When You're Not Strong...

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The new Tribal Warrior Standard Bearer is an optional figure for Chronopia players, but one with a unique power - his Standard of the Untamed makes any Sons of Kronos Tribal Warrior Warband to which he is assigned Immune to Fear. Not bad for 39 points! (Especially when you consider that you can put as many as 13 warriors in each warband...)

Rules for the figure are provided in the Sons of Kronos supplement.

His pose makes it difficult to see, but the Standard Bearer wears the typical garb of bronze girdle (with front flap and tassel), over-sized studded shoulder pad "of hardened leather or steel," and a steel helmet with cheek plates and tribal three-ring logo on the front.

His legs are bare, with boots that have fur trim and fringed tops. The arms are also bare, except for studded bracers. In the back he wears a cape topped with fur-and-claws trim.

The stats credit him with a Barbed Spear and Sword, but these are not illustrated on the figure. Instead, he uses both hands to raise the Standard of the Untamed - a pole topped with an ornate version of the three-ring tribal emblem, then an animal skull with "longhorns" as a crossbar, from which hangs a trim of fur and the cloth banner itself.

Check the figure carefully for taps, as there are small "bits of metal" at the edges of the cape, on the pole, and on the horns. One tap leaves a bump in the middle of the cape which is a little difficult to get at (it's in back, so you might just leave it as is). Seams are visible on the pole, on one boot, and across the back of the helmet.

Ambitious gamers might want to thin the edges of the banner, or improve the drape of the banner (there are some "steps" in the side which seem unnatural).

The pose is an active one, with the Standard Bearer having both arms and legs braced to support the charmed banner. And this points out the problem with this figure - the banner is too heavy, and the slottabase that comes with the model is not enough to keep him upright. You will need to attach the slottabase to a wider base, or substitute a larger size of slottabase. (Adding weight beneath the base will probably not be sufficient.)

As the old song lyrics go, "Lean on me, when you're not strong." Well, this warrior - the highest-priced figure in the Tribal Warriors series - will be leaning (and lying) all over the tabletop unless you give him more support than the manufacturer did.