Italo/Greek Hoplite

Italo/Greek Hoplite

 

“Classical Greek warfare was the purest form of battle. The antithesis of modern day notions that favour stealth capability or covert guerrilla tactics, Greek warfare displayed the honesty of two armies facing each other head on in broad daylight. The Phalanx formation called for each man to trust his neighbouring infantryman, often times a friend or relative. With a shield in his left hand and a spear in his right, each man depended on his fellow hoplite's shield for full body coverage. Battles were won and lost depending on the phalanx's ability to hold its formation. Lined shoulder to shoulder with approximately sixty-five pounds of armour, limited vision and hearing, a hoplite's crucial duties required little tactical skill, only to push forward and keep the line together. Outstanding valour rose from a man's ability to keep his nerve amidst such confusion and brutality. In a time when the outcome of battles rested on fellow soldiers’ trust for one another, an individual hoplite's reputation for strength and courage was his greatest asset in keeping his adjacent hoplites bound in a line. The nature of battle for the individual hoplite necessitated trust in one's fellow infantryman for personal and group survival, a tradition that resonates through the history of war, yet exemplified to its finest on the battlefield of Greek antiquity. “

  Once again another stunner from the extremely capable hands of Adriano Laruccia, depicting an ‘Italo/Greek’ hoplite from the early founding days of Rome. The kit is marketed by EMI under their ‘Gladius’ series. Why Italo/Greek? Greek settlers were responsible for the establishing many costal towns in early Italy, many influences of which can still be seen to this day .

  The kit comprises of 13 crisply cast and flash free pieces, 3 of which make up the cape. Dry runs are an absolute must on this figure as it is quite complicated, real trouble with painting access and aligning joints will manifest if you don’t understand the ’build’, I walked straight into these pitfalls and had a hell of a job to rectify them. All through impatience, I will explain later.

 

  The figure is depicted wearing a linen cuirass, this is an armoured type shirt made up of cloth stuck together with animal glue. Not very practical as it weighed in at a hefty 10lbs and when wet (say through sweat) it became floppy and must have stunk! But it was very effective against the bronze weapons of the time, which must have been very brittle by the very nature of the metal used. He also wears a Corinthian type helmet made of solid bronze, the average weighed approximately five pounds and covered the head and parts of the face and neck. Because it was not insulated, many men grew beards or long hair in order to provide shock absorbent padding. The solid metal helmets provided no ventilation, often at times leading to dehydration, the fatigue caused by all the weight the bearer carried must have been incredible. He also carry’s an Argive shield which offers the most potential for colour on the figure. I chose to use a very simple shield design as I wanted to show extreme wear and tear on the shield face, eventually settling on the Greek letter ‘L’ (Lambda), this represents the Lacedaemia people. The hardwood shield was an integral part of battle. Obviously used for protection against stabbing weapons such as spear and swords, it had a bowl shaped curve for the carriers shoulder to push against. When the opposing phalanxes met, Hoplites in the rear used their shields to push the men in front of them forward, keeping the momentum going and ensuring no one ran away!. Infact early writings show that in order to up their courage prior to battle, Hoplites consumed more than their fair share of wine in hopes of dulling the pain of possible wounds sustained in battle and to steady shaky nerves. Not all their courage was achieved through alcohol though. Hoplites in their phalanxes were usually partnered with their tribal brothers and were probably most likely very well acquainted with those next to and around him. The mental pressure of placing a man amongst friends and family must have been heavy, driving an individual on to ‘hold the line’ and to advance with the Phalanx. Cowardice being easy to show in front of strangers, but running away or breaking ranks meant desertion of those who he had grown up with. A Phalanx was never stronger than when it was made up of brother combatants and friends.

His main weapon is a spear, the wooden shaft was made of ash or cornel wood, the head of iron, and the butt pike made of bronze. Upon collision with the enemy, the spear would often break, the user would then reverse the spear and use the other end, thus the necessity of having a double ended spear. However, this arrangement also endangered those Hoplites in the rear ranks, for misdirection or accidental backward thrusts of the spear often led to the injury or death of a fellow soldier. In the case that the spear was lost or too damaged to use, a short sword was used as a backup.

 A historian wrote “… It was a sight equally and terrifying when they marched in step

with the rhythm of the flute, without any gap in their line of battle,

and with no confusion in their souls, but calmly and cheerfully moving

with the strains of their hymn to their deadly fight.” (Plutarch, Lycurgus)

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Face and Flesh Mix

Undercoat (Acrylic) Yellow Ochre + Yellow

Basecoat (Oils) Equal amounts of Venetian Red + Cadmium Yellow + Ochre

First Highlight (Oils) Basecoat + Naples Yellow + Titanium White

First Shadow (Oils) Venetian Red

Second Highlight (Oils) First highlight + Titanium White

Final Highlight (Oils) Titanium White (use very sparingly)

Second Shadow (Oils) Venetian Red + Lamp Black

Deepest Shadow (Oils) Lamp Black

As is usual with my painting approach I began with the face. The features on this figure being particularly well rendered by the sculptor. First I primed the entire figure with matt white Humbrol enamel, this acts as a superb anchor for the acrylic undercoat. Then I painted on to the face a 50/50 mix of Andrea yellow and ochre acrylics. Don’t ask me why I use these two, they just seem to give a good anchor to the oil paint and they do not show through. A basecoat of equal amounts of Venetian Red, Cadmium Yellow and Ochre were painted on and the excess removed. After an hour settling time I applied the first highlight of basecoat + Naples yellow + Titanium White, and shadows of Venetian red, then I repeated the highlighting using the second highlight mix. I normally leave the face painting for 24 hours at this point to let the oils dry a little. Coming back to the face painting I started adding shadows under the eyebrows and chin with the Second shadow mix of Venetian Red + Lamp Black, and re-touching the highlights with Titanium White. In area’s prone to deep Shadow lamp black was used. This is reserved for only the deepest recesses of the face were very little light reaches. For example beneath the chin and under the nose. As everybody knows black is very harsh and should be used very sparingly. When all is complete a very thin wash of Licquin was painted on to all flesh area’s, if thinned right it will dry to a satin finish which is very complementary to my flesh tones.

  My approach to painting his hair was exactly the same as with the plume. Hair, beard and eyebrows were first undercoated in dark Brown acrylic, then base coated in Venetian Red + Lamp Black. Highlights are once again Naples Yellow, applied in dots and dashes to try and represent the individuality of hair.

Cloak

Undercoat (Acrylic) White

Basecoat (Oils) Sepia

First Highlight (Oils) Titanium White

First Shadow (Oils) Sepia

Second Highlight (Oils) Titanium White

Final Highlight (Oils) Titanium White

Second Shadow (Oils) Sepia

Deepest Shadow (Oils) Lamp Black

  The cloak is made up of 3 parts, which all have to aligned correctly to get a good fit. As I alluded to in my preamble things did not go to plan with my rendition and I ended up with quite a sizeable gap. As you can see in the picture nothing too taxing, just a little filling with Miliput and some minor re-sculpting. Just remember to paint the back of the cloak prior to assembly, it’s impossible when assembled. Pictures 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 give a good reference to my approach to painting White. Firstly starting with an Acrylic undercoat of White, then a basecoat of Sepia. I began highlighting the cloak with Titanium White, employing successive layers wet on wet, wet on dry until it looked White and importantly looked like cloth. Lamp black was used very sparingly in the seams of the cloak for depth.

  Weathering was painted using Burnt Umber and Yellow ochre oil paints, utilised in thin washes whilst the White cloak was in progress. I tried to use darker stains on the lower edges of the cloak as these would have been most prone to staining, this all helps to reinforce the 3D effect of my approach to painting.

Tunic

Undercoat (Acrylic) Light Blue

Basecoat (Oils) Sepia + Permanent Blue

First Highlight (Oils) Base + Titanium White

First Shadow (Oils) Permanent Blue

Second Highlight (Oils) First Highlight + Titanium White

Final Highlight (Oils) Titanium White

Second Shadow (Oils) Permanent Blue + Lamp Black

Deepest Shadow (Oils) Lamp Black

  After first painting on a very light Blue acrylic undercoat, Sepia + Permanent Blue oil Paint were employed lightly thinned as a basecoat. Before highlighting I removed as much of the excess oil paint as possible, leaving the basecoat as a stain. First highlights of the basecoat + Titanium White were painted on in all the mid areas, permanent blue employed as a shadow. Then a second highlight of first highlight + Titanium White was painted in all the areas subject to most light, in extreme lower areas the shadows were reinforced with a mix of Permanent Blue + Lamp Black.. Finally a highlight Titanium White was used in the highest areas of the Tunic. All highlights were painted wet on wet, when dry Lamp black was used neat from the tube, in area’s subject to very little light such as under the armpits and the lower edges of the tunic.

Bronze Armour

Undercoat (Acrylic) Gold

Basecoat (Oils) Sepia

First Highlight (Oils) Gold Printers Ink + Sap Green

First Shadow (Oils) Sepia

 

Final Highlight (Oils) Gold

Second Shadow (Oils) Lamp Black

 I began by painting all the areas destined to be bronze with Andrea acrylic Gold, when dry I gave these areas a wash with sepia oil paint. I then stippled the helmet and bronze areas very gently to reveal the Gold beneath the sepia oil wash. Once dry very fine dots of ochre oil paint were randomly painted on to the helmet and on raised areas and places subject to high wear and tear Gold printers ink + a little sap green was painted on. Finally I painted on a heavily thinned coat of Licquin to reinforce the metallic look to the helmet and Greaves.

 There are many theories on the quality of ancient metals and what they looked like, I have really set my mind against a highly polished ‘parade ground’ finish to my metals, accept in more modern figures. Choosing instead to show the struggle of a ‘thousand Thermopolae’s’ in my interpretation of the metal on this figure.

 

Shield

Undercoat (Acrylic) Confederate Grey

Basecoat (Oils) Naples Yellow + Lamp Black

First Highlight (Oils) Naples Yellow

First Shadow (Oils) Lamp Black

Second Shadow (Oils) Lamp Black

 

 Because the shield was so important in the tactics of the Hoplites and bore the brunt of any attack, a pristine shield really did not seem appropriate to me. Starting with a basecoat of Naples Yellow + Lamp Black I began to shadow the shield with thinned Lamp Black, blending and stippling until it looked Black. Little shadowing was done around the edges, the base coat acts as a highlight and more importantly suggests wear and tear. When all had dried the highlights were re-painted with Naples Yellow and little dots and dashes of Naples Yellow and Lamp black were painted as signs of further damage. Don’t forget to weather the shield insignia as well!.

  The shield insignia was first sketched out in Red acrylic paint and then given a thin coat of Venetian Red , when semi dry Naples Yellow was used as a highlight, and to weather it, keeping it sympathetic with the shield.

 The leather rear of the shield was first undercoated with Yellow Ochre acrylic paint, then base coated with a 50/50 mix of Lamp Black and Venetian Red. Working wet on wet I progressively highlighted the basecoat up using neat Naples Yellow until a leather look had been achieved, making sure the shade was lighter where the leather was subject to wear and tear. Adding Black stains where the carriers sweaty arm and hands would have frequently come in to contact with the leather.

 

  You may ask why I refer to Lamp Black twice in the colour table, when dry I will often re-paint some of the lower shadows with the same colour to deepen the shade and add more depth to the shadows.

Plume

Undercoat (Acrylic) Dark Red

Basecoat (Oils) Naples Yellow

First Wash (Oils) 70% Thinners 30% Sepia

Second Wash (Oils) 70% Thinners 30% Lamp Black

  The Plume I felt was a little low on definition to my tastes ( although the kit part is excellent as it is, I just wanted increase the uniqueness of my rendition of Larrucia figure) and as I wanted it to look a little ‘lived in’, so I decided to add more detail using my Oil paint texturing technique. In picture 7 and 8 you can see the Naples Yellow basecoat , which I painted on and added furrows and spires with the tip of my paintbrush. In picture 9 and 10 I progressively washed the Plume with heavily thinned Sepia and Lamp Black oil paints until I had achieved the depth I wanted. Once again wait until at least a week before applying the washes to the textured Oil paint, you know what will happen if you don’t!.

  This figure, although complicated and definitely not one for the beginner, was an absolute joy to paint and build. Special thanks to Dr Mike Thomas, Medrom host Mike Butler and everyone on Medrom www.delphiforums.com for there help, advice and inspiration.

 Next up from the ‘grey army’ will be Andrea miniatures 70mm Robert the Bruce figure, I hope to share him with you. Happy painting

 

Article first published in Military Modelling Magazine

The Greek is finally finished and is off to its new home with a collector in Germany.

Actual size