Thracian Unit

I painted another six Thracians so we could field a unit of 12 using the same sized figures. Dave's are old Minifigs and are small 25s.

I really like painting these even if all the patterns are a pain. I didn't go mad on these but when I do the next lot will get more patterns on. I have included a female Thracian as I often try to sneak a girlie into my armies.

So, that's it for Greeks for the time being. Now all I have to do is wait for the Artizan Spartans!

Last Greek skirmishers

This is my third and final unit of Greek skirmishers for Cynoscephalae this Saturday. Thirty six skirmishers painted in just over six weeks (all except one which I painted in January). I still seem to have quite a few in my drawers so I'd better work out how many I would ever need for an army. One day I will have to resolve the "are they spears or javelins?" issue and add a spare javelin if the latter.

For Cynoscephale, with the Thracians that I should finish tomorrow, I will have painted:

36 Greek skirmishers
12 Cretan Archers
12 Thracian Peltasts
6 Italian javelin men
8 Greek Light Cavalry
16 Greek/Macedonian Heavy Cavalry
2 Macedonian Generals

There are also all the Punic Romans I painted as well, thinking they might be needed. In fact, I think I am just taking 24 Velites.

Even so, that's 92 figures plus the Romans. They will nearly all be useful for the Spartan Mercenary Army, earlier Greek armies and Macedonian armies.

More Greek Skirmishers

This is the second unit of Greek skirmishers finished. The whole lot in a week. I have deliberately made it unclear as to whether they have spears or javelins so I can use them as both peltasts or javelinmen. The spears I picked up at Salute and they are nice steel ones with a leaf blade, so they shouldn't bend like the soft metal ones.

I have another 12 based and maybe have even another 12 after that. In the meantime I need to do the two Macedonian generals and maybe get the last six Greek light horse done. It's going to be tight!

Classical Spartans!

Artizan designs have announced a new range of Spartans with Corinthian (or possibly Chalcidian-it's hard to tell from these shots whether they leave the ears exposed or not) rather than Pylos Helmets. Most other manufactureres depict Spartans in Pylos helmets so this is a welcome addition.

http://www.artizandesigns.com/catalogue.asp?sub_range=22

The whole issue of how to represent a Spartan Army has exercised me since I started this project. The figures I have decided to use are the Foundry ones also by Steve Saleh.

Now there are a number of distinct periods I would want to model and really it is not that easy to overlap the models used.

THERMOPYLAE 480BC AND THE PERSIAN WARS

The Spartans at the time of Thermopylae would have probably worn Corinthian Helmets with front to back crests (maybe even with elevated crests like this example from about the time of Thermopylae). One of the figures in the Artizan picture above (third from the left, top row) is wearing the more open faced Illyrian type helmet, which certainly continued into use in the 4th century

They could also have worn the so-called bell bronze cuirass. The illustrations in Nick Sekunda's Osprey The Spartan Army show the Spartans at Thermopylae wearing bell cuirasses. Actually, Foundry do produce some figures like this but only in their one pose army builder packs See above figure).

However, Peter Connolly in his Greece and Rome at War show Spartan troops at Thermopylae wearing the linen covered cuirass. The Artizan figures seem to be based on this interpretation.

Also, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that the Spartans were using the famous Greek lambda symbol on their shields at this time and had individual designs. The earliest mention is from a poet likely to have been writing around 412 BC.

Greek Heavy Cavalry

This is the unit of 16 heavy cavalry we need for Cynoscephalae. Technically they should be half Greek and half Macedonians but only one of them is carrying a Xyston. I will replace the Xyston carrying Macedonian with another heavy cavalryman and build a seperate unit of Companion cavalry when I get to work on the Macedonians. The only problem with contemplating a Macedonian force is all the Persians I would have to paint as well. Grim!

Next 12 more javelinmen and six more light cavalry. Never mind the light mornings are helping. Today I managed to finish the tunics on 12 javelinmen. I'll try to do the flesh shading tomorrow.

More Greeks

Bought some more Greeks today. 9 packs of Foundry figures on top of the 7 packs which arrived two days ago. I managed to get the former at £5.00 per pack reduced in a shop I visited today. Bargain. One pack I did get was the Mercenary Generals which also contained the two mercenary commander figures that you used to only be able to get as a give away with the Foundry mercenary deal and which seem to have been unavailable for some time. One of these is a really nice Spartan figure.

Unfortunately, quite a few of the figures I bought today are Macedonians: Hypaspists and phalangites. It looks like I am going down the road of starting a Macedonian army. Oh dear!

First Thracians

Here are the six Thracians we need to make up numbers for Cynoscephalae.

These ones are wearing the black tunic mentioned by Plutarch and worn at Pydna (168 BC), so there is a reasonable argument to say they could have worn them at Cynoscephalae (197BC). They are certainly quicker to paint than the classical ones!

This is a WAB command unit of Classical period Thracians wearing the patterned tunics. I bought a Foundry deal of these (80 figures) a couple of years ago to pitch against my classical Greeks. They are lovely to paint but take rather a long time because of all the patterns.

I'd like to paint an army, or at least a couple of big units of these as there are a couple of interesting actions involving Thracians against Romans (and Numidians) following Magnesia (190). Useful figures, therefore.

Cretan Archers

I finished them last night. 12 figures in a week, must be a record! Next I will finish the 6 Thracians and do the first four Macedonian Heavy cavalry. Good job I have some time off over Easter.

A couple more Greeks

I finished another light cavalryman and an archer in the last week. I may have enough time to do some more before Cynoscephalae in May. Currently I am seeing if I can paint 12 Cretan archers in a week. I'll have to finish them tonight to succeed. Looks like I will just miss it..

Unit of Javelinmen

I needed to do some javelinmen for Cynoscephalae and they will be useful for my Greek Mercenary army anyway. I painted all 12 (the Tony Bath rules we are using put light infantry in units of 12) at the same time, unusually, rather than in sixes. They didn't take too long and look OK. I used cut down Gripping Beast spears for these but I will try to get some of the Perry Miniatures spears as they make better javelins in this scale.

First cavalryman

Here is my first Greek light cavalryman, painted to serve as Greek allied cavalry for Cynoscephalae. He is a Steve Saleh Foundry Greek.

Peltast

I have to paint some Greek light troops for the Cynoscephalae battle we are running for the Society of Ancients battle day. Here is the first one. These will be useful for my Greek mercenary force. I'll try to finish another couple today although I have just got back from Canada and may not feel up to it.

A New Direction?

I haven't painted anything for months as I have been too busy on Punic War Romans. However, a couple of things have got me thinking about the Spartans again. Firstly, I am painting some Greek light infantry for Cynoscephalae and so have been rooting about in my drawers of Foundry Greeks. Lots of lovely Steve Saleh Spartans and others in there.

Secondly, I am trying to finish all the half read novels I have. One of these is The Ten Thousand by Michael Curtis Ford. I started it and read the first half quickly but seemed to lose interest (something that some reviewers have mentioned). I must give it a go, maybe backing up a bit instead of trying to remember what happened.

Thirdly, I have just picked up Robin Waterfield's Xenophon's Retreat which aims to fill in the gaps left by Xenophon's own narrative (which Waterfield has recently newly translated).

My issue with a Spartan Army for WAB is just that it looks too tough and that historically it rarely suffered defeat. The solution is to morph my Spartan army into a Spartan led mercenary army. This will give me the opportunity to field a lot more troop types including some which I already have unpainted such as Thracians and Athenians. If I do end up getting Macedonians then I can get some Persians (Vendel's look nice) as well.

The final part of the puzzle was finding this excellent WAB Greek Mercenary List:

http://www.ancientbattles.com/AtG_GreekMercs.htm

Hooray!

First Hoplite

I finished the first Hoplite just before I went on holiday. I am now enthused again and have started another four. Let's see if I can get them done in a week!

A new start

Right, having realised that I haven't done an entry for six months I have got one of my Spartans out of the box and put him back on the workbench. Lets see if I can finish him by the weekend!

The workbench today.

The Spartans have drifted to the middle as its all Perry Sudan at the moment. Meanwhile Monica Bellucci looks on..

The General

Quite pleased with my Foundry General. Mixing the bronze colour was a bit of a fiddle and don't know about the painted Lambda symbol. Maybe I should try to find some transfers as getting the angle consistent could be a problem.

A Hoplite next!

..and stops.

No work on my figures over the last few days as I have been busy at work and, worse than that, I got an iPod for the first time. So I have been spending my time working out how it works and trying to put some tunes on it before a business trip next week.

I have been reading the 3 Ospreys on ancient Greek armies however:

Spartan Army, Greek Hoplite and The Ancient Greeks. A few things are becoming clear. The nature of Greek warriors' equipment changed somewhat between the Persian Wars at the time of Marathon and Thermopylae (beginning of 5th Century) and the Peloponnesian Wars (late 5th century). While not being a complete accuracy fanatic (this all was 2,500 years ago and so what we know is fragmentary anyway) I have ascertained that change related to three key areas which effect the look of the troops enough to make a difference to the appearance of a Spartan wargames unit.

Helmets Spartan troops at the time of Thermopylae wore helmets that were largely indistinguishable from those worn by other Greek city states except, perhaps for the transverse crests on some (officers?) helmets. At some point, certainly by the Peloponnesian War, the so called Pylos helmet became the standard helmet in Sparta. The transverse crests seemed to remain.

Armour Early period troops seemed to have a mixture of bronze and linen armour but, again, by the later period armour was becoming less common due, it is though, to the more mobile tactics of opponents.

Shield Blazons The familiar Spartan Lambda device was not in use at the time of Thermopylae but again seems to have been introduced later, although earlier than some other city states devices. I remember the illustations in the book The War Game I received in the early 70s had the Spartan troops with the lambda device and I think that the film The 300 Spartans did the same. However, it now looks as if this was unlikly.

Looking at the Foundry Figures they are a mixture of armoured and unarmoured but all wear the Pylos helmet except for a few figures with transverse crests on their helmets who wear normal Greek helmets (modelled on a couple of surviving Greek sculptures from the earlier Persian Wars period). Given the distinctive long hair of the Spartans there are no Foundry figures with regular helmets and long hair.

So I have, therefore, made the decision to model an early Peloponnesian war Spartan Army, as this suiots the available figures: Pylos helmets, some armoured and some unarmoured hoplites. I need to decide whether to mix these in units or have separate ones. I am starting with the armoured hoplites.

Spartan troops wore crimson for most of the period but given that I use Humbrol Enamels their crimson looks a bit dark for ancient dyes and I think I will go for Humbrol 153, a sort of dark red closer to the illustrations in the Osprey book.

Work begins..

Sitting through the "X Factor" on Saturday with the family gave me the chance to clean up and base my first group of Spartans. I have chosen 8 armoured hoplites to start with and a number of officers. I haven't been able to start earlier as I was finishing a unit of Foundry Early Imperial Romans for a game at Warfare in Reading next weekend. These are the large Foundry Romans sculpted by Steve Saleh who also did the Greeks. Its a shame he never got to finish the Foundry Range.

The problem so far is that I picked up the new Warhammer Historical Hannibal supplement this week with some of the new Renegade Republican Romans. This means that I am getting distracted already. I am just going to try to paint both Spartans and Romans at the same time as they have a lot in common painting wise.

Anyway here they are, optimistically on the front rank! Behind are the Rengade Punic Romans, then some 3rd Century Romans and a jumble of Sudan British, Somalis, Lord of the Rings Dwarves and Trojans. I do find it difficult to concentrate on one period! Also visible is the first of my Spartans to actually have some paint on him-I think he is going to be my general.

Flash! AH-AH! It's annoying!

Most of the figures for the new army came from one of Foundry's "3 deals for £100" offers. This is the second time I have ordered one of these and found that at least one deal has suffered from excess flash (unusual for Foundry normally). I can only think that they are flogging off their second rate stock cheap in these deals. It would be nice if they admitted this up front. The price works out at about 50% of normal but is the saving worth all the extra filing? Although it's something to do when watching The X Factor with the family on Saturdays, I suppose.

Here are three typical examples: