Cataphracts

[ochoin]

My Late Roman army is going to need lots of cavalry.

I've been looking at both metal & plastic offerings.

The Zvesda set looks (as always) pretty good:

http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=1715

I'm assuming it would pass for the Roman item?

Please be nit-picky

donald

[Norman D. Landings]

Headgear strikes me as way too fancy.
Rightly or wrongly, I associate roman cataphractii with uniform cavalry helmets.
Although I freely admit I get that purely from modern illustrations and miniature ranges.

[Jeremy]

I hate agreeing with Norm, but he’s right. They look more Palmyran

[goat major]

They’ve got a Sarmation look to me, not that they couldn’t be allies or copies

Any reason you aren’t looking at these ? http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=745

[Norman D. Landings]

Newline do late roman heavy cavalry (mail) and Palmyran cataphracts in less ornate headgear.

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

They’ve got a Sarmation look to me, not that they couldn’t be allies or copies.

We still get a Sarmation Army band playing in Haslemere High Street every Xmas. And to be fair they always look very uniform.

[ochoin]

The HaT are nice sculpts but smallish - they lack presence.
Newline Roman Heavy cavalry don't appeal & if the Parthian cataphracts- well, why not Palmyran ones? And Zvesda are top line figures.

BTW there's a moderately well known tombstone set up by a Palmyran in Roman Britain for his Catavaullanian wife. It's in Aramaic & poor Latin. He was possibly a cavalryman. Admittedly, if he *was* a cataphract, he'd probably be wearing Roman clobber.

donald

[Norman D. Landings]

if the Parthian cataphracts- well, why not Palmyran ones?

Fancy hats.

I wouldn't field the pointy boys as Romans, and I'd consider trimming the side plumes off that standard bearer. The rest of the Zvezda set... maybe.

[ochoin]

OK, you lot have talked me out of the folly of using these figures.

As always, I appreciate your good sense & knowledge.

donald

[Essex Boy]

It's your army - you should use whatever figures you like. I know I would.