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15mm Early Western Han Chinese
The Early Western Han Dynasty was arguably the summit of ancient Chinese civilisation. It was established shortly after the overthrow of the Ch'in Dynasty, followed by a short period of a divided China and then the overthrow of one of the two successor states (the Western Chu) by the other -- the Han. After the extreme tyranny,
endless war and heavy taxation of the preceding periods, the lighter hand of the Han brought on a flowering of culture, commerce and trade.
Militarily, the Early Western Han Dynasty relied on conscription for a period of two years -- one year of training and a second of service. The resulting army was enormous -- 500,000 to 700,000 men. A core of professional men, often bolstered by conscripts who remained in service after their conscription ended,
formed much of the manoeuvre army. Infantry were largely armed with the battle-winning Nu crossbow, a deadly weapon used en masse to see off "Barbarian" horse archers or infantry warbands. These were protected by other infantry with halberds, which may have been in mixed units with the crossbowmen. To bring the battle to the enemy, large cavalry forces were raised, including horse archers. Chariots were retained but were not optimal weapons against enemy horse archers, and the Early Western Han was the last army to use line chariots in any numbers in battle.
The emperor Wu waged a long war against the fierce Xiongnu nomads - one of the most epic series of military campaigns in ancient history. After a great national effort, peaking with the Chinese invasion of the Gobi Desert and the colossal Battle of Mobei in 113BC, the Han prevailed, and their increased control of the north led to what would later become the Silk Road. The Early Western Han also expanded into wide areas in the South, conquering the Dian kingdom in Yunnan and the Nan Yue kingdom that had been based in Guangzhou (Canton) and extended southwards into modern northern Vietnam.
The Early Western Han Dynasty fell to rebels and after a short interregnum, the Eastern Han Dynasty was established, the armies of which are not the focus of this range.
Notes on the range: The models can presumably also be used for very late Ch'in Chinese armies, although we should point out that we haven't done specific research in that regard.
Many close combat sets are also available bundled with shields. The shields are shown in the "armoured halberd infantry standing" set.
There are two chariots in the Chariot pack. One can be built as a general's command chariot, or both can be built as line chariots. Note that only the inner two horses were yoked. The stud on the backs of two of the horse poses goes behind the yoke. Han horses in the Early Western period were very small, hence the ability to fit the
chariots on a 40x40mmm base!
The command chariot has the warlord and a driver, and the umbrella in the center. Line chariots should have a central driver, with a halberdier on the right (starboard) side and a missile man on the left (port) side. Some chariots are depicted with a cover over the front handle bar that may have been leather or fabric, and what appear to be "fenders"
attached to the sides of the car, presumably to help protect the passengers from objects thrown up by the wheels. There are enough of these to add to both chariots in the set, or they can be built with just the uncovered front grab bar.
Models come with small integral bases -- the bases shown in the images are not included. Likewise, flags are not included. The chariot crew have no bases but have a peg on one foot in case you want to drill a hole in the floor of the chariot with a pin vise.
Thanks to Duncan Head for input on the range, and to Steve Dean for painting this large range for us for display on this store page. The models are, of course, provided unpainted.
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CHARIOTS AND ARTILLERY
CAVALRY/MOUNTED
INFANTRY COMMANMD
JI HALBERDIERS
| Code | Contents | Price (US$) | Order/Progress |
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| 15MM-HAN-CHINESE-ARM-HALBERD-ATTACK | 15mm Han Chinese Armoured Halberd Infantry Attacking (x8, two of each pose)(can also be used as dismounted heavy cavalry) | $6.69 |
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| 15MM-HAN-CHINESE-ARM-HALBERD-ATTACK-SHLD | 15mm Han Chinese Armoured Halberd Infantry Attacking, With Separate Shields | $7.99 |
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| 15MM-HAN-CHINESE-ARM-HALBERD-STAND | 15mm Han Chinese Armoured Halberd Infantry Standing (x8, two of each pose) | $6.69 |
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| 15MM-HAN-CHINESE-ARM-HALBERD-STAND-SHLD | 15mm Han Chinese Armoured Halberd Infantry Standing, With Separate Shields (x8) (Image Shows Two Poses With Shields Added) | $7.99 |
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| 15MM-HAN-CHINESE-HELM-HALBERD | 15mm Han Chinese Unarmoured Halberd Infantry Wearing Helmet (x8, two of each pose) | $6.69 |
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| 15MM-HAN-CHINESE-HELM-HALBERD-SHLD | 15mm Han Chinese Unarmoured Halberd Infantry Wearing Helmet, With Separate Shields (x8) | $7.99 |
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| 15MM-HAN-CHINESE-UNARM-HALBERD | 15mm Han Chinese Unarmoured Halberd Infantry, Bareheaded (x8, two of each pose) | $6.69 |
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| 15MM-HAN-CHINESE-UNARM-HALBERD-SHLD | 15mm Han Chinese Unarmoured Halberd Infantry, Bareheaded, With Separate Shields (x8) | $7.99 |
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NU CROSSBOWMEN
ARCHERS AND SPEARMEN
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