Cuirassiers the first truly 30YW figs for the pike and shotte line?

[mikeland]

Does anyone know if mixed units of horse were ever fielded during ECW? I have 3 regiments of 12 Horse completed, and intend to do a 4th (2 each for king and Parliament) and then some dragoons.

I was wondering about getting a box of cuirassiers and splitting them up over my existing units, and reorganising them to make my 4th unit that way. I.e take 3 out of each unit, and add 3 cuirassiers to each unit to replace them, then band the figures I took out with the remaining cuirassiers to make my forth unit.

This would be purely for aesthetic reasons to break up the look a bit. Or would this be totally inaccurate from a historical perspective.
I am not keen to do a unit entirely of cuirassiers due to their scarcity in the ECW.

[DOGGED]

IIRC:
Units of cuirassiers would be gfradually exchanging heavy armour for buff coat (and helmet?). So a mixed figure unit would still count as (heavy) shock cavalry, but maybe not gallopers (trotting ones then if the rules make such differences). And I have to say they would look very nice indeed.
Cuirassiers were far more common in the TYW, even to the extent as to fight dismounted in assaults (I recall reading somewhere about French cuirassiers doing so).
BTW it would be great to see a variant head sprue with Savoyard and "hat" helmets to customize cuirassiers for a more "western" ones.

[Invisible officer]

There are only two known ECW full Cuirassier units, Haselrig's Lobsters and Essex's Lifeguard. Both relatively small units. Mixing lobsters and light cavalry is a bad idea if you want a fast charge, the slowest horse dictates the speed. At the beginning of the war mixing might have happened, they had to learn that cavalry had to charge, not shoot out with pistols.

Artistic convention show many generals on the oil paintings in full armour but few wore them on the field. They are uncomfortable and hot.

The trooper's lobster armour was very expensive, the cheapest was £ 4 10s, double the light cavalry set. And you needed a big strong horse. Nothing of the thundering Rupert charge, more a fast trot.

But the full set was a good investment for safety. Haselrig was down at Roundway Down, he survived the attacks until rescued by his men. Charles I. joked: "Had be been victualled as well as fortified , he might have endured a siege of seven years." The Earl of Northampton was only killed after his assailants removed his helmet.