"We will build our own armies. We will fight the barbarians.”

In theory, right now I'd be waiting for my books to arrive, doing some research, checking figure catalogues etc.
In practice:
a) Dux Bellorum has army lists, there are only a few different troop types, and the armies are made up of anything from 8-12 units, so army design is pretty straightforward.
b) The choice of Heroics & Ros at 6mm is a no brainer for me (more on this in a future post) so minimal catalogue checking required.
c) I'm impatient to start!

My only decision then was which army to go for, and given that I found Dux Bellorum through researching Roman Britain it makes sense to start with either Romans or Romano British. Since the army lists are pretty similar, figures I use now can easily be morphed or borrowed from one army to the next, and as I've recently watched the entertaining but flawed 'King Arthur' on TV, I opted for Romano British.

After a bit of internet research, some number crunching, and basing thoughts, and a couple of emails to Andy at Heroics & Ros, my order was dispatched and in double quick time the jiffy bag containing my first army appeared in my post box!

First inspection confirms what I have come to expect from H&R: clean, crisp castings, realistically posed and animated figures, and enough detail to look like real men on a gaming table without going overboard and challenging my OCD to pick out every bit of unnecessary intricacy.

The excitement of opening a package of new troops never leaves me! (Close-ups and comments to follow, hopefully in my next post)

My Romano-British army is going to look like this (H&R Figure Codes and quantities in brackets):

1 Unit Companion Cavalry [5pts]        (MAR27 x 2)
1 Unit Noble Riders [5pts]                   (MAR11 x 1)
1 Unit Ordinary Riders [3pts]              (MAR20 x 1)
4 Units Shieldwall [12 pts]                  (MAR10 x 3 & MAR13 x2)
1 Unit Bowmen [3pts]                          (MAR 9 x 1)
1 Unit Mounted Skirmishers [2pts]      (MAR24 x 1)
2 Units Foot Skirmishers [2pts]           (MAR28 x 1)

Dux Bellorum author Daniel Mersey suggests that one 'base' represents a 50 man shieldwall, with other units having varyingly smaller numbers. The beauty of 6mm is that my shieldwall bases will actually contain 50 men! So, my 450 man army has arrived, and it's time to get busy...

Who Will Fight The Barbarians Now?

My father stood next to me as we watched the long column of Legionaries winding it’s way out of the mist shrouded valley below us, his leather and mail armour creaking and clinking every time he turned to follow the deserting troops with his eyes.

“Where are they going, father?” I asked, nervously. He didn’t like it when I asked too many questions.

His gloved hand rested heavily on my shoulder, the weight of his concern evident in his touch. “Away over the sea, back where they came from” his voice was heavy with either sadness or resignation, I wasn’t sure which.

Below us, the snaking column was slowly disappearing, the last outriders fading in and out of vision through the mists of the cold morning air.

“When will they back? Who will fight the barbarians now?”

“They won’t be back”, he sighed.

“But you said we need the Romans, father! What will we do?” I knew the fear in my voice was unbecoming of the warrior I wanted to be, but I couldn’t control it.

His hand gripped my bony shoulder “We don’t need the Romans. We will build our own armies. We will fight the barbarians.”

"Are we the last Romans now, father?" I felt alone, on the edge of an abyss.

"No. There are no more Romans. We are the first Britons, Artorius. We are the Britons!"