Essex

15mm Macedonians and Thracians

reviewed by Rod Burr

Essex Miniatures continues to expand their 15mm Miniatures line with the addition of figures for the Macedonian and Punic Wars. These figures are up to the fine quality that Essex's 25s are known for, but somewhat different in style. While the Essex 25mm figures tend to be on the stocky side and close to 30mm in actual size, their 15mm figures are slimmer, and a bit smaller than some other 15mm ranges. The Essex figures appear to average about 16.5mm to the top of the head, which puts them about midway between the Minifigs and Mike's Models 15s in stature. The figures received for review look like they would fit on the standard (pre-7th Edition WRG) 15mm base sizes, as well as on the newer 18mm ones without any problems.

The sample figures received are all from the Thracian and Macedonian portions of the range which includes 24 different packs. While most of these contain a single pose, the command packs and MPA5 Thracian Javelinmen (not seen) contain multiple poses. The range contains two different archers and two different Thracian peltasts, so it will be possible to create units of the less regular types with some variation in poses. The Thracians are well covered with two peltasts, one javelinman, and light and heavy cavalry packs, as well as other generic light infantry and command figures that can be used by the player interested in creating a Thracian army rather than just a couple of units of Thrician auxiliaries. All of the samples received for review are very crisply detailed and have little flash. All of the mounted figures are separate from their horses with the exception of MPA13 Prodromoi light cavalryman which is cast as a single figure and very nicely captures the feeling of the original painting used as the basis for illustration 31 in WRG's Armies and Enemies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars.

Due to their intermediate size among the common range of variation for 15mm figures, they should be fairly easy to integrate with other manufacturers' figures. The Essex 15mm figures are available for $1.99 per pack of 8 infantry, 6 Command, 4 Cavalry or 3 Mounted Command from Wargames, Inc., Box 278, Route 40 East, Triadelphia, WV 26059-0278, phone (304) 547- 0000.

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