Greek Hoplites
Greek Hoplites
Hi guys,
This is somewhat of a belated announcement. But in case you don't know, all of my new items (from custom beards to Greek Corinthian stuffs) are now being showcased on my website. There are also a bunch of new, historical custom figures, so please come and take a look and as always, your comments/feedbacks will be hugely appreciated. Many thanks!
R. B.
visit my website: www.redbeanstudio.net
This is somewhat of a belated announcement. But in case you don't know, all of my new items (from custom beards to Greek Corinthian stuffs) are now being showcased on my website. There are also a bunch of new, historical custom figures, so please come and take a look and as always, your comments/feedbacks will be hugely appreciated. Many thanks!
R. B.
visit my website: www.redbeanstudio.net
- JPinoy
- Knight Bannerett
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Could you make custom leg armor patterns? (because) those dudes look like they're wearing thongs. Which is both amusing and disturbing at the same time.
Also some stickers would go quite well with those shields. Medusa, Llamda, Omega, Pegasus, Hydra, and Manticore just to name a few.
Nice looking Bronze Age Greeks!
Also some stickers would go quite well with those shields. Medusa, Llamda, Omega, Pegasus, Hydra, and Manticore just to name a few.
Nice looking Bronze Age Greeks!
Peoples_General, master of the vast LEGO armies!
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- forester3291
- Merchant
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Well JPinoy,
I'm deeply 'disturbed' by the fact that you're 'amused' by men in thongs
Just kidding. Actually, the reason they're 'bare', so to speak, is because I have no idea what their leg armors are supposed to look like. Looking at some Greek potteries and stuffs, it actually look like the ancient warriors are supposed to be in thongs... so some suggestions/pics regarding that would be welcomed.
R. B.
I'm deeply 'disturbed' by the fact that you're 'amused' by men in thongs
Just kidding. Actually, the reason they're 'bare', so to speak, is because I have no idea what their leg armors are supposed to look like. Looking at some Greek potteries and stuffs, it actually look like the ancient warriors are supposed to be in thongs... so some suggestions/pics regarding that would be welcomed.
R. B.
- TwoTonic Knight
- TwoTonic of Many Colors
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A short tunic that might extend to mid-thigh. Possibly a set of flaps extending from the torso armor called pteruges ("feathers"). Shins and calfs might be protected by bronze greaves, which were flexible and would simply be "snapped" on without straps or buckles.Red Bean wrote:Well JPinoy,
I'm deeply 'disturbed' by the fact that you're 'amused' by men in thongs
Just kidding. Actually, the reason they're 'bare', so to speak, is because I have no idea what their leg armors are supposed to look like. Looking at some Greek potteries and stuffs, it actually look like the ancient warriors are supposed to be in thongs... so some suggestions/pics regarding that would be welcomed.
R. B.
Here's a link for a picture and description:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoplite
Oh, and I guess I should check my PayPal account to see if that money got transfered for my order from last week! (multi-tasking...yes)
Oh, and go back early enough, and greeks might skip the tunic...and the ptegures...and the thong.
...but then the Celts skipped the armor, too!
Redwine the Ribald: Stare long enough into the abyss...
Two-Tonic Tippler: ...and you spit into it.
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- JPinoy
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The Bronze Age is nice and all... How about some Iron Age greeks? You know, the Alexandrian ones with the 20 ft long Sarissas and slightly smaller Hoplons. You'd have to change their name from Hoplite to Phalangite though....
Peoples_General, master of the vast LEGO armies!
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Behold! The mighty armies of my ORIGIN theme!
[url]http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.c ... lesGeneral[/url]
[url]http://www.bricklink.com/aboutMe.asp?u=Peoples_General[/url]
Behold! The mighty armies of my ORIGIN theme!
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- TwoTonic Knight
- TwoTonic of Many Colors
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Hoplites and phalangites existed simultaneously within the iron age. The 2x2 radar dish or convex boat-bottom slider piece (dang, what name does that have?) would both work as the shield, and making a pike is annoying but not difficult. The helmet wouldn't be entirely right, but mix in some of Red Bean's other new helmets in bronze coloring and it would look pretty good.JPinoy wrote:The Bronze Age is nice and all... How about some Iron Age greeks? You know, the Alexandrian ones with the 20 ft long Sarissas and slightly smaller Hoplons. You'd have to change their name from Hoplite to Phalangite though....
Redwine the Ribald: Stare long enough into the abyss...
Two-Tonic Tippler: ...and you spit into it.
[img]http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/corsair/C ... ippler.jpg[/img]
Two-Tonic Tippler: ...and you spit into it.
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- The Blue Knight
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- JPinoy
- Knight Bannerett
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I think they're called Boat studs. Im dunno, I find the 2x2 radars to be cheaper for shield purposes. I wish Lego made the round shields again, this time, flat without the ridges. So far all 30 of my round shields are owned by the Norse.The 2x2 radar dish or convex boat-bottom slider piece (dang, what name does that have?)
I know, but the Phalangites look much cooler in battle formation. A walking wall and forest of pikes. Anyhow, I make the Sarissas by using the the brown spear + lt gray or black technic pin + brown 4L lightsabre/bar. So far I have 6 fully armed and armored Mycenaean Phalangites. I know Mycenae is bronze age, but my Ancients theme was never meant to be 100% historically accurate. Otherwise the Kahilawayan Empire and Atlantis wouldn't be there.Hoplites and phalangites existed simultaneously within the iron age. The 2x2 radar dish or convex boat-bottom slider piece (dang, what name does that have?) would both work as the shield, and making a pike is annoying but not difficult. The helmet wouldn't be entirely right, but mix in some of Red Bean's other new helmets in bronze coloring and it would look pretty good.
Here's how I've set up my Hellas (greeks)... they're split into 2 subfactions, Mycenae and Thrace.
Thracians:
- Hoplite
- Hypaspist
- Peltast
- Hippikon
Mycenae:
- Phalangite
- Myrmidon
- Toxotes
- Heratoi
Both uses the Helepolis as their siege weapon.
Peoples_General, master of the vast LEGO armies!
[url]http://www.bricklink.com/aboutMe.asp?u=Peoples_General[/url]
Behold! The mighty armies of my ORIGIN theme!
[url]http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.c ... lesGeneral[/url]
[url]http://www.bricklink.com/aboutMe.asp?u=Peoples_General[/url]
Behold! The mighty armies of my ORIGIN theme!
[url]http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.c ... lesGeneral[/url]
Hi, thanks for everyone for their kind comments.
The thong issue is coming up all over the place now. Emails, fbtb, my forum, etc. Originally I didn't mind the look of it that much (in fact, looking at those pottery figures, I actually thought thong was the authentic look), but now I guess I am going to update my designs a bit to include some sorts of a 'skirt' for them. I did make a bunch of shield stickers already but the problem is with the general curve of my shield, which not even water-slide decals will 'sit on' comfortably. Me and Kaminoan and Armothe are right now all working n some sorts of special templates for it on the MCN, once we succeed, I'll upload my shield designs onto my website as well.
To JPinoy and TTK, got any pics to share of those phalangites or Sarissas? I'm not going to sculpt anything new soon but it'll be cool to see the difference nonetheless
Once again, thanks for all the comments.
R. B.
The thong issue is coming up all over the place now. Emails, fbtb, my forum, etc. Originally I didn't mind the look of it that much (in fact, looking at those pottery figures, I actually thought thong was the authentic look), but now I guess I am going to update my designs a bit to include some sorts of a 'skirt' for them. I did make a bunch of shield stickers already but the problem is with the general curve of my shield, which not even water-slide decals will 'sit on' comfortably. Me and Kaminoan and Armothe are right now all working n some sorts of special templates for it on the MCN, once we succeed, I'll upload my shield designs onto my website as well.
To JPinoy and TTK, got any pics to share of those phalangites or Sarissas? I'm not going to sculpt anything new soon but it'll be cool to see the difference nonetheless
Once again, thanks for all the comments.
R. B.
- TwoTonic Knight
- TwoTonic of Many Colors
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- Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2003 11:33 pm
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I was curious about this. I figured the only approach would be to do the design only and if the shield itself needed to have a color other than bronze, it would have to be painted. The Spartan example of a hoplite I have on a previous message, you could just do the lambda and paint the shield white. Cut the decal to the minimum and maybe slit it up the middle a bit. It's either that or paint everything by hand. (it's kinda tedious to explain why Spartans used lambda and not a sigma, but if someone really has to know, google under lakedaemonia)Red Bean wrote:Hi, thanks for everyone for their kind comments.
The thong issue is coming up all over the place now. Emails, fbtb, my forum, etc. Originally I didn't mind the look of it that much (in fact, looking at those pottery figures, I actually thought thong was the authentic look), but now I guess I am going to update my designs a bit to include some sorts of a 'skirt' for them. I did make a bunch of shield stickers already but the problem is with the general curve of my shield, which not even water-slide decals will 'sit on' comfortably. Me and Kaminoan and Armothe are right now all working n some sorts of special templates for it on the MCN, once we succeed, I'll upload my shield designs onto my website as well.
Sarissas actually work in LEGO, since current evidence is that Macedonian pikes were two parts connected by a metal sleeve. JP gave his as a spear/technic pin/wand, which works quite well. To get mine longer, I use a spear/technic pin/umbrella stand. The umbrella stop on the latter works as a visual buttspike.To JPinoy and TTK, got any pics to share of those phalangites or Sarissas? I'm not going to sculpt anything new soon but it'll be cool to see the difference nonetheless
I don't have them set up as phalangites, but...
This is with light-sabre handles, but I have technic pins now. Anyway, works as sarissas.
I do have an attic helmet suitable for Macedonians, but no pictures - no hair dryer to harden the Sculpy. The sun didn't work, and I don't want to melt the bullet helm it is built on.
Redwine the Ribald: Stare long enough into the abyss...
Two-Tonic Tippler: ...and you spit into it.
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Two-Tonic Tippler: ...and you spit into it.
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- TwoTonic Knight
- TwoTonic of Many Colors
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A Review
For many months now we have been teased with items that "Red Bean" (Isaac Yue's nom de guerre) has been designing but not putting into production, and when the announcements that virtually everything he had done was going to, at long last, go into production, it was quite a thrill.
The Hoplite panoply comes in four parts: helmet, crest, shield, and spear at $3.50 for the complete set in either Bronze or Dark Gray. The "javelin" (as it is identified, though in fact it is a spear) is available seperately in Light Gray, Brown, or White for $1 (no, I have no clue as to how well Light Gray matches New or Old LEGO Gray). The shield can also be bought separately in those colors plus "dark orange" (terra cotta), also for $1, though the last color is a cut-rate 50 cents. If you want the helmet and/or dark gray or bronze, you have to get the complete set.
Shield: This is a large round shield with a convex surface and central grip similar to the one used in a LEGO oval shield. The shield does not have the rim common to many Greek hoplon (or more accurately, aspis) shields, but works as is, and is an appropriate size. Some swirl marks in the bronze color were evident on all eight shields that I received - it is a pitfall of casting metallic colors. Only the bronze shields suffered from this; all other parts, including bronze helmets, weapons, and armor and normal colored shields did not. The chief drawback to these shields will be the convex surface. Stickers and decals will be more difficult (see Red Bean's site for discussions on these) if they try and cover a large area of the shield. Decals that only use a central design (quite appropriate for Hoplite shields) will work the best. Or hand painting.
Spear: My first thought is why bother with the spear, since it only ups the price and the standard LEGO spear is quite adequate, if plain. I was wrong - the spear is simply glorious. It has a beautifully shaped head with central rib and socket. The other end has a proper buttspike. It's just a tick longer than the LEGO spear. It really does compliment the set very nicely, and more importantly, fits a minifig hand quite snugly and firmly. The only drawback is that you can't fit a LEGO pennant over the buttspike without slitting the pennant.
Helmet: The helmet comes in two parts. The helmet itself is a very recognizable Corinthian variation. I am very pleased with the way this turned out since it is the most important part of the gear that defines the set as "hoplite". The anatomy of the LEGO minifig face pushes the design on the helmet a little, since the eyes really need to be further out and up to truly fit the helmet properly, but they pass muster (I might cut up one of the decals that Red sent me along with the parts and custom match the eyes). The second part is the horsehair crest. It plugs into the helmet very securely. It's only drawback is that it only comes in the "dark orange" (terra cotta) color. If you want a different color, you'll have to paint it. The advantage is that it is easier to paint with the seperate crest, though I would have prefered to see it come in white. Unfortunately, the crest is not available separately - I can see potential in it by cutting off the peg and glueing the back half of it to the crest on the "Battle Armor" helmet offered by Red.
Decal: I love doing shield stickers, but I have been less enthusiastic about torso stickers. Idunno - they just seem to stick out more as something that has been tacked on. Not Red's hoplite decals. These look like they have been printed directly on the figure. Further, they have a "match" metallic bronze color that really shines. They cost an extra 80 cents but are well worth it if you can't print decals yourself. There are two available, a scale and solid corselate version. The only drawback here is that the figure needs a leg decal for the lower tunic/pteruges (see Amorthe's gorgeous linothorax armor with lower pteruges on Red Bean's site). Faces are included - I would have liked to see the eyes placed a little higher and wider specifically for this helmet (see helmet commets above), and it was common for greeks to have neatly trimed beards, so I just grabbed a KK1 head and worked rather well.
Bottom Line: The fit and finish of these parts are all magnificent. Everything fit securely without any wobble. When you consider the cost of euro-armor and a nice helmet and round shield on BrickLink, the $3.50 price is extremely reasonable. From the time I sent in my PayPal order until delivery was only one week from Hong Kong. Highly recommended.
For many months now we have been teased with items that "Red Bean" (Isaac Yue's nom de guerre) has been designing but not putting into production, and when the announcements that virtually everything he had done was going to, at long last, go into production, it was quite a thrill.
The Hoplite panoply comes in four parts: helmet, crest, shield, and spear at $3.50 for the complete set in either Bronze or Dark Gray. The "javelin" (as it is identified, though in fact it is a spear) is available seperately in Light Gray, Brown, or White for $1 (no, I have no clue as to how well Light Gray matches New or Old LEGO Gray). The shield can also be bought separately in those colors plus "dark orange" (terra cotta), also for $1, though the last color is a cut-rate 50 cents. If you want the helmet and/or dark gray or bronze, you have to get the complete set.
Shield: This is a large round shield with a convex surface and central grip similar to the one used in a LEGO oval shield. The shield does not have the rim common to many Greek hoplon (or more accurately, aspis) shields, but works as is, and is an appropriate size. Some swirl marks in the bronze color were evident on all eight shields that I received - it is a pitfall of casting metallic colors. Only the bronze shields suffered from this; all other parts, including bronze helmets, weapons, and armor and normal colored shields did not. The chief drawback to these shields will be the convex surface. Stickers and decals will be more difficult (see Red Bean's site for discussions on these) if they try and cover a large area of the shield. Decals that only use a central design (quite appropriate for Hoplite shields) will work the best. Or hand painting.
Spear: My first thought is why bother with the spear, since it only ups the price and the standard LEGO spear is quite adequate, if plain. I was wrong - the spear is simply glorious. It has a beautifully shaped head with central rib and socket. The other end has a proper buttspike. It's just a tick longer than the LEGO spear. It really does compliment the set very nicely, and more importantly, fits a minifig hand quite snugly and firmly. The only drawback is that you can't fit a LEGO pennant over the buttspike without slitting the pennant.
Helmet: The helmet comes in two parts. The helmet itself is a very recognizable Corinthian variation. I am very pleased with the way this turned out since it is the most important part of the gear that defines the set as "hoplite". The anatomy of the LEGO minifig face pushes the design on the helmet a little, since the eyes really need to be further out and up to truly fit the helmet properly, but they pass muster (I might cut up one of the decals that Red sent me along with the parts and custom match the eyes). The second part is the horsehair crest. It plugs into the helmet very securely. It's only drawback is that it only comes in the "dark orange" (terra cotta) color. If you want a different color, you'll have to paint it. The advantage is that it is easier to paint with the seperate crest, though I would have prefered to see it come in white. Unfortunately, the crest is not available separately - I can see potential in it by cutting off the peg and glueing the back half of it to the crest on the "Battle Armor" helmet offered by Red.
Decal: I love doing shield stickers, but I have been less enthusiastic about torso stickers. Idunno - they just seem to stick out more as something that has been tacked on. Not Red's hoplite decals. These look like they have been printed directly on the figure. Further, they have a "match" metallic bronze color that really shines. They cost an extra 80 cents but are well worth it if you can't print decals yourself. There are two available, a scale and solid corselate version. The only drawback here is that the figure needs a leg decal for the lower tunic/pteruges (see Amorthe's gorgeous linothorax armor with lower pteruges on Red Bean's site). Faces are included - I would have liked to see the eyes placed a little higher and wider specifically for this helmet (see helmet commets above), and it was common for greeks to have neatly trimed beards, so I just grabbed a KK1 head and worked rather well.
Bottom Line: The fit and finish of these parts are all magnificent. Everything fit securely without any wobble. When you consider the cost of euro-armor and a nice helmet and round shield on BrickLink, the $3.50 price is extremely reasonable. From the time I sent in my PayPal order until delivery was only one week from Hong Kong. Highly recommended.
Redwine the Ribald: Stare long enough into the abyss...
Two-Tonic Tippler: ...and you spit into it.
[img]http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/corsair/C ... ippler.jpg[/img]
Two-Tonic Tippler: ...and you spit into it.
[img]http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/corsair/C ... ippler.jpg[/img]