Sunday 5 February 2012

Hussite War Wagon and Command (Orion) Pt 1

A bit of a mixed bag this one as the PSR review reflects.  Jan Žižka.  He was blind in one eye...which eye is difficult to acertain, I´ve done a LOT of research and come up with either.  As most of us only have at most two, it must have been the left one or the right one..but the bod in the set appears to have the use of both.! There is no indication as to wether one of them is in fact blind, we can´t ask cos it´s a lump of plastic but in ALL the woodcuts, statues etc of him one at least eye is covered, wether it be the left one or the right.
I´ve gone for the right eye as it´s the one shown as covered on the statue on Viktov Hill, Prague (btw, it´s the largest stone statue of a horse in the world!!) and as he was nicknamed "One-eyed Žižka", without any mention of which eye...the right one  is ok by me.
The 3 mounte bods in the set. Jan Žižka in the middle, Prokop the great (Procopius the Great) and a standard bearer. The standard beare comes with an embossed flag bearing a goose emblem. I now know this is an invented insult and have replaced the flag with one bearing a chalice.
Eye bandage on Jan created with..wait for it..Toiletpaper :-D  I tried with having him totally blind, the bandage across both eyes but it looked..well, stupid.The other "mistake" with the sculpt..his mace. he is always protrayed as carrying a mace in the form of a clenched fist holding a dagger.
Prokop the great, later leader of the Hussite / Taborite army until his death in the Battle of Lipany, 30 may, 1434
Something not mentioned in the PSR review..the size of the horses supplied with the set. 6 horses and only 3 riders is a bit of a mystery but the size is odd to say the least. To the left, Italeri and the right..Orion. They aren´t badly sculpted, but they are just too small!!
Next part, the Wagon...:-D