(updated Thursday, 11th September 2025)
Ok, this is a definite work in progress. Following a wonderful set of mini lots I was lucky enough to pick up I'm now on the hunt for the history and examples of the early Minifigs ancient ranges. There are various recent posts (check the labels on the right hand side) so I thought I'd start small. The Lost Minis WIKI has many pieces of all the ranges up and, of course, Dave at Caliver is bringing back the later versions for our edification! In a nutshell, Minifigs went from Alberken 20mm to Miniature Figurines (under Peter Gilder and Neville Dickinson) through to just Neville and various staff. 20mm to 30mm, 6mm then 25mm with various redesigns (and designers) along the way. And others. These are the early PB minis after the 'S' (or Special) range. I'm new at this with historicals generally so please tell me off by leaving informative comments below! I await with trepidation! I'll add more as I obtain nice copies - I just want to provide a nice resource for posterity!
The miniature are all based on the illustrations in the WRG publication 'The Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome' by Phil Barker (hence PB). The PB code follows the artwork numbering (thanks Rick P for pointing that out, I now have my copy!). There are more notes in one of the early catalogues so I'll dig it up and amend the post later. I have used the images from the book for illustrative purposes only, without any ownership implied.
PB 101 Roman Legionarius of the Late Republic
PB 102 Legionarius of the Civil War
PB 104 Marine of Augustus
PB 105 Legionarius, early 1st Century A.D
PB 106 Cenurio of Legio XX Valeria
PB 107 Centurio of Legion XI Claudia
PB 108 Dalmatian Light Infantry, early 1st Cent. A.D.
PB 113 Legionarius, later 1st/early 2nd Cent. A.D
PB 116 Standard Bearer, 1st/2nd Centuries A.D.
PB116 Standards
PB116a. Imago, one of which was carried by the First Cohors of each Legio and by each Auxiliary Cohors.
PB 118 Light Infantryman, later 1st/2nd Cent. A.D.
PB 123 Legionarius, later 2nd/early 3rd Cent A.D.
PB 124 Light Archer, later 2nd/early 3rd Cent A.D
PB 133 Praetorian Guard, early 4th Century A.D.
PB 135 Legio Lanciarius of the 4th and 5th Century A.D.
PB 139 Standard Bearer of the 4th and 5th Centuries A.D.
PB139 Standards
PB139a Draco or Dragon, primary standard of all units except Legiones.
PB 150 Byzantine Heavy Infantryman
PB 153 Gallic Chieftain with Standard
PB 158 British Chieftain
PB 163 British Infantryman Javelinman
PB 164 Early German Infantryman
PB 171 Dacian Infantryman with Bow
PB 176 Jewish Infantryman with Bow
PB 179 Pictish Chieftain
PB 187 Scots/Irish Chieftain
PB 188 Lower Class Scots/Irish Warrior
PB 197 Frankish Infantryman with Sword
PB 213 Sassanid Mercenary Slinger
Personalities
There are 71 infantry figures, 40 cavalry and 9 personalites in total so a lot to find (plus standards!)... I have some later versions of some however am trying to collate just the first releases here. Any help appreciated!
There are loads of great blogs out there with wargamers extolling the virtues and love of old minis. This is just my little bit.
More soon!
enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk
2 comments:
I will be following your progress, really interesting project, good luck in your endeavours.
As you know, early PB up to 100 originally carried an s suffix as they were originally considered to be part of the 'S' Range. PB101 and beyond never carried an s suffix, and later changed to become the IR Range.
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