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Friday 2 August 2013

Tossian Rifle Unit

Once again my plans for painting, converting and gaming have been thrown into chaos due to domestic 'issues'.In other words ladies!

Anyway while I've been unable to get my hands on some lead I've had time to think about a little project.Yes it will remain little and I must not let it get out of hand and grow into a new army.

Now in Space 1889 there are only two Martian Empires on the planet.Oenotrian Empire is pretty well freshed out and so are its armies. But what of the only true Martian empire that of Toss.The Tossian Empire must have some tradional units to rival their junior empire.So figure wise what could take on a Oenotrian Shield Gunner?

They would have to be armoured and likely with a gun of some sort.A second weapon like a sword maybe.I'd painted up some RAFM Shield Gunners as Tossians but while I like the Emerald paint look they just didn't work.


So to fit my thinking I've come up with this chap.

 
A Grenadier Dark Elf has an armoured style which fits the already given Martian armoured look.But its different enough to come from another region on the planet.The crossbow can be easily converted into a rifle and a few bits removed elsewhere to make it work.They could come in useful on the Nectar border against the Belgium Legions.I'm also thinking of a heavy cavalry unit to go with them.
All this means getting the time to do it.



6 comments:

  1. Dark Elves have made wonderful Martian units in the past. Traditional shield gunners had shotgun style weapons, if I recall correctly, being assault troops. Perhaps these fellows are armed with the Martian equivalent of the fusil, an early sort of rifled carbine, originally used by powder store guards because it was not a matchlock.

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  2. Indeed Sir,

    The rifled carbine fits with the style of the model.Not an elegant Martian rifle used by sharpshooters or Martian marines.But something that can carry a punch to counter armoured troops.Maybe going out of fashion now earth weapons are spreading around the planet but still a favourite of more tradtional unit?

    The crossbow grip leave rooms for a club use in a game if out of shot.

    Thank you for your thoughts on this most useful.

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  3. Can't find the link at the moment, but I've seen on the web Grenadier (Mirliton) 'Dark Elves with Arquebow' turned into very credible Martians.

    I suspect the Parroom (Brigade Games) Martians are too different morphologically to provide (light) troops for Toss - or whatever minor power?

    I've also seen references to Tékumel warriors and Crocodile Games 'humans' (these suggesting that some Shadowforge -now sold by Eureka- 'semi-Egyptian' female warriors could also fit) used as ersatz Martians after minor conversions giving them appropriate weapons.

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure about the elves with arquebows.I don't like the boots for a start.They are neither armour or sandles to try to make them fit the more Martian look.They just look too D&D adventures boots to me?

      I've bought characters from the Parroom range before.I've thought if I going to buy (not cheap with import tax now)some of the military range they would make better onboard marines.

      I hadn't thought about Tekumel warriors and I'll have to have a look at some pics.Thank for the heads up.

      As the Yanks are supplying some units with rifles,I have the image of some light infantry units dressed natively (Toss being rather conservative in culture)but with modern earth weapons.

      I can't thing of a range for that at the moment but its worth more reasearch for a small unit maybe?

      I don't see them going down the path I've taken my Fadath former slave troops with a european army look to them.Its got me thinking anyway.Cheers abul666

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  4. Technically Oenotria is a league of city states rather than an empire, but if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, ....

    I'm having a thought about the evolutionary path of your Tossian unit. They wouldn't have developed due to the threat posed by Shield Gunners, but rather the other way round as Oenotria is the younger state. And Tossia, being conservative, won't have dropped their old troop type. So what might shield gunners have been developed to counter? Massed pikes? Armoured archers? Maybe even repeating crossbows (short in range but long in magazine)? The latter sounds like a good one to me, fits your figure very well, and also gives the armoured shield gunner a raison d'être.

    Having lots of metal parts(?) the repeating crossbow is quite an expensive weapon on Mars, so it is limited to a few troops. It is very effective against troops equipped with the slow-loading musket but lacks the punch to get through armour. It will undoubtedly be supplanted by the breech-loading rifle, but part of the unit will stay armed with the repeating crossbow simply because it is so effective against lightly-armed troops at close range.

    Anyway sounds like a fun project whichever direction you go!

    All the best,
    Clive



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  5. Indeed Clive not a true Empire.But the Oenotrian't seem to be running the military?

    We don't know if either side has ever clashed but your points are valid.

    Always welcome your feedback :)

    I think the Tossians only became more conservative (i.e. more than other Martians.So that it was worth mentioning in the written works out there,which are few)about 100 or so years ago after the new faith come from Toss.The Empire is much older its self but we don't have much info on that either.So I could be misreading things?

    While generally disliking humans they don't seem to support the more radical anti-humans factions within Martian society and those faiths seem to be hunted down.So conservative in some ways, maybe not so much in others?

    The unit I'm now working on doesn't need the respresent the Emerald Guard ,maybe just a special unit more 'dirty jobs' and lending support to cavalry units?10 men after all doesn't even make up a standard Martian unit.

    Apart from the possible cavalry squad I don't want to have anymore troops to avoid 'army creep' like I ended up with my Fadath force.Which I keep telling myself I must get on the table before the end of summer.

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