Italeri Roman Infantry I^st - II^nd Century B.C.

What you get.

The box contains 30 ordinary legionaries in two poses they have separate shields and pilum. One pose is advancing the other standing holding his shield above his head. You also get 36 shields of two types:- with Pilum held behind and without.

There are also five special figures.

• A mounted commander,
• A heroically advancing standard bearer,
• A musician,
• A centurion and
• A legionary with a sword.

What are they like?

All are very well sculpted and have real character. The detail on the equipment is excellent. You will need a sharp knife to get the Pilum of the sprue but it is well worth doing so as these are well done and make the figures look just right. The separate shields will allow some variety in the way the legionaries look though I will be keeping the ones with the pilums for the advancing figures and the ones without for the ones holding the shields over head.

The special command figures are also superb, however several are wrong for this period.

The centurion is standing holding his staff of office in front of himself. He is obviously in a bad mood as he is bending the staff around himself. Unfortunately this figure really belongs to a much later period 1st to 2nd century AD. This is a pity as I like this figure a lot, still he can join my early imperial Romans and terrorise their legionaries.

The Standard bearer is another good figure but unfortunately is also AD and not BC so should be discarded.

The musician is a trumpeter dressed the same as the ordinary legionaries, so he is just right. It is again a well sculpted well detailed figure and will look good as part of the command element of any army.

The swordsman is advancing holding his shield in front of himself and has his sword raised. This is the figure I would use for a Centurion as he is just right for this job.

The mounted figure is an excellent copy of all those classical equestrian statues. He has a muscled cuirass, wears a cloak and is bare headed. Perfect for being a general in Roman armies through most of their history. It is very well done with the figure looking very Patrician and loaded with gravitas.

To sum up.

My first impression on opening the box was good only two poses for the legionaries. My second was oh no one of them is holding there shield above the head. The former is good as it allows a proper disciplined look to the Romans, the latter is bad because it is a silly pose. This ambivalence continued with the command figures. Truly superb figures let down by two being from a later period.

If you are interested in the civil wars and the rise of Rome then this should be something for you to rush out and buy, as the faults are greatly outweighed by the advantages. If you are looking for a slightly different Roman army with lots of blade elements, then this is it and is also a good buy. If your interest is more casual then I would still recommend them as even with all the faults they are still amongst the best you can get.

Stephen

[Thanks Stephen, much appreciated. If anyone want's to contact the author, please click here.

By the way, I've got hold of some of these to sell - $NZ 9.50 ea. Anyone interested, please let me know.

Nick]

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