Roman Empire, Bretonnian Cavalry, and Other Dangerous Army-Building Ideas
Roman Empire, Bretonnian Cavalry, and Other Dangerous Army-Building Ideas
Some hobby conversations start innocently and then immediately turn into a full-on army-building spiral. This was one of those.
Michał dropped into chat with a very dangerous thought: maybe the rest of his Renegade Crowns project could be filled out with some alternative historical miniatures. And maybe — because obviously one wild idea is never enough — that could even become the basis for an Empire force.
Stas summed up the mood perfectly a few minutes later: this is exactly how we imagine tabletop looking. Beautiful minis, strong theme, and endless conversion potential.
The first temptation: Bretonnian-style cavalry
The thing that kicked it all off was a box of 18 mounted models in a Bretonnian style for 200 PLN. And honestly, we get it. That is the kind of price-to-hobby-excitement ratio that immediately makes the brain start writing army lists before the wallet has had time to object.
Then came the follow-up screenshots, and the situation only got worse in the best possible way.
The key detail here? Plastic, not resin. That matters a lot for anyone thinking in terms of bigger regiments, conversions, and generally not wanting every assembly session to feel like a delicate archaeological restoration.
And yes, there are also decals. Which is exactly the kind of little extra that makes themed forces even more tempting.
Heavy infantry that immediately became Greatswords in our heads
Then Michał found 32 heavy infantry for 170 PLN, and at that point the discussion fully crossed from “interesting minis” into “how many Warhammer units can we squeeze out of this?”
Because let’s be honest: when you see a box like that, the first hobby instinct is not to leave it alone. The first instinct is to say: that’s two units of Imperial Greatswords right there.
And from there the ideas kept multiplying. Michał immediately started seeing other uses too — including Chaos Marauders built from the same range.
A moment later, the same happened with Chaos Knights. When a range has the right proportions, armor style, and enough visual punch, our brains really do the rest on their own.
Historical kits as Warhammer fuel
What we really liked in this whole exchange was how naturally it turned into a conversation about using historical kits as Warhammer material. Not as a compromise, but as a creative direction.
Michał was clearly very into these miniatures, with only one real complaint: it’s a shame the range seems focused on historical European themes. But even that quickly turned into more hobby scheming.
One example: Late Roman Cataphracts with a light kitbash could work really nicely as Lance Riders.
And then came maybe our favorite leap of imagination from the whole conversation: Legions of the Republic as Dark Elves. It’s the sort of idea that sounds strange for half a second and then suddenly starts making too much sense.
There was also the classic scale panic in the middle of all this: wait, these are 28 mm… but Warhammer is 28 mm, right? Or is it 32? A very relatable hobby moment. The kind of thing that briefly interrupts a grand army concept before the brain goes right back to planning the next unit anyway.
The most dangerous idea: a Roman Empire that is actually the Empire
The best concept to come out of the whole discussion was probably this one: what if we built an Empire army that is still unmistakably the Empire, but Roman?
That idea has so much room in it:
- legionary-style state troops,
- Roman-inspired elite infantry standing in for Greatswords,
- cataphract-style cavalry reinterpreted through a Warhammer lens,
- maybe a few carefully chosen bits to keep the fantasy identity intact,
- and a force that would still read clearly on the table while feeling completely personal.
That, honestly, is exactly the kind of army-building we love most. Not just buying “the correct models,” but building a force around a strong visual idea and then making it work.
The sensible ending to an extremely unsensible discussion
To his credit, Michał did end on the responsible note: he’s not buying anything until he paints what he already has, plus the things he already planned to buy.
A noble declaration. A wise declaration. A declaration we all fully support.
Also, a declaration made immediately after discovering absurdly cheap boxes full of conversion potential, so we’ll see how that goes.
For now, though, one thing is certain: something from this range will probably end up in the collection sooner or later. And honestly, we understand completely.
If this is the direction army-building is going, we are very much here for it.