One weapon on a long shaft could do the work of three. The halberd married an axe blade for cutting, a spike on top for thrusting through armour, and a hook at the back for dragging a mounted knight out of his saddle — chop, stab and dismount in a single tool, all on a pole cheap enough for a peasant to carry. Its reach was the whole point: a footman could strike a horseman before the rider's sword or lance could reach him. Strictly, the halberd proper is a slightly later weapon, perfected by the Swiss in the 14th and 15th centuries, so a crusading foot soldier more often held a plain spear — but the idea it embodied, a long pole that could unmake a knight, is as old as the fear of cavalry itself.

King & Country give the halberdier the look of a hard professional: a studded coat of plates over mail sleeves, a red jupon with a white cross on his chest, red hose and a steel kettle-hat, both hands set on the haft as he swings the head round. A sword rides at his back for close work. His weapon is the answer to the charging knight — set him and a hedge of his fellows against the levelled lance of the Red Swabian Knight to stage that duel of pole against horse. In the line he stands with the Crusader Sergeant-at-Arms and the Crusader archer, the reach-weapon anchoring a diorama where foot meets cavalry.

Model: MK217 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 1 piece set