Very good progress Tony,
That is becoming a showstopper.

marc

Thanks Tony, I understand.

A long time since I posted an update. I could lie and tell you I've been consumed by research, but the truth is I'm absorbed by the Tour de France and Wimbledon and now The Ashes test series between England and Australia have started. This is a major distraction for me.

What I have managed to do is make a start on the Hoplite shield design. The inner section of the shield will carry the 16 point star of vergina design and the outer rim will carry a traditional Greek meander pattern. As you can see I've used tracing paper and a steady hand to draw the meander design onto the shield in pencil. The next step will be to paint the design on by brush.

I really like what you are doing with this. Superb painting all round.

Very good work so far Tony! Hope to see a great shield painting!

Regards
Pedro

Thanks Graham and Pedro, my plan is to work in small steps and try to do a little bit on the shield each night. It's a complex piece and there is a sequence of steps I need to follow to make it look good.

I appreciate your comments and hope to provide an update in the next few days.

I really admire your dedication to detail Tony. I'm looking forward to seeing the shield design develop.

Cheers,
Andrew

Thanks Andrew

First past with the paint brush tonight. Still a lot of details and colours to add. Rather than use black I've used Storm Blue on the shield, which matches the face of the helmet.

Looking good, Tony. Nice too see you tackling an ambitious shield design like this, I know it'll look awesome once you're finished.

Looks great Tony......Not familiar with Jo sonjas paints but based on what you've done I have to give them a shot.....Shield is looking Very good......looks like a tough one....Look forward as it all comes together.......Wayne

Nice work Tony, upping your standards again!!!!! Your photos are also a lot more clearer now, I can see your brilliant handy work. The earlier photos were very distorted, I couldnt see them very well at all
Ben

Looking good Tony!


Cheer's,
Jeff.

Hi Nick, Wayne, Ben and Jeff, thanks gents for your generous comments.

As I've previously mentioned, I've chosen the 16 point Sun of Vergina motif as the central design element of the Hoplite shield. This is a historic design that reflects the identities of the Gods of Olympus.

The 16 points represent the 8 male and 8 female Gods who dominate religious life in Ancient Greece.

The shield design as well as the meander pattern around the rim of the shield were drawn onto the shield with a pencil and then painted over by brush. Now that I've blocked in the major colours, my intention is to do some more detailing of the shiled and then distress it and weather it to look more battle worn.

Finally, the Hoplite needs some more work. The leather belt across his torso and the flesh areas require more depth and detailing.

Well done tony great piece of work on the shield mate,it's looking great so far

Amazing work on the shield Tony, Superb acuracy with the outer design.
Looking to be another top draw piece.
All the very best
Keith

That looks fantastic.
Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Cheers,
Andrew

Keeper goin Tony.........Agree with the above......The pin point accuracy on the shield layout looks great.All should blend into a great overall piece when finished................Regards........Wayne

Thats awesome. Thanks for showing.