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Hi all,
I'm thinking of adding four new knights to my castle, and thought I'd share my first foray into customization with you. These are some shield designs I came up with based on some of the shields in the Bayeux Tapestry. I'm surprised that I haven't seen more of these type of designs floating around, since I'd guess that LEGO's original concept for the ovoid shield was probably based on the Bayeux Tapestry to begin with. Does anybody know if anyone else has walked down this path?
--Stephen

Nice. Very Normanesque! I really like the one on the far left. Nice use of period art.

Heir

Thanks! The little dragon is sort of a composite of three or four historical pieces, done freehanded. I know it looks a little shaky, but I figure when reduced to a couple of centimeters, it won't be a big deal.

The dragon shield looks pretty sharp.

i have not done any shields from the tapestry, but i've always wanted to make a decal to .. i dont know... depict the style of medieval artwork in lego form? actually.. i wanted someone more talented to create one.
say - something that fits on a flag? or on one of these pieces? and in style is medieval, but with lego figs?

Aye, these look very nice! I like how the bosses and rivets look on the two that have them.

These are really great! I'm going to save them and use them, if you don't mind. I like the fact that you went "early" with your designs instead of doing more typical heraldry. Great stuff, keep at it!

By all means, if you like them, feel free to use them. I'd be interested in seeing any creations you make if you end up using them.

I finally decided to make these little guys. The only two elements I've customized are the shields with printed decals, and the helmets with the neckguards sawn off. I went with brick-built horses in order to match my old yellow-castle knights, and also to have some color variety. Better photos can be seen here: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=424239. But even there I have to apologize for the quality of the photography. Thanks for taking a look.

I saw the Tapestry two years ago and these kite-shields are superb. Why don't you use torsi with chain mail or scale armour plus yellow hands? They would fit perfectly and create perfect Norman knights.

Thanks. The thought of some sort of chain mail did cross my mind briefly. Since this was the first I've ever tried this sort of thing, I only set my sights on the shields, though. Maybe one day I'll pick them up again and decide to improve on them some more.

Very nice work. I'm not a fan of the old Lego brick-built horses myself, but I think they work well in this case. The shields are well done as well.

All of these are really well done. The one on the far right I sort of like the idea of the studs holding the shield together but as far as design goes I like the left one. Well done indeed.

Tycho McKorley wrote: I'm not a fan of the old Lego brick-built horses myself...

I'm not sure if many people are. I remember when my little brother got his first Lego castle set. I was a bit jealous because he had the new molded horses, and my horses were bricky and blocky. But somewhere along the way nostalgia kicked in and now I sort of have a fondness for the brick horses. I tend to think of them as an endangered species.