creecher
Such is Life - Ned Kelly
Had a box load of stuff come in from Cotswold today. The latest Did Samurai Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Ignite Black Ninja and Ronin Swordsman, Peril Unlimited's Betty Zombie and an Elite Brigade Italian Knight. Most of these items have been presented and discussed elsewhere, so I thought I'd focus todays post on Cotswold's own brand, the Elite Brigade.
After hearing about the Ignite ninja's I had a look around and, after one link died on me, found Cotswold, through Evilface's recommendation. Searching through their site, I happened upon the Italian Knight, which was listed as a special at half price. Not much info on the site, but sometimes you gotta say why not. As these were Cotswolds own brand, I was interested in finding out more about their chain mail. You may notice in the picture how out of scale it is. Unfortunately it cannot be purchased separately. It is made in India and specifically fitted to each body. The scale is something Cotswold is trying to address with the Indian manufacturers, but they aren't having much success just yet.
I always wanted a fully armoured Knight, so this was my best chance yet. I luckily managed to purchase the last one they had, under their specials listing. The body they use has a soft plastic head. Not much chop, but at least the helmut covers it. Not like the bendy hands, which are exposed, and look like bendy hands, pretty crappy. The body itself I have no idea about. The armour is strapped and wired to the body. Too much bother to take apart at this stage, and may never have it's body swapped out. It has a surprising amount of articulation under all that metal, but how useful it is, under all that weight, is another matter.
What I can tell is, the body is wearing a black body suit. Over that, he is wearing a chain mail one piece vest and skirt, and over that his armour. The armour is well fashioned, and pieces are either strapped together with leather or rivetted. I counted 32 individual pieces that make up the armour. There is a swivelled hooking mechanism on his chest plate, which I have no idea what it's for, other than possibly to raise him onto his mount. I fully expect screamingmetal to make a post and explain. You will notice the oversize shoulder guard, for added protection when joisting. His sword is a simplistic design, and the scabbard is copper. He has some simple leather slip on footwear, which the chain mail is threaded onto. This has to be the heaviest figure I own. Heavier than the DiD samurai's. At least he comes with a Y type stand, as his knees were beginning to buckle as I was taking the photo's. I got mine for half price at $75.
I found Cotswold to be an excellent company to do business. I had a few hiccups and questions, that were patiently and effectively handled. They will certainly hear from me again, and thanks for the tip Evilface.
Cotswold. https://www.gijoeelite.com/f_home.asp
After hearing about the Ignite ninja's I had a look around and, after one link died on me, found Cotswold, through Evilface's recommendation. Searching through their site, I happened upon the Italian Knight, which was listed as a special at half price. Not much info on the site, but sometimes you gotta say why not. As these were Cotswolds own brand, I was interested in finding out more about their chain mail. You may notice in the picture how out of scale it is. Unfortunately it cannot be purchased separately. It is made in India and specifically fitted to each body. The scale is something Cotswold is trying to address with the Indian manufacturers, but they aren't having much success just yet.
I always wanted a fully armoured Knight, so this was my best chance yet. I luckily managed to purchase the last one they had, under their specials listing. The body they use has a soft plastic head. Not much chop, but at least the helmut covers it. Not like the bendy hands, which are exposed, and look like bendy hands, pretty crappy. The body itself I have no idea about. The armour is strapped and wired to the body. Too much bother to take apart at this stage, and may never have it's body swapped out. It has a surprising amount of articulation under all that metal, but how useful it is, under all that weight, is another matter.
What I can tell is, the body is wearing a black body suit. Over that, he is wearing a chain mail one piece vest and skirt, and over that his armour. The armour is well fashioned, and pieces are either strapped together with leather or rivetted. I counted 32 individual pieces that make up the armour. There is a swivelled hooking mechanism on his chest plate, which I have no idea what it's for, other than possibly to raise him onto his mount. I fully expect screamingmetal to make a post and explain. You will notice the oversize shoulder guard, for added protection when joisting. His sword is a simplistic design, and the scabbard is copper. He has some simple leather slip on footwear, which the chain mail is threaded onto. This has to be the heaviest figure I own. Heavier than the DiD samurai's. At least he comes with a Y type stand, as his knees were beginning to buckle as I was taking the photo's. I got mine for half price at $75.
I found Cotswold to be an excellent company to do business. I had a few hiccups and questions, that were patiently and effectively handled. They will certainly hear from me again, and thanks for the tip Evilface.
Cotswold. https://www.gijoeelite.com/f_home.asp
Well I didn't know what it was off the top of my head but I looked it up and it's called a Lance Rest, it supported the lance's weight and prevented it from being jammed into the armpit on impact (That's Jousting armor you have there).
