The Conquistadores - Mounted conquistador with spear

The conquistadores invaded the New World under the guise of spreading the Catholic faith. In reality, they were a bunch of irregular adventurers, with a thirst for gold. They were the first to introduce horses to the native people, which were, at first, believed to be a fusion of man and beast.

This gorgeous model is a prepainted 60mm figure from John Jenkins designs and the amount of detail and quality of the paint is amazing. This is rapidly growing to be one of my favourite ranges.

The Aztecs - Cuachiqueh Captain and Warriors

The Cuachiqueh or "shorn ones", were another professional military order in the Aztec army and are generally likened to special forces. Like with the other military orders, entry into the Cuachiqueh was gained through the taking of captives for sacrifice, though exactly how many were required for becoming a Cuachiqueh seems to be the subject of debate. It doesn't help that not all captives held the same value. Some opponents who were considered weak, would earn the soldier less credit than taking a more respected enemy.

These splendid prepainted 60mm figures by John Jenkins Designs represent one Cuachiqueh captain and two warriors. All three have very dynamic action poses.

The Aztecs - Aztec Captain

This Aztec captain is wearing a tlahuiztli (a sort of "onesy" made of woven cotton and decorated with colourful patterns and designs in feathers, tied with ribbons in the back). Captains got to wear extravagant back ornaments, constructed of bark paper, cloth and feathers, attached to a cane backrack which was itself tied across the chest with leather straps.

The figure is another great prepainted 60mm figure from John Jenkins Designs.

The Aztecs

Another Warrior Priest from the 60mm John Jenkins Design range.  This one wears a war suit known as the Cicitlallo Cuextecatl, which roughly translates as “Starry Night”. It indicates he is a warrior priest who had taken four captives, and thus a mighty warrior. Another superb figure with great painting from JJD.

The Aztecs - Aztec Warriors

While not as ornately dressed as the elite Jaguar and Eagle warriors and the various warrior priests, the common Aztec warriors were still a colourful sight to behold. All 4 models are prepainted 60mm John Jenkins Designs figures, with two different sculpt, each available in 2 different colours.

Red warrior:

Blue warrior:

White warrior:

Green warrior:

The Aztecs - Jaguar Warriors

The Jaguar warriors or Jaguar knights, were members of the Aztec military elite. They were a type of Aztec warrior called a cuāuhocēlōtl, like the Eagle Warriors. The jaguar motif was used due to the belief the jaguar represented Tezcatlipoca. Aztecs also wore this dress at war because they believed the animal's strengths would be given to them during battles. Jaguar warriors were used at the battlefront in military campaigns. They were also used to capture prisoners for sacrifice to the Aztec gods. They fought with a wooden sword studded with obsidian volcanic glass blades, called a macuahuitl. They also used spears and atlatls. To become a jaguar warrior, a member of the Aztec army had to capture twelve enemies during two consecutive battles. This was said to honor their gods in a way far greater than killing enemy soldiers in the battlefield. For a warrior to kill an enemy was considered clumsy.

Both models are gorgeous prepainted 60mm models from John Jenkins Designs, with one wearing a Jaguar suit based on an actual Jaguar's skin and one wearing a more expensive "artificial" blue suit.

The Aztecs - Coyote Warrior Priest

In addition to the normal Aztec priests, the Aztec empire also counted priests who were also warriors. These warrior priests had a similar ranking system to the traditional ranks, where you could climb the ranks by taking more captives for sacrifice. The Coyote warrior priest is one who has taken 6 or more captives in combat.

The model is once again an excellent prepainted 60mm figure by John Jenkins Designs.