writes:
Thanks to my good friends at Fernando Enterprises, I have another fantasy army for the TMP collection!
As you probably know, Mighty Armies is a fantasy ruleset that was originally published by Mongoose, along with a handful of fantasy army boxed sets. Then, Rebel Minis acquired Mighty Armies, came out with a 2nd edition (as well as a historical ancients version), and greatly expanded the range of pre-built armies from their own figures and by partnering with other companies.
Which is why I was able to pick up this Amazon army from Rebel Minis, even though the figures are originally part of the Armies of Arcana range from Lone Gunman Games.
I found it interesting to see how these figures were adapted for Mighty Armies. The original Mighty Armies boxed sets had four figures per base, but many of the newer armies use three figures per base – saving players money and time, and in the case of the Amazon figures, their poses make the less dense basing desirable.
The other difference is that Mighty Armies originally had a limited number of troop types, with typically two poses per troop type. However, the Armies of Arcana range has a larger range of troop types, and generally one pose per troop type. So what was done was to combine Arcana troop types: for instance, mixing the Amazon Sword Maidens (basic foot soldiers) with Amazon Warriors (elite soldiers) to make a "Warrior" troop type with two poses (and, less optimally, two uniforms...)
(Of course, if the mix of figures bothers you, or you want to be more faithful to the original Arcana concept, you can always buy the figures direct from Lone Gunman Games and design the army yourself.
The army as it is designed gives you one Amazon Princess (general) stand, one Queen (mage) stand, four warrior stands, four Archer stands, and a stand of Bladedancers. I bought two armies, as I like the added flexibility.
I sent the figures, along with painting instructions, to Fernando Enterprises for painting at "Showcase" standard, except "Super Showcase" for the princess and queen. I then based the figures myself, using the standard Mighty Armies plastic bases. Litko flexsteel adhesive bottoms were added, so the stands would stick to my magnetic-sheet-lined storage boxes.
Amazon Princess
Here are the two Princess (command) stands. I asked the painters to treat the two princesses differently, as you can see below:
Amazon Queen
The provided stats define the Queen as a mage, but of course you could redesign her to be whatever you wanted her to be. And again, I had the painters give each Queen a different look:
I'm assuming the big spear is either an emblem of office or a magical artifact; I suppose you could put a banner on it, too.
Amazon Bladedancers
Each army gets one unit of Bladedancers, so my double-size army has two units.
The suggested stats give Bladedancers the special abilities of Magic Resistant and Mobile.
Why is there only five Bladedancers? Because after I shipped the box off to Sri Lanka, one Bladedancer came out of hiding on my desk!
Amazon Archers
The rest of the army is divided equally between bow and sword. That gives me eight stands of archers total.
The difference in equipment and clothing is due to these figures representing archers of different experience levels in the original Arcana concept.
Amazon Warriors
Similarly, I have eight stands of warriors.
I was quite pleased with the way the painters did the shields.
What Next?
I wish this army was staying in my personal possession, but it has already been promised to one of the editors! However, I hope to collect more Amazons someday... hmmmm, should I keep the pre-designed approach, or go with something more Arcana-like? 