Back in the summer I bought some of the newly re-released Airfix Britons and Romans in a fit of nostalgia. These were the 1st figures I consciously remember painting some time in the early/mid 70s.
I've finally worked my way through 3 boxes, each of which has 25 figures and 2 chariots. So what's the verdict?
Firstly I both enjoyed and was exasperated painting these. I'll start with the 'cons'... I've painted up soft plastic figures in this scale before but these seemed especially 'flaky' compared with eg my 1/72 Aztecs. Not .sure if this was because they are especially bendy or if it was to do with my prepping and painting of the figures. You'd definitely need to have these based to avoid handling them to avoid any damage to the paintwork.
Some of the poses are...erm... interesting. I'v never been quite sure what this guy is doing...
...some kind of jig perhaps, or maybe his sword has got stuck. Each box also includes 2 wounded figures. I'm not convinced these add much but they look ok when based with other figures.
Historical accuracy is also a bit of an issue, especially with the chariots and the helmets (just wait till we get to the Romans!!). But they look fine and I'm not one to get hung up on this level of fussing.
The 'pros' are the cost... 25 infantry and 2 chariots for around a fiver is hard to beat. And of course they are positively dripping with nostalgia... it's like it's 1974 all over again!!
I decided to base them in groups rather than individually to try and reduce handling issues. I separated to more lightly armed figures as Levy troops and the ones that a bit more armour (and inapproriate horned helmets) as Nobles.
The 3 boxes give a decent number of troops.... certainly enough for games like Lion Rampant or One Hour Wargames. So onto the Romans next (with maybe a slight diversion into Cavemen before I steel myself for more bendy plastic fun!)
