As noted before, my Skeleton Legion is far, far too large to ever field at once in any tabletop game, so I have taken to breaking down the Legion into a number of smaller, different "themed" armies. These contingents are centered around certain races or factions (Chaos, Empire, Orcs) or different historical periods like my 5th century BC Undead Classical Greek Army.
I've had a little extra time so, in addition to putting the finishing touches on my Classical Greeks, I've committed to building out and assembling my undead Roman early imperial legion (circa 1st to 2nd century AD).
Various manufacturers have produced one-off models or blister packs of skeleton Romans that have found their way into my collection for years. However, the idea of putting together anything more than a one-off themed unit into a larger army remained elusive until a Russian company named Zvezda released three separate boxed sets of plastic skeleton Romans for their "Ring of Rule" game; one infantry set, one cavalry set, and one artillery set.
These boxed set were packed with sprues of plastic skeleton warriors in separate pieces similar to those produced by Games Workshop or Wargames Factory. Because the plastic figures were in many separate parts, the figures are highly customizable. In fact, the problem is that they are too customizable. We're not talking about separate torsos, legs, and heads. Each figure has individual hands and feet. The helmets come in two parts you have to glue together. As a result, the Zvezda Romans were considered highly "fiddly" and they are a pain to put together.
However, they are great for bulking out an undead Roman force and look pretty when assembled and painted. Sadly, they are no longer in production, but I made sure to grab a bunch of boxes originally and will still pick up some off of eBay from time to time.
Also, for those looking to field some undead Romans, a relatively new company from Poland called Tabletop Miniature Solutions (TMS) has a number of skeletal Romans for their 9th Age line. They're far bigger and bulkier than the Zvezda figs but work well if you keep them in their own cohorts.
I haven't built out all the units including the auxilary cavalry, archers and artillery. But the basic structure of the Legion is assembled and primed.
I've had a little extra time so, in addition to putting the finishing touches on my Classical Greeks, I've committed to building out and assembling my undead Roman early imperial legion (circa 1st to 2nd century AD).
Various manufacturers have produced one-off models or blister packs of skeleton Romans that have found their way into my collection for years. However, the idea of putting together anything more than a one-off themed unit into a larger army remained elusive until a Russian company named Zvezda released three separate boxed sets of plastic skeleton Romans for their "Ring of Rule" game; one infantry set, one cavalry set, and one artillery set.
These boxed set were packed with sprues of plastic skeleton warriors in separate pieces similar to those produced by Games Workshop or Wargames Factory. Because the plastic figures were in many separate parts, the figures are highly customizable. In fact, the problem is that they are too customizable. We're not talking about separate torsos, legs, and heads. Each figure has individual hands and feet. The helmets come in two parts you have to glue together. As a result, the Zvezda Romans were considered highly "fiddly" and they are a pain to put together.
However, they are great for bulking out an undead Roman force and look pretty when assembled and painted. Sadly, they are no longer in production, but I made sure to grab a bunch of boxes originally and will still pick up some off of eBay from time to time.
Also, for those looking to field some undead Romans, a relatively new company from Poland called Tabletop Miniature Solutions (TMS) has a number of skeletal Romans for their 9th Age line. They're far bigger and bulkier than the Zvezda figs but work well if you keep them in their own cohorts.
I haven't built out all the units including the auxilary cavalry, archers and artillery. But the basic structure of the Legion is assembled and primed.
Legion lined up in quincunx formation. First cohort to the right (over-strengthed)
Line of auxiliary archers (Zvezda). Also not pictured is a unit of auxiliary archers from TMS (still under construction). Strangely, although we know Roman legions used auxiliaries or allies armed with bows, we don't know how they employed them tactically. They may have advanced in line ahead of the Legion, or they may have hung back and fired volleys of overhead fire. Or they may have been deployed on the flanks to harass/defend against light troops and cavalry. We don't know.
The first cohort of any Legion was double strengthed during this time period (Zvezda)
This cohort is made up of gladius and pilum armed troops from Black Cat Bases. The Centurian is an old Grenadier figure. The signifier is from Alionas.
This cohort is made up of one stand of Pilum armed soldier from Alionas. Two stands from Fenryll.
The command stand is from Werewoolf Miniatures. Two stands armed with (strangely) halberds and axes are from TMS. I figure over the eons they've lost their gladii and just picked up anything strewn along the battlefield.
All stands from TMS Miniatures
Vampire Legatus riding a zombie she-wolf from Werewoolf Miniatures. See what they did with the two zombie infants suckling the she-wolf?
An Ala of Praetorian cavalry from TMS. Regular Roman cavalry with Praetorian heads. Also I have hexagonal shields to attach to them.
