Immortal Miniatures 28mm Greek Hoplites

I've been working on this commission for months now, as the miniatures were provided already assmebled, and in many cases already mounted on multi-bases.  This made the task of tidying up (trimming sprue leftovers, scraping mould lines) more difficult, and led to some serious head-scratching when it came to painting!

For about half the troops, I went with what I think of as 'vase colours' - red, black, white, and a hint of golden yellow.  I wanted to evoke the painted vases I've seen in various museums.

For the armour and weapons, it was bronze all the way.  A simple four-step process (black undercoat, bronze, gold/bronze mix highlight, then sepia ink), with the highlight kept fairly muted, so as not to overpower the eye.  Recently-minted pennies was the effect I was going for.  Most of the tunics were off-white, and most of the linen cuirasses too.  Where a hoplite had a white-painted shield, and white armour, I tried to give him a red or black crest, to tie him to his comrades.  Similarly, red shields with white armour, black shields with white tunics etc. all helped to make them look like they belonged together.

Booty-shot of the same trio.  They all got a tanned flesh tone, and dark brown or black hair.  No eyes on these models.  For the most part, the helmets are fairly closed anyway - and the 'natural' proportions of the Immortal Miniatures sculpts meant that my eye technique made them look a bit goggly.

The shield transfers came with the kits, and are superb.  The range of designs is huge, and with a bit of judicious slicing, they bend round the curved surface of the shield without too many creases or problems.

Another angle on the second trio.  I did a few red or black tunics, and some of the crests are striped red / white or black / white too.  All the leatherwork is red-brown (as with most of what I do), and the bases are nothing out of the ordinary either - kit-supplied plastic ones, with clay / sand / glue / patches of green flock and black edging.  The whole commission is 138 miniatures, so look out for more posts this week, showing the other two main colour themes (Mermydons in black, and some nautically-themed chaps in blue and white).