War and Empire 15mm Minis Review

 

I figured that I would get a review post up for the 15mm Romans I have painted up fairly recently. 

As I have mentioned, these are made by Forged In Battle. I believe they are mostly well known for  their WW2 figures (which I must give a whirl one day), but a few years ago they branched out with the War and Empire Range of Ancients.

The entire range has been realeased by three waves of Kickstarters, all of which have been successful. These have expanded the range from the days of the Greek hoplites, though to the Vikings, Nomans and Saxons in the last expansion. The range also includes buildings for various periods. There is pretty much everything you could need for most armies and a massive Roman Selection.

Price wise, you can buy units of 24 infantry or 12 cavalry for around £12. An army of 8 units will set you back around £90, giving you a small saving. So at a rough estimate, you are looking at around 50p fo a infantry figure and £1 for a cavalry mini. Not bad prices. 

My first criticism comes on that front though. You can't buy them individually, only in these packs and the packs are designed for their upcoming rules. Each pack has command elements in it so if you want to make bigger units you will inevitably have spares. Though it is worth mentioning it that when I contacted them about buying individual figures they did say it was possible if you ordered enough, so there is some scope for broader uses. 

Down to the figures themselves. Since I have painted most of mine, I didn't have many unpainted minis to photograph, but here's some Triarii and a horse from the Cavalry unit I am about to start:

As you can see, detail is very good, flash minimum, and overall they are really crisp, clean casts. Very nice to work with and they have suited my painting style quite nicely. The shields are moudled on to the figures, which for me is a bonus at this scale. I would have liked a little more metal on the small base, as they can be pain to mount for painting on sticks as I do, and sometimes fall ove quite a bit when I am basing them, but that's a minor  gripe. 

Clean up time was very little with these, and I was able to get them prepped in very short time. Here is a fully paintind unit:

Final thought - if you are doing a 15mm Ancients or Dark Ages project, you should certainly conisder these. Whilst the way they are sold is a pain, it's a minor gripe and they are good value for money and should be on your shopping list without a doubt. I will certainly be ordering some more very soon.