The Russians are Coming!

With two Rus factions for SAGA forthcoming, I thought it would be a good idea to run through some of my Rus figures.  Most of them were purchased as a way to give an eastern focus to my Viking army, without the intention of building a separate Russian army.  As it turns out, I have a few figures from most of the manufacturers currently.

Below are some Magister Militum Rus. These are metal figures of average to good casting quality. The sculpts are well detailed, but not as good as the Gripping Beast figures. Shields are separate, and soft metal spears are included, which I chose not to use.

Gripping Beast's Jomsvikings are obviously modeled on early Rus from the Osprey books. These rank with the best of Gripping Beast's dark age line, and would do well for the early Pagan Rus. Additionally, shields are cast on and spears are not included. 

I am always looking for ways to convert figures from my second box of Conquest Normans.  Here's one that's been given a fur cloak and a higher peaked helmet.  He could work well as an eleventh century Rus from the Kievan princes era.  

WIP pictures

Below, a comparison shot of figures from each of the four manufacturers.  The Essex is obviously the smaller of the figures, but not so much that it is out of place.  It also has the least sharp features, and the square shield shows little texture compared to Gripping Beast and Magister.  

As far as I know, the only other manufacturer of Dark Age Rus is Old Glory.  I would expect their figs to be more in line with the Essex in terms of size and quality.  There website does not help very much with pictures.