Sunday, December 2, 2012

28mm Thorakites Command - Relic Miniatures

Having been absent from this particular genre for a little while, it is really good to be painting some 28mm ancients again. This set is Relic's Thorakites Command, my first foray in to Successor armies.

The Thorakites themselves are interesting subjects. As a troop-type, they are a fairly late development in the Macedonian/Successor style of warfare, a late evolution of the supporting troops that the iconic phalanxes relied on to guard their flanks, protect them from enemy skirmishers and whittle down the enemy ranks with javelins (when I start in on the rest of the unit the soldiers will carry both spears and javelins, to show their versatility).

They were well-off men, as their equipment was expensive, and between the cost and their late arrival on the scene, they were not employed in very large numbers. From what I hear only the Seleucids ever deployed them in bulk - so I've given them great big Seleucid icons on their shields. After the arrival of the Romans in the Greek theaters of war the similarity between Thorakites and Roman-style infantry were noted, and some referred to the former as "imitation legionaries", assuming that they must have been derived from their western neighbors. However everything I've read suggests that they are in fact of indigenous Macedonian/ Successor evolution.

Well, here they are. I didn't have any relevant transfers for the shields, so I've painted them by hand. In time these guys will be the command element of a larger unit. Stay tuned!




 And here are some closeup shots of these personalities:





6 comments:

  1. Hi James!
    Very good job. Excellent!
    Andrey.

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  2. Thanks Andrey, I appreciate it! - James

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  3. Beautiful job James! I was not familiar with the Thorakites. They look a lot like some of the Italian allied troops during the Roman Republic period. I've never painted Relic mins. They look very clean.

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  4. Vol, I'd definitely recommend Relic, Mike Evans over there sculpts some really nice figures, and covers great subjects. I bet these guys could stand in for a number of things - swap their shields for something more local, and if anyone complains...attack!

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  5. Fantastic minis, they are really impressive! Very nice blog too, I do like the "HMS Victory" post...
    Phil.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Phil, glad you like the figures and the ships!

      Regards,

      James

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