This is not strictly speaking a battleset of course, but it certainly is worthy of inclusion on our site, mainly because of the many interesting and unique accessories and figures it has to offer. However it does also include some familiar figure sets as follows:
A tournament was much more than what is commonly called a joust these days. One thinks of two mounted men in full armour hurtling toward each other with lances couched, but in fact tournaments could have many elements, including teams of men, sometimes on foot, engaging in something little short of actual fighting. Therefore many of the figures in those two sets could legitimately be used for a tournament, although that does not apply to the archers and crossbowmen! Both sets are made in a light tan plastic, which many welcomed as before then the French set had only been done in the unpopular silver plastic. Yet while many of those figures work for a tournament, Italeri went a whole lot further with this set, marking the first time that they had made such a set with significant unique components, and what great ones they were too.
To begin with, there were some more knights on horseback, including some clearly intended for the clash of lances. These are below.
There are four of them, and all are very different, including splendid crests. However in an unusual move Italeri sculpted their legs with the horse, and so, as can be seen, they made the torsos plug onto the legs, which allowed the legs to be underneath the caparison. This creates a somewhat different but very effective finished model, as illustrated here...
Moving on from the new knights, there is little point in jousting unless there is someone there to appreciate your achievements, and this set has a number of other figures, including dismounted knights, tournament officials and spectators. Here are the pictures:
All are really nice, although at an average of 25 to 26mm in height for the men they are too tall for the advertised scale. Still they remain some of the best non-fighting medieval figures yet made in this scale.
Finally the set includes a couple of very worthwhile accessories. One is the dividing rail, the tilt or tilt barrier, between the participants, which is in three sections, and the other is a very nice grandstand. The stand might take 10 people seated, so hardly Wembley Stadium, but it is a simple and attractive model.
With some great and really well-made extras this set has a lot to offer. Indeed the two sets of Hundred Years War figures feel almost like an afterthought rather than the core of the set, making this a very unusual battleset. However for fans of the medieval world this is a terrific collection.