Yippeeeeee!!!

Matt of Elhiem Figures is a mega-star.  I only sent him the 'greens' for the shields on the 21st, and he has already cast a batch up for me - they arrived today.  Clean-up was minimal and took almost no time at all.  The castings are lovely and should take paint - and the dip - really well.  I can hardly wait to get them painted up and stuck on the figures.  These will be available for sale shortly (from me, not Matt!) - so if you want any, get in touch with an email address and I'll get back to you with details of price and the likes.

My one problem is which way up to glue them on - point up, or point down?  Simon James (the archaeologist who wrote the book I got the details from) suggests point upward, with (for the larger, pavise-like, shield at least) the flat end resting on the ground.  I also seem to recall something from one of the reliefs from Nineveh or somewhere like that, Assyrians having 'spara' tapering towards the top - of course, that's the best part of a thousand years earlier than these, but perhaps the 'tradition' is justification enough.  On the other hand, point down makes sense, as it'd be easier to 'jab' the point into the sand - plus somehow it looks right (but perhaps that's my western eyes, used to everything from Norman 'kite' shields through to medieval 'heater' shields).  So - exotic (point upward) or mundane (point down)? The archaeology isn't giving any hints away - a 'hand grip' was found with one of the shields, but it was detached, and there's no evidence for where it was attached on the shield.


Copyright © Dr. P.C. Hendry, 2010