"Ukrainian Cossack Cavalry " Topic

"The 16th century was a very important period in the history of the Cossacks. At its commencement the inhabitants of the Pontic Steppe were a mix of disparate peoples living a frontier life, largely free of central control or the benefits of a settled existence, with little except their environment and the difficulties of existence in common. By its end these scattered elements had coalesced into a recognisable grouping or society which would be known as Cossack, and which increasingly cooperated and saw themselves as a distinct people with common interests and goals. As such they would achieve great fame, and be both friend and foe to those states that bordered their territory and increasingly took an interest in them.

Their lifestyle meant they were no strangers to riding horses, and while many did their fighting on foot, particularly when in the pay of outsiders, there were already those that were skilled in mounted warfare, a feature many today associate with all Cossacks. This is the first of two sets from RedBox depicting mounted Cossacks of the 16th century, and as can be seen it concentrates on spears and bows, both traditional Cossack weapons. The first spearman has his weapon lowered as if in a charge, while the other two are much more relaxed, perhaps on the march or simply stationary. As such these poses are fine, although as we shall see the horse poses do not match the demeanour of these last two figures. The man with lowered spear is particularly noteworthy as he comes as a single piece, with no separate spear or any other assembly. To achieve this the sculptor has had to show the man pointing the spear noticeably to his right, which is understandable and a reasonable pose, but a line of such men all pointing to the right would look odd…."

Full review here
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Set 2 Review here…
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Amicalement
Armand