Creating a Plastic Celtic [DBA] Armyby Stephen MontagueFirst a note about the Gallic and Galatian armies. These army lists can be subdivided into early middle and late periods (as has the Galatian). The early army uses chariots but few if any cavalry. The warriors mostly fought naked. Armour would only be worn by the richest people (in terms of your wargames army only the command element should have armour) and helmets would also be rare. Late armies would have cavalry and no chariots. The only naked warriors would be the chiefs bodyguard (in terms of your wargames army only the foot command element should have naked warriors). Armour would be common amongst the wealthier warriors i.e. cavalry and helmets more widely used. Mid period armies would show a mixture of these things. The different types of elements available as follows. Note more extensive reviews of most of the figure sets mentioned are available elsewhere on this site. Chariots These is only one plastic chariot available at the moment - the ones that come in the Airfix/Hat Ancient Britains set along with infantry. They need a little work to make them look right however. The gallery section of this website gives several examples of how to improve them. The review section also contains a review of the only 20mm lead chariot I know of if you wish to buy one. Cavalry There are sets available from Hat and Italeri. The Hat set is best used for later Gauls and Galatians as they are heavily armoured. The Italeri set is less than perfect but is the one to use for earlier Gauls, Galatians and ancient Britains. Note you also get two useful warriors in this set. Warband
Psiloi The Airfix/Hat set has some slingers (who need a small round shield added) and archers. Esci [soon to be Italeri] Barbarians have a nice archer in the set and another figure which can be converted into a slinger. This is the figure with the curved sword. Carve the sword down to look like a sling and add a small round shield to the other arm. No one makes any javelin armed Psiloi. However the figure with its arm back holding a spear from the Italeri set will do well though I would replace the shield with a small round one as this is more appropriate. Scythed Chariots These are available from Zvesda/Italeri in their Persian cavalry set. Unfortunately you will also get a set of Persian cavalry. You can use these as the Knight and Light horse elements of the Mithraditic army. To complete this army you will need some auxilliarys, Psiloi and either Pikes or imitation legionaries. The Auxiliary can come from the Hat Alexanders light infantry set. Use the helmeted javalinmen and add oval shields for the 4xAx the 3xAx use the other javalinmen and add small round shields. The archers supply the Psiloi. The pike can be supplied by Hats Alexanders Phalangites set. However I would recommend getting the Italeri Roman legionaries as imitation leigonaries. Buy two boxes use the sensibaly posed figures to make yourself a Marian roman army (using up any excess Gallic cavalry as auxiliary cavalry and spare Greek light infantry as Psiloi). The other figures with the shields above their heads should have their arms bent around so the shield is in a more sensible pose. Note try immersing the figure in hot water to soften it before you bend the arm. Dont worry if the arms are not all at the same position as having the shields all at slightly different angles will look just right for a bunch of badly trained imitation troops. There will be enough figures to supply both the Mithraditic and Galatian armies. This will mean you get three armies that can fight each other also the Romans can also be pitted against Gauls and ancient Brits. Blades Italeri's Roman Infantry 1-2 cty B.C. will supply you with all the figures you need for the elements of imitation Legionnaires. It will also supply you with almost enough Romans for a Marian Roman DBA army to which you can add any spare Gallic Cavalry and Psiloi as auxilliarys Command elements Chariots Add a suitable figure from one of the infantry sets as a commander and make the chariot colour full with lots of bright metal fittings and perhaps a head or two. Cavalry Hats cavalry the one with the bird helmet being a favorite. Again lots of bright colours and shiny metals. Infantry The Airfix/Hat Standard bearer is the best one available, the Italeri set has a trumpeter. Both the Airfix/Hat and Italeri sets have some good Chieften style figures the latter set however will win out because of the superior figure quality. Ok so that is what is available to make your army from so now for what to actually use. Early Gallic Unless you want the extra figures I would suggest you get only one Airfix/Hat box for the two chariots. You will need to make your command element warband. The rest of the warband will be supplied by the Italeri set choose the naked and half naked figures. Note if you want only naked warriors then get Hat's Carthaginian allies set as this provides enough figures for 5x3wb or 4x4wb elements. Though what you will do with the Libyans and Iberians is up to you. The Psiloi can be either the archers or slingers from the Airfix/Hat set. Middle Gallic
Late Gallic No need for the Airfix/Hat set this time use the Italeri javelin wielding figures as Psiloi. For cavalry use the Hat set. Early Galatian Pretty much like the Early Gallic except you will need an element of cavalry for which use the Italeri set. If you want the scythed chariot then you will need Italeri's Persian Cavalry set also. Middle Galatian Its probably best to ignore the Generals chariot and put him on horseback instead. You will need one set each of Italeri's Gallic cavalry and infantry for the generals element you may wish to use the better equipped Hat cavalry. Use the Italeri javelin wielding figures as Psiloi Late Galatian Hat cavalry, Italeri Gallic Warriors and Roman Legionaries are all you need for this one. Ancient Britains Because of the possible variations it is hard to say just exactly what to get for this army, however the following is my humble suggestion. Two boxes of Airfix/Hat ancient Brits. This gives you four chariots (one command and three others) four slingers (two Psiloi elements though if you use all the chariots you will only need one) and more than enough warriors for your warband needs. You will also need Italeri's cavalry set to supply the light horse elements. Caledonians Select the warband option for the command element as this allows you to use only one box of Airfix/Hat and one of Italeri Warriors to make your army.
Finally how about creating a core army which you can use for any of the armies with a little adaption? I would suggest a 4xWb generals element as this frees up the two chariots from the Airfix/Hat set for other duties. This means you will need one Airfix/Hat set and one Italeri Warriors set for the chariots, warband and Psiloi. For the cavalry Italeri's set is the most useful as it can also supply you with the ancient Brits light horse. This core force can then have all the army and period specific additions made to it to create the individual armies. To sum the above up here is a table showing the number of boxes needed for each army. Gallic
Galatian
[Britian]
Stephen [Thanks Stephen, that's very helpful. If anyone want's to contact the author, please click here. Nick] 
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