A Horse of a Different Color

As I mentioned last month, I've been sending a few units from the Army of Men to Old Guard Painters to have them readied for battle. Now back from Ukraine, assembled, armed, based and flocked, here are the Cormyr Lancers of the Eastern March!

Lavender? I hear you say. Sure, why not? The Kingdom of Cormyr (in the Forgotten Lands) is a magical place, so why not a few colorful horses?

These figures were part of the now-defunct official 15mm line from Ral Partha for Battlesystem, the mass-combat system for Dungeons & Dragons. When the license was canceled years ago, the molds were required to be destroyed - therefore, you can't get these minis any more except on the secondhand market.

When giving instructions to a painting service, it's important to be meticulous. In this case, where I was inventing a color scheme in my mind, it also helps to be able to visualize the end-product. My exact instructions were:

Horses:

violet - see picture at wendyswizardofoz.com/facts3.htm

Plume:

alternate bands of violet and yellow

Shield:

violet and yellow bands

Boots:

violet

Leader's Cloak:

vertical violet and yellow stripes

Bugle:

brass

Pennants/flags:

See sketch. Both flags identical, and same on both sides.

Other colors:

Your discretion

The figures that I have make up a unit of fifteen riders: one leader, two standardbearers, and 12 troopers. The horses come in two variants.

Leader

Hmmm... he seems to be on a lean. Perhaps to strike better with his sword? (The riders didn't fit well into their saddles.)

Standardbearer

Is the horse leaning? Some of the castings seemed to be bent to one side, and I was fearful to bend them too much due to their age.

Trooper

The lances are provided as wires in the blister pack. I painted them by dipping them into brown paint, leaving the "sharp" end clean.

Confusingly, there were two similarly-named products in the Battlesystem line - the Cormyr Lancers as seen here (light cavalry); and the Cormyr Lances (heavy cavalry in armor).