Summary: great sculpting, variety and poses. These figs meet all accepted conventions for first-rate figures in today's market. Historical accuracy is acceptable. The pricing is very reasonable at 30 foot or three chariots for $30, or $1/foot, $10/chariot. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for any fan of Homer, or someone just looking for a great bronze-age chariot army.

Rage - Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that caused the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the house of death so many sturdy souls, great fighter's souls, but made their bodies carrion, feasts for the dogs and birds, and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end.

From Homer's Iliad, trans. Robert Fagles, Penguin Books, New York: 1998.

Ah, what educated man can resist giving the works of Homer their due? And if a fan of the literature, then a fan of the...miniatures? Well, it's easy with these deeply cut and finely sculpted figs from Pennsylvania's favorite, Old Glory. I certainly couldn't resist when I saw them bagged at the OG booth at Historicon, and neither could Paul Dobbins, our resident Homeric sage. I am uncertain what the army will do on the table, but I know that the figures will do well under the brush and their general will simply have to learn how to make them succeed in the brutal trial of Ancient Warfare Tournaments! Probably industrious painters and collectors of Egypt, Assyria and the Hittites will run roughshod over them, but hey, the Iliad is a tragedy. And so on to the figure review.

According to what little is known about the Bronze Age armies they are intended to represent, these figs seem to be well thought out and leave the collector with many opportunities. If you feel they are a little too well armored, you can always emphasize the unarmored and naked figures according to your sensibilities. The clothing, helmets, weapons and shields reasonably represent what scholars tell us about the period.

There is minor flack: metal strings hanging off various ends and little knobs on the bottom of bases and shields, etc. But the mold lines are very fine, barely visible, the sculpting is crisp, and the figures are a little more slender and lithe than some of the Old Glory (OG) lines. Face and torso are well defined, the legs are sometimes a little less so and the thighs and calves are sometimes a little 'deeper' than they should be (not wide for a fat look, just deeper from the side angle). I think the deep sculpting will take either a wash or a drybrushing technique very well. The only nit-picking comment I have is that the sculpting of the chest muscle follows a line over the shoulder and down to the lower back. It almost looks like a small cape is being worn, but it's just a stylized way to portray the figure, and doesn't look bad. Paul adds that the knobs on the bases and shields are sizable. The metal is tough - a hard pewter - so use clippers or metal scissors to cut the bases. He also says, 'There is a kind of comic book stylization to their musculature, with large, bulging pecks, bi- and triceps, but the effect is good on the table. They are perfect candidates for the Foundry three-color painting technique popularized by Kevin Dalimore.'

TTW-1 Trojan Spearmen, tower shield.

It should be noted that although both TTW-1 & 2 are labeled 'Trojan Spearmen', I don't think they are necessarily intended to only be Trojans. They are perfect for any spearman who would bear a large shield (more of a mantle, really) for protection against arrows and a spear to keep chariots and other spearmen away. In Paul's lists, they would make great militia spearmen. None have horned helmets - perhaps those are reserved for the true warriors? Both bags are very nice figures, essential for any army that wants to make an impression with the large hide shields and dramatic poses.

These fellows come in three basic positions, ten of each in the bag of charging, advancing and defending. All hold the spear up at a 45 degree angle. Heads are a mix of about seven basic types with different angles and helmets, yelling, some bearded, etc. Helmets tend to the small metal spine and smaller crests, with some of the larger crests and horsehair mixed in, too. The chargers have a tassled skirt, the advancing a loincloth and the defending are, well, getting plenty of air down there - clearly the poorest of the group. Personally, I am not so certain about the fighting naked aspect of many figures these days. I think if you can afford a spear and shield, you can afford a towel/blanket/loincloth etc, but what do I know? The shield is large, about chest height on the figure. It comes in two shapes, a rectangle and a rectangle with a rounded top. Both have a raised rim, probably meant to be wood holding the hide on the shield. All have a short sword in a scabbard hanging from a shoulder strap.

TTW-2 Trojan Spearmen, figure of eight shield

These are the same as the TTW-1, with ten each of charging, advancing and standing, all holding the spear at a 45 degree angle. The main difference from TTW-1 is these have the boar's tusk helmet with a plume that is either raised, long or small but on both front and back. They also have more shouting fellows and look a little fiercer. The clothing is identical to TTW-1. The shield looks just like half a peanut shell and is about neck height to the figure. It has a spine running vertically down the front with little featherings that seem to indicate the stretch marks of the hide over the shield and spine. I assume this means that the spine is under the hide covering. Verdict: two great bags of figs.

TTW-3 Trojan Javalinmen Skirmishing

A wonderful mix of figures here that would qualify as any unarmored javelinmen, either skirmish or loose order. None have swords, fifteen are naked, five have a loincloth and ten have a fringed skirt. Half have a helmet, some with horns that would make a great 'fanatic' warrior if you think that the horns denote a tried and true fighter. The poses are great, with the majority raising the javelin to throw or stab forward over-arm. A few others are holding vertically, appearing to seek out a likely target and five are charging forward thrusting over-arm. All hold three other javelins in the left hand. They come with two shields, a wicker crescent shield and a small circular shield with a boss and rim. Personally, I plan to use the naked fellows with the wicker shield as SI and the clothed and helmeted ones with the small 'dueling' shield as Wb(f), with the charging fellows as heroes or leaders. Verdict: another great bag of figs.

TTW-4 Slingers

I passed on these, but Paul purchased a pack. He says, "I like them a lot, even more than the delicate Foundry slingers by the Perry brothers. Good poses and animation, the strap of the sling is clearly differentiated top and bottom, or fore and aft. Many are naked, some are kilted. They are not endowed to excess as is common with the Perry figures; they are regular guys. One has a thin head, the others look good.

TTW-5 Trojan Archers

About fifteen are shooting, five running, five drawing an arrow and five standing. Half are naked and five have the loincloth, ten have the tassled skirt. All the skirted ones have a helmet. Again, lots of head variety is present. I think the naked ones will make great SI and the others great militia archers / support for spearmen in mixed formations. The bows are about half the height of the figure, running from knee to just over the head. I'd be tempted to get a second bag if I wanted more uniform clothing choices. As it is, I plan to mount my figs individually for skirmish gaming, putting them on magnetic bases for formations. Verdict: a great bag of auxiliary figures.

TTW-6 Trojan Infantry Command

Not purchased, but they look great in the bag. There are about seven groups of three command figures in the bag, each would have a leader, a musician and a standard bearer. The instruments are long horns, the standards a pole with an animal or animal head atop. The figures are perfectly in line with the rest of the army. Note that this bag is 20 figures for $19. Personally, I don't care for this system, and prefer to get a couple of command groups with the rest of the troops. Basically, this is the command group for 6-7 units, and I'm uncertain if I'll have that many. On the other hand, the quality of the horns and standards is very tempting...

TTW-7 Greek Infantry Command

Not purchased, refer to above for comments.

TTW-8 Trojan Heroes

Differentiated from the 'Greek Heroes' by helmets if at all, the Trojan helmets tend to have short 'bristle-brush' crests, large spine reinforcement 'crests' and the usual horned helmets, along with heavier armor (none bare-chested). The thirty figs have six wearing the heavy, articulated Dendra panoply, or 'chariot armor', six wearing a type of scale armor, nine wearing cuirasses and greaves, six wearing cuirass and three wearing cloth armor - all nine without greaves. The animation is nice, with five basic poses. All poses have mixed heads (about 10-15 different heads). First is charging with spear, second is charging with spear and shield (have little peg for shield), third is charging with sword, fourth is on guard with sword, fifth is throwing javelin. What happens when you combine all this? You have, quite literally, a mixed bag of Trojans (should I rephrase that?) that will look great in both skirmish games or posed together on the 'large diorama stands' that Paul and Jamie Fish have on the table occasionally.

The shields come in four varieties in both 'Hero' bags, with equal representation of about 7-9 of each. The types are a round shield with a furry cover, metal boss and rim, a crescent with three bosses, a circle with five bosses, and an oval shield with two half-circles cut out of the edge on each side (gives an almost figure-eight shape, but the circles are smaller), a metal spine and rims.

TTW-9 Greek Heroes

The Greeks tend to have helmets with larger crests, or two crests (front and back), or a large horsehair crest. Also, their 'chariot armor' characters all have cloth armor under their articulated 'skirts' that hangs down to the ankle, while the Trojans have nothing or greaves. Again the large variety of heads with five basic poses: standing with spear, charging with spear, charging with sword, defending with sword, and throwing javelin (this could also be easily converted into a spearman thrusting over-arm).

TTW-10 Trojan Heroes in Chariots 1
TTW-11 Trojan Heroes in Chariots 2
TTW-12 Greek Heroes in Chariots 1
TTW-13 Greek Heroes in Chariots 2

Not available - three or four week wait (will be reviewed in next SAGA).

TTW-14 Casualties

Again, I passed on them, but Paul didn't. He says, 'Got a bag of these, they are very nice and would make good casualty counters a la Jeff Ball and the Saga crew. Several of the casualties are walking wounded. Most are prone, displayed on a largish base. Some might prefer the pone poses if they had no base, but a little flock or flocking gel/modeling paste will easily take care of the look.' I did look at them carefully in the bag, and they are on par with the rest of the range.

Overall, I'd say this is one of the best lines to come from OG. I have the medieval and dark ages figs, but these are truly sculpted differently, less stocky looking and with deeper lines and grooves that will paint up well. I think the spear formations with the hide shields will look great and the ornamented heavy infantry quite eye-catching, too. The spear blocks with the large mantlets and the chariots will make for a colorful army with lots of appeal. Add to that the power of legend and the challenge of an army that is truly different from the Egyptians and Hittites (not to mention the rest of the Ancient Warfare world), and you have me hooked. Anyone else for chariot warfare? I am hoping that we can get the Egyptians, Assyrians and Hittites on the table for a future convention tournament that focuses on chariot armies.

Next time: chariot reviews!