|
|
All figures are supplied unpainted (Numbers of each pose in brackets)
| Date Released |
1999 |
| Contents |
48 figures |
| Poses |
8 poses |
| Material |
Plastic (Medium Consistency) |
| Colours |
Tan, Silver, Gold |
|
Average Height
|
23 mm (= 1.66 m)
|
|
A quick lesson in Republican Roman infantry types. In battle a Roman front would consist of three lines. At the very front came the hastati - young men of some experience and well armed. Behind them came the principes, men in the prime of life and also well armed, but with more experience. The third line was made up of the triarii, the oldest and most experienced men of all. In front of the line at the start of a battle were the velites, acting like light infantry.
This set contains five poses of hastati and three of velites. The hastati were armed and clothed in a similar fashion to the principes, but these men differ from the HaT principes in that they wear a simple tunic with a square breastplate rather than a mail shirt. This costume is appropriate for the early part of the wars, but is likely to have disappeared by the Third Punic War. Still, these figures allow a choice to be made as to which costume is to be shown, which is all to the good. In addition these men wear helmets of different types, and one greave on the leading (left) leg. In all respects the costume is accurately portrayed, including the feathers in the helmet to impress the enemy. Armament too is correct, with each man carrying two pila, and once these were thrown he would draw his gladius hispanicus for the close-quarter combat.
At the start of a battle the velites would be in front of the main Roman line, acting as skirmishers by throwing their short javelins at the enemy to break up their formation. Once the enemy came close the velites would retire behind the line and form next to the triarii, thereby acting as a bolster for the reserve. Velites were mostly from the poorest classes, and had little military experience. They wore no armour apart from their helmet, and carried a small circular shield for protection. They could sometimes carry up to seven javelins, but would not normally expect to have to use the sword that they also carried. Sometimes they wore animal skins to help with identification, though HaT have chosen to provide all their velites with skins. This apart, the three velites are entirely accurately modelled.
All the figures are nicely detailed, and flash is minimal. The poses are useful and pretty well animated, and to the relief of many, none of the shields are separate. This is a nice set whose only drawback is that two troop types are included, which is inconvenient if you want to buy just the one type.
|
Historical Accuracy
|
 10
|
|
Pose Quality
|
 8
|
|
Pose Number
|
 5
|
|
Sculpting
|
 9
|
|
Mould
|
9
|
|