Romans and Macedonians Collections

 

My interest in the Macedonian and Punic Wars dates back to the publication of Phil Barker's book of the same name. Back in those days 25mm metal Minifigs were standard but were supplemented by other manufacturers who did figures in 25mm scale.

My first armies are long gone (sadly). I've spent the last ten years giving the period new life with as many vintage figures as I could find, as long as they were compatible with the numerous plastic 1\72 sets appropriate to the period in question.

The intended rules are a fan-created variant drawn from Lion Rampant. 

Back in the day, I had a number of Macedonian Brescia Miniatures. I was fortunate to find quite a few on eBay and they became the nucleus of my late Macedonian Army.

As you can see from the pictures below, they and the Polybian Romans have been supplemented by HAT and the excellent Newline figures in 20mm.

Brescia were always small, 25mm, compared to the chunkier Minifigs and Hinchcliffe, so they fit well with 20-22mm figures in separate units.

These were the standard Macedonian Phalanx by Brescia. They were not fancy, having a leather jerkin rather than metal. I always thought they were perfect for a late Macedonian army.

These are Brescia Cretan archers. By today's standards a bit crude but I love them.

I supplemented my phalanx with the excellent plastic set from HAT. With HAT you get a great assortment of styles. What I like about the HAT set is the ability to put armored phalangites in the front rank and lesser armored behind.

These are Brescia Hypaspists. The Brescia Macedonian line was intended to be Alexander's army. In my army, I use the figure to represent the transition from a lightly armed peltast to a more heavily armed type capable of standing in the line of battle. They are painted up to represent an elite.

Brescia also made an armored phalangite with a crested helmet. I got just enough to make an agema type unit.

These figures are HAT cobbled together from Alexander's Companions and Thessalian sets. They represent standard heavy cavalry in a late Macedonian Army.

Brescia peltasts. Based on Barker's book, I painted them up as Thracians. He recommended a black tunic for Thracians who served as mercenaries in a late Macedonian army.

These are my "wild" Thracians, figures by Newline. When it comes to 20mm scale, Newline figures are simply excellent. I have an unpainted unit of Newline phalanx waiting in the wings!

These are Minifigs given to me by a friend. I use them for a command unit.

Newline Triarii for my Polybian Romans

Newline Hastatus

Newline Principes

HAT Hastatus. I did these before I became aware of Newline. They are early HAT sculpts and not as good as other ancient figures done by HAT later. Still, they are pretty cool!

HAT Principes

HAT Triarii

A HAT command stand and a Newline command stand.

I thought the Strelets Velites were very cool, so I did a unit.

HAT Velites

Newline Roman Heavy Cavalry

HAT Italian Allies

I have more units that didn't make the photo shoot, but the pics are a pretty good sample of two armies.

Classic Airfix AWI

 My vintage AWI collection includes units of Airfix figures. When I and a friend (JZ) started wargaming in the period (1975) we both had units of Airfix figures.

Airfix made two sets. One was of British Grenadiers, and the other was marketed as Washington's Army.

We threw in the Airfix units with whatever metal figures we could find back in the 1970s. These included Minifigs, Hinchcliffe, and Garrison. Sadly, I sold off my collection in the late 1980s, but my friend JZ kept his.

When we got back together in 2014, we started gaming again in the period with the Rebels and Patriots rules. I had to re-raise the British, German, and Loyalist units. I was sure to include some of the classic Airfix figures.

British Grenadiers. You always needed more than one box to get a unit in the same pose. The detail on the two sets was quite good, considering they originally came out in the 1970s. The set lacked an officer on foot, but the mounted officer was very nice. There is a famous painting of the British Grenadiers storming Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill) and the Airfix Grenadier pose captures the painting nicely.

The Washington's Army set is painted up as British. Standard bearers in both sets were unusable, so conversions had to be made. Here, I substituted command figures (Irregular Miniatures 20mm from the UK). The unit is painted as the 9th Foot. Once again, the mounted officer is a pleasant addition. 

2nd New Hampshire from the classic Lefferts collection

Unlike my figures above, the following pictures of figures date back to the 1970s: My friend (JZ) painted them up as the 2nd New Hampshire. The flags are hand-painted. At least four of the figures have round hats instead of the standard cocked hats that came with the Washington's Army box.

These are conversions from the regular Washington's Army box. One was painted up with a coonskin cap to represent a Continental riflemen. (JZ)

These were painted up in the Continental uniforms of Washington's bodyguard. (JZ)

JZ also did quite a few militia units. This one represents a typical New England unit. The flag is hand-painted.

Plains Wars Miniatures from RAFM and Minifig

 RAFM Miniatures has been around since 1977. Today, they produce figures for fantasy and sci-fi. They still produce historical lines that include the ACW, FIW, and Plains Wars. The lines are limited in selection but are produced in old-style 25mm scale. The sculpting is very well done, and they fit well with vintage Minifigs. I have mixed the two brands in my Plains Wars collection.

I originally found some RAFM Plains Wars figures on eBay before I realized they were still being produced. Once I discovered this, I decided to paint up some for The Men Who Would Be Kings set of wargame rules.

An English wargame group produced a variant for the period that modified the unit sizes and gave the rules more Old West favor.

My unit of scouts has gotten this far. Three of the figures are Native American. For the Sioux War, they were probably Crow or Shosone traditional enemies of the Sioux and Cheyenne. The other three are either white or half-breeds. All scouted for the army. The figure with the tan hat is a Minifig.

Mounted warriors-All RAFM

I tried to highlight the center warrior while blurring the other figures.

These warriors are all Minifigs. To my knowledge, that line is no longer produced. I found these on eBay.

The Minifigs fit well with RAFM. 

RAFM mounted cavalry. The number of available poses is a challenge, but they are great figures.

Dismounted warriors by RAFM

Rebels and Patriots Union Forces in 1\72

 This is the counterpart to my last post, which featured Confederate forces.  The majority of figures used for both collections are 1\72 plastics from Italeri, Airfix, IMEX and Hat. 

My metal Union forces include some excellent 20mm sculpts from Newline. Also featured are some old Musket Miniatures and a few RSM figures.

Both armies are organized for Rebels and Patriots by Osprey. 

Command stands for Hat's Union Cavalry skirmishing.

Newline mounted cavalry painted as US Regulars. The dismounted figures are Musket Miniatures marketed as 22mm back in the day.

My other Newline unit, this time the dismounted figures are also Newline. I like a lot of figure lines but Newline is at the top of the list for 20mm metals.

Hat dismounted cavalry from the Union Cavalry skirmishing set.

Italeri is near the top when it comes to 1\72 plastics. These are from their Union Cavalry set.

IMEX makes a set of Union Cavalry (or Confederate since the figures are the same). The mounted figures have a limited utility value since they are all firing from the saddle. The dismounted figures above are unique because they feature the very rare Colt pistol\carbine. They are among my favorites!

Hat Union Cavalry (mtd). Carbines and revolvers are much in evidence. Excellent set by Hat.

Airfix artillery crews with Musket Miniatures Napoleons.

Italeri Union Infantry (NY Regiments) Command figures are from Newline.

The 26th Wisconsin was a "Sigel Regiment." Sigel Regiments were raised in 1862 from the heavy German areas of Wisconsin and Ohio (and other areas or cities like St. Louis, MO). The figures are Airfix and I painted them up before the Italeri.

Italeri Infantry on skirmish stands.

The 5th New York was named Duryea's Zouaves. One unit is organized as line infantry for Rebels and Patriots and the 12 figures unit is organized as Light Infantry. Both units are a mix of Italeri, Hat and Musket Miniatures. Any Union collection must have at least one Zouave unit!