Latin Tribes of Ancient Italy

[Ran The Cid]

Latin Tribes of ancient Italy:  Etruscans, Samnites, Oscans, and others.  Sometime allies of the Romans, sometime enemies of the Romans.  Units from the Latins will support my existing Roman and Punic armies, and possibly grown into an army (armies) of their own.



Miniature Reviews (for a few ‘new to me’ companies):

Newline – cleanly sculpted and cast in hard metal. The figures are on the smaller scale of 28mm, standing about 2mm shorter than the Crusader figure. When purchased on sale, the figures will do well for building out large units. While the Samnite figures have enough variety in poses and detail, some of the other units available from Newline have limited or single pose options.

Lancer – cleanly sculpted and cast in hard metal. The figures stand even with modern sculpts with good depth of body. Units use the same basic dolly, but come with many individual helmet and pectoral details. A fine set of figures, I would love to see this range of models expanded into other Ancients armies.

Agema – sculpted with a wealth of detail but cast in soft metal which lacks crispness. The figures are tall and thin with small features. I needed to spend a lot of time carving up small fists to make space for a spear. The pictured figure (1st class in Plate) is one of the few with a large enough fist to drill through without damage. The hoplite shield is cast with fine detail on the inside, but it matches poorly with most of the figures. On many figures the shield is hanging from the shoulder and barely making contact with the arm. The models that I have are from the 2021 Kickstarter. The units come with a wealth of variations for armour, helmets and clothing. I get the feeling the sculptor has a talented command of putty and history, but lacks experience with creating figures for gaming.

Side note – poor little Gripping Beast. Noticeably out of place in this line up. They could possibly mix in with Newline, but mostly will need to be in their own units.

[bluewillow]

Have you looked at A&A and Crusader.

I have a mix of Agema and first Corps

Cheers
Matt

[SJWi]

Good morning, I understand from Keith at Aventine Miniatures that their next range will contain Samnites, with the late Etruscans re-released maybe in the Autumn.

[Ran The Cid]

@BlueWillow - Crusader is in the line up.  I may mix them with NewLine to fill out a unit. 

@SJWi - I look forward to Aventine coming out with Samnites and re-releasing the Etruscans.  One of my Roman legions is Aventine, as well as most of my cavalry.  Wonderful sculpts with a distinct look.  Now I just need to paint up some of this inventory before buying more.

[sgzleada71]

Thanks for the summary.   I've not seen Lancer before and will check them out.   Re:   Agema I really like their plastics Roman and Punic sets (  and they have dedicated Etruscan heads in metal to modify these).  I've a fair few Agema metals and agree w your assessment.  Frustratingly skinny and poorly cast by Footsore ,  who seem to do an equally poor job with their own Mortal Gods line ( coincidentally sculpted by the same guy ). 
The Aventine Italian Hill Tribes are superb.   Gorgon's look great too.  Hopefully  you can post some pics of the finished figures  later.

[bigredbat]

The Aventine Hill tribes and Gorgon fit really well together, lovely minis.

[pws]

The Aventine Hill tribes and Gorgon fit really well together, lovely minis.

I Love Aventine "ancients italian" miniature range one of my favourites.
I've mixed some with Mirliton's ancients (Apulians, Etruscans, Samnites, Romans), here: https://www.mirliton.it/historical-25-28mm/ancient
   

[Rossco2]

Newline and Gripping Beast fit with my old Ral Partha figures. 
I recently discovered Victrix and Ral Partha must be kept in separate units. In the same unit it looks like a legionary version of 'Take your kids to work day'.

[Ran The Cid]

Agema Etruscan 1st Class Plate from the 2021 Kickstarter.  I like painting metal cuirass, its quick and easy, and makes for a sharp model.

The sword arms were missing from this unit, I substituted plastic hands from a Victrix kit.  The spear hands are fisted, but are large enough to drill cleanly through for a wire spear.  The shield arm was attached to the body, but did pop free during clean up to give a little space between the body and shield.

Shield decals are by Battle Flag.  The Agema shields were exactly the same size as the decals, but have a flat rim next to the rounded face.  The first decal did not sit well.  The solution was to cut off the rim from the decal, and only use the design in the center.

[sgzleada71]

Great work w those Agema metals.   I've enjoyed painting them up too.   I also felt the need to modify them a bit. 

[markw]

I am currently working on a allied legion using a mixture of Agema and Victrix. I will post some pics up on progress.

[Ran The Cid]

Lancer Miniatures Samnites

These guys were fun to paint.  The figures have crisp detail, with well defined features.  Assembling the figures was easy, although a few of the feathers were damaged (not a surprise for such a small detail.  My favorite detail is the broad metal belt which was a hallmark of the Samnite tribes, but which I have not seen on other tribal miniatures.  Finally, the standard bearer icon is huge!  But unique for similar brands of figures.

The only question remains, will they fight For or Against the Romans?

[AdamPHayes]

The Navigator range of Samnites sold by Magister Militum are really excellent great detail and lots of character. Size wise similar to Newline?

[Ran The Cid]

Italian troops drawn up in Roman style with Hastati x2, Principes x2, Triarii, and Velites.  Shield transfers by Little Big Men.

These guys sat on my paint table for most of Covid.  The division was assembled and half painted when everything ground to a halt.  With the resumption of gaming, the final units were completed over the past months.

[OSHIROmodels]

Impressive