Garrison Figures Hoplites Completed

...and I am so pleased.  I have just finished units 6-10 of my Garrison hoplites.  Here's a shot of one of them:

This gives me ten units each of 36 figures.  Originally, I bought a load of these for next to nothing at Wappinshaw in Glasgow, probably about four years ago now.  They are sufficiently different from my other hoplites to stand out on the table.  I've painted them with a sort of archaic look, ie lots of bronze and no shield designs.  That way they can take the part of less wealthy troops using older equipment.  If I want to use them en masse, they work well as the opposition in a hoplite clash.  I used some at Claymore for the Thebans.

I must admit that they became a bit of a chore to paint, not because there's anything wrong with them, but because of what I call 'uniform burn-out syndrome'.  In other words, a batch of 180 similar figures in 25/28mm can become a bit wearing to produce after a while.  The same sort of thing happened with my Republican Romans and I got through those because I had promised to get them ready for a big game (peer pressure always helps).  In the case of these hoplites, I forced myself to finish them off before beginning a load of unpainted Companion Miniatures ancients that I am now buying from one of the local gamers.  Sometimes sheer bloody-mindedness works too!  I've already promised any I don't use to some of the guys from The Miniatures Page website.

I have already started on some Spanish command, and I must say that they are a real joy to paint, especially after loads of hoplites.  They are very clean, the detail is crisp, and the faces are especially well done.  The only problem I'm having is that the packs are not always what they should be.  Some didn't have standards or shields, and one pack labelled as Spanish Command turned out to be Caesarean Romans with cloaks.  This means that I'll need to work my way through them before I can be sure what is what, and then decide which ones I won't be needing.

There are two good things about the hoplites, though.  One is that they're finally finished.  The other is that my total of figures completed in 2012 has now suddenly jumped to 455.  Onwards and upwards, as they say...