IV Legio was formed to be a rapid response unit for the MAF, with a larger number of vehicles than 'Mechs. This led to them becoming one of the best coordinated of the Ceaser's Legions. Used initially to suppress bandits and pirates, the Legio transitioned easily to counter-insurgency work, spending most of the Jihad in the Illyrian district pacifying the native population.
II Cohort is typical of the Legio's makeup at this period, seen here in 3073 following deployment to the world of Trasjkis. II Cohort found the dry high-altitude plateau on which the planetary capital, Nova Mediolanum, was situated ideal for their fast-moving, hard-hitting style. At last report, the planet was stable and pacified, and the Legio expected no further trouble.
I Century, I Maniple, is the Cohort's command century. This heavy Century is the "iron fist" of the Cohort, entering combat when the enemy has been pinned down by lighter units.
The Principes leads from his Cyclops CPC-11-H, supported by a JagerMech JM-6H, Catapult CPLT-H2, a salvage Quickdraw QKD-5Mr, and a Dervish DV-6Mr.
II Century, I Maniple, as a light Century, is designed for scouting & pursuit duties.
It consists of a Jenner JR-7D, Spider SDR-7M, venerable Hornet HNT-151, and refurbished Commando COM-4H, and Locust LCT-1V2.
II Maniple is a support unit, and its centuries often operate independantly of each other, going where they are most needed.
I Century, II Maniple, is made up of Laser Carriers. While not the toughest of armour, these doughty vehicles punch well above their weight, don't need extensive resupply on long campaigns, and provide reliable backup for more mobile units. They're also useful when it's required to exact punitive levelling on the homes of rebels and bandits.
II Century, II Maniple is hardly mobile, but has the reach to compensate. Core of the Century is a pair of Germanicus artillery tanks, produced by Hadrian Mechanised Infantry. Roughly equivalent to the Marksman, but dropping the Marksman's laser weapon and using an ICE engine, the results of their performance here will be used to determine whether HMI enters full production (also assuming a sufficient supply of Snipers can be obtained for trading partners). Defence is provided by a Demolisher, and a pair of Swiftwinds (with integral spotter squads) provide forward observation capacity. The Germanicii also serve as anti-aircraft defence for the Cohort, at need.
I Century, III maniple, uses Ranger VVIs to provide fast response firepower. These are ideally suited for counter-insurgency work, equally at home in urban areas or on open plains, and can (admittedly, only at short ranges) punch above their weight.
II Century, III Maniple, prides itself on being a mixture of fast and heavy. Organic and locally-made heavy hover APCs deliver an entire Century of the new Ravager battle armour into combat, where their stout armour and heavy recoilless rifles ensure their effectiveness.
Okay, I've been working on this unit - on, and definitely off, since February, and only made a push to finish it in the past few weeks. I was going to do II Legio originally, but the test units for that came up bad, so IV Legio became the fallback. Then I read more about IV Legio, and realised it was a great opportunity to do a nice. flavourful unit. Not optimised for head-to-head combat, but I think well suited for Periphery bandit/rebel hunting.
I'd decided from the start to feature several RL-heavy designs. Unfortunately not all of them were available to the MAF, but I got what I think is a ice mix. The missile plates a kind friend ran up for me via 3D printer; I didn't attempt a 1-for-1 representation (which always bothered me on the RL-armed Archer and MAD-II; the RLs on them looked ridiculous to my eyes) so I went with enough to give the right impression. As well as the RLs, the JagerMech is a plastic body & arms, with legs from the Jager III (the only bits I'd use of that mini).
As you've probably noticed, lots of DA vehicles & the BA. And the Spartan Wars artillery; I do like that line's Britannia line.
Painting? Prime, base coat in a reddish-brown, white areas topped with a couple of coats of orange, metallics drybrushed over black, then a light brown ink wash followed by a light tan ghostbrush to bring out edges.
Comments welcomed as always,
W.
