Imported into the US by Dragon Models USA (www.dragonmodelsusa.com)

Here’s a set that will get the notice of medieval wargamers and/or dioramists who wish to depict the crucial 13th Century period of Russian history. This was a time when the Russians were reeling from invasions by the Mongol Golden Horde, fighting the knights of Livonia (modern Latvia) and defending their northern border from Sweden. The Russian Grand Prince of Novgorod, Alexander Nevsky, led his forces to some significant victories and secured the western borders of his country.

Zvezda has already released sets depicting Russian knights and infantry from this time period (as well as a set of Livonian Knights), so this is an ideal complement. The set can be used with Zvezda’s "Age of Battles" miniatures wargaming system, but can also be used with other rules sets too.

This set contains 18 mounted units, including five different charging knight poses (with three of each pose) and single figures of a commander/prince, standard bearer and a signaler with a horn. The figures are well-detailed and sculpted, with the horses in particular being very fine. Their poses are very dynamic without appearing unrealistic, so each can be used multiple times without obvious repetition.

Knights of this era were quite colorful and, though there were no standard colors, the back of the box provides detailed painting advice. The box art is also helpful in this respect and, between the two, you can paint the figures without having to dig through a lot of reference material.

The armor and weapons seem to be correct for this period, with all the figures wearing a form of mail for protection. The helms are characteristically pointed, while weapons include short swords, spears, and bows – all very typical of the period.

This is a nice little set and, for all you wargamers, a good addition to any medieval arsenal. My thanks to Dragon Models USA for providing IPMS this review sample.