Unless Peter is going to respond by advising not to panic one of his cunning plans is to have a figure available soon, does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might create such a figure by modifying an existing model?

I did have a go at chopping at some Marian legionnaires but the casualty rate was too high (a bit like Victorian medical surgery). I am currently contemplating two options:

a) buy some Samurai foot archers (SAM03) and file away at bits of them until they might pass off in a poor light and heavy paint job as the original.

b) try somehow to chop or melt using a soldering iron the shields off some spear armed auxiliary models (AIR02). I would then cut their spears down and stick on some 3d printed quivers, IF i can get the shields off but leave something resembling a human torso.

Any suggestions / experience welcome as well as any volunteers who could do a better job than I could (which isn't difficult).

Hi David, 

A friend of mine recently purchased Peter's Auxiliary Archers (AIR04) for his Imperial legions. Is this what you're looking for, or are you going for a much different feel/look? 

J

AIR04 are the Eastern Auxiliaries. Western Auxiliaries were dreesed in the same short tunic as the Legionaries

The late Roman archers are probably the best - just paint the trousers flesh for bare legs, doubt anyone would notice except very close range.  Goths or Dacians if you want a more irregular look.

I have two cohorts of the eastern types. I just wanted some of the western types for personal preference - they would fight exactly the same as the eastern ones.

The Late Roman archers (from what I can tell from the catalogue photo) aren't armoured and wear a sort of pill box hat as opposed to a helmet.

The guys theoretically should be wearing a chain mail corsalet, tunic and imperial-gallic type helmet. That's why I thought the Samurai were the best to chisel away at and end up something like the original (Imagine fig 16 from WRG A&E of Imperial Rome but holding a bow in his left hand and plucking an arrow from his quiver with his right). 

Photo below of some my 25mm giants shows the sort of figure anticipated, although not necessarily in that pose and not necessarily on a slope.