By David Kuijt
Online catalog: Corvus Belli's website is www.corvusbelli.com . All the figures are illustrated with beautiful paintjobs (even better than mine, sadly for me!). There is a US distributor as well.
General Comments: Corvus Belli is a new manufacturer producing out of Spain. They have a very complete Celtic and Ancient British range, and a very complete Imperial Roman range; they are working on a number of others (Carthaginians and Numidians, as of November 2002). Shields are cast separately. Bags include 8 infantry or 4 cavalry or 1 chariot; command bags include 6 infantry or 3 cavalry.
Corvus Belli figures gain very high marks in all categories. They are sized at "standard" 15mm, allowing you to mix their figures with Essex, Irregular, Pass O'the North, or Old Glory. They have a lot of variation within each code -- often at least 4 different poses, and the poses are entirely different (as compared to Irregular, where a "different pose" sometimes is just the same pose with a cloak added or a helmet removed). Shields are usually separate, allowing even more variation.
The carving and proportions are excellent. These are beautiful figures. Better still, they make some figures that aren't available (or only poorly) from most manufacturers. Their adolescent skirmishers are simply superb, filling a gap in any other manufacturer's Celt/Gallic range. Their British Light Horse are much better than the similar codes from Essex (with horses too large and poses too static) or Irregular (where the carvings are quite rough). And their slingers are similarly much better than Essex or Irregular slingers.
| Part # | Type and Pose Variety | Weapons and Armour | Grade | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallic and Ancient British | ||||
| 15/0001 | 7 | varies | A+ | Infantry command group. |
| 15/0002 15/0003 | 4 each | sword, shield, sometimes helmet | A+ | Warriors with sword 1 and warriors with sword 2, respectively. Each code has four different poses. Up to five styles of shield cast separately, allowing you even more variation. (Shields included in a bag will likely be random, so you aren't certain of getting all types in every bag). Excellent figures. I haven't got a front-view picture working yet, but a back view is here. |
| 15/0004 15/0005 | 4 each | varies | ? | Warriors with spear 1 and warriors with spear 2, respectively. |
| 15/0006 | 4 | varies | A+ | Slingers. Excellent; the best I've seen. Highly recommended. Four poses; two with small round shields and two without. Additional images are here and here and here and here. |
| 15/0007 | 4 | varies | ? | Archers. |
| 15/0008 | 4 | javelin | A+ | Adolescent skirmishers. Four totally different poses. Really excellent figures. Noticably (and appropriately) smaller than the adult Celts. More images are here and here. |
| 15/0009 | 4 | varies | A+ | British light horse. Two different pony poses with mane and tail variations. Four different riders. The separate shields are excellent, with detailed reed interlace on the underside, and will allow even more pose variation. A side image is here; a back image is here. |
| 15/0010 | 4 | varies | ? | Gallic cavalry. Up to five different horse poses; head and saddle variations to bring the total of horse variants to eight. |
| 15/0011 | 3 | varies | ? | Cavalry command group. |
| 15/0012 | 2+2+4 | varies | ? | Chariots. Two chariot codes, two different charioteers, and four different passengers are available. |
| Early Imperial Roman | ||||
| 15/0019, 0020 and 0021 | varies | full kit | A+ | Legionaries in segmented armour. Gorgeous. A back image is here. |
| 15/0023 | 4 | Helmet, mail, oval shield, spear | A+ | Auxiliaries standing. Gorgeous. A back image is here. |
| Numidian | ||||
| 15/0023 | 4 | shield and javelin | A+ | Numidian Light Horse. Gorgeous. A back image is here; another image is here. |
January 16, 2002. Added images for the British Light Horse and Numidian Light Horse.
August 30, 2001. Romans added.
May 23, 2001. 15/0002 image.
April 7, 2001. Page created.
The author may be contacted at kuijt@umiacs.umd.edu Please do not use any pictures or text from this page without permission.
