MiniArt Models

1/16 Greek Hoplite

Kit Number: 16013

Reviewed by  Dave Morrissette, IPMS# 33653

MSRP: $14.50 Website: www.miniart-models.com/ Distributed by Dragon Models USA (www.dragonmodelsusa.com) MiniArt Models is known for their diverse line of historical figures in all scales as well as diorama accessories in 1/72, 1/35 and 1/16 scales. New to the line is a 1/16 scale Greek Hoplite Warrior. A Hoplite was a heavy infantryman who was the central focus of warfare in Ancient Greece. The kit comes on two soft gray sprues and includes decals for the shield and cloth attached to it. Also included are a single sheet instruction and painting guide and a base for the figure. There are 10 unused parts that go with other kits in this series. I started contruction by assembling the flesh colored parts- arms, leg and head. These all required some clean up and sanding. They were primed with Floquil Primer and set aside to dry. I then started to work on the main uniform parts. The upper parts were sanded to a very smooth surface texture, as I wanted a chrome look to the armored body. This was sprayed high gloss black and let dry for three days. The lower skirt area consists of two parts for the main area and four sections of the flaps that cover it. These were assembled, filled as needed, and primed. I wanted a high gloss finish on the shield, helmet and sword, so these were assembled and painted glossy blue. A touch of filler was needed on the helmet prior to priming and painting. While these were set aside to dry, I worked on the details such as the cloth below the shield, the horsehair crest, and spear. All of these needed some clean up but nothing huge. With all of the assembly and priming complete, it was time to paint. The flesh colors were coated with Bronze flesh from Lifestyle Paints. This was over sprayed with pale white lightly and shaded with oils and pastels. A quick flat coat and the eyes and hair were painted. The chest armor was sprayed with Alclad Chrome and buffed to a nice high gloss. Shading was done with Alclad Transparent Smoke. The bottom skirts were painted and then touched up with Andrea colors. This took several iterations to get it reasonably consistent. At this point, the head, arms and legs were joined with the upper and lower body, and the fit was good. The shield was masked and the outer edges and back of the shield were sprayed with Alclad polished aluminum. The decal was applied to the shield and to the lower cloth part. I did notice the decal had some yellowing on the carrier. This didn't show on the dark blue shield, but shows some on the white cloth port. The remaining paint and touch up were the details parts like the spear, cheek guards for the helmet and crest. All fit well (put were all dry fit ahead of time also). All the parts were added and the entire piece given a coat of flat avoiding the metal armor. The base was prepared by painting it black and then adding dirt to the base over Elmer's Glue and flat coating it. The figure was added and I had a very nice piece for the collection. One of the complaints from people entering the figure-building field is the cost of the resin and white metal figures. MiniArt and Dragon have proved that a very nice looking figure of an interesting subject can be made at a very reasonable price. To do this figure justice would take even more detail painting, but with the ease of the build, this is a great beginners' kit. Recommended to everyone interested in figure building and especially the subject.

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