"Victrix Gallic Cavalry - German’s?" Topic

I'm looking to get back into Ancients gaming and I like the look of the Victrix Germanic warriors as opposition for my friends Romans. However, at present Victrix don't make German Cavalry so I was wondering whether their Gallic Cavalry would be suitable with some head changes from the Germanic Infantry? Thanks for any help.

I think one issue is the Gallic Cavalry seems to have mail shirts, which would not have been as prevalent among the Germans.

The mail is probably the biggest problem. No doubt a few Germans had acquired mail shirts, but they would be very rare.

Germans rode without saddles, but it looks as if the horned saddle is a separate part on the Victrix sprue, so just leave it off. You might also want to do shield swaps along with the head swaps.

I don't know enough about 28mm plastics to recommend any alternatives.

Wargames Factory released a set of Ancient German Cavalry once upon a time, though this has been out of production for some years. You might be able to find a box from some odd retailer still.

Alternatively, you could wait a bit and see if Victrix is going to come out with their version of Germanic cavalry.

Are you opposed to metals?

I know plastic cavalry is usually less expensive than metal cavalry, but deals can be had.

Thanks for the help everyone, much appreciated. Having thought about it I'll contact Victrix and see whether they intend to bring out Germanic Cavalry. If they are then I think I'll buy and paint up the Gallic Cavalry as Gallic Cavalry and they can stand in as Germans until the Victrix Germanics appear and then I'll move them on.
I'm not averse to metals (having several armies of that type) and, when considering the amount of time I spend painting figures, cost is a relatively minor issue. However, for some time now I've just been pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of the Victrix Ancients range and I haven't yet come across any metal range I like that matches well with them.
Thanks again for the help.

Victrix sculpts are very nice. They are also fairly tall.

I've seen their release schedule and it would be a while for mounted Germans.

To match the foot sized figures you'd want a full 28mm figure.

There is Crusader:

link

There is also the Warlord:

link

Both are metal.

Everyone seems to love size comparison photos:

from: link

I'm not sure if the Warlord Germanic Cavalry are the same size, though.

Wargames Foundry also makes German Cavalry:

Size comparison:

from: link

There's also the Wargames Factory figures (if you can find them, they are out of production):

link

Review: YouTube link

I keep adding this … (thanks edit feature …)

I guess you will have to see what any Victrix Cavalry would look like!

Here is a size comparison for Victrix cavalry:

The giant is the Victrix Republican Roman cavalry!

The smaller one is also Victrix, believe it or not, their Numidian cavalry.

Victrix and Crusader (and presumably A&A) are similar sizes.
Warlord Games Celtic cavalry are used for their Germans and Dacians too, the only difference is a few metal upper bodies for the German and Dacian sets. Otherwise the upper bodies of all three sets are provided by the plastic celtic warrior sprue – the command sprue.
Warlord Games plastic ancients (other than the EIR) are similar size to Victrix so the upper bodies of their cavalry are similar sized to Victrix. The horses though, which include the lower body moulded on, are much smaller.
Their horses are similar sized to Relic and some of the Wargames Foundry cavalry.
Those last two companies produce cavalry very similar in size.Neither match well with the larger Victrix, especially the size difference in riders.
Another potential source for ancient Germans is unarmoured Dark Age cavalry for basic riders with trousers and tunic and I think the horses with companies like Gripping Beast are similar in size to Victrix.

I just checked my Gripping Beast Dark Ages cavalry thinking they might be serviceable.

They have fairly distinctive Dark Age era leg wraps (puttees).

The Gripping Beast plastic horses are only 2, maybe 3mm taller than the Warlord Games ones.

I know its a while, but thought Id see if anyone had found a non-metal solution?

I've thought about buying Victrix Gallic cavalry, Germanic foot and Dacian foot to kitbash some figures but seems a lot of surplus bits…..any ideas?