"Manufacturers of 13th to 15th Century late Byzantines?" Topic

I have long wanted to put together a 25mm / 28mm force of truly late Byzantines but no one seems to do them. Plenty of companies do the period up to and including the 12th Century but nothing later. Byzantine forces in the last few centuries of the empire seem to have displayed notable differences in appearance and equipment from those of earlier periods. So does anyone make truly late Byzantines?

Cheers,

TW

I'd have to say no. Not popular enough a period for a manufacturer to make any money selling models. Perhaps a kickstarter or paying Steve Barber to sculpt Late Byzantines might work.

Are there many figures of that period for Eastern Europe generally? You could possibly cobble together an army from Ottoman, Hungarian, Serbian, and Russian figures, maybe with a modification or two with shields.

Does Eureka still do its program for new sculpt requests?

Tassie Wargamer, that makes two of us! I'd like to do the 1444 campaign in 25/28mm. I've been watching the plastic figures, hoping that with swappable heads and other components something might be possible. It may be possible, but I haven't felt confident enough to invest money in it yet.

As YogiBearMinis points out, there are some Eastern European figures that might be of use, particularly as the Byzantines hired mercenaries of different sorts. Old Glory's stradiots link come to mind here for use as Byzantine light cavalry, though probably not all of them are suitable. The guy in the top hat, for instance.

Gripping Beast looked into really late Byzantines at one time, but decided not to. Perhaps they could be convinced.

Eureka no longer does their 100 Club, though the Steve Barber idea is a possibility.

Several years ago, somebody here on TMP was building a 25/28mm 15th Century Byzantine army, and posting pictures of it--very nice pictures, in fact. Years before that, I read about somebody who did the 1452 Siege of Constantinople as a game, but never saw any photos.

For what it's worth, Essex did bring out some suitable figures in 15mm. I have some, but haven't been able to drum up the enthusiasm to paint them.

Grelber
If something ever turns up, perhaps we could meet halfway between Tasmania and Colorado for a Byzantine civil war game! 8^)

Sebitar Workshops (Hungary) do some late Byzantine infantry (resin).
link

We would be interested in this IF there is enough interest from customers. I have been a long time fan of the illustrations by Ian Heath in the WRG Middle Ages book 2. Drop me a line at Eureka Miniatures and we could try a 100 Club idea via our Facebook page and Newsletter.
Nic EUREKA MINIATURES

Thanks chaps, certainly some interesting suggestions there. I have often given thought to doing some conversions but I find the prospect of converting an entire army daunting. I have also wondered whether Late Medieval Russians would also provide a good source for some figures.

Grelber, if we should finally have Late Byzantine armies then it would certainly be fun to have a Byzantine civil wargame. I suspect however that playing it halfway between Tasmania and Colorado might prove somewhat damp!

Perhaps Nic at Eureka Miniatures will get fired up and produce some. I think Late Byzantines look sufficiently exotic that they wouldn't be out of place in a fantasy setting, so perhaps there may a bigger potential market out there.

Cheers,

TW

I believe that GB cavalry without cast shields are good for late period.

As others mentioned, you can add various Old Glory figures for Balkan troops. Slavs from Dark Ages and Russian peasants from Mongols ranges will work for many Balkan infantry. Many cavalry types from Vlad range will work for Balkan cavalry. Balkan cavalry from Turkish range will even work for Trebisond Georgians as well as Turkmen cavalry from Crusades and Medieval Persian ranges.

You may also look at GB Russians. I believe that most of the cavalry and infantry will work for late Byzantines.

Perry miniatures has Italian mercenaries.