Not including the Greek hoplites already done (which I’ll use as allies/mercenaries for several different armies), this is the first of me painting some figures for the Alexandrian Macedonians. Phalangites seemed like a good place to start, seeing as they form the core of the army and I have a pile of them to do.
For the sarissas I used wire spears from Col Bills, cut down to about 60mm or so. The shields are smaller than the hoplite ones, so I wasn’t sure about suitable transfers to fit them, and in the end I just hand painted the Macedonian star symbol on some of them.
They did take a bit longer to paint up than most of the other ancients I’ve painted so far, mainly because of the details on the linen armour. I like how they look, but for the sake of speeding the project up I might try a different approach next time.
From what I’ve read about the Macedonian army, it’s likely that not all the phalangites would have worn body armour, so it would be good to add in some unarmoured ones to the rear ranks if possible. I don’t think Newline does unarmoured pikemen for the Macedonians, but I might find something suitable from their other ranges.
Wow you've done a lot of excellent work since I last checked in! Love to see your lovely brushwork such smooth finishes!
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about unarmoured pikes, would be good to have some dedicated sculpts. A few fudges could be made; Unarmoured Hoplites, Hellenistic Greeks, swapping out shields giving them pikes but the poses may not feel 100% suitable but some may be altered slightly.
I also bought some Babylonian spearman standing, I plant to head swap them and replace their spears with pikes, and shields swapped, they're pretty generic unarmoured ancients.
Thanks Tony. Yes, I’m trying to get as much of my ancients painted while I’ve got a good head of steam going. Thanks for the unarmoured pikemen suggestions - those are really useful. Just been looking at them on the Newline website. Never thought to look at the Biblicals but you’re absolutely right. I’m thinking Carthaginian spearmen might also work, possibly with a head swap. But I’m happy to believe that not all the Macedonian pikemen wore the Phrygian helmet if it saves me doing lots of head swapping!
Deleteyes they'd work also. The Hat Phalangites have quite a few unamoured pikemen in the box and the LInear A sets have a few scattered in them but they're pricey for soft plastic sets. You can always drop Sean a suggestion, and mention I'd also like to have some unarmoured Macedonian pikemen ;-)
DeleteThanks Tony, that’s good to know. Yes, I think Sean is always open to suggestions for new additions to the ranges. I remember asking about Napoleonic Prussian lancers a few years back and he found time to create new sculpts and add them, which was amazing.
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