Topic: bretonian men at arms as swordsmen?

[j4s]

hey dudes,

i just recently got into warhammer and im really enjoying it so far but! i need to make/paint about 30-40 swordsmen for my army. problem is i think the empire swordsmen look like crap. i've been looking at the bretonian men at arms and i really like the sheilds / bodies they have, and was wondering if you guys would think it would be a good idea to use them but with empire swords (from various sprues i have, and i'd probably have to buy some too...) and heads (again same) to make my swordsmen? i was thinking of setting them up in a roman legion sort of fashion.

anyway would appreciate any input!
btw love the forum

[Gneisenau]

Welcome!

Personally, I would recommend mixing M@A with state troop parts, as I think that the styles don't mix.

On the other hand, I think it's perfectly fine to use M@A as empire spearmen, especially if you want a "poor province" (like Stirland).

[UndeadEmpire]

Thats what I use, they look great, real downtrodden like the standard foot soldier should be. I even use them for the back rank halberds just because they look better.

[anvalous]

j4s,

Welcome to the forums!  I think this is a great idea.  I've used (and am using) Bret MaA as a base for Empire halberds.  The key is to make sure their weapons are uniform and their heads are Empire heads.  That goes a REALLY long ways to making them look army-appropriate.

It should be noted that the arms on those models are funky, though, and you'll probably have to use side-cutters to chop off the upper arm which is attached to the body.  This isn't so bad, but you may have to green-stuff the parts not covered by the new arms.  I think they look good with the cut, however, and it is easier than trying to get the right proportional cut by trimming an arm down to just the fore-arm (in my opinion).

Finally, this might be a better topic for the Brush and Palette forum.  Even so, we're happy you're here!  Good luck, and take pictures.

[j4s]

ah sorry, i thought the brush and palette was just for showing what you had done, my mistake!

since you guys seem to think its not the worst idea in the world, i will give it a go i figure as long as the shields match the colours of my army they can't look too terribly out of place. plus who knows, maybe they'll turn out awesome
i have indeed seen the arms on the models go as far as the elbow-ish, so i reckon ill experiment and see whether cutting off at the shoulder on the body is better or whether cutting the sword arm at the elbow is better as you suggest anvalous.
and thx for the welcome 

[The Red Warden]

Personally, my whole army is Bret Men at Arms, I think they are great models, Spearmen and halberds.  I just always hated the whole.. uhmm... feathers and funny clothing of the empire models.

I think Early Renaissance look? I prefer the medieval look of the bretonnian models.

But then again, I play both bretonnians and Empire, and can switch on the go.

its WYSIWYG

Human
With Light Armor
and a shield
With a sword.

You can't even argue with that.

[Silic]

I just started my Empire army as well, and am using Bret Men-at-Arms for my Spearmen. Simply, I love the models (those pantaloons on the empire models  ). And the transfers are always a plus! I am not mixing parts from what Empire Spearmen I have with the Men-at-Arms, but it is not out of the realm of possibility.

[oak_prince]

I love that GW chose to make make the default human nation steampunk renaissance Germans instead of some generic middle ages kingdom. To each his own, I suppose.

I could see a middle ages empire army being cool, with chainmail instead of plate on the knights*, cannons made to look like primitive bombards, et cetera.

*Full Plate was invented later than most people would guess

[arselus]

Welcome to the forums j4s!

I think you have a fantastic idea. I agree with you, the Bretonnian models look great, I have mixed them into my halberdiers horde that I am working on now, but I did this by adding bret halbreds to empire models. You can check the picture here:
http://warhammer-empire.com/theforum/index.php?topic=35372.0

I think the reverse would work well too.

[Erkenbrand]

I have a stirland army so I decided to make them a bit earlier in the timeline (pre-renaissance) to show them being not as advenced as other provinces. So I use War of the Roses models (mainly perry) and bret models mixed with free company weapons.

[Duke Igthorn]

Welcome to the forums j4s!

I think you have a fantastic idea. I agree with you, the Bretonnian models look great, I have mixed them into my halberdiers horde that I am working on now, but I did this by adding bret halbreds to empire models. You can check the picture here:
http://warhammer-empire.com/theforum/index.php?topic=35372.0

I think the reverse would work well too.

How did you do that? Is it simply the old 6th ed Empire Spearman with a Bretonian M@A halberd hand?

[j4s]

hey again! so i made up about 15 of these last night, i only got a few pictures with my phone but i really liked how they turned out.
here they are if anyone's interested





incase you're wondering why that guy on the left has a tilted shield, it's so he can fit behind the duelist with his lovely (pistolier) cloak

will give new pictures after i paint them! although that always takes a long time for me :s

[anvalous]

They look fantastic!  Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing them!  Looking forward to seeing some paint on these citizens of the Empire...