Foundry Miniatures Painting And Modelling Guide

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Our Factory Shop in the village of East Stoke near Newark, Nottinghamshire is open for visitors 9am to 4pm on weekdays. If you would like to visit at any other time please ring us up and we’ll open for you if we can. Early and Late Periods: The Hoplite era began around 700BC and continued relatively unchanged for 250 years (when the `early' period is mentioned it refers to this time-span), from the mid 5th Century onwards there were changes in the composition of the armies and innovations in the tactics employed (this is referred to as the `later' period). As can be seen the Spartiates were an elite component of the Spartan army but they were only the core, direct client cities that provided troops were also expected to have a high level of training. Although this did not match the standard of the Spartans it was still considerably better than most of their opponents. In addition small cities would be expected to supply contingents of Hoplites who would have only the most basic of training. As has been mentioned above the Hoplite was the mainstay of Greek armies at this time however there were differences between the city states that make for interesting variations in collections. It has been estimated that at the time of the Persian invasions in 480BC there were 100,000 Hoplites in mainland Greece, however the numbers that could actually be raised at any one time from any single city varied enormously. Major states could field a maximum of 10,000 men while the smallest might only have 100 available.

Hoplite Weapons: Throughout the period of Hoplite supremacy his main weapon was the long spear, around 9' long this had a butt spike for balance (or a secondary weapon) and was bound with cord at the centre of balance (easily rendered on models with paint or thin wire). This is most often depicted as being used over-arm in a stabbing motion but could be thrust into the ground to receive cavalry charges. The Peloponnesian Wars: After 479BC the Athenians began to expand their influence to encompass their former allies, who they dominated as vassals, and to the Aegean states, whose sea power was added to the already formidable Athenian navy. The First Peloponnesian War ran from 460-445BC and started with Athens at war with Corinth. Sparta mobilised her forces and defeated the Athenians at Tanagra (457BC) near Thebes. Later that year the Spartans seem to have left the Corinthians and Thebans to fight alone, and Athens took revenge at the battle of Oenophyta. After this success Athens suffered many minor reversals and a stalemate developed, with Athens controlling the seas and Sparta the land. In 445 the Athenian leader Pericles bartered what was to become known as the Thirty Years' Peace and the conflict ended. Our miniatures are all hand cast in white metal in the United Kingdom and are supplied unpainted. Wire pin spears with already flattened and shaped heads are supplied free of charge with all the models that need them. Athens: The Athenian city state relied on it's naval power for it's ascendancy in mainland Greece but also fielded an army second only to Sparta. A tribal system was used whereby each of the 10 tribes provided a contingent (called a taxis), these would not be regimented or equal in size and there could be dissent between the tribal commanders (called taxiarchs). The maximum number of Hoplites fielded seems to have been 10,000; in addition skirmishers and cavalry would accompany them but not exceed 15% of the Hoplite total. The Spartan regiments (called Lochos or Meros) were recruited only from free Spartan citizens (the Spartiates) and were 600 to 700 strong. The number of Meros would vary as to the number of Spartiates available for service but a number between 4 and 7 seems common (less as time went on). These Hoplites were drilled to march and countermarch so were far more manoeuvrable on the battlefield than other states. Their reputation was well founded as a Spartan Meros was not beaten in battle until 425BC on the island of Pylos when they were besieged on broken ground and worn down by Athenian light troops.Hoplite shield blazons: One thing that makes a Hoplite Greek collection so special is the colourful and varied shield designs. These were painted on (although rare examples have inlaid precious metals) over the leather or metal face of the shield. The style and content of the blazons changed during the time covered by the hoplite era and it can be divided, very generally, into three phases. The Hoplite's Defences: The basic equipment of the Greek soldier changed little during this period although fashions in detail (e.g. helmet styles) came and went. The most immediately visible piece of kit was the shield known to the Greeks as the aspis (occasionally hoplon). It was around 1 metre in diameter with a flat rim and convex face. The shield was constructed of wood covered with cured leather; the rim was covered in bronze sheet as, usually, was the face. Behind the face was a bronze loop for the forearm and a cord handgrip. Around the inner rim was a knotted cord used for slinging the shield when not in use. [A separate section on shield blazons is included below] There's a huge variety of historical and fantasy miniatures from the collections of Bryan Ansell and Foundry on display. During the early period Hoplites are shown carrying and throwing javelins in addition to the long spear. This practice may have died out as the phalanx became the primary formation and required individuals to be much closer together not allowing a run-up to cast a missile.

Unusual Hoplite armies: During this period the use of a "combined force" where all the different troops in some way supported the others in the army was in it's infancy. Two instances stand out, one was the overseas expedition of the Spartan King Agesilaus II and the other the rise of the Syracusan's on Sicily. The Syracusan citizens provided a trained but not particularly aggresive Hoplite force, which was bolstered (and sometimes outnumbered) by mercenary Hoplites of better quality. Some Syracusan rules recruited the best Hoplites into a superbly equipped and trained bodyguard, equal to the Spartans, but these were few in number. They had the usual Peltasts, javelinmen, archers and slingers from the Greek populace, supported in addition by fierce mountain-men from Liguria and the Sicilian interior. Alongside these could be found Spaniards, Campanians, Samnites and Tarentines. To this colourful host can be added a few of the fearsome Gallic warriors described in the article about Continental Celts. If you enjoy collecting many different troops for an army this is an excellent place to start. But it becomes yet more diverse...It is interesting to note that this panoply has been deduced to have cost the equivalent of a modern-day family car, the individual paid for it not the city-state so this was not for the poor but the professional classes. Spartan armies in this period do not seem to have used cavalry to any noticeable degree and seldom employed mercenaries, the light troops would be in similar proportions to the Hoplites as other armies but they did on occasion arm their slaves (Helots) to protect the camp and baggage although their military skills must have been extremely low. Before 700BC Greek warfare had been similar to that in the rest of the East, nobles in chariots fighting heroic duels while the lesser followers made up the numbers and fought amongst themselves. The infantry contingents became more solid as time went on until it was they, not the mounted arm, that ruled the battlefields. This formation became known as the phalanx and would be the premier fighting style in the eastern Mediterranean for 400 years. As time went on and Hoplites met different peoples with varied fighting styles they adapted tactics to include an increased skirmishing arm until the heyday of the Hoplite was eclipsed first by the light troops that supported them and finally the pikes of the Makedon . Side arms in the form of swords and long knives were carried, the latter particularly by Spartans. The sword stayed much less used than the spear but did undergo some development, the hoplite could choose from the cut-and-thrust straight version or a single-edged type called the kopis used in a downward slashing motion. Large forces would be made up from a core of Hoplites from the dominant state with their allied and client cities sending contingents. A good example of this is also the largest purely Greek army raised to fight the Persian Invasion at the Battle of Platea in 479BC. The force comprised 40,000 troops almost all hoplites drawn from 23 states with Sparta as the dominant partner followed by Athens.

Although the armies described above remained based upon the Hoplite the percentage of supporting troops increased from around 10% to 15%. This was mainly due to a developing cavalry arm, several states recruited more citizen cavalry and the Thessalian, Theban, Sicilian and Italian Greeks especially improved the training. Athens even experimented with mounted archers for a time. Thracian tribal foot were employed as mercenaries to augment the numbers of Peltasts, Sparta and Athens also hired Thracian cavalry. After 400BC Peltasts began to use the heavier defensive and offensive equipment noted above and take more of a part in the main battle. The use of mixed cavalry and javelin skirmishers became more widespread especially by Athens, Thebes, Thessaly and Sparta. Later developments: From around 450BC the sphere of Greek influence began to shift away from the Hellenic mainland towards the East and their opponents there required a shift in Hoplite tactics. Many of their enemies lived in areas where there was much broken ground, woods, mountains etc so the increase in skirmishing troops numbers and quality was noticeable. This was also the time of the great mercenary companies who performed incredible feats of martial skill and personal endurance as they fought for control of Empires and Kingdoms. We manufacture the world’s largest range of 28mm white metal miniatures for gamers, collectors, modellers and painters. We also have a comprehensive range of 350 different paints. The bronze helmet, with or without a crest of dyed horsehair, was another ubiquitous feature. This changed shape and style from a type that completely enclosing the wearer's head and face in the early period to the lighter pilos helmet that only covered down to the ears. Cheek pieces could be integral and solid or hinged to allow more comfort. Bronze greaves were worn to protect the lower legs and were designed to "clip-on" utilising the natural spring of bronze sheet to hold them in place. They could be richly decorated and moulded but most Hoplites made do with a plain pair moulded to represent the musculature of the leg. In the early period thigh and upper arm armour of a similar type were sometimes worn but soon fell out of use probably because they restricted movement in combat.Greeks overseas: There were four main areas of Greek expansion from the mainland, the Ionians on the Asiatic coast were the same as the mainland but other armies differed slightly from the norm. In Sicily and Italy Greek trading centres were protected by citizen Hoplites who seem to have been less enthusiastic than those on the mainland, this could be reproduced by giving them a lower combat factor in gaming terms. They also started the trend for employing Tarentine mercenary horse. Acharnania, Aitolia and Phokia: These lesser states differed from the richer ones by employing massed javelinmen, citizens in full Hoplite equipment were much rarer and were often accompanied by equal numbers of skirmishers. Their cavalry contingents could be larger as well as they allied themselves with the Thessalians who could provide excellent skirmishers. From 414BC Sparta began an almost decade-long siege of Athens but the Allies now attempted to challenge Athenian sea power. Persia also became involved offering funds in return for Athenian lands in Asia, the money never materialised and the Spartan fleet had to face a revitalised Athenian force. In several battles the new Athenian fleet proved itself again and again. The resurgent Athenians then won an overwhelming victory against a combined Peleponnesian fleet and Persian army in the Sea of Marmora. Sparta sued for peace but this was rejected. You can pay any way you like! We accept cash, credit cards of any nationality, and cheques (either pounds sterling or American dollar cheques). You can write, phone or fax, we are happy to talk on the phone, call for the latest information on new releases."