First and foremost YES I am well aware that the shields (Hoplites) are upside down BUT as they are my warriors I prefer the shields the other way up, or is that just my way of making a mistake ok in my brain hahahahaha. ?
Second, there will be LOTS of pictures in this post.
Third, this will be my last post for the year. What with Christmas tomorrow and then the new year etc. It’s been a good and bad year for me. We had something really tragic happen at the start of the year which effects me to this day and will always be with me. However it made me re-evaluate life and take a chance and start my own business which, so far, has been going really well. I also reformed a band with my best mates which has been a lot of fun. We might be old but we still rock out with our wangs out… Ummm not literally of course, well sometimes maybe haha.
Fourth, I’ve drank half a bottle of Port thus far so excuse the mistakes in the text if it happens.
I saw the movie 300 when it was released with my three best mates and my Dad and we were all blown away!!
I’ve always been a fan of sword and sandal movies and stories, eg. Spartacus, Ben Hur, The Vikings, The Iron horse, Gladiator etc etc. Especially the ones based on true events or people.
300 was awesome. Yes it was very styalised but this made it even cooler. Yes the soundtrack had metal in it but this, again, just made it even cooler. Needless to say it was, very much, my cup of tea with plenty of sugar, blood and gore… eeewwlll no blood and gore in my tea please.
A little while ago I joined Instagram which, at first, didn’t really grab me until I started seeing it as, yet another, source of inspiration. While trapsing throught the endless pictures, some good and some not so good, I found a conversion that blew my mind. Sorry, I can’t actually recall who it was that posted it. It was a Kairic Acolyte Made into a Spartan Warrior.
For those of you that don’t know what a Kairic Acolyte is, it’s one of these.
For me they are kind of boring and fluffy and magical. Blerrr. Their curvy, poncy swords are enough to make even the gentlest of elven folk puke.
The picture on Instagram used the Kairic bodies and the heads/helmets of marauders with the plumes from the Fyreslayers. One of these.
I was amazed and knew I had to make something similar. I’d love to of been the original on this but credit where credit is due I say… Even though I don’t know who the person was haha.
Anyway, I kinda, sorta cheated and bought some heads and shields from Scibor. The weapons are an assortment of bits and bobs from various sets. I did want to keep it all uniformed but then liked the idea of a little customisation. I also got some heads from Spellcrow (Helmet-less heads) just for some more variance. I was thinking about the last third of the movie 300 where the group is looking a little more rag tag.
Interesting facts:
1. The Battle of Marathon was fought a decade before the battle of Thermopylae (300 setting). In the battle of Marathon the Tyrant, come General, Miltiades first employed the tactics seen in the movie 300. He had a lot less men than his enemy, the Persians, but caused a lot more damage while only sustaining about 200 KIA’s. Interesrting then that a movie was not made about the battle of Marathon?
2. General Miltiades sent a runner/messenger to Athens to inform the Athenians of the great win over the Persians. The poor runner ran, non-stop, 26 miles, cried NIKE (Which means Victory) and then died. That’s why, today, the Marathon at the Olympics is 26 miles long.
3. You can’t roller skate in a Buffalo Herd.
I absolutely, thoroughly enjoyed this little mini project. I started it on Friday and finished it today. Not bad. It’s not perfect but I’m really happy with the finished result.
So here are my 15 warriros. Each man is as good as and worth twenty men hehe.
- General Miltiades – (I like the dude from History, even though he was a Tyrant. He kicked arse at Marathon. Yes he’s not a Spartan but, again, it’s my model so I’ll do what I want.)
His arm is actually in three pieces from three different arms. Four if you include the sword. He’s the only left handed bloke in the team. He’s also the only one with a gold bladed sword. He’s missing his dagger too but still has the sheath… which… can… be… lethal… in the wrong hands.
The arm joins are a bit rough but passable.
2. Captain Antolios – Second in Command. Note the arrow in his chest that seems to be no bother at all. THIS IS SPARTA!!!
3. Lycurgus – Champion.
The sword arm is from a Bretonnian Knight. Works well for a Champion I reckon.
4. Theocritus.
I didn’t go too crazy with blood spatters. I’m really trying to go with the theory of “Less is More” which is difficult for someone like me who is a big fan of blood and gore haha.
His sword hand went a bit craggly for some reason.
5. Zenon– The Wild Man of Euboea.
6. Stephanos.
As well know, if you’ve seen the movie 300 or done your homework, a Spartans prefered weapon is his spear or “Dory.” No jokes about finding it please hahaha, well go on then. Therefore I had to have some of the warriors wielding Dory’s. Apart from this bloke all the others are holing their Dory further down the length to suggest they thrust it as opposed to throw it.
7. Delios.
8. Heliodoros. (He looks a bit like He-Man).
9. Leon. (Brother of Heliodoros). He’s one of my faves.
10. Solon. Despite the fact that the Dory is the prefered weapon, most of my dudes have swords. They just look cooler haha.
The blood spatter is just right on the shield.
Really happy with the pose and he’s another favourite.
11. Herodotus.
I like the damage on his shield. He has an air of arrogance about him too. Must be the size of his nipples I’d say.
12. Galenos. Another favourite.
13. Argus.
More of a thrusting motion pose.
14. Demetrius. ANOTHER FAVE haha. Note the scar across the helmet.
15. Selecus. YES another Favourite!!!!
I love these models and I can feel in my heart that i may make more. We’ll have to see in 2018.
I’m not going to do a “Look back” through 2017 post. All I’ll say is that I’ve really enjoyed my hobby and blogging this year. It’s been a bit of a saviour for me.
I can’t thank you all enough for following, commenting, liking, advising and generally conersing with me. I really have grown to love this little place on the web. I look forward to reading your posts just as much as I enjoy seeing what you all think of mine.
Have a safe and happy christmas and a bloody fantastic 2018.
Cheers.
IRO
I’ll leave you with some group shots and action shots of the “15” in action against some Skellies and a few Nurgle creepies.
Enjoy.
Impressive work ! Congratulations !
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Thank you kind sir
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Beautiful work IRO, have a great Christmas!
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Thanks man and you too
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Wowee so good man, damn inspiring your hobby stuff hey. The Spartans are so cool and you’ve captured them perfectly, amazing what you can do with a bit of imagination and creativity, nice job man, have a happy Xmas and a happy new year, look forward to more stuff from you in 2018
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Cheers man. I’m glad you like what I do. Have a good Christmas
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Nice work as always IRO. Not my place to comment on whatever happened in 2017 man but life and family go on so chin up dude. Enjoy the port, Christmas and New Year. It’s neen a pleasure. Respect. TIM
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Thank you Tim. Onwards and upwards innit 😉
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A lesson in modelling- excellent. I do hope those six packs will survive Christmas! Spartan Christmases couldn’t have been much fun I guess! 😀
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Haha nope all water and whippings I’m afraid
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As usual, brilliant stuff!
Enjoy your Christmas and all the best for 2018!
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Thank you varnish. All the best to you too squire
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That is a great mini project- like the film in 28mm.
Have a great Christmas too.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Impressive, most impressive!
This is Sparta!!!
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Thanks man. I think so too haha.
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I love port and am toasting your health right now with my LBV. Keep up the awesome posts in 2018. Superb mini project.
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Oh lovely. I was sipping a twelve year old Tawny. I have another bottle for today hehe. Merry Christmas
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Great work through the year, looking forward to following your stuff in 2018 as well. Also, you with your little projects – that’s literally more minis than I painted this whole year 😀
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Thanks man and ditto. Oh really? I always think I don’t have much output in the way if painted minis
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Really enjoyed the historical facts along with the characters. Here’s to hoping 2018 is a better year for everyone! *Pretends she drinks port and toasts everyone*
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You don’t drink port? Sorry, I didn’t realise you resided in a lunatic asylum. Hehe.
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Lol. No I’m a girly drinker. Margaritas are both my best and worst friends. D:
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I like the frozen version and I’m not referring to Disney
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Very nice mate, these look superb! Looking forward to seeing what madness you bring in 2018 🙂
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Thanks man. I can’t stop looking at them, in real life I mean. I even showed them to my 14 year old, in between her taking selfies with a puppy nose superimposed on her face. She was impressed which is always a hard thing for me to achieve with her haha.
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Nicely done! 🙂 I like the tidbits of history, too.
I love the arrow in the chest Captain Antolios is rocking. I can imagine him passing it off like the Black Knight from Monty Python as “just a flesh wound”. 😛
I’m a fan of the blood and gore, too, but I can see why you went with the “less is more” method for these guys. The splattering on the helm and shield for Stephanos and Selecus, and also the shield of Solon are especially nice in my opinion. 🙂
Also, nice attention to detail on the way they hold the Dory for throwing vs. thrusting it.
I had a good chuckle about the explanation of a man’s air of arrogance being due to the size of his nipples. 😛
Loving the action shots! They’re great. The fighting skellies makes me nostalgic for that old Jason and the Argonauts movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfedvthepRs
I’m sorry this year started off so difficult and tragic for you. 😥 I genuinely hope this coming year will be an amazing one for you and your family! ❤
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Aww thank you for the comment. I LOVE Jason and the Argonauts. Sorry to be Ageist but I’m really surprised you know that movie. I know you’re a bit of a movie buff but that one is a little obscure. Even my mates don’t know that movie. I actually thought of “flesh wound” when I wrote up the post but I think I may have used it in a previous post. 2018 will be a great year. Don’t get me wrong ’17 had lots of good things in it but it was over shadowed by something at the start. Thanks again for the comment, loved it.
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You’re very welcome! 😀 Haha yeah, I used to watch that and the old Clash of the Titans movie with my dad when I was little. It’s been so long that I mainly just remember the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts and the mechanical owl from Clash of the Titans. Those things were apparently what left the biggest impact on my little child brain. 😛
Maybe it’s time for a re-watch soon since it’s been so long. 🙂
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These guys have come up really well I’m very impressed
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Cheers Az man. Your like/dislike/input is always very much appreciated. I must admit I’m quite impressed with the result myself. Especially because it was a quick turn over project. I didn’t rush it at all just got stuck in. Thoroughly enjoyed this project and because of that I’m seriously considering doing more. Not sure if it’ll be more Spartans or what yet. Maybe Romans or Gladiators.
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Yeah, the last couple of years aside from big projects I’ve tried to knock over a unit or two of other figures in a short time – tends to be a good time to be able to knuckle down and smash something out. I think it was Dwarves last year and Spartans(!) the year before. I’d have liked to do either Romans or WWII Soviets this year, but given how things have turned out I might settle for finishing a couple of older units that never got completed (like the Deathwatch) and see if I can get the Decembuary stuff done. If I can.
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Don’t put any unnecessary pressure on yourself man. Just do what you can when you can. Painting our miniature friends definitely helped me get through something tough at the start of ’17
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Oops pressed send by accident! Anyway they look really great and they are certainly an effective set of conversions and even better painted! The only thing that bugs my OCD is the shields being upside down – but as you said, they are your figures after all. 😉
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Haha I suspected they might. When I realised I was mortified BUT I don’t want to risk removing them and damaging the paint or the bits. Generally I’m happy and others don’t seem to mind so I’ll leave it but lesson learned. “When doing historical minis, do my homework BEFORE building and painting”. I’m hoping to get going with my bolt action project this year so I’ll be sure to heed my own advice hehe
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Yeah, that kind of fix/mod is definitely delicate surgery, and you never avoid some damage and need for touch-up. That actually reminds me – I have some vikings who are literally just waiting on their shields in order to be completed…
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I don’t do delicate very well at the best of times. Plus the Scibor gear seems to be quite brittle. Are there other companies out there with the same plastic quality as GW?
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Love your Vikings mate. I think they might be my favourites of yours. Can you send me the link to your Spartans?
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Here they are mate – those posts were still Photophucked but I fixed them up now.
https://azazelx.com/category/spartans/
The figures are the old Immortal Miniatures plastics that Warlord bought up, so they don’t compare on an individual level to GW’s ones, but they scrub up well for a unit or group.
Scibor’s stuff is resin, so it’s much more brittle and fragile. Most companies that do HIPS (generally) have the same quality plastic for their models – so it’s just a matter of finding out which materials the figures you’re after are made from – Warlord do both metal and plastic, with resin/metal and plastic for their vehicles. Mantic have stuff in HIPS, metal, “Restic” PVC and of course, hybrid kits. If there’s anything specific you’re looking at, I’m happy to let you know if I’m aware of the material. Warlord’s stuff is generally well flagged on their website if you’re looking at Bolt Action.
If you’re after some very cool ancient-style “historical” (and fantasy) figures with a real GW-style aesthetic, (and don’t mind some old-school ‘eavy Metal), then Chris Fitzpatrick’s Crocodile Games is a great place to look at.
https://www.crocodilegames.com/index.cfm
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Thanks mate. I was just curious really. Talk about coincidence, I was looking st Crocodile Games last night as it happens. I’m off to look at your Spartans!!
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The various Greeks, specifically are here:
https://www.crocodilegames.com/store/itemList.cfm?catID=18&sort=prodID
They ain’t cheap, though!
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Very dynamic indeed! Would work great on “Of GOds and Mortals” by Osprey for example.
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Thanks man
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Great stuff, mate; good to see there is actually a use for those crappy Tzeentch cultists, you have actually made them desirable models! Good luck for 2018.
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Haha cheers man. Yeah, I really thought they were crap. The swords, especially, are so silly. Long, overly, curly crap.
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Really nice work, especially the flesh tones. You might already know this, but The 300 was based off the comic by Frank Miller. I believe he used the tale of The 300, because it a lesser known story and one he thought needed to be told. I love the history bits you included, always great to hear the story behind the story.
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Thanks Faust. Yeah the Frank Miller style is very cool. After I’d taken the photos I was going to try and find an effect or filter that was similar to that of the movie. In the end I wanted to capture their true colours more. I really enjoy history and research so it was a big part of the fun on this little project. I’m glad you like what I’ve done. It’s one of my personal favourite projects to date.
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They are great. I think your decision to use true colors was the best choice. It’s always fun to take on (and complete) a project that you enjoy. 🙂
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