Wednesday, September 12, 2018

And so, it has come to the Triarii!


I just finished off this group of Triarii. No great accomplishment; they were about 90% done before I left for Historicon


 I actually brought them with me, planning on doing the couple of hours work to complete them while I was there... but it never happened... I was having too much fun to spend time modeling!



  I had brought proxy troops for them anyway, so they weren't strictly needed. These are 28 mm Old Glory figures. 


 The Triarii (singlular, Triarius) were of course the old veterans of the Legion, and during the Punic Wars, were equipped with long spears instead of the pila. They formed the "last reserve" of the Legion. 


Thus the Latin saying, res ad triarios rediit, "it has come down to the Triarii". meaning that the situation is so desperate thatit is down to the last line of defense.

34 comments:

  1. Great job, reminds me I must post my own! :)

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    1. Thanks, mark. Don't post them too soon after mine, given your superior painting, LOL!

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  2. Very nice! They look great ranked up with their unit-distinguishing shields.

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    1. Thanks, Dean. For the way I will use them in To the Strongest, each small unit of Triarii will have just 2 stands. The correspondence "command" stands might or might not be used with them.

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  3. Great work Peter! I am sure they will do their bit to steady the line.
    Best wishes,
    Jason

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  4. Great looking veteran units indeed. Nice animation in these OG figs

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    1. Yes, I like the OG Republican Roman range, and can't beat the value, in the US at lweaSS!

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    1. Thanks, Carlo? I believe you have some Triarii of your own due? :-)

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  6. These fellas are really putting their backs into their work, aren't they? Either that or they are bracing themselves as they advance into a hailstorm of javelins.

    Nice work!

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    1. I like to think they are rushing forward to plug a gap in the lines!

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  7. Beautiful and impressive units Peter!

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    1. Having no working knowledge of Latin whatsoever, I was intrigued to find the expression recorded both as you cite it, and as I did. I imagine there might be subtle differences in meaning between the two...

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    2. My Latin is quite rusty but SP’s version is an indirect statement while your wording is direct.

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    3. Not to mention my English grammar, it seems. :-)
      The subtle distinction is along the the line of "It comes down to the Triarii" for mine, vs "It has come down to the Triarii" for the above?

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    4. Peter, the direct phrase would translate more like "Fall back towards the Triarii" or "Surrender (ground) towards the Triarii." Livy used the indirect statement.

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    5. Makes sense. Still, I think we need to enlist Gabrielle's help - he at least has a PhD in Latin and teaches it! I also want him to take a stab at translating the epitaph of Gonsalvo de Corbdoba.

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    6. Colloquial meaning is: it's up to the Triarii. Commonly used at gambling in taverns indicating its the last desperate roll of the dice. And there you have it. Feci quod potui, faciant meliora potentes.

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    7. Perhaps even more appropriate for our hobby, then! :-)

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  9. Lovely looking veterans, looks like another nice line by Old Glory,I shall manfully resist temptation!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Iain. You're a trooper (rather than a Triarii, evidently). :-)

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  10. Lovely work. My first thought was that you were being quite ambitious thinking you would be able to complete them at Historicon, given all your commitments. Nice to see them completed on your return home!

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    1. I have been known to do it before, but this time between a lot of last minute table map work to do for the campaign game, and staying for all of Tim's games, it was simply a brush too far! :-)

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