thorakitai

OldenTired · Post by **OldenTired** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:40 am

hi, am most of the way through painting an early successor army in xyston.

question is, xyston don't to make the appropriate figure. i've been using some peltasts as "thureophoroi" which they can almost get away with, but i'm wanting armoured figures.

the only figures i actually remember seeing of this sort were gladiator (?)

recommendations on which figures to use with my xyston would be great.

Quintus · Post by **Quintus** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:31 am

I don't think there was such a troop type as thorakitai in the early period of the Wars of the Successors.

MadBanker · Post by **MadBanker** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:13 am

Thorakitai are indeed a late evolution of the thureophoroi concept. And thureophoroi themselves only appeared after the galatian invasion in Greece.

MarkSieber · Post by **MarkSieber** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:30 pm

I've been puzzling over this as well. Xyston does make 20104 Greek Thureophoroi. For thorakitai I was considering 20142 Principes w/spear, cutting off the helmet plumes and replacing the shields with 20154 Hellenistic Thureos. That still leaves the greave... but given that other manufacturers (e.g. Essex) aren't quite to scale, this might do.
I'm still not decided, the 'purist' in me doesn't yet feel comfortable.

Xyston listings and photos are at http://www.xyston.com/acatalog/101-120.html , http://www.xyston.com/acatalog/ANC20140___ANC20146.html , and http://www.xyston.com/acatalog/copy_of_ ... 20146.html

MarkSieber · Post by **MarkSieber** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 4:34 pm

Oh, and to be clear, I'm looking for thorakitai for the later period--I agree that they aren't in the early lists. I may mix armoured and unarmoured figures, too.

OldenTired · Post by **OldenTired** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:22 pm

Quintus wrote:I don't think there was such a troop type as thorakitai in the early period of the Wars of the Successors.

immortal fire has the selecuids and macedonians able to upgrade the thureophoroi into thorakitai after 279 BC. so it's kind of borderline early/late.

it's an option i'm considering to bolster the line.

OldenTired · Post by **OldenTired** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:26 pm

MarkSieber wrote:I've been puzzling over this as well. Xyston does make 20104 Greek Thureophoroi. For thorakitai I was considering 20142 Principes w/spear, cutting off the helmet plumes and replacing the shields with 20154 Hellenistic Thureos. That still leaves the greave... but given that other manufacturers (e.g. Essex) aren't quite to scale, this might do.
I'm still not decided, the 'purist' in me doesn't yet feel comfortable.

Xyston listings and photos are at http://www.xyston.com/acatalog/101-120.html , http://www.xyston.com/acatalog/ANC20140___ANC20146.html , and http://www.xyston.com/acatalog/copy_of_ ... 20146.html

actually... great solution!

i'm not so worried about the exactness of figures. for this line army i'm currently running a bunch of persian cavalry as "xystophoroi"! not sure i'd get away with that in a competition tho...

MadBanker · Post by **MadBanker** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:46 pm

Freikorps ( http://quickreactionforce.co.uk/catalog ... cts_id/193 ) and Donnington ( http://shop.ancient-modern.co.uk/hf20-s ... -170-p.asp ) both make Thorakitai minis. I have both in my army: Freikorps have a variety of poses and come with no spear attached (use brass wire or whatever you like best). Donnington only have one pose and come with cast on spear, it is a bit taller and bulky than the Freikorps (though not much) and both paint up nicely. I use the Donington ones in my Thorakitai BG and the Freikorps ones as crew for my armoured Elephants (they look exactly like the colour plate by Angus McBride in Sekunda's "The Seleucid Army").

flameberge · Post by **flameberge** » Tue May 06, 2008 5:32 am

OldenTired wrote:i'm not so worried about the exactness of figures. for this line army i'm currently running a bunch of persian cavalry as "xystophoroi"! not sure i'd get away with that in a competition tho...

I don't see why not as long as you explain to your opponent what is what. I can't stand it when people want to nitpick things that have no effect on the game like if the figures you use are the "perfect, exact, correct" ones.

will05 · Post by **will05** » Mon May 12, 2008 5:25 pm

i'm not so worried about the exactness of figures. for this line army i'm currently running a bunch of persian cavalry as "xystophoroi"! not sure i'd get away with that in a competition tho..

I can't really see how anybody can nit pick as the information from these periods is quite limited.
Go with what you think.....I was thinking of using as many of my Persians and Macedonians to make up parts of Successor armies.

OldenTired · Post by **OldenTired** » Tue May 13, 2008 7:38 pm

will05 wrote:i'm not so worried about the exactness of figures. for this line army i'm currently running a bunch of persian cavalry as "xystophoroi"! not sure i'd get away with that in a competition tho..

I can't really see how anybody can nit pick as the information from these periods is quite limited.
Go with what you think.....I was thinking of using as many of my Persians and Macedonians to make up parts of Successor armies.

heh. as i say, in competitions. i've played some... "difficult characters" in the past.