Reviews of Testudo Miniatures

Painted samples of Testudo legati and littori.

George Gouveia on Testudo

I got some Testudo samples and they are simply amazing but WAY TOOO BIGGGG!!!!! They are almost 20mm but beautiful, if one just bought these for themselves they would be fine but mixed with other units they are just to big.

Craig Einhorn on De Bello Civili (Republican) Romans

I got the new figures in from Italy, this morning. The metal is a bit brittle, and one of the standards was broken, in the command set, but since this also happens with the Battle Honors USA and Old Glory 15mm miniatures, I can't complain loudly. The figures are between 17 and 19mm tall, and well proportioned. The armor is correct and offers a variety of helmets. The horn players with crested Coolus helm is a good addition to my armies. I got the following items:

RC1 Caesar with littori and aquilifer - Caesar is mounted. The horse is well done and proportioned. The 8 Littori are carrying their axes in their rods, on their shoulder and are all in the same pose. Caesar has a bit too much hair, but a paintbrush can add the bald spot. The eagle bearer comes with a separate shield.

RC2 Pompey with littori and aquilifer - Basically the same as RC1, with a different command figure.

RC 4 Command : Centurion, Cornicen, Signifer - 4 Manipular standards (hand in wreath), 4 trumpets, different in style than many of the ones you see in films, they are a bit taller, and they look good, even though a bit different. Armor details are not as crisp as you would expect and two of the figures had flash. 4 centurions, holding vine staff, wearing what looks like scale armor. No variation in poses, although one of the centurion's crests was broken off. I will use it to modify a figure, somewhere. The standard bearers have detached shields.

RC 8 Legionairies standing, Gaelic Helm (uncrested) - 17mm foot to eye, good proportions, standing with pilum at "order arms", 10 figures in the package, no shields, which are sold separate. No variation in pose. I like the pose, for reserve troops. You might even have their shields resting against their legs.

RC 9 Legionaires attacking with gladius. (Gaelic helm, uncrested) - This is a wonderful pose, with the sword being held up and horizontal, to stab at the enemies' eyes, over the rim of the shield. 10 figures, no variation in pose. (Shields not included)

RC 12 Legionaires attacking with gladius, montofortino helm. (uncrested) - stabbing low at the side of the shields. 10 figures, no pose variety, shield separate.

RC 16 Legionaire throwing pilum, Coolus Helm with plumes - This is a lovely, active pose and looks really nice. The pilum is going to go a long way, in just a second! 10 figures, no pose variety, shields separate. Good proportions and realistic pose.

RC 18 Gaelic auxiliary cavalry - this was an interesting package, with 5 horses, and 6 figures. There were three different horse poses, and two different cavalrymen. One figure is wearing a crested helm, chain armor and has separate javelin. The other figure is bare headed, and carries a round shield, has his javelin in his hand, and has his body separate at the waist. for possible pose variety! They have the longer cavalry swords. I had 3 round shields and two square shields.

Winged shields with pilum - The separate shields are true works of art! I am convinced they will paint up well!

James Hughes on Testudo's De Bello Civili (Republican) Romans

I received the figs exactly two weeks after I was told they would be sent, which was a couple days after I emailed the request for them. Not bad. First of all, they are very large. I don't plan on mixing them in with Minifigs, Essex, or Gladiator, but they'll mix ok with Xth Legion, or in a pinch with Museum figures, which are all the ones I have available to compare with. They measure about 18mm from toes to eyes, and just shy of 20mm from toes to heads, sans headgear.

That said, these are beautiful figures that I highly recommend. The detail is very clean and crisp, as well defined as Essex. The folds in the clothing are very nicely done, the musculature of the limbs is well defined, and the faces are clear and distinct. Heads, arms, trunks, legs are all the right size relative to one another. (Unlike Essex, whose heads and bodies are often too large for their stumpy little legs.) I would say they are better than pretty much any figures I've seen, possibly excepting the Ochman figs by Gladiator.

Signifier from RC4 pack: (Picture on Testudo website.) Round shield is separate, and fits nicely onto the hip. The manipular standard is large, and held up off the ground, making the figure quite tall. It should help the command element stand out. There is a little bit of flash, and part of the figure is slightly off at the join, but it won't be too difficult to correct. Appears to be wearing a bearskin. Nice figure.

Littori from either RC1 or RC2: This is the same pose as those on the website, but with the head facing right. Nicely animated. Tunic is well done, with deep, clear folds of cloth. Ceremonial fascine is good. It would also convert easily to a laborer of some sort for a camp scene by removing the axe. Very Nice.

Shields: I was sent two legionary shields, one plain, the other with embossed wings and a pilum molded behind it. This is meant to represent the second, heavier pilum thrown just before close combat, so presumably would be used with figures carrying another pilum in the right hand. I'm not so keen on cast shield designs, as I prefer to make up my own, but that's ok since Testudo lets you choose which kind of shield you want. Even the plain one does have a raised rim around the edge of the shield which I'm not quite sure about. It seems to me that it should be on the very outside edge of the shield, but this is set in on the shield face about 1mm. But it should look nice if the area outside the raised edge is painted a different color from the rest.

Thirty Years War Figures: Not exactly DBA, but they're great figs, and surely somebody else around here plays DBR.

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Last Updated: Jan. 13, 2001

Comments, suggested additions, and/or critiques welcome. Direct them to Chris Brantley at IamFanaticus@gmail.com.