Hail Caesar Epic Battles Sprue Focus – Gallic Celt Infantry

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been taking a look at the various sprues that make up the brand-new Hail Caesar Epic Battles range, and at last, we’ve reached the end of the first wave of kits. We’ve seen Romans, Libyans, Liby-Phoenicians, Celtiberians, Numidians, infantry, cavalry, war elephants and more on our journey, and for our last stop, we’re heading north, into Europe proper – it’s time for our first proper look at the Celts! We’ve seen their cavalry on the Allied Troops frame, as well as their footslogging Iberian cousins, but now it’s time to meet the infantry!

If you asked us to describe the Celts of this era in two words, we’d have to go for ‘numerous’ and ‘belligerent’! A massively widespread collection of peoples sharing a broad religious tradition and family of languages, spread across western and central Europe, they would form the majority of the ‘barbarians’ referred to by the writers of Ancient Rome. Militarily and politically there was no one unified Celt ‘nation’, but rather hundreds (if not thousands) of individual tribes, kingdoms, and alliances scattered across Europe, sometimes coexisting peacefully, and sometimes fighting against… well, anyone and everyone!

Living a pretty hard existence most of the time and coming from a culture that held warriors in high regard made Celts into significantly capable combatants, and their cavalry were particularly prized as allies and auxiliaries by the Romans (who were notoriously mediocre at producing their own cavalry), but the vast majority of ‘normal’ Celt warriors would fight in infantry warbands. Renowned for their ferocity and strength, but utterly lacking in military discipline and often prone to charging headlong into the foe, they were dangerous enemies, absolutely capable of overwhelming better-trained troops through sheer aggression and weight of numbers. Usually equipped with a large oval or hexagonal shield, a helmet (if he was lucky), and armed with a long iron sword or thrusting spear, the average Celt warrior would often go to battle shirtless, to better display his courage (and biceps!), trusting in his martial prowess to protect him.

Our Celt Warriors sprue is small but mighty! On each, you’ll find enough for three bases of warriors, equipped as described above and absolutely packed with detail, including some Asterix-grade facial hair, bulging muscles, and warlike faces! These present an amazing opportunity to the painter, as while they’re incredibly easy to get on the table quickly using Army Painter Speedpaints and simple techniques, they’re also more than detailed enough for you to really go to town on. The complete lack of uniformity is a great way to add some splashes of colour to your army, whether they’re fighting for or against Rome, and when ranked up for battle these Celt warbands look simply incredible!

That’s not all, though! You’ll also find five Celt skirmishers on the sprue, armed with slings. These would be the poorest members of Celt society, less well-armed than their fellows, but still useful for harrying the enemy and screening your warbands from cowardly enemy missile troops as they close for battle.

Finally, all good warbands need a warlord, and this frame has you absolutely covered with a pair of mounted leaders! The warlord himself is clad in expensive, high-status armour and is shown leading the charge with sword drawn and cloak flying, while his standard bearer cuts a far more sinister figure. His iconic boar-topped standard also bears the bloody, severed heads of his foes – Roman or Carthaginian is up to you! – inspiring the warband to fight their hardest in the names of their gods!

Enormous numbers of Celts would fight in the Punic Wars on both sides, being prized for their ready availability and willingness to get stuck in! Some groups would ally politically with either Rome or Carthage (or both, at times!), while others would simply fight for pay – either way, you can’t go wrong with a few good, solid warbands of Celts accompanying your army!

You might be wondering why this sprue is so much smaller than the others in the range… well, we knew we’d need Celts right off the bat, so it was created to enable their inclusion. In the future, however, there is plenty of scope for a bigger version with more troop options to appear…

You’ll find Gallic Celt infantry sprues within the following Hail Caesar Epic Battles boxed sets:

Carthaginian Division

Hannibal Barca’s Carthaginian Army

Hannibal Battle Set