Monday 23 January 2017

From LeeH - Greek & Sicilian Hoplites (48 Points)

The latest addition to my Pyrrhic Army are a couple of units of Hoplites and compared to the Pike Phalanxes I painted recently these were a doddle! The detailing on these figures is very good and perfectly suits my approach to painting 6mm models making them a pleasure to paint.


Hoplites were the citizen soldiers of the Ancient Greek city states and were primarily armed as spearmen. Their name derives from the Hoplon, the round shield used by these troops. Like the Pike units I completed recently the Hoplites fought in a Phalanx, a close order formation that relied on discipline and training for its effectiveness.



I have painted two units one is in white armour with white shields with coloured designs on them. The other unit are veterans from Akragas in Sicily. I wanted to paint these with black armour but I didn't like the look of plain black so instead I opted to use a dark blue. With an ink wash over the top these look almost black but with just a hint of definition and detail.


I actually had both these units more or less finished a week ago but I have been waiting for some decals to arrive in the post. I have often painted shield designs by hand in the past but a recent disaster convinced me that painting detailed designs on a shield no more than 3 mm diameter was a route to madness! In a last minute change of heart I opted only to use the coloured decals (from Baccus) on the white shields, but hand painted slightly cruder designs on the Black shields. I'm quite chuffed with the results so I think I made the right choice.



Two bases of 96 infantry figures should earn me a respectable 48 points and move me another step closer to my overall target.

MilesR: These are really exceptionally well done.  I struggle with 15mm - I just don't know how you can paint 6mm so well.  Color me impressed!

18 comments:

  1. Great work Lee, the shields on both units look pretty good!

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  2. Utterly splendid. These look like units not the dozen figures you get at 15mm proclaiming themselves to be a regiment! Excellent, I want to see more.

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  3. Bloody hell Lee... painted shields and transfers as well. its madness .. but wonderful madness alright. great stuff

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  4. They are very impressive, Lee! They both have a striking presence. I really like the detail you packed on them!

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  5. These look fantastic. Have to say I could not pick out the hand painted from the transfers, so your freehand skills are top shelf...

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  6. So much love. This look awesome, I'd love to play a massive Ancient greek warfare with such 6mm.

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  7. Well you have sold me on the shield decals for my next Hoplite run, most excellent. Your painting of 6mm continues to raise the bar

    Ian

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  8. Thankyou! I really enjoyed painting these... I seem to have hit my stride this year.

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  9. Excellent tiny soldiers. Awesome. cheers

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  10. Very nice work Lee. I like the shields on both units.

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  11. Very nice indeed! I did wonder about the shield designs but even applying decals this tiny must be a challenge.

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    1. Very fiddly...especially if you have fat fingers like me!

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  12. Colour me impressed. I have trouble with 1/48 decals, can't imagine how you persevered to do these shields.

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