Hernán Cortez army in 20mm for Impetus rules

 

Hernán Cortés did not organize his professional troops into a formal Spanish tercio formation. Instead, he utilized combined arms tactics tailored to the local environment and enemy, focusing on maintaining unit cohesion, leveraging superior Spanish weaponry (cavalry and firearms), and effectively integrating tens of thousands of indigenous allies. All figures are Revell and are the content of a full box of Conquistadores.
If you want you can see the Aztecs here: 

http://jpwargamingplace.blogspot.com/2025/11/hernan-cortez-army-in-20mm-for-impetus.html

Hernán Cortez figure in the Revell box is standing on foot but I have a second box of Revell Conquistadores in the stash from where the Cortez and flagbearer figures will be converted into  horsemen. This flag was given to Cortez by Charles V when he returned to Spain. The one used in mexico had a red ground with the Virgin Mary and that one will be made from the second box flagbearer. 

 

Arquebusiers and Crossbowmen  ranged units provided deadly, unnervingfire support that could break up massed Aztec attacks, particularly effective in open fields and on the narrow causeways. The mention of pikes in sources suggests their presence, likely to repel potential charges and maintain formation integrity, but they were not used in the massive "push of pike" associated with later tercios.

Rodeleros (Sword-and-Buckler Men) constituted the bulk of the Spanish infantry, using steel swords and armor, which were vastly superior to Aztec obsidian-edged weapons. They held the lines and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, relying on their steel protection and disciplined formations to withstand the Aztec onslaught. 

Artesanía Latina canons are too big as Cortez used 14 smaller guns. The crew are Esci conversions from NATO aircraft ground crew boxes. 

At Otumba, on the  July 7th 1520, the small contingent of about 13-20 remaining horsemen (from 100 that Cortez managed at a certain point) were the key "shock troops". They were held in reserve or positioned to make rapid, repeated charges into the dense Aztec ranks, which were unaccustomed to cavalry, always looking after the colorful leaders. The open plain of Otumba was ideal terrain for cavalry action. Eventually some Spanish Mastiffs and Wolfhounds were still there and provided a massive psychological and tactical advantage over the indigenous populations who had never encountered such large, aggressive dogs.

Next: Vercors 1944

Aztec army in 20mm for Impetus rules

 

In 1991 Revell released the Aztec box. It was the days in which the hobby was starting to go away from WW2 and Napoleonics and diving into different periods. Revell gave a big push in this direction. The main historical opponent of the Aztecs and the Triple Alliance were other Mesoamerican cultures (the Spanish arrived only in 1519) like the Mixtec and Zapotec more to the south of nowadays Mexico and bordering Guatemala. With this in mind I gathered 10 boxes of Revell Aztecs not only to make an Aztec army but also to have enough figures for a Tlaxcala army for instance. Reading about Aztec warfare is also a fascinating issue with elaborate marching procedures, tactics and different colors and equipment (uniforms if you wish) according to each of the seven types of infantry and even different colors for smaller groups of around 400 men. In this picture you can see more or less the equivalent of a xiquipilli (regiment or division) of 8000 men taken from the calpulli (original clan areas). Impetus rules doesn't care about this but if you want to wargame with specific orders of battles (not easy though...) up to the battle of Otumba or the final fall of Tenochtitlan, each base can represent 400 men (one xiquipilli total) or 800 men (two xiquipilli). Most of this large group was painted for decades by now but recently I rebased them according to the Impetus stands. 

Starting with the lower infantry you can see five bases of novice soldiers who still did not captured any prisoner (for sacrifice, obviously). They are armed with spears or the famous maquahuitl, both with obsidian blades. Mixed with the Revell there are also some 30 Atlantic Egyptian conversions. The only few changes on the Atlantic figures was the addition of a misang on the top of the head in order to represent the head knot and the replacement of the Egyptian shield with a round one. The maztatl (crotch loin cloth) was simply painted upon.  

These skirmishing archers and slingers are mostly Revell but each base includes a Mixtec influenced atatl made from an Atlantic conversion. For the atatl you just need to glue a spear on top of the hand weapon and it will look the part, at least on this scale and bend the arm for a more throwing attitude.  The closest archer on the right side is also an Atlantic conversion. 

Regarding archers most of the stands have pairs of an archer and a shield bearer in typical Tlaxcallan style but most probably also used by Aztecs. Once again there is a mixture of Revell and Atlantic conversions.

This group can be a number of different types of infantry from the papalotl (three captives) up to the cuachicqueh (seven captives). Frankly all these types are not very well represented in the Revell box which prefered more generic poses missing specific headdress and back banners. One day I may take a number of mohac style heads of the WW2 US paratroopers from both Esci and Revell in order to make proper cuachiqueh. 

Now into the military orders. The famous Eagle warriors have three different figures and that includes a commander with the back banner. This kind of brownish color seems to have been used but recent investigations gives a wider variety of colors to be used. 

Another military order was the Jaguar. Nowadays I see them in blue in many representations but years ago I saw them somewhere in jaguar colors. Again three positions in the Revell box that, if placed carefully can give animated stands. 

These warrior priests were the only group made recently and are all conversions using Revell figures with the conical hat on top. 

The Osprey image that inspired this last group. 

The conversion is simple: take out all headdress from the figures; roll a small piece of GreenStuff with the fingers up to become the shape of a cone; place a tiny piece of super glue on the head; stuck the cone on the head; and, finally, pull a bit of the GreenStuff to the neck area for the figure to have a neck guard. 

As I painted four boxes of Revell Aztecs it gave twelve commanders that were simply painted with no conversions. The only stand that had an extra was the commander of the army, a tecuhtli, that received the company of this crazy naked berserker dying to capture prisoners for sacrifices, or being killed in the process due to the absence of the heavy cotton quilted vest. The figure is another Atlantic converted figure. 

Next: more Impetus stands but with a return to Mohacs 1526.