Polyxena, Spear of Helios

Although the relationship between Polyxena and the god Helios is unknown, those that have met the warrior will tell you that she surely cannot be entirely human.

She is taller than most men, and slender with it, which alone makes her stand out amongst the warbands she is hired by.  But the most striking thing is the shield and ornate spear that she carries - both of which glow with the light of the sun itself.  The blade of the spear sears flesh with every strike, and her shield blinds those she fights against.

Polyxena, Spear of Helios
Auxilia - Demigod
+1 Agility

Heavy Armour

Eldritch Weapon - Spear (Enchanted, Flaming)

Mystic Shield (Applies permanent Light of Sol, but does not increase Presence of friendly models within 12")
Pts: 69

Stats/Retainer are as Broken Legions Rulebook

This miniature is from Mierce Miniatures Atalantes range.  She was originally planned to lead my Argonauts warband, but I changed that up a little as she stood out just a tad too much.  Given that she is taller and more slender than all the other miniatures for Broken Legions I decided she could become a Demigod from the Auxilia options - which I view as flexible to represent true Demigods and heroic individuals that are blessed (or cursed?) with abilities beyond that of normal humans.  I gave her bespoke wargear to suit the background/paint of the miniature.

Sons of Spartacus - The Faithful

Viducius, called Bellicus, smiled, his face covered by his heavy helm - recalling how it had been a simple thing to manipulate the hulking Gaul into leading a revolt at the ludus back in Quintilis.

Now, months later, Viducius had the band of fugitive gladiators searching the ruins of a long-abandoned village somewhere near the coast.  The cunning Priest of Mars was skilled at using his position of trust as Talavus the Gaul's advisor to use the force as he sees fit in the service of his god - although in reality it is serving merely to line the Priest's purse.

The Priest snapped out of his thought when one of the Murmillones called out in thanks to the gods and held aloft a small statue - Viducius was pleased; the golden trinket would fetch a good price. "Bring it to me, Carabus - Mars will be most pleased with your efforts this day!"

Next up in my little corner of the Broken Legions world are The Faithful - poor, manipulated chaps!  These are all (except the 'lion') from Crusader Miniatures' Gladiators range and have a nice heft and charm to them.

First, the warband's leader - called an Arena Champion in the rules - Talavus the Gaul:

Next another two hero level warband members - on the left the Acolyte of Mars, Viducius Bellicus and the right the Doctore, Arabio the Numidian:

Finally on the hero level a Venator Beastmaster called Gallio the Carthaginian and his hyena (counts-as lion - mini from Ral Partha Europe) Ferox:

Now, four dudes and a beast wouldn't be much of a warband, so we turn to the henchmen choices - all of them taken as the Gladiator option (Viducius clearly isn't too bothered about freeing any slaves on their travels), but given various options for weapons and armour to suit the different gladiator archetypes.  First, the classic Murmillones (well, two and a Secutor on the left!).  From L-R these are: Curculio, Forficula and Carabus:

Next a pair of Retiarii (aka the other classic gladiator).  L-R these are Lyconides and Alcaeus of Macedon:

And finally a spear-toting Hoplomachus called Patera the Nubian:

I'm keeping the same basing scheme for all warbands (and other minis required for the game) to set them clearly in the same world.  Although I started slow on these I ended up really enjoying them!

Cacti and Wares

I've been on a bit of a brain-hype thing about Dracula's America again recently (got a homebrew posse in the works that I'll share when a first draft is ready!) - so had a look around for some suitable scenery bits, namely cacti!

I came across a seller on eBay - chcha_5648 who was offering a range of 3d printed items, including a selection of cacti.  I opted for a mixed pack of 8 different plants to use as scatter in games of Dracula's America.

Of course the main draw was a couple of iconic tree-like cacti - these are a little taller than the others so will give some nice height to the scatter pieces:

The pack also included a couple of columnar cacti, one being a small cluster for added variety:

Finally on the cacti front, there was a globular style cactus and an Opuntia (Prickly Pear) style one:

But the pack also included a couple of leaf succulent style plants too which really adds to the variety:

These all just need some very minor cleaning up (you can see it mostly on the succulents) but I'm very happy with them.  The print quality is good and the integral bases make it easier to get to the table.  These were just what I was looking for!

At the same time I picked up a pack of Bazaar Props - I figured these would work for games set anywhere around the Mediterranean, the Middle East or North Africa.

First up a selection of woven baskets and a tall-necked vessel:

I'm not so happy about this - the vessel's neck is broken (an easy fix) but the tall woven basket (in the front of this pic) looks half-finished and the base is very 'spooly' for want of a better word.  I'm not sure I will bother trying to salvage this particular piece.

Thankfully the others in the set are a little better - the highlight of this piece is the rolled fabric in the pot:

This piece has a rectangular basket to give increased variety:

Finally this piece has a stack of rolled fabric in addition to the usual baskets and vessels:

The grain of all these pieces is much coarser than the cacti pack - which is ok on the woven baskets, but will look rather rough on the other items.  The basing sections are all pretty bad so I'll have to try to do something with those on any I plan to try to make work.  A bit frustrating and overall I can't really recommend the Bazaar Props pack.

A mixed bag overall - but those cacti (and their leaf succulent buddies) are perfect so I'll chalk it up as a minor victory 😅

Barbarians - Orgetorix's Last Adventure

Even the thrill of the boar hunt didn't excite Orgetorix anymore.  He'd grown tired of ruling and tired of the easy life that his station offered him.  The towering chieftain let out a sigh.  His trusted companion Adnamati had a worried look on his face, but thought better of voicing any concerns.

The fierce Carino had no such qualms "Chief, you have bested your enemies long since, you have gold and land enough for your children's children's children.  What could cause you to sigh on the best day of the week - the hunt!".

Orgetorix was taken aback, he'd not thought about what was causing his malaise but the blunt words of Carino made him think.  

That was it - he needed some real excitement again! Time for one final adventure!

Those pesky Romans needed someone to face in battle and of my available options I decided to paint the Gauls first!

Here's the leader of the warband - Orgetorix the Great, with his two wardogs (L-R) Cintus and Allos:

Next are the Champions for the warband - Orgetorix's right hand men - (L-R) Carino the Strong and Adnamati the Brave:

Providing the warband with some magical power is Vitousurix the Wild, a druid:

Carrying the standard for the warband is the warrior Balatonux:

A couple of mainstay warriors next - armoured and carrying Celtic Lances - (L-R) Vocagni and Albic:

A trio of berserkers (linebreakers, semi-dressed shouty chaps, whatever you want to call them - the rules call them berserkers so we'll go with that) - (L-R) Remico, Victi and Licno:

Finally we have a couple more warriors - less tooled up than Vocagni and Albic, but offering some cheaper options - (L-R) Borso and Epos:

These are all Warlord minis - the warriors and berserkers (minus the standard) are from a single plastic sprue, the rest are metal minis from the Warlord range.  Despite not being a fan of the plastic Celt Warriors sculpts (seriously, too many are bent double at the waist) I'm happy with how the warband has turned out.  I kept the same tufts as for the Roman warband which should hopefully place them all in the same world.

Fenris Games triple bill

I've spread my hobby funds around this period and one of the first I knew I wanted to buy from was Fenris Games.

I knew I needed something to use as a Sacred Ground scenery piece for Saga Age of Magic for one or more of the armies I have for it - I spotted the Spiral Glyph Stones set  (4 pieces) and thought this could work superbly for Albainn, but also for Érainn if I don't get a better idea!  When done it will also work well for Broken Legions too, as well as other fantasy games no doubt!

I took a picture with old Flavius from my Broken Legions collection as he was to hand:

I'll arrange these on an MDF base of a suitable size with some ground texturing.  If I'm careful with the tufts/grass choices it could work well-enough in a range of our games.

I know that I want some columns for games like Broken Legions and Mortal Gods so picked up a pack of Scrolltop Doric columns as a taster.  I have no doubt that I'll end up getting more from Fenris' extensive column range!  Flavius again serves as a guide to scale:

Not entirely sure how to approach using these - but I am sure they'll prove useful once I get my thinking cap on!

Finally for this order I added the Rubble City caryatid columns (square) - these are really nice.  I plan to put these on suitable MDF bases and keep them quite simple.  Like the other columns these'll work great for Broken Legions and Mortal Gods - but could have other uses depending on where future projects take me!  Here's Flavius striking a pose with them:

Hmm, think a ruined bit of roof section would make a nice bit of difficult ground to place between the two columns... Fenris stuff always has me thinking!

As these items were all available in stock they came quick - and as you can see only minimal clean up is required.  All of them were great value too, so I can definitely recommend them.

Soldiers of the Eagle - Legio II Adiutrix's Finest

Former Centurion Gaius Vinicius was not one to complain, but he was questioning the Gods right now.

Two years ago he'd been taken from his Legio with a mere handful of men and ordered by Praefectus Hostus Allectus himself to carry out work for the glory of Rome. Gaius didn't really understand the importance of what he was doing - most of his orders came through the Frumentarius he knew only as 'the Shadow'. 'Fetch this clay tablet' or 'find this forgotten temple and note the carvings', that kind of thing.  Sure it might be important to Allectus, and maybe even important to Rome, but Gaius wasn't convinced.

His men had begun to grumble; these were once marines, taken into Legio II Adiutrix and serving with distinction in many campaigns. Errand boys they were not. But still, thanks to their loyalty to Gaius Vinicius they continued to carry out their duties.

Little did Gaius and his men know, they were about to be plunged headfirst into a secret war that was being fought between Rome and her many enemies.

Well, it has taken a while (now I look back, over two years 😱) but remember those Soldiers of the Eagle I posted about? Well I've only gone and actually painted them!

First, thanks to Quick Play Rules on Twitter for providing the seed of inspiration behind the colour scheme - and therefore the fanciful background for this warband above!

Here's (former) Centurion Gaius Vinicius, leader of the warband and soon to find himself up against all sorts of enemies!  He's pictured with his loyal (and fierce) dog - Cerasus:

Next up are (L-R) Flavius and Titus - in Broken Legions these are Praetorians (think of them as Champ level guys):

Next is the shifty Frumentarius, Aspasius the Shadow - he's not just Gaius' handler, but will take to the field too to ensure success for his master's ambitions:

Next up is Marcus - a legionary with the standard upgrade:

Providing the backbone of the warband are the legionaries (L-R) Caelus, Oppius and Tertius:

Three more legionaries armed with pila give another option - (L-R) Placus, Appius, Sextus:

Finally, a couple of auxiliaries have been conscripted - these Baleares give another ranged option to Gaius' warband. Here's (L-R) Lyco and Citro:

All are Warlord Games minis except the Frumentarius (Footsore's Gangs of Rome range) and the Baleares (Victrix).  Having decided on blue shields I tried to tie in the non-Legionary minis - I think it works well enough.  I finished the bases with tufts from Tajima1 (grass) and Boon Town Metals (flowers) - I hope to do similar basing across all the Broken Legions collection to tie them into the same world.

Poseidon, Neptune, or bloke with a bent trident?

 

I figured the WizKids Fountain would be quite quick to paint up so it jumped up the painting queue a little!

I hit it with a Citadel Nuln Oil wash with a drop of Vallejo Thinner Medium - this seemed to work pretty well and I'm happy enough with the outcome (given the impossible-to-fix trident and the weird squashed bits of the sculpt).

I still can't recommend this range - but at least I've got a usable scenery piece for a variety of games.

WizKids Deep Cuts - Fountain

 

So, as you may have seen, I picked up a second WizKids Deep Cuts piece - this time it was the Fountain:

As standard with this range it is allegedly primed and 'paint ready out of the box'... Well, again let's have a little look:

Well that trident is rather wonky and needs a hot water bend to look at least less bad (don't think it'll ever be quite right).  The rims of the water bowls (there's probably a technical name!) also have a squashed bit you can make out - it's not the worst but it definitely isn't round.  Finally, the pedestal that has been attached to the base isn't straight (not that evident in this picture but it was noticeable as I handled the piece).  But then, as it turns out it hadn't been assembled properly anyway and the pedestal wasn't glued to the base:

(and you can see how the trident is extra wonky from this angle too).  Well, it turns out this wasn't properly attached because some extra plastic was left in the hole in the water effect - I managed to clip it out and have reglued this together which has helped.

I like the design and think it'll be useful for all sorts of games  - Carnevale, Gangs of Rome, Broken Legions and Mortal Gods come to mind in particular. But, and it's a big but, for a product that is sold as ready to go out of the packet this certainly doesn't hit that mark.  I am very unlikely to buy any other WizKids products in the future (never say never though eh?) and based on my experiences I cannot recommend them to other wargamers. Caveat Emptor!

Tomb Guardians - Amazons

I backed the Tomb Guardians Kickstarter for their range of Amazons a while ago - it got hit with COVID-19 which delayed it a little (which is, of course, totally understandable!), but my little pledge arrived here in the UK and I've prepped them ready for the base dip and prime stages!

I picked up two miniatures from the Amazons range - both with the intention of adding to the hireling pool for Broken Legions (yes, I know I have a problem when it comes to mercenaries and hirelings!).

First up, I got the Amazon Shaman - which I intend to use as a Wise Woman hireling.  I plan to call her Zina of Dacia.  I particularly like her staff:

She's got a nice amount of detail without being too busy - the skull headdress, the fetish pouch in her left hand and a patch on the back of her cloak all add a nice touch of character without overwhelming the mini.  This was a single-piece cast so just required a little clean up (mostly on the underside of the base).

Secondly, I couldn't resist the Amazon Warrior with Mace.  Not too many miniatures are thicc without being sexualised but this one achieves it - she's clearly a strong, powerful warrior!  The mace adds a bit of variety to my Broken Legions collection too which is good.

I am calling her Callianessa and like some of the other hirelings I'll use the Demigod rules to make some stats fitting of this mighty hero:

This mini is two-piece - the main body and the mace (with forearms) - but nothing taxing to put together.  Like the Shaman, the cast was nice and clean with minimal tidy up required.

This was my first time dealing with Tomb Guardians and I'm very impressed with them - I'll happily check out their ranges to see if there's other bits and pieces I can find a use for!