Vlad Tzepes


All figures are supplied unpainted (Numbers of each pose in brackets)
Stats Date Released 2009 Contents 34 figures and 8 horses Poses 11 poses, 2 horse poses Material Plastic (Medium Consistency) Colours Brown/Grey Average Height 24.5 mm (= 1.77 m)
Review

Vlad Tepes is little known outside his native lands, or at least little understood. Born around 1431, he ruled Wallachia (which is in modern Romania) as voivod or prince for several periods between 1448 and his death in 1476. Wallachia was a turbulent land, caught as it was between Hungary and the vigorous Ottoman Empire, both of which claimed suzerainty over it at various times. Along with these neighbours, who were always happy to interfere in local politics, a restless and disloyal local aristocracy made governing such a land a challenging and dangerous task, and the frequent changes of ruler were often accompanied by violence and death. In an age when princes often used terror to get their way, Vlad became known for the extremes to which he would go, both in the sheer number of his victims and in the gruesome nature of his apparent favourite form of execution – impalement on a wooden stake (hence ‘Tepes’ – ‘the impaler’). Much of his energies were directed toward fighting the expanding Ottoman Empire, which he personally hated, thus providing something of a buffer between that empire and Western Europe.

In common with many armies of the time the armed forces of Wallachia were made up of two parts – the ‘Lesser Army’, which was comprised of professional soldiers, foreign mercenaries, loyal retainers and some selected peasants and townsmen, and the ‘Greater Army’ or voinici, which was effectively a general levy of all able-bodied males called out in emergencies. Only the retainers and wealthier soldiers wore much armour, while the peasantry wore their normal clothes with no more than a padded jacket for protection. Inevitably given their location Wallachian warriors were influenced by Hungary and other middle-European countries to the west, by the Russian states to the north, and by the Ottomans to the east. The peasantry were similar in appearance to their Russian contemporaries, with warm tunic, trousers and boots and often a fur-trimmed cap. The main weapon was the composite bow but various other types such as swords, clubs etc were also used. The wealthier and professional soldiers might wear armour of eastern or western influence, and used swords, spears and maces amongst others.

The foot figures in this set are a cross-section of Wallachian forces, with the majority of poses being of the poorer levies without any armour. The styles of clothing are all authentic, as are the weapons apart from the bow, which seems to be a longbow rather than the far more usual composite bow. The first figure in the top row has an eastern-looking helmet and holds a spear or polearm. Obviously not part of the levy, he illustrates more clearly the eastern influence on wealthier soldiers, and to a lesser extent so does the man with the banner. The pose next to the banner man is evidently Vlad himself, and is based on the most famous portrait of the man and on a modern reconstruction produced by Angus McBride. The cap with its impressive plume is a direct copy, and the coat is typical of the nobility of the time, with its eastern false sleeves. Despite this figure holding a sword aloft this is not the costume Vlad would have worn in battle, but instead ordinary court dress. In battle he would have worn armour of a high quality not greatly dissimilar to that worn by more western princes.

Much Wallachian cavalry was light and unarmoured, which is a fair description of the two mounted figures in this set. Although mounted troops tended to be professional or wealthy the swordsman is quite simply dressed, which the bowman, who this time has a far more acceptable type of bow, is more richly attired. Neither man wears spurs, which is quite correct, but surprisingly the swordsman has no stirrups either. One horse has some quilted protection but both are suitable for this type of warrior and well executed.

While many will not have heard of Vlad the Impaler, everyone has heard of the fictional character Dracula created by Bram Stoker at the end of the 19th century. Dracula was Vlad’s surname, and meant son of Dracul (Dracul being his father’s name since he joined the Order of the Dragon). Apart from his name there is little connection between Vlad and the fictional vampire count, yet simply putting the word Drakul on the box seems to have been reason enough for Lucky Toys to have included a figure of the classic character in very classic pose. A nice touch but of no relevance to the historical subject of the rest of the set.

All the poses here are really great and have lots of life as well as being perfectly appropriate for the subject. Their style is the same as the Caesar figures, and this extends to the several figures with complex stances that can only be obtained by multiple part or flexible moulds. This makes the poses anything but flat and greatly enhances their look, particularly as there is no assembly required here, nor even any separate weapons. The falling man in the top row is a highlight, as is the downed man in the second and the mounted swordsman, who is striking to his right, but all of them are excellent.

The sculpting is first class, with all the detail you could possibly want and perfect proportions. The banner has been somewhat crudely engraved with a design on both sides, but this is easily painted over, and there is no flash or other excess plastic to spoil any figure. The riders sit on their mounts fairly easily, and even the traditional long hair of all the men is beautifully realised, so there really isn’t much more you could ask for.

However we would ask for more. These figures are great and a fair cross-section of an army under Vlad, but only 10 poses is far too few to deliver a full army as a wargamer might require. The mounted arm in particular is hardly going to be properly depicted with just two poses, so as with some earlier Lucky Toys sets this is more a selection of suitable soldiers than a serious attempt to depict an entire army. True other figures could be gained from sets of Russians and others, but we can’t help admiring these figures and wishing there were many more. That aside, these are fabulous figures for a fascinating era.


Ratings

Historical Accuracy 10 Pose Quality 10 Pose Number 4 Sculpting 10 Mould 10

Ce spuneti de asta? Se apuca omul si achizitioneaza Russian Foot Soldiers de la Zvezda, ca deh ceva mai apropiat cica nu exista, si poftim surpriza...placuta bineinteles!
Oricum exista numai 10 ipostaze asa ca "rusnacii" merg in completare de minune.
Cand aflati de unde se poate achizitiona un set va rog sa ma anuntati si pe mine



Acest mesaj a fost editat de dodos: 8 Feb 2010, 00:42

Da Flo.Detalii savuroase care compun o istorie reala.Evident ca nu poti preda una ca asta prin scoli si licee.O aranjezi,o coafezi(ba,poate o chiar maltratezi) si o (re)scrii.Toti fac asa,mai mult sau mai putin.
Totusi realitatile acelor vremi,ramin.Oamenii aia nu erau mai altfel decat suntem noi acuma.

Cand s-a vazut incoltit de romani,Decebal le-a propus un targ,ba chiar si-a oferit una dintre surori.
Cezar a fost asasinat ca sa fie salvata democratia romana din mainile si mintile unui dictator ce se baza pe legiuni profesioniste.O crima perfect justificata,infama totusi.
Henric VIII-un nebun curvar,un despot desavarsit,care nu a ezitat sa-si execute oamenii cei mai apropiati.Cand Papa l-a amenintat cu excomunicarea,omu'a decis ca-i momentul sa-si intemeieze o alta biserica.
Putem sa mai povestim pe aceste teme mult si bine.Realitatile raman.Istoria este altceva.

Cat despre noi si ai nostrii:cititi Neculce,Grigore Ureche,Balcescu si Iorga,CC.Giurescu si Djuvara.Asta este istorie.

O sa continui cu descrierile ce se refera strict la subiectul topicului.Imaginatia celor interesati este libera,pentru ca eu,din pacate,habar n-am sa desenez.

Acest mesaj a fost editat de Longinus: 11 Feb 2010, 10:03

"Lăsat-au Ştefan-vodă cel Bun la mănăstirea Putna, după moartea lui, arcul lui şi un păhar, ce vorbiè călugării la mănăstire că este de iaspis, ce era în chipul marmurii albe şi al farfurii, ca să fie întru pomenire la sfânta mănăstire. Şi arcul l-au fost trăgând cu vârtej."

Citat din Ion Neculce - "O sama de cuvinte"

Conform altor istorici, in vremea lui Stefan cel Mare arbaleta era folosita mai mult decat lasa unii sa inteleaga. Dupa spusele lui Ion Neculce, arcul lui Stefan ar fi de fapt o arbaleta, cunoscuta pe-atunci sub numele de "arc cu vartej". E doar o presupunere ce nu poate fi verificata fiindca arcul cu pricina a disparut dupa ce manastirea Putna a fost jefuita de cazaci in vremea lui Constantin Cantemir.

Citat absolut corect Liviule.Surse istorice,direct de la sursa.

Domnilor, toata admiratia pentru vointa voastra de a va documenta si a scormoni dupa adevarul adevarat.
In ceea ce ma priveste am o abordare mult mai artistica ahobby-ului de fata.
Ceea ce ne aduce la motivul postarii mele - daca intruniti datele necesare, ma bag eu la desen, cu toate ca mi-e groaza de transpunerea exacta a vorbelor (descrierilor) in imagini.

Wurger-ule,participarea ta ar fi o chestie extraordinara;eu nu sunt pasionat de figurine(ma refer strict la modelit )dar sunt sigur ca ar fi doritori/interesati intr-o incercare/propunere de reconstituire.Drept urmare,acest topic are toate sansele sa devina un succes.
Pe care,eventual,l-am putea dezvolta in viitor. .

Buna idee. Adunand mai multe date, pareri, informatii si discutand fie pro, fie contra, poate ne mai luminam putin. Si poate ca, strangand datele intr-o lucrare, ne cauta cei de la Osprey si ne umplem de bani .

Daaaa, sigur.
Faza e ca ne intrebam de ce iese asa putin in publicistica despre noi. Pai cine sa scrie de noi daca nu noi.
Eu ma refer la contributia mea strict in materie de desen. Cat priveste plata, primul care se vede cu miile de euro in buzunar sa-mi dea si mie un 2 %

Cat priveste topicul, ar trebui redenumit si mutat zic eu, ca se numeste cam aiurea pentru ce contine.

..."Săbiile erau de două feluri:unele drepte,cu două tăişuri,întrebuinţate mai ales in Apus,altele încovoiate,răspândite în Răsărit,la tătari şi la turci.Sabia dreaptă se mai numea şi spada;uneori era aşa de mare si de grea,că se mânuia cu ambele braţe.Pe vremea lui Mircea şi a lui Ştefan,spada predomina in ţările noastre,în Ungaria şi în Polonia.Mai târziu,locul ei îl va lua sabia încovoiată.Moldovenii aveau un anume tip de spadă,bine cunoscut in Italia.De aceea la Genova se putea comanda,în 1468,<una spada a la facione velachesca>.
... Ghioagele sau măciucile...se făceau dintr-un lemn tare(corn,gorun) strujit,adică cioplit,pârlit şi uneori ghintuit
adică ţintuit cu cuie sau piroane cu capul lat şi rotund sau poliedric.Topoarele şi coasele erau cele obişnuite,de care se foloseau ţăranii în pădure şi la coasă.Numai cozile celor dintâi erau mai lungi,pentru a permite lovitura de la oarecare distanţă.
Coasele se întrebuinţau adeseori pentru a tăia picioarele cailor duşmanilor."

Acest mesaj a fost editat de Longinus: 11 Feb 2010, 20:32

Prezentarea garzilor de corp ale voievozilor moldoveni asa cum apare in "Descrierea Moldovei" de Dimitrie Cantemir:

"Cei 24 de fustasi, purtatori de ghioage. In vreme de pace, pazesc usile de la odaile femeilor si de la temnitele curtii in care sunt inchisi slujitorii curtii pentru greseli marunte. Daca cineva trebuie sa fie batut din porunca domnului, cu vergile, ei indeplinesc pedeapsa. Cand domnul iese de la curte, fie cu alai, fie spre desfatarea sa, ei il impresura de amandoua laturile cu ghioage lungi in mana: aceeasi slujba o implinesc si in razboi. Au o capetenie a lor deosebita, ce se numeste vataf de fustasi."

Prezentarea armatelor celor doua principate romanesti in sec. XV-XVI, asa cum o face prof. univ. Petre P. Panaitescu in "ISTORIA ROMANILOR pentru clasa VIII-a secundara, editia VI-a" aparuta in 1942, reeditata in 1990:

"Armata

Armata era impartita in cete conduse de boieri, dar alaturi de cetele boieresti erau si cetele targurilor, ridicate dintre oraseni. Unele sate erau scutite de biruri cu obligatia ca in schimb sa tie arme intotdeauna pregatite si sa fie gata de lupta la orice chemare, aceste sate militare erau numite sate de curteni, slujitori sau rosii de tara.(De unde Rosii de Vede, numiti mai tarziu Rosiorii de Vede). Alaturi de aceasta oaste de tara erau si mercenarii sau lefegii, adusi mai ales dintre Sarbi si Bulgari. Ostile romanesti luptau mai ales pe jos; chiar cand aveau cai, acestia slujeau mai mult la transport, caci in clipa luptei era obiceiul ca "oastea sa se pedestreasca". Inca din vremea lui Vlad Dracul, si mai ales sub Stefan cel Mare apare la noi si artileria. tunurile se numeau pusti, iar pustile sânete. Foarte intrebuintat era si arcul mai ales arcul cu vartej sau arbaleta. Pentru paza cetatilor dela granita si a pasurilor din munti erau plaesii condusi de un vataf de plaesi. Si acestia erau niste sateni din anume sate militare scutite de biruri. In caz de primejdie mare se putea ridica toata tara in arme, ceiace se numea "oastea cea mare", de care nu putea fi scutit nici un barbat in stare de a lupta."

Acest mesaj a fost editat de Liviumaff: 11 Feb 2010, 21:17

Ma bucur ca primul meu topic postat aici a nascut aceasta discutie cat se poate de interesanta si astept cat mai multe pareri si contributii, fara a uita subiectul de la care s-a pornit.
Ideea de baza este ca se dedica pentru prima oara un set de figurine expres armatelor medievale romanesti, ceea ce demonstreaza interesul strainilor, chiar dk afacerea se invarte in jurul lui Dracula.
Pentru noi este un subiect de interes spun eu si dk se poate sper sa adunam aici materiale idei care sa acopere aceasta gaura neagra a istoriei.

Pana acum a reusit careva sa achizitioneze setul? cum este?