Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Aventine+Relic Successor War Elephant

Picked up the new Pyrrhic Wars Hail Caesar supplement, so was motivated to paint up some figures I've had for sometime. First up is a war elephant that uses an Aventine elephant head, tower, and crew. This was part of an order many years ago when I ordered two elephants - Keith included these parts as samples, I think. I had thought about finding a body at a craft store - one of those in bags of toy animals. Then a couple of years ago, Mike Evans of Relic kindly sent me some Successor samples along with an elephant. Initially, I thought the body was too small for the Aventine parts, but as you can see the body doesn't look too bad. It is slightly smaller, but as with people, elephants come in different sizes.

The shields on the tower are from Victrix Phalangite kits, and the transfers from LBMS - all spare parts I've also had for years.
As you may see, the elephant being a bit smaller, and the tower being pretty large, the mahout has to lean a little forward in the "saddle", so to speak.
Interestingly, I just looked at the Aventine website last night, and saw that they sell the bodies of elephants separately. I don't think they did years ago, but this Relic body will do just as well.
Pictured below, flanked by the two Aventine-proper elies painted years ago.
The various parts of the new elephant build.
More mini-painting projects below. Besides the elephant, a Relic Pyrrhus vignette, Warlord Games Alexander the Great and Philip of Macedon figures, as well as the new Pyrrhus on foot figure that came with the supplement.
Plan to get a game in soon with my buddy who also picked up the supplement - and has a good-sized Successor force too. Until next time, wishing you all the best!

19 comments:

  1. Beautiful work, Dean! Your new elephant looks like it has seen some hard campaigning and has lost some weight.

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    1. 😆 yes, that's what happened. Thanks again, Jonathan! Warmest regards, Dean

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  2. Excellent elephants Dean! Warlord Games released some really nice ranges with their Pyrrhic Wars supplement, latest army addition for me is the Illyrians.

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    1. Thanks a lot, Mike! Yes, the Pyrrhus figure is really nice. I need some Thureophoroi. Warm regards, Dean

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  3. It might have been quite a long wait for the elephant, but it was worth it, Dean - lovely work!

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    1. Thank you very much for the kind words, Keith! Warm regards, Dean

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  4. That's a lovely looking addition Dean. Painted up to your usual high standard. I really don't think the size matters though on such a fab model.

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    1. Thank you very much, Ray! Kindest regards, Dean

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  5. Lovely work Dean….you can never have too many elephants in my view 👍

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    1. Thank you very much, Matt! Indeed, especially since my buddy has 3 elephants too. Kindest regards, Dean

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  6. Hi Dean, a lovely job, plenty of presence, just as it should be.

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    1. Thanks for your kind words again, Norm! Warmest regards, Dean

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  7. Great model! I like to see you doing things for Ancients. You named the Pyrrhic supplement for HC, do you still play WAB or HC is your new WAB? Cheers,

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    1. Thank you very much Javier! To be honest, I've been playing the Black Powder family rules, including Pike and Shotte, and haven't played WAB in a long time. That said, I still have fond memories of it. I mainly disliked the individual figure casualty removal. Warmest regards, Dean

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  8. Looks great, and I think the sizing matches very well. As mentioned by others, the painting is superb!

    Cheers,
    Aaron

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Aaron! Warmest regards, Dean

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  9. Fantastic. They look really good, Dean.

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    1. Thank you very much Richard! Kind regards, Dean

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  10. Excellent work with your various spare parts and your usual splendid painting!
    Best Iain

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