Apologies in advance...


  • I'm sure everyone "loves" ideas for new armies espescialy seeing as there are already several waiting to be fleshed out with more sets but the idea won't leave me alone so in brief;

    Polish cavalry (in space)

    To expand; the tagline is "the greatest sport is war" sport implies spectacle and seeing as the Poles gave us such eye chatching units as Winged Hussars and Ulans/Uhlans/Lancers (the lancers additionaly spawning copycats worldwide in both uniform and equipment) who did carve out a reputation for effectivness.

    In more practical terms if made in the "Grognard" style aka lots of heads, different heads could fit different armies. dwarf vikings? slap on the winged hussar helmets. 19th century grognards or bulldogs? Czapka would fit in. More modern style armies? 20th century steel helmets or rogatywka.

    Plus I saw these book covers and thought it looked neat;

    So, is it just me who thinks it would be interesting?



  • @Sir Nobody Actually I could see them as Free Agents, same deal with Mongols since the main selling point is the cavalry, could even do both as mutant cyborg centaurs if wanted though that may be a bridge to far for the hammerheads who buy these sets.


  • @Sir Nobody  I think there's still quite a niche for the Polish Hussars minis.
    Victoria Miniatures had a sweet crowdfund for various cavalry units for WH40k proxies, including sci-fi Polish Hussars, but plastic would be much better to work with. The aesthetics and the idea are popular even outside Poland as you mention and great way to point an elite cavalry unit on the game table. I'm pretty sure the accessories, horse (gryphon? eagle? robot feline? raptor?) barding and an equivalent of heavy lances for them in Death Fields design could be really awesome.

    You could probably make a Polish faction for DF, but I'm not sure if it would be easy without some heavy handing.

    As the might of heavy cav and Hussars falls around the 16th century, it's somewhat between the Einharjar (clearly inspired by medieval vikings) and the next earliest units, around 18th or 19 century. (Grognards, Bulldogs). It would fix the gap neatly, with a few possible sets. Cavalry free agents - Heavy Hussars, light Cossaks? I'm not sure if it doesn't fall to close to the Reneissance cavalry we just got. Still pondering to grab one of these boxes.

    On the other hand, it could easily be a faction on its own, with Hussars and infantry Cossacks. Both certainly interesting to be kidnapped by the DF organisers. 

    Armoured/cybernetic mounts are MVP, the wings make great focal point - no brainer :D

    @Brian Van De Walker Why calling people names D: Centaurs could be certainly done, though I don't see the appeal. They often come out as wonky "torso on the horse model", but Valkyrie 3D models from WA suggests it can be done in a better way.


  • how much of the polish hussar equipment has commonality with the incoming Renaissance cavalry sets? could a hsitorical version be done as a upgrade sprue?


  • @Mithril2098 I thought the same, but unfortunately I doubt it could be done correctly with an upgrade sprue, or it would be to extensive. You probably could stick a pair of wings, but to get the feel you need specific helmets and the armour is very different.
    Also, one of interesting thing in their look was animal trophies from far countries, like leopard hides and longer coats than the Heavy Cav from the existing box have.


  • @Mithril2098 Short answer: No, and while I would not mind it do others really want historical Death Fields kits? Probably not (but hey we still have Iron Core in HD historical scale).

    @Drangir If we are just talking for Death Fields, than it would not be that similar at all given they would have SciFi inclosed helmets, "explosive lance" proxies, energy sabers, and laser pistols  at least, (in fact even for Historical they should not be the same as the Heavy Cavalry set and it would be a good excuse to play with armor design). Though you might be able to make some Sci-Fi with the right bit box parts using either the Grog cavalry or old WFB Empire knights as a base.


  • I assumed using Renaissance heavy cav would be for historic hussars (like, nothing stops you from making a Death Fields unit out of Napoleonic minis with plasma weapons). Totally agree with Death Fields approach, no way you could use even. Grognards in a way that's not too extensive for an simple upgrade sprue


  • @Drangir yeah, the intent of my question was for Historicals, not Death Fields. while i get this is a DF thread, a historicals winged lancers set would be in fairly decent demand if done in plastic, especially in fantasy circles.

    and i wasn't sure exactly how different their armor was.. in online searches the art depictions vary wildy between showing different time periods and of course all the fantasy art. even the reenactment and museum stuff varied a lot.

     


  • Remember that "Husaria" as Polish heavy cavalry operating from 1500-1800 are quite different from many units called hussars under other nations - after that hussars remained on the battlefields fielded by other nations, while Poland was partitioned and, well, didn't field any armies anymore.

    The heavy cav set from WA isn't 100% bad as the base, but differ enough to make creating the most iconic look of the hussars quite difficult:

    > Mentioned trophies from exotic animals, usually worn across the chest. It seems quite difficult to sculpt or made from other minis. Unit was formed from nobles that was required to buy their own gear, so they wanted to show off a lot. Obviously, it's not a part of uniform nor everyone would wear it, especially during a battle, though at least 1 body with such accessory would be welcome

    > No puffed sleeves in the mentioned fashion. It's really out of place and while full armoured arms could do a good job, it limits your options quite greatly.

    > Hussars armours were often the best what could be bought with money, with a lot of moving parts, interlocking layers allowing them to move easily. It's other part of the "look". The set doesn't seem like the case, presenting early Renneissance type of plates.

    Last thing would be helmets, keeping the style pretty much across the ages and wings, that aren't really hard to sculpt or print.

    Also: Not a historian, maybe an armchair one at best. I don't say that's impossible to made Polish Hussars with heavy cavalry set, just mentioning an upgrade frame that covers all bases (so, torsos, arms, helmets, accessories) would be way too close to a new sprue. I believe it's also doable with just wings and heads parts to make a convincing unit for a battle game.

    Furthermore, I also can be skewed with the most modern version of them. It's also debated if they've even used wings outside parades.


  • @Drangir I have heard all sorts of "historians" online make claims about how "this armor/clothing/whatever was for parade use only" and then find examples those same pieces with bullet and blade dents in them (truth is they don't for sure).

    In this case though, no they likely did wear those wings to battle for two reasons:

    1. to tell thier battle brothers apart from thier enemies just like the Samurai and thier back flags. The eastern european armor adopted alot from the Turks and the Pols are no exception

    2. Deafen or train the horses to loud sounds, which was an absolute must for pistol cavalry since horses spook at loud noises like gun shots normally.

    As to the other trophies, while I can't make rock hard claims about "Husaria" I know it was actually pretty common  in both Europe and Asia for elite unites and noble Cavalry to dress in a flashy fashion on the battlefield (some of the helmets and armor the Samurai actually wore into battle throw the whole "it's cermonial armor" idea under bus so hard the road waffles are diamond), so I would not bet against them being decked out like that.

    That all said it doesn't matter in this case cause this is a Death Fields threads, its all going to look like cool flashy trash.

    @Mithril2098 We should probably move that part of the topic to a historical thread or do a Vox.

    @Sir Nobody What is that book, does it have in english translation?

     


  • @Drangir I saw the VM version and found them lacking, no bionic eyes, no "death head" gasmasks, no lizard people cloaks. In short they look like historical miniatures with modern webbing and scifi lances.

    @Mithril2098 While the Poles were almost identical to western european armies in the high medieval period during the rennaisaince the Poles created their own style making them distinct from from both western and eastern militaries.

    Seeing as this is not a hitorical thread I don't want to go on a tangent but below is a photo of husaria armour from the first half of the 1600's so you can judge how easy a conversion would be: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f0/b3/17/f0b3176450d09ccf8667c7092a20bae7.jpg

    @Brian Van De Walker My own studies show that the wings were worn in battle however they were not mandatory. They were a piece of fashion and as such there were periods were they were more common and periods were they were less common.

    And as for the books, I have no idea. I saw sci-fi winged hussars and thought it would be a decent idea for how such an idea would look.

    On the subjet here is another set of book covers of alternative history and, I believe, an illustration for a CCG.

     


  • @Brian Van De Walker I guess it's also a matter of lack of proof they've been used or lackluster mentions of the wings in the literature, like from the writers from the other side. Not sure though, it's also something that could vary depending on the certain time (we're speaking about a few hundred years after all) and even certain battle.

    Though, if you make models of Polish hussars, you put the wings on the sprue. There's no discussion here :D Agreed, let's move out from the historic minis here, it's messing things up.


    @Sir Nobody Damn, Różalski in this exact piece is awesome for Death Fields style - not overly detailed, very utilitarian yet still recognizable. Light recoiless rifles as the lances? Awesome, it's exactly what I need for "Heavy cavalry in dark science fiction universe". Boom lances always make me wince. They maybe fit cultists (Fury Road, anyone?) or death-wishing Kriegs, but for elite unit I'd expect something more viable. 
    Agreed with the VM, they seem just kinda generic and not stealing the eye like Grognards cav do. Best (coolest) unit in the range are Rangers who looks like something from Metal Gear Solid or weird modern patrol unit. 

    I think the Hussars face guard would be an awesome base for modern gas mask/visual system helmets.


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