Looking for help regarding Roman army project - feathers question

[SJWi]

I can’t claim to know the 1st Corps Republican Romans but do have some of their Imperials. They are nice figures, if a little dated, but really don’t mix well with Aventine.

 The Aventine range is superb and pretty comprehensive. They would get my vote anyway.

 Relic look OK but are far more expensive and if importing you run the risk of hefty shipping and customs duties.

[Rochejaquelein]

Thought I would give an update instead of creating a new thread. After months of being torn between other time periods (3rd Century Romans, Palmyrenes, 13th century French, Napoleonic French, War of 1812, and a half dozen others), I put my foot down to get back to building this army. I will not have a (massive) pile of shame!

Considering cost, I decided to become more realistic in developing my legion. I'm only interested in collecting, painting, and display, so I'm not too concerned with army lists.

2 x 20 man Triarii maniple
2x 40 man Hastati maniple
2x 40 man Principes maniple
1x 12 Equites
12x Velites
3x Tribunes
1x Legate + posse

I ended up getting models from 4 suppliers: Aventine, Relic, Victrix, and Agema...and I'm at an impasse.

Victrix and Agema are both high quality, but I learned very quickly that I'm not a fan of plastic models. From my experience, the flashlines are a lot more noticeable and harder to remove. Plus, I like the "heft" that metal has over cheaper plastic. I'll probably try to cut my losses and sell them.

Aventine? Beautiful models, but they are very big compared to other manufacturers I think. Also, they got removed from the store due to model reworks, so who knows when they're coming back. 
Relic? They look way too wimpy next to the Aventine units, even in separate maniples.

Does anyone have any experience with A&A Miniatures? They have a decent promotional deal until the end of the month and I was thinking about getting some of their Samnites to stand in for hastati. Maybe even get some units from Newline Designs if they aren't too tiny.

By the way, does anyone know of a manufacturer of 28mm kneeling metal triarii? I'm thinking of having them representing the front row of the triarii maniple with the Aventine triarii form the back.

[SJWi]

Good morning, to answer your final question regarding kneeling Triarii I can advise that Wargames Foundry produce them. Shame about the price and the P&P!

 A&A are a bit of a mixed bag. They are now quite old ranges, and many were sculpted by the current sculptor for Aventine. Some of them ( eg the celtic cavalry) are small by today's standards) others fine. Last year I bought two complete armies of their Palmyrans and 3rd century Imperial Romans.  The moulds must be getting on as there was quite a lot of flash on some figures, but it did clean off and they painted up nicely. I was pleased. Looking at the photos on the website I think the Samnites look good and I would buy them, especially given the "May special offer". If you want to know when the Aventine range will be back I would drop them a line via the website. Keith normally responds within 24 hours.

I'm no great fan of Newline but I have a mate who does buy them so I guess it is personal choice. I find the quality too variable  I have some of their Hittites which are good, and also some Sea Peoples which I regret buying. 

Hope this helps 

[FierceKitty]

Tribute is tax by another name. A tribune is an official (think something between a trade union leader and an MP), or a type of military rank.

[Diablo Jon]

Gripping beast do a nice Punic war line that includes Triarii kneeling and Italian allies
https://www.grippingbeast.co.uk/The_Punic_Wars--category--433.html

Don't overlook Crusader miniatures that have some nice miniatures for the period to

Oscans for Italian allies
https://www.crusaderminiatures.com/list.php?cat=1&sub=40&page=1

Romans
https://www.crusaderminiatures.com/list.php?cat=1&sub=2&page=1

[AdamPHayes]

My army for this period is based around the excellent Foundry Miniatures but these are probably at the small end of 28mm these days. I did a comparison of quite a few companies’ ranges a few years back that might be helpful. You can see it here, link

[Hu Rhu]

If you are looking for reasonable sculpts in metal then I would probably look at the Crusader range.  They have a more energetic style than the Victrix figures and are of a similar size.  The Oscan figures (Samnites really) would provide a good figure selection for Italian allies.

[Rochejaquelein]

Thanks to everyone for their input.
Since I'll need plenty of hastati and principes, I decided on getting models from both A&A and Crusader with  some Gripping Beast triarii to fill out the front rank.