Roman Military Standard

Muster your legions and set your sights on a nearby province!  The Roman Military Standard is an iconic sight hoisted high among any depiction of Roman troops on the move.  The standard features several emblematic elements: most notably the Vexellum, or cloth banner, featuring the name of the legion and its insignia, and the Aquila, or golden eagle topping it all off. 

Vanishingly few Vexella have been preserved to this day, while absolutely no Aquilae have yet been found.  The iconography of the Roman Military Standards have come down to us in various depictions, be they coins, sculptural relief, paintings, etc. 


LEGIO VI - FERRATA  •  Limited Edition

As you might have guessed by the specific legionary reference, this particular kit will be a limited edition.  That is, the initial run of 100 will be the only standards featuring LEGIO VI insignia.  After this first batch, every subsequent reissue will feature emblems from one of more than fifty known legions established across the breadth of Ancient Roman history.

This enhances both the collectability, and the building experience, as reissued instructions manuals will contain unique stories contextualizing a specific legion.  In this limited edition of LEGIO VI, you'll be treated to insights into the disastrous Parthian campaigns of the first century BCE, as well as the eventual reclaiming of the lost standards - to much fanfare - by none other than Caesar Augustus.


Qualification

As usual, qualifying Corinthian patrons must have one of the following:

• Two months of active patronage prior to kit being shipped (subscribed by April 19)

• A yearly subscription discounted at 10% (subscribed by April 19)

From Now On - Plastic Bricks

And now for some logistical details...  Eagle-eyed patrons will undoubtedly have noticed certain peculiarities in the parts used throughout my work over the past year.  Telltale signs first emerged in the DESIGN Insights posts back in July 2023, where I began using parts in colors not available through LEGO or certain incredibly rare elements suddenly being used en masse with seemingly no attention toward actual availability / price in the secondhand market.  This is due to my consideration toward and eventual integration of alternative high-quality bricks in my work.  Plastic bricks are merely the medium with which I create - first and foremost - art.  While it would please me to say that my years of friendly business relationships with folks at The LEGO Group had amounted to any kind of access to ordering bricks in bulk, that is not the case.  TLG have no desire to support artists in any meaningful or material way, which is their right as a business.  Sadly though, I have also found even the online "Pick-a-Brick" to be largely an exercise in virtue signaling toward the opposite, rather than an honest attempt at accessibility to the parts catalogue.  I'll spare you the nightmarish anecdotes of backorders, system processing failures, lack of communication between warehouses, and even failure to record payment for orders and subsequent requests for credit card statements, in favor of simply telling you that such experiences have led me to the realization that brand loyalty is neither a net benefit in the quality of the work or toward my continued viability as a one-man small business owner.

That said, my buildable kits will, going forward, primarily consist of GoBricks.  These will be supplemented with parts manufactured by both LEGO and WeBrick.  All three of these manufacturers are highly compatible and within a color consistency range that certainly rivals any seen in a single set produced by TLG these days.  As evidenced by the video highlights of the current build-out for Phase II, the quality of these bricks are consistent with that of LEGO bricks, if not better.  What's more, and as aforementioned, this provides access to a wider variety of colors not available in LEGO bricks; case in point, the extensive use of gold, brown and dark red elements in the design of the Roman Military Standard.

I know from personal interactions with many patrons that you are here - first and foremost - to support me in the work that I create.  Patronage is rarely given or considered on impulse, which indicates a certain familiarity with my body of work.  You would, following this logic, already be aware that I have long since abandoned any notions of purism in favor of creating multimedia art.  Ultimately, brand loyalty should be a specious notion to any self-respecting artist and I have come to believe the work and my merchandise will be far better off leaving such trivialities to the side.  

What matters is your experience supporting my work and in building the exclusive kits I design.  None of these premium experiences are compromised with the integration of non-LEGO parts.  On the contrary, they are enhanced both visually and functionally; as seen in the nuance of adding a wider palette to Phase II designs and in the logistical ability to source parts from a mere handful of sources, rather than dozens.  In addition, if this were merely a cost-saving measure, then I assure you the first compromise would be in the production of physical instruction manuals.  The instructions will remain physically printed and professionally designed / manufactured.  Long-time patrons will have noticed an increase in manual quality due to the addition of tidbits throughout the entire manuals in recent kits.  And, let's not forget the oh-so-satisfying *printed* elements featured in several kits.  In fact, the Roman Military Standards will feature no fewer than ten(!) printed parts across two unique designs.

METAM

Phew, I think that's it for now!  I truly appreciate your continued patronage and am happy to address any questions regarding the announcement above.

Beware the Ides of March and, as always, festina lente!