Spartans, 530–479 B.C.
Zvezda 1:72 Scale Figure Review
Zvezda 1:72 scale Spartans features a Spartan King, officer, musicians, 30 heavy infantry hoplites with bronze bell cuirass, and three Helot state slaves in convincing wargame poses.
Contents
41 Figures in 12 Poses – 24 mm equal 173 cm Height
- Spartan King with Bell Cuirass, Xiphos and Aspis (1)
- Spartiate Officer with Kopis and sacrificial Goat (1)
- Spartiate Salpinktes with Salpinx (1)
- Spartiate Aulist with Double Flute (1)
- Spartiate Hoplite with Dory and Aspis, standing (6)
- Spartiate Hoplite with Dory and Aspis, first rank (6)
- Spartiate Hoplite with Dory and Aspis, overarm thrust (6)
- Spartiate Hoplite with Dory and Aspis, third rank (6)
- Spartiate Hoplite with Xiphos and Aspis, running (3)
- Spartiate Hoplite with Xiphos and Aspis, thrusting (3)
- Spartiate Hoplite with Xiphos and Aspis, wounded (1)
- Spartan Helot Bearer/Forager (3)
Evaluation
Good choice of subject, Zvezda 1:72 scale Spartiates wearing the bronze bell cuirass may be deployed from the Spartan War against Hippias to the Second Persian invasion of Greece, by which time the bell cuirass was replaced by the lighter, and more comfortable linothorax, which was equally impervious to arrows.
The spear-armed hoplites fit together nicely in a phalanx. One serious problem, however, is that all of the hoplites‘ shields are decorated with Greek shield designs. This may be perfect for toy soldier fans, but not for wargamers who typically play with painted troops. These shield designs are too bulky to be compatible with 1:72 scale, they are difficult to paint, and severely limit the usefulness of these figures, which might have otherwise been used to represent a much greater variety of Greek hoplites. There are beautiful decals of Greek shield designs on the market today, which unfortunately can only be used on these figures after the laborious removal of the superimposed designs.
The individual shield designs in this set can be used to represent Spartiates until 480 B.C., when the Spartan army adopted the uniform Lambda (Λ) shield design. By that time, the bronze bell cuirass had been replaced by the linothorax.
These three hoplites have lost their dory spears and are now fighting on with the xiphos. They are really nice and active poses that unfortunately do not fit into the same phalanx as the previous four hoplites. If a spear broke or the spearhead was chopped off by an opponent, the hoplite would turn the spear around and fight with the Sauroter (“lizard killer”) on the back end of the spear. Wargamers who need 16 or 24 phalangites for a phalanx will want to upgrade the two center poses with the Dory as well.
The wounded Spartiate has had his bronze bell cuirass penetrated by an arrow, which has got to be an extremely rare event, especially considering that the left side of his bell cuirass would also be protected by the large aspis shield. Historical and experimental evidence indicates that a Persian arrow was generally incapable of penetrating a Greek bronze bell cuirass under normal battlefield conditions. Persian arrowheads – often three-edged (trilobate) and made of bronze or iron – were designed for creating deep wounds in soft tissue or lighter armour rather than piercing heavy metal plate. Recognizing that their panoplia protected them from lethal hits, but not from the nuisance of massed fire, Greek hoplites typically charged at a run (hoplitodromos) to close the distance quickly and minimize their exposure to arrow volleys.
The Helot state-owned serf is an interesting addition to this figure set. Helots, mostly descendants of the subjugated inhabitants of Laconia and Messenia, did all the farming, construction, and other manual labour in Sparta, freeing the Spartiate for full-time military training and service. They vastly outnumbered the Spartiate citizen-soldiers, and Sparta experienced three major Helot uprisings, along with several smaller conspiracies. Helots typically served their hoplite masters as bearers, foragers, medics, and skirmishers (psiloi) on campaign. In times of serious manpower shortages, Helots were even trained to fight as heavy infantry (brasideoi, neodamodeis), a practise the Spartans would learn to regret during the next Helot revolt.
Noticeable flash and mould lines need to be removed prior to painting.
Cast in flesh-coloured plastic, these Spartans lend themselves to speed painting by dipping.
Historical Employment
- Spartiate Infantry
- Spartan War against Hippias, 511–510 BC
- Athenian Revolution, 508–507 BC
- Boeotian War, 506 BC
- Ionian Revolt, 500–494 BC
- War against Argos, 494 BC
- First Persian invasion of Greece, 492–490 BC
- Second Persian invasion of Greece, 480–479 BC
- Ancient Greek Infantry, 5th to 4th Century B.C.
Possible Conversions
Zvezda Spartans are a must-have for wargamers and collectors of the classical period of the 5th and 4th centuries BC.