Thematic Byzantines Cavalry

  The dark age period for me is my favorite period when it comes to collecting and painting miniatures and no doubt the Byzantine empire played a huge role in Europe during this time
period. It's a must have army for myself and I never tire of painting them up. Two large ranges
of Byzantines that exist are from  Gripping Beast and Crusader Miniatures. I decided to post a
Mtd unit from each with comparison shots for those who would ever have interest. The one thing
that clearly stands out is the gripping beast miniatures are indeed some what larger and not
 surprising due to their added size have more detail added compared to the crusader line. That being said I'll let the viewer decide which line has the more appeal. Personally, I find no issue using both lines on the table together I just would not mix them into the same unit. The other two issues for people who are contemplating collecting Byzantines from either line would be cost (I do not recall actual cost anyone can do their comparison analysis obviously) and ease of painting. The crusader line I painted up much faster the simplicity of their miniatures was refreshing and they look great I feel without the need of tons of extra detail. This of course is a matter of taste as the Gripping Beast came out nice as well just requires more painting time so it depends on the individual and what he wants to accomplishes in comparison to cost/painting time needed/and final look of the finished product. With that said I tried to include plenty of pics as pictures often say things words cannot.

Crusader Miniatures 

Gripping Beast rear shot

Gripping Beast front shot

Crusdaer on the left Gripping Beast on the right

Gripping Beast Miniatures

Gripping Beast unit shot

Crusader on the left Gripping Beast on the right. In this pic the size difference looks far more prominent

Command figures Crusader on the left Gripping Beast on the right

Crusader rear shot