bretonnian helm instead of an Imperial one (courtesy of JQ).


One thing I really like about the Imperial Knights is the Dwarven plate armor, one of the best non-magical armors out there, giving a 4+ save on its own. Knights are always known to have pretty good armor saves, and 1+ or 2+ is pretty common...chances of killing them would be made much easier by using magic, shooting or ultimately, with really high strength!

In the tales of old and legend, knights are traditionally portrayed as upholders of supreme virtue, and was it really like that in the old times? Full armored knights do have an awe-inspiring presence, and seldom do we remember knights are normal human beings with flaws and sufferings...which does make me think back on Clint Eastwood's Flag of Our Fathers. We need heroes, and we make them, not war. Even heroes don't think they are heroes at all, just people who managed to survive...

Grit of War

Hey Guys

Thanks for all of your support and readership of this blog, and JQ has done a great job in doing the last 3 entries. Well, he has handed the reins over to me, and I hope I can contribute to the blog well.

For this post, we will be taking a couple of looks at Imperial crossbowmen:



Next to handguns and rifles, crossbows provide a solid punch that surpasses that of a normal bow. However, it restricts the movement of the crossbowman, who has to remain in the same spot to reload and aim his crossbow for the next shot. Therefore, effective deployment of such crossbowmen would work to expose enemy forces to as much bolts from crossbow regiments, and minimize the time the regiments spend moving to their ideal location. Easier said than done, and some Imperial commanders just prefer gunpowder anyway.

One of the details that continues to intrigues me is how the helms and faces appear on these 2 figures. They have a very gritty look to them: the soldiers have their faces covered with grease and smoke, as they resolutely follow their orders and load up their crossbows for the next volley. War is glorified to those who have never been in one, and it is almost always disillusioning and depressing to those who have went through the war. War is never clean, and those who have their faces stained by war know first hand the true meaning of the slight difference between life and death on the battlefield...

Load it up

Crossbowmen loading it up.

Yet another detailed Macro shot from my former DSC-W50. (Fucking New Camera cant do this anymore. Ugh) Oh well, im looking forward to my next camera which will be a DSLR... though i am pretty sure it wont be anytime SOON.

Anyway, i love how the dry brushing is done to the figures. They have a rustic touch on the figures and the colour code goes well with the background.

On a more interesting thought, we see the imperial crossbowmen loading up their weapon, intent on shootnig nd killing their target. I wonder what could it be? A rabbit for the hunt? A chaos warrior? A goblin?

We will never know, but one thing is for sure. Their expressions are one with certainty. Their intent on shooting and killing. I Wonder was this always the case with the main complement of human force in the various human kingdoms in the old world.

And now my time is up as i shall give back the baton to the new regular of this blog, Joshua. He shall be giving a round of 4 more entries. So be NICE!

Cheers