1:72 Polish Field Artillery (1-st half of the XV century)

MARS 1:72 Polish field artillery, 15th century

A set in 1:72 scale from MARS Model. The box holds four field guns and sixteen crew figures in four poses. The weapons match the type that in the Czech and Polish lands was called a tarasnice, that is a lighter gun set up behind a wooden barrier. The parts come unpainted and have to be assembled.

The real subject

The tarasnice was a light firearm of the first half of the fifteenth century, laid in a wooden bed and used from a fortified position, from a barrier or from a wagon fort. Against infantry and cavalry alike it was devastating at short range, but loading took a long time and the crew needed cover. It was precisely the combination of firearms with the wagon fort that made the Hussite and later the Polish armies an enemy that heavy cavalry could not deal with.

Building and painting tips

Line the parts up dry first, above all the seating of the barrel in the bed. Paint the wood with an ocher base and a brown glaze drawn along the grain, and leave the metal barrel dark with a hint of mill scale. Give the crew colorful tunics; the contrast with the wood and metal does the scene good. Add a barrier of small sticks and a little heap of stone or lead shot to the base.

Who the set is for

• for builders of dioramas of the Hussite and Polish wars
• for wargamers of the fifteenth century
• for collectors of early artillery
• for filling out foot sets of the same scale

The model is supplied unassembled and unpainted. Glue, paints and accessories are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.