15mm Late Carthaginian Figure Help / Recommendations

[Millsy]

Hi All,

First post so be gentle .

Ordered my rule book and a couple of list books yesterday and am starting to think about what I need to build a Late Carthaginian force.

I've been digging about the web and have found a few manufacturers of Carthaginian figs in 15mm. I'd be interested in any info people can provide on quality vs. price, relative sizes, poses, range etc on various manufacturers and ranges.

So far I have come across Xyston, Corvus Belli and Old Glory 15s. What have I missed?

PS. If there is already a post on this topic my apologies but I couldn't find one.
PPS. Seems there are a few lurkers on here from the FoW forum. G'day lads!

Cheers,
Millsy

[flameberge]

Hi All,

First post so be gentle .

Ordered my rule book and a couple of list books yesterday and am starting to think about what I need to build a Late Carthaginian force.

I've been digging about the web and have found a few manufacturers of Carthaginian figs in 15mm. I'd be interested in any info people can provide on quality vs. price, relative sizes, poses, range etc on various manufacturers and ranges.

So far I have come across Xyston, Corvus Belli and Old Glory 15s. What have I missed?

PS. If there is already a post on this topic my apologies but I couldn't find one.
PPS. Seems there are a few lurkers on here from the FoW forum. G'day lads!

Cheers,
Millsy

Well Xyston is missing a lot of troop types for Carthaginians though they do have some of the troops you could use like hoplites, spanish foot and gallic foot. I love the figures though a cost vs. price comparison is going to be an individual's preference. Xyston are more expensive but if your a painter I think its worth it. If you don't put a lot of time painting them I would just buy the cheapest you can get. After all they are only 15mm and so from a distance you probably won't see a lot of difference. Xyston figures are larger than many manufacturers.

Corvus Belli are also very good figures and again are more expensive. They probably do have all you would need for your carthaginians and so if you want to stay with one manufacturer they would work. Corvus Belli are smaller than Xyston.

OG are CHEAP and reasonably good figures though not as good as the previous two manufacturers I mentioned. They also have a HUGE selection. They make just about every figure type for any time period or nation. You could make your whole army out of OG if you want to stay with one manufacturer. OG seem to be smaller than Xyston and Corvus Belli though I only own ACW OG and so I don't know if the OG line of Carthaginians are of a different size. You can buy a Later Carthaginian OG starter army from OldGlory15s.com with the elephants for only $80.

[Strategos69]

Hi,

I have a painted Carthaginian force. I will post some images so that you can realize how they can look like (even if I am not a very skilled painter). I have used Old Glory, Essex, Corvus Belli and Xyston miniatures (although I have not painted yet my Xyston ones). My advice is the next one: use as many different manufacturers as you can because you will have a better looking army at the end. You may have problems using some cavalry models from different manufacturers, but that's all. And yes, it is better to expend some more money because at the end it is a better idea.







Here you have an overall look of the army. More or less it is a Carthaginian Starter Army. As you can realize, if you are not an expert you can not notice that they are from different manufacturers.





Here you have a closer view. In my experience you should buy Gauls from Essex, Old Glory and Corvus. The best African Spearmen are from Corvus Belli. Generally skirmishers are cheaper in Essex as you can buy just 8 minis packs (Corvus does not have such a huge variety and I recommend you to use even Greek or Numidian skirmisher for a Carthaginian Army). Gallic cavalry is good in both Essex and Corvus. Spanish cavalry is best in Essex and then in Corvus. The best Elephants are from Old Glory but they come in packs of 4 (so get one pack from OG and the rest from other manufacturers in you want to have six). I hope it would be useful. If you have more questions, just ask us.

[Strategos69]

Hi,

I have a painted Carthaginian force. I will post some images so that you can realize how they can look like (even if I am not a very skilled painter). I have used Old Glory, Essex, Corvus Belli and Xyston miniatures (although I have not painted yet my Xyston ones). My advice is the next one: use as many different manufacturers as you can because you will have a better looking army at the end. You may have problems using some cavalry models from different manufacturers, but that's all. And yes, it is better to expend some more money because at the end it is a better idea.







Here you have an overall look of the army. More or less it is a Carthaginian Starter Army. As you can realize, if you are not an expert you can not notice that they are from different manufacturers.





Here you have a closer view. In my experience you should buy Gauls from Essex, Old Glory and Corvus. The best African Spearmen are from Corvus Belli. Generally skirmishers are cheaper in Essex as you can buy just 8 minis packs (Corvus does not have such a huge variety and I recommend you to use even Greek or Numidian skirmisher for a Carthaginian Army). Gallic cavalry is good in both Essex and Corvus. Spanish cavalry is best in Essex and then in Corvus. The best Elephants are from Old Glory but they come in packs of 4 (so get one pack from OG and the rest from other manufacturers in you want to have six). I hope it would be useful. If you have more questions, just ask us.

More examples here

http://misminis.blogspot.com/

[Strategos69]

More examples here

http://misminis.blogspot.com/

[Millsy]

G'day guys!

@flameberge - Thanks for the feedback. I had read that Xyston and Corvus Belli were good quality and I am a painter although I don't go to the lengths some do. I guess I am a "painter / gamer". The OG starter pack is a tempting place to start I must admit if only for the sake of simplicity. If anyone has bought it I'd like to hear from them as to whether the content is a good list.

@Strategos69 - Thanks for your response too and for taking the time to post pics. You have a wonderfully painted army! It must be great fun to play something that looks so good on the table top. Would you mind posting your army list? I'm waiting on books in the post from Amazon but would like to get a feel for what is what as I don't know how long the books will take to arrive. I had a look through your other pics as well BTW. Good to see some DAK and medievals which I also have. We seem to have very similar interests!

Cheers,
Millsy

[Strategos69]

Here you have the list of the minis posted: (number of bases in brackets)

2 BG Numidian LH (4)
2 BG African Spearmen (8)
1 BG Spanish scutarii (6)
2 BG Gallic Warband (8)
2 BG Skirmisher (6)
1 BG Gallic cavalry (4)
1 BG Spanish cavalry (4)
1 BG Elephants (2)
1 BG Balearic slingers (6)

I am not posting it to recommend it as a good list (as I haven't still played it since I have just received the rules), but to let you have a general impression.

Talking about manufacturers, take a look on these ones. You may have not seen them yet:
http://www.atoufigs.com/
http://www.essexminiatures.co.uk/

If you can read Spanish or get a translator, I strongly advise to see this link where I discuss the different manufacturers, their good and bad points
http://misminis.blogspot.com/2007/09/ac ... laces.html

[Millsy]

Thanks for both the list and the other manufacturers. I have a lot of Essex stuff already for 15mm medieval so I know their level of quality, etc. I've not heard of the other company so I'll have a look at their stuff.

[malekithau]

I have a nice Carthaginian force with Corvus Belli and Essex stuff. Tried Xyston for the Italians, Gauls, Spanish and Romans but they are huge compared to the Xyston figs not just height but also bulk. I am using the oscans for Bruttians at the mo but they look so out of place I will be replacing them with smaller figs. Essex and CB mix well especially the Celts. The CB Carth range is excellent - do not look any further. All they are missing is the Italians and Ligurians.

[dadieau]

I just recieved some Spanish Scutarii from LMK of the Friekorp line. Those and a Personalities pack were quite pleasing. I will be going back for more. Check out http://www.madaxeman.com/index.html for a good run down on 15mm suppliers and Mikes comments on the ranges. I like to mix different figures also but some are too big (or too small) to go well with every thing else.

[Strategos69]

I have only combined Essex, Xyston, Old Glory and Corvus Belli. In general I have had two problems: shields and horses. Those facts have convinced me that it is not a good idea to mix minis from different manufacturers if you are fielding a regular army with some sort of standard equipment. Nevertheless, I have used Essex and Xyston hoplites together and I think the result has been fined because I have put green stuff under the Essex miniatures so that they are at the same level as Xyston's. Ti solve the problems of the shields I have purchased shields from Corvus Belli and put them over the Essex shields, giving the unit the cohesion needed.

I have dealt the problem of the horses by using horses of one manufacturer mixed with horsemen from other manufacturers. At the end you have a wider range of miniatures. Another idea is to convert the minis. Changing the position of the arms, the head or the legs (sometimes just in the way you stick it into the base) makes one mini to look different. In models with the option of a shield you can also try different poses. In general I would advise to be bold. The thing that I regret the most is to have completed my African troops (Numidian and Lybian) just with models from Essex.

[Millsy]

This is all really useful info guys. I've been looking closely at the Corvus Belli and I think I will be using those as the core and then expanding or mixing in various others. Despite the obvious quality of the Xyston the oversize nature of the figs will probably exclude them from the final mix.

[flameberge]

This is all really useful info guys. I've been looking closely at the Corvus Belli and I think I will be using those as the core and then expanding or mixing in various others. Despite the obvious quality of the Xyston the oversize nature of the figs will probably exclude them from the final mix.

Well I think Corvus Belli is a good choice, the quality is on par with Xyston. What I think compounds the problem of the size of Xyston figures is that they are on pretty thick bases in addition to being a little tall. That's why I'm making my entire Macedonian army out of Xyston so the size issue won't be a problem. I eventually plan on making a Carthaginian army and since Xyston doesn't have the figures to make an entire army out of them I also plan on using Corvus Belli.
I'm also a little different than some people in the fact that I don't neccessarily want a lot of variety in my figures when making an army, it depends on the army. For an army like Gauls where you want a chaotic mix of different looking warriors I like the idea of mixing manufacturers but when it comes to an army like the Macedonians with a lot of well disciplined well ordered pike I like a single manufacturer so I get the look of "sameness."

[Millsy]

I agree with you flamberge regarding the animation and variety of figs for various purposes.

I have a couple of H&M armies in 25/28mm - SYW Austrians and Nap French. In both cases the troops are strictly uniformed and were taught to march and fight in order. Having the figs of a similar look matches how I want the army to "feel" on the table.

I plan to expand the Gallic component of my Carthaginians into a large army sized force down the track and will be looking for more of a mob feel there too.

I've never understood why a manufacturer will make their bases so much thicker than the competition in a particular range. Surely they want to ty and win as much business as possible. Making their figs stand 2-3mm taller than the competition means gamers like us will avoid their minis when buying to match existing forces. Surely the chance of selling a lot more smaller lots is worth it??? Even more odd when the sculpt itself is so good. It's almost like they are doing all the hard work and letting themselves down at the final hurdle.

[flameberge]

I agree with you flamberge regarding the animation and variety of figs for various purposes.

I have a couple of H&M armies in 25/28mm - SYW Austrians and Nap French. In both cases the troops are strictly uniformed and were taught to march and fight in order. Having the figs of a similar look matches how I want the army to "feel" on the table.

I plan to expand the Gallic component of my Carthaginians into a large army sized force down the track and will be looking for more of a mob feel there too.

I've never understood why a manufacturer will make their bases so much thicker than the competition in a particular range. Surely they want to ty and win as much business as possible. Making their figs stand 2-3mm taller than the competition means gamers like us will avoid their minis when buying to match existing forces. Surely the chance of selling a lot more smaller lots is worth it??? Even more odd when the sculpt itself is so good. It's almost like they are doing all the hard work and letting themselves down at the final hurdle.

There are a lot of things figure manufacturers do that I don't understand like making a 15mm figure 17mm for example. I haven't tried it yet but I'm thinking of trying to put shimms under smaller based figures to bring them to a height similar to Xyston and see how they look if I mix them.

[Strategos69]

I agree with you that it is not advisable to mix miniatures if they are "regular" troops, but at least I think it is good to try (one pack of 8 Xyston miniatures costs around 4€ so it is not a very expensive experiment). I had some Greeks from Essex and I was not going to throw them out just because they were not as good as Xyston's. I tried to make them "compatible" rising them as flameberge suggests.



More that height (in real life people are taller, bigger or smaller) you should pay attention to the equipment: shields and spears. They may vary and the result won't be good (that is why I am going to change all Essex shields for Xyston ones).

[flameberge]

I agree I wouldn't throw them out either. They are after all 15mm figures that you'll be looking at from several feet away and I don't think the Essex figures look bad. Your right about the height of people varying, I just don't like it when you have 6' tall people mixed with 8' tall people . You are also probably right that equipment probably makes more of a difference than anything.

[Strategos69]

Your right about the height of people varying, I just don't like it when you have 6' tall people mixed with 8' tall people .

You are right. In those cases I prefer to see my little Essex as 1m 50 centimeters (5') tall and my Xyston as 1m 80cm (6') tall people. Anyway, height was not a problem for the most famous Gauls evern know

[Probert]

My later Carthaginian force is composed from many manufactureres. The majority (as of now) are Black Hat - African Spearmen, Numidian Javelins, Numidian Horse, Spanish Light Horse; I also have some Essex - Poeni Spears and Command; and some Old Glory - Spanish Cavalry. I bought a wide variety to try and find out which I like best, and frankly they all are pretty good. I really like the OG Spanish Cavalry, so my next starter army will likely come from them.