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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/iTd07lx.jpg)
A closer look at the onagers:
(https://i.imgur.com/TxqWUsK.jpg)
...and what is still to be built (two auxilia units and another of legionaries)
(https://i.imgur.com/d2Jd6EW.jpg)
Thanks for looking - hope to impress with future updates!
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Painted:
(https://i.imgur.com/JgqWJBG.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/RPkbRFg.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/7KJJfXh.jpg)
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Nice. :-* :-*
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Wow! Really nice painting! I love the snow, but I bet their toes are cold....
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Great work, the onagers are pretty cool too!
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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
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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 :)
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Great start. Very tempted by these stunning figures from Victrix. But I just don’t need to start in on a Roman army - again! ::)
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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.
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...
(https://i.imgur.com/Pur7Qfs.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/FtmO4Qq.jpg)
And the next four are already on the way!
(https://i.imgur.com/XKow4rt.jpg)
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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/w4iwsv3.jpg)
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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.
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Splendid painting :)
Not keen on the onagers though but that's personal preference.
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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:
(https://i.imgur.com/mcweZm4.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/RkAZXqi.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/4dJjGOg.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/zD190LD.jpg)
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:
(https://i.imgur.com/w1DvVu5.jpg)
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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. :)
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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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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.
Thanks, dude! That really helps, it's a bit of a slog at the minute and it's good to hear it inspires someone. I intend these guys to be fairly fantastical as well, as future developments will hopefully show.
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. :)
Great feedback and great comments. Cheers Doc. Never realised that about the scabbards, very interesting - I watched the intro to Rome fairly recently but will have to re-watch now :) I'm glad you approve of my approach to Ancients - I think it has to be about 'fun' as well as verisimilitude.
Meanwhile, I am slowly losing my sanity - only one more rank on legionary unit #1...of 3...
(https://i.imgur.com/Ye1yuOD.jpg)
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Chillingly cool again. :)
Re-reading my comment it comes across far too negative. Thus I'm happy you took it as intended: praise with a bit of hopefully constructive criticism. For the record, this is a great project! :)
[Oh, and in case anyone wonders, it should've read "Rome season 1".]
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Very nice painting :)
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Chillingly cool again. :)
Re-reading my comment it comes across far too negative. Thus I'm happy you took it as intended: praise with a bit of hopefully constructive criticism. For the record, this is a great project! :)
[Oh, and in case anyone wonders, it should've read "Rome season 1".]
Not at all - I greatly value constructive criticism and yours was great. Hope to hear more in future.
First legionary unit completed!
(https://i.imgur.com/p1rwwyC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/sJV2qls.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/K3RO85P.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/8uJlQgi.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/O84yvYh.jpg)
Now I can get on to the next one...
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All quiet on the western front...? :)
Some WIPs of what's next for the Legion:
Germanic auxilia:
(https://i.imgur.com/E7JiK6U.jpg)
A priest, captured aquila and vexilla standards atop a pile of Roman arms (objective marker), and the Legion's Aquilifer:
(https://i.imgur.com/nisfaw3.jpg)
...and finally a test model for auxilia archers. Kitbashed with Fireforge bits. Not 100% historicity but going for rule of cool over pure verisimilitude.
(https://i.imgur.com/UsOGF3M.jpg)
Any thoughts welcome :)
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Nice idea with the archer, looks good.
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'Ianus Mendax', Rex Sacrorum
The Legion is joined by the shadowy figure of a priest-king from Rome-that-Was, a disciple of the Two-Faced God and rex sacrorum.
(https://i.imgur.com/zfk1lEN.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/K1nmncW.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/4VvYNrH.jpg)
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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
I thought it was a German fashion lol lol
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Not at all - I greatly value constructive criticism and yours was great. Hope to hear more in future.
First legionary unit completed!
(https://i.imgur.com/p1rwwyC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/sJV2qls.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/K3RO85P.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/8uJlQgi.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/O84yvYh.jpg)
Now I can get on to the next one...
Absolutely brilliant work. Your work is very inspiring and this is very bad for my wallet
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These all look fantastic. Thanks for sharing :)
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Germanic auxiliaries - halfway through a small skirmisher unit.
(https://i.imgur.com/i4va25o.jpg)
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They all look great, thanks for sharing:)
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Auxilia complete:
(https://i.imgur.com/eLxDq3k.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/IMMgTes.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/i6xJCQA.jpg)
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Really nice painted figures, cool pictures!
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Another great thread - and not making it easy for me to stay focused on my current Sellswords & Spellslingers and Ancient Greeks projects... lol
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Lovely work on these 8)
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Auxilia archers ready!
(https://i.imgur.com/gyLClWA.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Z6Fug1E.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/fI9OL9T.jpg)
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So it's only been seven years since the last update on this project, and frankly, I wasn't sure I was ever going to come back...
Until, that is, a friend asked if I wanted to try out a Saga Antiquities game, and I thought 'hell with it, why not'. And then it turned out that not only did I not have a painted Warlord for Saga, I was also missing a point of Warriors.
Upon learning that he was running Carthaginians, and fully painted no less, I could not let this stand. The honour of Rome demanded it.
So for the first time in SEVEN YEARS (got the gist yet?) I put paint to Roman models and came up with the following, rounding out a 6pt force using the Roman rules from Saga: Age of Hannibal!
(https://i.imgur.com/7wiY7oA.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/iC53HHN.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/pgIqmS3.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/iMEFmEJ.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/q8LPaMG.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/GUnaMi1.png)
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Seven years is a proper project break! Well done on the new stuff.
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They look really cool!
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Beautifully done!
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Glad you found a reason to keep plugging away at them. May they see plenty of use on the table!
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I'm glad you resurrected this thread that I now discover. I love your work, and your Romans are no exception. Your Primus Pilus is particularly impressive, and of course very inspiring.