Today we have two reviews of recent product releases – two very different kits that may find a home on your hobby table. Both kits were provided free of charge for review from the respective companies.
Ludus Bellum Holy Roman Empire Infantry
Ludus Bellum is a brand new entrant to the world of miniatures, bringing an interesting offering to wargamers – minis you can buy straight from the company on Amazon.com with two day shipping. Continuing with the consumer-friendly theme, they include bases with their models, meaning you can get from Start to Finish without having to look elsewhere for accessories.
They have started with the Holy Roman Empire in the 15th and 16th century, with handgunners, pikemen, halberdiers, swordsman, crossbowmen, etc. They’re very usable as landsknecht in a Pike and Shotte army, Empire line troops in WHFB, NPCs in a tabletop RPG, Force of Virtue soldiers, or even as Mordheim warbands.
The models themselves are cast in Siocast resin – a newer technology that is more eco-frendly and easier to get to market due to lower production costs. Ludus Bellum is using a mix of the hard and soft Siocast to create these models. What you end up getting are models that feel a little stiffer than other Siocast models I’ve purchased, but they aren’t nearly as brittle as regular resin – the pikes aren’t going to snap if you breathe on them.
The packaging is super cool, including a branded box, a neat letter that gets you into the period, and clamshell packages that hold all your troops.
The parts come pre-snipped off a sprue, so you don’t have to do that part. You glue the hands into the sockets and then glue in your heads. I used super glue and it worked just fine. Overall, the bodies had no flash and relatively few mold lines to clear off – it was pretty easy to just get them out and put them together. The weapons had some mold lines to clear but it’s easy, since it’s resin, and they’re easy to spot as well.
The assortment of weapons depends on the set that you purchase. We ended up with pikes, halberds, crossbows, handguns, and swords. I personally love the halberds, because who didn’t love Empire Halberdiers. There is a huge variety to the heads you can use – ic hose to try to go with feathers where I could because they’re sweet.
The models are scaled well to fit in with pretty much any heroic 28mm manufacturer – they’ll fit in with your Empire WHFB minis in an Old World army, while they’ll also fit in with Warord Games or Perry models in a Pike and Shotte army.
The models take paint really well, with nice and clean details to make it easier for you to come up with fancy landsknecht color schemes and pick out feathers, mail, etc. According to the Siocast firm you don’t have to prime Siocast models, but I was skeptical and did end up priming mine. I didn’t wash them, because I’ve read you don’t have to wash Siocast, and they didn’t feel slimy at all like some resin models will. Since the models are a bit bendy, the paint won’t chip as easily as it would from metal or even resin models.
The bottom line:Â This kit is a nice and easy way for gamers to enter the historical landscape with easy to assemble models, from a quick source (amazon.com), with all the accessories included. At around $1.80 per model they’re more expensive than plastic Perry miniatures, but if you’re not looking for a huge box of troops and want some variety and character to your minis for a warband-size game I think one set of these would fit the bill. I think the toughness of the material will make them last a long time without repainting.
Wargames Atlantic Zombies
While zombies aren’t technically historical, these models will find a place in many of the weird war / historical adjacent games that we play. These zombies are rag-clad walkers – they don’t have clothing or uniforms that mark them for a certain period, place, or engagement. I actually really like that – the rags are easy to paint and mean that I can use the models for a number of different games. Who knows, zombie French Guardsmen might be resurrected during WW2!
The kit includes 40 bodies along with arms and then a huge variety of heads:
- Ancient Rome
- Middle Ages
- Viking Period
- 18th Century and Pirates
- Napoleonic French and British
- Cowboys
- WW1 and WW2 British, Germans, and French
- Modern Heads – Police, Fire, Construction, Civilians
- Regular old heads without helmets or hats
Putting together the kit is easy – glue arms to body, head of your choice to body, all set. The arms don’t match up with only certain bodies, the heads fit all the different bodies as well. Out of the 40 models, there are six varieties of bodies. There are no bases included, which can confound new hobbyists – but for me it’s okay, because they likely wouldn’t have included my particular base preference anyway (25mm round mdf, 2mm thick).
Scalewise, these models are going to scale well with most heroic 28mm games. They’ll fit in great with Konflikt ’47, The Silver Bayonet, or Dracula’s America. I have two boxes now so I can run an entirely zombie-based scenario for one round at the AdeptiCon Silver Bayonet event.
The models paint up rather quickly and take to contrast paints really well. For me personally, I prefer to spray prime my zombies with Army Painter Necrotic Flesh then paint all the clothing, headwear, teeth, etc. Otherwise you could also prime them white and use Contrast or Speed Paints to get them done very quickly.
The detail on these models is a little soft – they’re definitely good for getting done quickly, but there isn’t a massive amount of detail there to paint, if you’re that type of painter. These models will lend well to a quick, just-out-of-the-ground paint scheme, rather than a detailed Golden Demon style.
The bottom line:Â This kit is a welcome addition to the weird historicals area of our hobby, something that hasn’t really existed before. Pewter zombies of all types exist already, but these are plastic and priced well – around $1.33 per model. The subtle detail level of the models may throw of some who are looking for more, but for someone batch-painting for a big scenario it’s welcome. The number of heads available are simply astounding, making this kit an almost must-buy for someone running a Silver Bayonet or Dracula’s America campaign.
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