Chiltern Miniatures
Hand Maiden and Hoplite guards
Review by Steve Crofts

First Thoughts

These are BIG! In fact 38mm to be precise from the base of there feet to the top of there heads, (I used the lady carrying the wine jug for this measurement).

The reason for the figures are so large is that these are in fact intentionally so big, as they are the hand maidens and Hoplite guards to the gods, so they will indeed fit with 25/28mm figures.

All are very well sculpted and detailed, unfortunately for me two were slight mis-casts , firstly the lady in the sitting up position, she is very well detailed, shapely and proportionate.

The miss cast unfortunately makes her look like she has a club foot, which spoils the whole look of the figure, but ignoring that, the figure looks excellent.

The other lady in the set is also well sculpted and again is very shapely and proportionate, (no Miss cast on this), she is in a typical serving pose and holding a large wine amphora, ( I think that’s what they call it, if not, a Jug!).

The hoplite guards are again really well detailed and I feel that it will be nice to paint these, I only found one problem with one of these pair and again this was due to a miss cast figure.

The bottom of the spear and a part of the shield had not cast properly and had left a hole in the spear and part of the shield missing, A great shame I must say, as I do like the look of these figures very much, apart from the obvious, and ignoring it looking at the spearman, (and the other figures in the set), the detail is really first rate.

The Other Hoplite holds a sword, he again is beautifully sculpted loads of detail and no, thankfully, miss casting.

This figure really shows off again the effort and time that has gone into the sculpting of the figure.

I have failed to mention that on both the Hoplites shields, the Motifs, a bulls head and a scorpion are cast onto the shields. These too are detailed and should aid in the painting process



Painting

On with the undercoat, and my hands a rubbing in anticipation……. 

These figures are indeed a challenge, and a joy to paint, I didn't at any point find myself getting bored or fed up with them, in fact the more I painted the more enthusiastic I became!

Good results can be easily obtained as there is so much to work with and to enjoy, all the build up work including on the armour was a doddle, folds creases and jewellery are also easy to work with and paint, and in a few places a steady hand and the holding of the breath helped put in the finer details.


Final Thoughts

I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and I will be looking out for other figures in Chiltern's ranges in the future.

Miss cast figure can appear in any manufacturers ranges as you probably don't need me to tell you, so don't let the couple in this set put you off these minis, as they are a great set of figures to add to your collection, weather it is for gaming, a diorama or just to paint them and put them in your cabinet.

Check them out , and to you Chiltern I say keep them coming!

Please remember to mention Wargames Forum when contacting traders!

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