Modellings tips and answers - Victrix historical figures - Videos

This week in history

On Monday 17th February 1986, British Rail introduced the Class 59 Co-Co Diesels into service.  Built by Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD) at their works in Illinois, these became the first US-built diesel locomotives to operate on the British Rail network.  The four locomotives were supplied to a British quarrying company called Foster Yeoman and were used to haul quarried stone from the Torr Works in the Mendips to terminals in Southern England.  They became the first privately owned locomotives to operate on the UK Rail network.  This venture proved so successful that two other operators also purchased Class 59 locomotives for hauling aggregates within the UK, meaning that a total of 15 Class 59 locomotives were now in operation.  The 15 locomotives were bought by Freightliner in 1993 who continue to operate them to haul quarried stone in the UK.

For many modellers who specialise in military figures 28mm will be their scale of preference.  This is the scale which many wargamers adopt and as such, there is inevitably a crossover between the wargaming and military modelling worlds.  The biggest advantages of 28mm figures are that they are large enough to show a significant amount of detail, yet small enough that they do not take up an inordinate amount of space.  This last factor alone is a big plus, especially to modellers for whom space is at a premium.  Another advantage is that 28mm is a large enough scale that each figure can be broken down into a variety of optional pieces.  The big advantage of this is that each figure has a large number of potential configurations, meaning that each individual is suitably unique.  One notable specialist in this field is the Cumbria based manufacturer Victrix, who specialises in three specific time periods, namely 'Warriors of Antiquity', 'Warriors of the Dark Ages' and 'The Napoleonic Wars and we shall look at some of the subjects from each of these historic periods.

The 'Warriors of Antiquity' range covers a broad spectrum of subjects and Nation States including Carthage, Numidia, Ancient Greece, Macedon, Persia, the Roman Republic and the Early Roman Empire.  For those who have an interest in Ancient Greece, then the Athenian Armoured Hoplites and the Spartan Hoplites sets will offer good opportunities to model these specialists troops who fought with spears in very disciplined Phalanx formations.  The African War Elephants were one of the real impact units of the period.  The African War Elephants set allows a modeller to build two of these magnificent animals together with troops from a range of nations including the Carthaginian, Ptolemaic, Numidian and Roman armies.



Further options from the 'Warriors from Antiquity' range include soldiers from both the Roman Republic and the Early Roman Empire.  The Roman Auxiliary Infantry includes 24 Auxilliary Troops from the Early Imperial period in marching order.  Likewise, from the same period, the other set allows a modeller to build up to 16 mounted Cavalrymen with a variety of weapon and shield options.  Rome's enemies are also well-represented, such as the Germanic Warriors pack containing 60 Foot warriors, similar to those that ambushed the Legions of Publilius Quictilius Varus in the Teutoborg Forest in the early first century AD.



The 'Warriors of the Dark Ages' range also covers the early Medieval period, including the time of the Norman Conquest.  The Norman Cavalry allows a modeller to create up to 12 Mounted Cavalrymen, whilst the other set contains 30 Norman Troops on foot with a variety of weapon and shield options.  The Late Saxons/Anglo Danes provide a modeller with 60 highly-detailed Saxon foot troops, perfect for those looking to recreate a Norman Conquest related diorama.



For those looking to model subjects from the Napoleonic era, there is a wide selection of interesting options.  The Waterloo British Infantry Centre allows a modeller to create up to 52 Foot soldiers, including Officers, Standard Bearers, Drummers and NCOs.  The second set contains 60 of Napoleon's Old Guard Chasseurs, including figures either firing or marching.  As well as Cavalry sets for the period, Victrix has also included in their range options for both British and French Artillery of the time.  The British Napoleonic Foot Artillery is a very versatile set that includes 15 crew figures together with 3 limbers and 3 gun carriages.  The Gun options include six and nine pounders and a howitzer.

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The 28mm Historical Figure sets produced by Victrix represent significant opportunities for both modellers and tabletop gamers alike.  Each figure is a mini-kit in its own right with a number of pose and weapon related options enabling each figure to be truly unique.  Using 28mm is a great choice for many companies.  Equating to 1:56 scale, 28mm is also popular with a number of manufacturers who also create diorama scene elements and military vehicles.  With its ideal balance between size and detail, 28mm has significant advantages for new and experienced modellers alike.

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