Author Topic: Raising the Aquila: Archer auxilia (Read 7375 times)

Knight-Captain Tyr · « **on:** August 02, 2018, 11:46:30 AM »

Hi all,

So, after seeing numerous jawdropping examples of early imperial Roman armies on this subforum, I was sorely tempted to take the plunge and build a force of legionaries myself. After seeing Victrix's plastic offerings, especially those painted up by Suetonius Paulinus on this forum, it was just a matter of time.

So I have jumped in the deep end - two units of Legonaries (one advancing, one attacking), two units of Auxiliaries, and three slightly kitbashed onagers from Warbases.

The plan with this force isn't (yet) to commit to one specific Legion. This is very much a 'it looks cool so I want to collect it' force, at least initially. On that basis, aesthetic cues from Gladiator, Rome, Rome Total War and even For Honor will likely be present. My thinking is to run this force as Romans in Kings of War: Historical and as Kingdoms of Men in Kings of War vanilla. I'd love to give Hail Caesar a try but it depends on finding players.

Without further ado, the first unit of Legionaries assembled on their movement tray, with onager support and the Aquilifer marching beside them:

A closer look at the onagers:

...and what is still to be built (two auxilia units and another of legionaries)

Thanks for looking - hope to impress with future updates!

Knight-Captain Tyr · « **Reply #1 on:** August 02, 2018, 03:42:25 PM »

Painted:

rumacara · « **Reply #2 on:** August 02, 2018, 04:09:50 PM »

Nice.

aphillathehun · « **Reply #3 on:** August 02, 2018, 11:54:44 PM »

Wow! Really nice painting! I love the snow, but I bet their toes are cold....

Cyrus1 · « **Reply #4 on:** August 03, 2018, 02:48:04 AM »

Great work, the onagers are pretty cool too!

Tarnegol · « **Reply #5 on:** August 03, 2018, 05:50:54 AM »

Quote from: aphillathehun on August 02, 2018, 11:54:44 PM

I love the snow, but I bet their toes are cold....

This is the origin of the British fashion for wearing socks with sandals...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/7964516/Romans-wore-socks-with-sandals-new-British-dig-suggests.html

Munindk · « **Reply #6 on:** August 03, 2018, 07:27:57 AM »

Excellent romans, if you keep up this pace you'll have a legion before september!
Which means you'll be ready to start on the cavalry as soon as its releases, thats clever planning

Captain Blood · « **Reply #7 on:** August 03, 2018, 08:25:03 AM »

Great start. Very tempted by these stunning figures from Victrix. But I just don’t need to start in on a Roman army - again!

Knight-Captain Tyr · « **Reply #8 on:** August 06, 2018, 11:31:23 AM »

Cheers ladies and gents - much appreciated

I think I'm quite lucky as the Victrix figures almost paint themselves. They're beautiful sculpts and I really recommend them if you've any interest in the period.

Quote from: Munindk on August 03, 2018, 07:27:57 AM

Excellent romans, if you keep up this pace you'll have a legion before september!
Which means you'll be ready to start on the cavalry as soon as its releases, thats clever planning

Great minds think alike, hmm

A few more legionaries join the ranks of the Legion today...

And the next four are already on the way!

Knight-Captain Tyr · « **Reply #9 on:** August 06, 2018, 02:00:28 PM »

Also, for anyone curious, I picked up this guy recently to use as my army general (of course) and you'll be pleased to know that unlike some Warlord figures, he's almost exactly in scale with the Victrix legionaries:

Johnp4000 · « **Reply #10 on:** August 06, 2018, 03:31:38 PM »

Some nice figures there. I think you will find any of Warlord's Imperial Roman character figures match in well with Victrix, they are head and shoulders above the size of their original Roman Legionaries.

OSHIROmodels · « **Reply #11 on:** August 06, 2018, 04:44:14 PM »

Splendid painting

Not keen on the onagers though but that's personal preference.

Knight-Captain Tyr · « **Reply #12 on:** August 08, 2018, 04:29:28 PM »

Thanks chaps! I'm hoping the onagers will come out well with a good paintjob.

Halfway to a completed unit, just another 8 legionaries + 4 command models to go:

Also, here's a work-in-progress of an objective marker - those of you who've read Eagle of the Ninth will know what I'm going for:

Mad Doc Morris · « **Reply #13 on:** August 09, 2018, 09:29:06 AM »

Quote from: Knight-Captain Tyr on August 02, 2018, 11:46:30 AM

The plan with this force isn't (yet) to commit to one specific Legion. This is very much a 'it looks cool so I want to collect it' force, at least initially.

This is perhaps the best way to approach Ancients gaming. Legion-specific iconography or Roman uniforms in general are based on educated guesses at best.

Your miniatures so far look great. The poor footsloggers are perhaps a bit ill-dressed for cold weather, but it's a nice basing effect. Actually, I wasn't keen on the unit trays with troops neatly arrayed in squares and large gaps between individual soldiers (I prefer close order troops packed in dense, even slightly irregular shaped formation). Yet, once the minis are in place it doesn't look too bad.

One minor note: You might want to glue the scabbards on vertically, so that the pommel is right under the man's armpit. That's the reason for the four-point suspension. Swords had to be drawn straight up once the soldiers locked shields and pushed forward. The opening scene of Rome season includes a nice (if not totally accurate) representation of that formation.

All in all, very promising start, looking forward to the next updates.

Angrypantz · « **Reply #14 on:** August 09, 2018, 02:13:06 PM »

I swear everything you touch becomes epic. I’m not usually drawn to historical gaming but you and another forum goer have definitely made a positive impression. (I like fantasy games too much and your fantasy blog is equally epic)

Amazing work as always.

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Author Topic: Raising the Aquila: Archer auxilia (Read 7375 times)