Desert Crusader Leader

Raising his sword high overhead, this commander intends to be seen - even in the endless sweeps of the desert.

This figure is intended for use as the leader of a warband of "ordinary" Desert Crusaders. Consequently, his equipment is based on that of the common crusaders, but elevated by one step of refinement.

For instance, like the other crusaders, the Leader wears torso armor secured by a broad waist belt. However, his chest armor looks as if the top piece has been removed - revealing his (bare?) upper chest and a "crenelated" necklace or torc. Likewise, his belt is secured not by the plain circular clasp of the basic troopers, but with a larger, eight-spoked "crenelated" clasp. The armor skirts are longer, and end in a "crenelated" fringe.

Beneath the armor, the Leader wears a flowing calf-length robe over armored feet-and-ankles. (His lower right leg seems a little thin.) The skirt raises a minor mystery, as it is open in the front but not at the rear, and part of the right leg is visible as it runs inside the skirt - I'm just not sure what the sculptor intended here. (Just paint the interior with dark, shadowy hues and hope no one wonders what's in there...)

The shoulder pads are less epic in size that the basic uniform, differing in the outline, the number of crenelations, and having a blunt end. Unlike the basic uniform, the indents between crenelations do not cut completely between them (probably a flaw, but could be artistic license...).

The leader does not have a helm. The face is stern and frowning, with hair drawn back to a tail (possibly tied with a clip).

The cape flows to one side as if caught by a breeze, and is deeply creased on the outside (but not the inside). It is thin on the sides but thick on the bottom edge. There's an odd spot on the inside of the cape (under the left arm), where it looks like there "should" be a crease but isn't. (Almost as if the sculptor removed something here and left a flat spot.)

Like the common crusaders, the Leader has weighted straps hanging down from his shoulder pads. The arms appear bare. Hands are wearing thick (leather?) gauntlets with wide cuffs. The sword (a "straightsword," according to the game stats) is longer and wider than the common swords, has a tapering rather than a straight blade, and has a crossbar with simple ornamentation.

When cleaning the figure, be sure to remove tiny bits of metal along the bottom of the robes - these are easy to remove, if you know to look for them. Our sample had minor seam problems on the weapon hilt and tops of the shoulder pads, but these should be easy areas to deal with. The seamline also runs across the figure's hair, but the difference is minor and is best dealt with in the paint job rather than trying to remove the seam in this detailed area.

Figure measures 32mm from top of head to bottom of boots. Consists of metal figure plus plastic slottabase.