WOW! MRL has just put out a whole bunch of actually good looking period stuff!!! Go to their site and find the last page of each catagory. They've got some new nice looking swords,daggers, and some awesome looking helmets, including a Great Bascinet.

The "SWORD OF NOAVARA" looks pretty interesting. I like the details of the grip and etching on the blade. These are very nice details.

I've not received my copy of the catalog yet. Does it list any stats, such as weight?

Museum Replicas wrote:

SWORD OF NOAVARA During the French Wars in Italy the army of Louis XII was driven out of Milan by the League of Cambral. This alliance consisted of Spain, Naples, the Holy Roman Empire, the Papacy, the Swiss Cantons, England, and several Italian city-states. In 1513, the French army of 10,000 under Louis de LaTremoille still held Novara, 28 miles west of Milan, and the league forces moved against this position. The Swiss army of some 13,000 attacked the French camp, catching the defenders by surprise. A deadly battle ensued with the Swiss pikemen gaining the upper hand, but at heavy loss to their ranks. La Tremoille suffered 50% casualties and hundreds of German mercenaries fighting for the French surrendered only to be executed by the vengeful Swiss. The loss at Novara forced Louis XII to withdraw from Italy. We have named this Italian war sword for this battle as it is of a type that would be in use by members of the league. The hilt is beautifully designed - the guard (with double rings) and the pommel, both with floral detail, have a rich patina finish. Grip has attractive raised ridges for a firm hold and is covered in leather. The well tempered high carbon steel blade has a long ricasso, three fullers and has decorative etching.

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MRL SWORD OF NOAVARA

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MRL SWORD OF NOAVARA

It looks like for some of the new items, MRL is still entering information. But I LOVE the new great bascinet helm and the Sword of Auray. It looks amazing. I must say though....MRL's scabbards seem kind of un-period, but I love the fact that most MRL swords do come with one.

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Great Bascinet

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Sword of Auray

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Transitional Helm

The sword of Novara has a listed weight of 5 pounds.

The Great Bascinet looks interesting, too bad it's made from 19 gauge steel.

I don't care for the transitional helm. It's proportions are far too large and ungainly compared to higher quality replicas of the type.

I do like this Cinquedea.
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The Sword of Auray looks promising. A&A used to make a sword based on that same design. I always liked that one but could never afford it at the time.

Might the five pounds be the shipping weight? I like the Auray, and the Venetian sword. That cinqueda is nice too.

A couple of new helmets too.

This one is taken directly from the new HBO series Rome
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Here's a new viking fantasy helmet.
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While it has no basis in history,and is made from 19 gauge steel, it is kind of neat. This one would make a nice piece of costume kit for a LoTR Rohirim persona.

I know its a fantasy piece, but I am really digging this mace... I may have to break down and get it...
It seems to be in a set that it trying to be sauron-ish there is a big sword, the mace, and the knife... all remind me of the LOTR theme... but I'd take the mace anyways :D

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Their Viking Halberd is kind of interesting:

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While they do not say it, I assume that this supposed to be an aetgir. I have always encountered the aetgir under lists of viking spears, so I think I probably would have done more of a hybrid between what they show and a glaive. At the very least, I would have left less space between the back of the blade and the shaft. In their defense, they do point out that there is very limited info on these weapons.

Still, I think they have the right general idea when it comes to bladee shape, and it is nice to see somebody trying to recreate some of the more obscure and interesting weapons from history.

-Grey

They've also brought back the "Historical Excalibur." Historical, my butt....

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And one with a similar pommel to the DT Catalonian:

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I rather like their Late 14th Century War Axe. How does MRL do with replica axes? Do they tend to make the edge and the axe head too thick?

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Yes. I got their Viking bearded axe for Christmas one year and the head is almost like a splitting maul. I don't know, perhaps the Vikings liked them that way, but I tend to doubt it. It looks much heavier than pictures of museum pieces I've seen. However, I've heard that they've made huge leaps forward in the quality department, and the picture of your axe looks worlds lighter, so treat this as old intel.

I like the looks of many of their new items. I've owned a few MRL pieces, and while one or two of them were well worth the money, on the whole I was disappointed in their quality. Hopefully they've gotten better about that.

that viking halberd looks like a pretty darn liberal interpretation of an aetgir. MRL makes good product for their price bracket, but I think they've got a leak in the fantasy bucket, and its draining into the historical bucket ;)