#8298 Huns

Dated: January 26, 2013.

The Huns emerged as a major power on the fringes of the Roman world during the late fourth century AD. Their exact origins remain debated, but they came from the Eurasian steppe and brought with them a highly mobile style of warfare based on horsemanship, speed and the composite bow. As they moved westward, they defeated or absorbed other peoples, including Alans and Goths, and helped trigger the great migrations that transformed the late Roman Empire.

Hunnic warriors were primarily mounted fighters. Their small, hardy horses allowed them to cover great distances rapidly and to appear where an enemy least expected them. Rather than relying on dense infantry formations, they used mobility, sudden attacks, feigned retreats and repeated showers of arrows to disrupt and exhaust their opponents. When circumstances favored close combat, they could also fight with swords, spears and other hand weapons.

Box art

The most characteristic Hunnic weapon was the composite reflex bow. Made from a combination of wood, horn and sinew, it was compact enough for use from horseback but powerful enough to deliver arrows with considerable force. A skilled mounted archer could shoot while advancing, withdrawing or turning away from an enemy, making Hunnic cavalry difficult to pin down in conventional battle.

The Huns were never simply one uniform ethnic army. Their forces could include subject peoples and allies from across central and eastern Europe, including Goths, Gepids, Alans and others. Some Huns also served in Roman armies as mercenaries or allies. Hunnic forces therefore appeared both as enemies of Rome and, at other times, as valued troops fighting in Roman service.

Line drawing

Under Attila, who became sole ruler of the Huns in the 440s, Hunnic power reached its height. Attila repeatedly attacked the Eastern Roman Empire and extracted large payments in gold. In 451 he invaded Gaul, where his army met a coalition led by the Roman general Aetius at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. The following year he invaded Italy, capturing and destroying several cities before withdrawing. Attila's death in 453 was followed by internal conflict, and Hunnic political power rapidly declined.

This set contains 15 riders and 12 horses in a variety of mounted poses. All of the warriors are equipped with composite bows, while separate arms allow some figures to carry swords or spears instead. One rider is more heavily equipped, wearing lamellar armor and a helmet, making him suitable as a noble, leader or wealthier warrior. The remaining figures wear the fur-trimmed coats, caps and practical clothing associated with steppe cavalry.

Test shot (may go through substantial revisions prior to release).
There will be 12 mounted figures in this set. Three extra mounted figures can be subbed in to allow for greater variation of poses. Two of the poses have 3 choices of arms.

The extra riders provide useful flexibility when assembling the set. With 12 horses supplied, the modeller can choose which figures to mount and can include a single armoured leader among the completed warriors. The separate weapon arms also allow several different combinations, so the mounted force need not appear as a row of identical archers.

The figures are especially suitable for the Hunnic invasions of the fourth and fifth centuries, including Attila's campaigns against the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. They can also be used to represent Huns serving alongside Roman forces or within the mixed armies of the migration period. Combined with our Late Roman and other barbarian sets, they can form part of the complex struggles that marked the final centuries of the Western Roman Empire.