Essex phalangites

Another batch from the recent US deal. These are Essex phalangites which were quite nicely painted already. The pikes needed straightening out and tidying up, then it was a white highlight on the linen armour and a dose of the dip. I needed to paint up and add 7 other figures from my Old Glory command set (the gift that keeps on giving!) to make up the numbers.

And here's a wee size comparison to some other 15mm ranges.

Black Hat 15s:

Xyston 15s:

These guys will be handy for big Successor battles, even if they are a lot smaller than the Xyston...

Xyston and Essex comparison

This is just a quick comparison for an Ancmed member who is wondering about figure compatibility.

Xyston Persian command centre and left; Essex on the right.

From the rear.  Xyston figures are chunkier, but I don't think unreasonably so.

The horses: Xyston slightly longer, but the height is about the same.

Some more from different angles.

My conclusion is that they'll go together fine - especially being well-fed and caparisoned commanders - but I'm less picky than some!

(Note the edit!) Comparing Tin Soldier and Xyston Gallic Infantry

In response to some interest shown in the last post on Gauls, here are some photos showing Xyston and Tin Soldier Gauls in close proximity. 

Do note though that I'm using the older packs of Xyston Gauls (18250 and 18251, now recombined into 20036).  I don't know what the ones from the newer packs are like.  If you want the Xyston packs I have, go to Brookhurst Hobbies which has them on special at the moment.

Tin Soldier chaps are on the ends with square bases; Xyston in the centre with oval bases. 

You'll notice that there's actually quite a bit of variety in height between the tallest and the shortest of the Xyston.  The taller ones are an almost perfect match for the Tin Soldier fellows; the shorter Xyston are a little smaller.

In this picture below you can see the difference between a TS standard and Xyston's shortest. (2nd and 3rd figures from the right, respectively).

And again, without the foreshortening.

Some shots from the rear...

Swords are of the same length, and shields match very well.  In the picture below the top row of shields is all Xyston, the bottom TS.

For my money the two ranges go together very well.  I've gone for a ratio of about 5 packs of TS for every 2 of Xyston, and am pretty sure I'll be very happy with the finished army.  If you want a price comparison, TS are GBP 2 a pack, Xyston are GBP 3.50.

Be warned that for cavalry all bets are off - you can't mix 'em, it's as simple as that.  Tin Soldier are close to 20mm (In fact I would have no problems using them with other 20mm) and the Xyston seem a little smaller than their own infantry.

Here's a link to the TS page showing the various figures they have in their Gallic range.

Any questions or any other shots you'd like to see, fire away!

EDIT - a chap on TMP vigorously disagrees with my assessment, so I took another look.

Here are shots of more of the TS figures mixed in with Xyston (TS have the square bases):

He is partly right - the armoured TS Gauls are definitely bigger than the other sets in their range and do not mix well with the Xyston.  Those are packs C3 & C4.  I still maintain the other packs are a good mix; though the wide-faced fellows of C10 and C11 may not be everyone's cup of tea.

So, I recommend packs C5, C9, C12 unhesitatingly.  Packs C8, C10 and C11 suit me but may not suit others.  Packs C3 and C4 are probably too big.  The naked Gaesati types I don't know, as I didn't pick any up.

Thanks to General Montcalm for his thoughts!

Comparing Romans: Chariot 15s (Magister Militum) with Strategia e Tattica 15s (North Star)

As promised some time ago, here are some comparison shots of my Strategia e Tattica Polybian Romans matched up with some figures in the same scale from the Chariot range.  Chariot are of course sold by Magister Militum, while Strategia e Tattica can be found on their home site in Italy and are also carried in the UK by North Star.

First up are the hastati.  The Chariot figures are to the viewer's left, with the red shields; Strategia e Tattica figures are to the right, with the blue.  The height is a very good match, but the Chariot shields are more oval and are a touch thinner.  The figures are about the same level of chunkiness, though the SeT ones have slightly wider heads.    

Next we have the principes.  These figures are also a fairly good match height-wise, but the SeT figures are noticeably more chunky here and one of the poses is also somewhat more roughly sculpted than the others in the range.  There was actually a far better selection of poses in the second batch of SeT figures I ordered, so the roughly-sculpted figures are a much smaller proportion of the total figures in the second batch than they are here.

Moving on to the triarii now, you can see that the Chariot shields are very narrow here, even by comparison to the other figures in their range, and while the figures are quite nice to my eye the moulds are aging and there was terrible flash on the figures.  In the close up you can see there is still some unwanted flash on the shields and faces that I was unable to remove.  It's not quite so obvious to the naked eye, but it certainly is here.  The SeT triarii are again a good match in height and chunkiness.  They also have good variety in their standing poses, and make an impressive group, in my opinion.

Lastly, we have the velites (the cavalry will have to be posted another time - they aren't painted yet!).  These figures are a very good match, and I actually use them in the same unit. The shield are almost the same size and the height and chunk match well, as per usual.

In conclusion, the heavy infantry figures work quite well as different legions/alae in the same force, and the velites can be mixed together in the same unit to create a nice selection of compatible poses.  Overall, I prefer the SeT hastati and triarii, with the Chariot principes having the edge over their SeT counterparts at this stage.  That might change when the second batch, with its better overall sculpts, is painted up.

I would certainly recommend the Strategia e Tattica infantry for anyone looking for some different figures for their Polybian armies.