This batch of figures started out as a job lot I purchased from eBay that came without horses, I was a little disappointed with the detail and moulding on the figures when they arrived and I think that they are old Hinchcliffe figures but I am no means certain.
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| These guys have been on my workbench for a while now but I decided it was time to get them completed! The Mexicans in the picture, leap frogged ahead of them in the queue... |
Nevertheless I decided to see what I could do with them, by adding horses from my favourite source for my Ottoman Armies - Hat 28mm plastic Arab sets!
The horses' saddles and bellies needed some carving to allow the riders to sit on their backs and I used quite a lot of putty to cover the inevitable gaps by extending fur cloaks etc.
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| Finished unit showing the feathers & wings added to eth basic figures to give variety |
In Turkish 'Deli' means daring or audacious and these light cavalry dressed the part, making extensive use of leopard skin furs, feathers and even wings from birds of prey to exaggerate their form and provide their distinctive look.
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| Contemporary drawings of Deli Light Cavalry more info <HERE> |
On the field of battle they were used to disrupt enemy formations prior to them being engaged by heavier cavalry types.
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| Close-up #1 |
So having added the riders to the horses, I undercoated them al in white before painting up the horses and then the riders. Each rider has a mail shirt, a leopard skin cloak and a leopard skin hat decorated with bird wings.
The riders carry a lance and shield (again decorated with a bird's wing and I added a number of feather decorations to three of the models that were typical of the time - a feather collar and decorative wings on the horses.
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| Close-up #2 |
These guys are for my Siege of Vienna armies and would have fought against the Polish Winged Hussars, my understanding is that no-one is quite sure who invented eth 'wings' idea but it was used by both sides in the conflict.
I used Dark Tone Army Painter dip on these guys and then applied a mat varnish when dry. Bases were covered with fine sand, electrostatic grass and a selection of tufts.
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| A final view of the figures, overall I think they're OK but not great! |
I think I'll be a little more fussy on the figures I get in future, these seemed a bargain but the quality wasn't great....
