Reviews: September 2012

Reviews: September 2012 This month Neil Smith takes a look at the new Victrix Thebans. Enjoy!

28mm Theban Armoured Hoplites 5th to 3rd Century BCE Victrix Limited www.victrixlimited.com Reviewed by Neil Smith Cast your mind back to the 5th Century BC and the century of warfare about to engulf the Greek peninsula. The Persians invaded twice, only to be persuaded to leave at spearpoint by the Athenians and Spartans.

After a few more decades, the growing antagonism between Athens and Sparta erupted in the Peloponnesian War that lasted until nearly the turn of the next century. As most people know, Sparta emerged victorious, but less well known is that Spartan hegemony in Greece lasted barely a generation. Indeed, the seemingly invincible Spartan phalanx was brushed aside quite easily in the end by a new power in Greece, Thebes. Moreover, the Theban hoplite phalanx was there all the time throughout the 5th century, though less discussed than the Athenians or Spartans.

What we need then for our tabletop hoplite battles is a Theban phalanx, preferably in plastic to go with those other hoplites swelling your figure collection. Thankfully, Victrix has produced a box of hoplites that will satisfy your cravings. The attractive and quite large box these little wonders come in contains enough parts to make 48 Theban hoplites with command and musicians. As with other model figures in the expanding Victrix range of hoplites, the Theban sprues are loaded with arms and weapons; for example there are eight head variants, and you can add cloaks and scabbards for further variety if you choose. And, as if that isn’t enough, you can mix and match from the other hoplite boxes in this range because what makes the Thebans particular is their distinctive helmets. For earlier Theban hoplites before the introduction of the Boeotian helmet, you can use the helmeted heads from the other boxes and make them Theban through their shield patterns. As for the figures themselves, they are very well detailed and the method of sculpting leaves nicely raised areas for ease of painting. The figures assemble easily, though people like me with potato-fingers might struggle with the more finicky extras! Once assembled and painted, however, you will have yourself a very useful phalanx to take into battle and capture a bit of hegemony for yourself. Also included are a unit statistics sheet for Clash of Empires rules and a brief introductory flyer to provide inspirations and start you on your way. All in all, Victrix’s Theban hoplites are an excellent addition to the growing field of plastic ancient warriors.