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.
Which is both amusing and disturbing at the same time.
