This review will be in two parts, a review of the pieces and sculpting (open box style) followed by a discussion of the historical accuracy of the figure.

Alexandros Models
Philip II of Macedon
200 mm scale white metal bust
25 pieces
Sculpting by Eduard Perez Delgado
Painting by Alexandre Cortina Bonastre

With the exception of the cape (resin), the figure is made entirely from white metal. Below you can see the head, torso, and both pieces of the cape. There are notches in the torso and cape for the upper arms, sword, bow, and shield to fit into. The face and torso are well sculpted and contain lots of details to work with. The face has a scar running across his right eye, showing a wound suffered during a siege of Methone. The fits were good and minimal cleanup was required on all of these pieces.

Below are the arms. Both are split at the junction of the arm and the leather bracer. This is helpful for disguising the seam between the two pieces. The two pieces of each arm have small notches to help the fit. However mine required some minor drilling before they would fit cleanly and just a little bit of putty to close up the gaps. The detail work on the hands is very nice (fingers are well done, veins on the back of the hands, etc), there was a lot of attention paid here during the sculpting and it makes it a lot more fun to paint. The arms fit easily into the torso and there is some flexibility in their positioning. Care should be taken so that the arms and body are in the correct relation to the accessories (more on that below).

Moving on to the accessories, here is the helmet and crest, shield, and the sword. There is a large piece of flash on the underside of the shield, but that was the only piece that required significant cleanup. The helmet has a small peg on the left side which fits into a notch in the right arm. The crest required some minor bending to get it to fall correctly over the helmet and arm. The shield is large and requires the most work in terms of securely assembling. It has two holes, one for a peg from the cape and the other for a peg on the elbow of the left arm. Because of the weight of the shield I felt more was needed to secure it in place. When I assembled the figure, my positioning of the left arm was off and it did not match up with the hole in the shield. Special care is necessary if you want all of these pieces to match up. For those wanting extra security, here is what I did. There is a loop that attaches to the underside of the shield and rests next to the cape (where the leather strap is molded on). I drilled a hole into the cape and placed a pin so that it would run through this loop. Once the shield was in place, I filled the remainder of the loop with putty to further secure the shield-pin-cape connection. The continuation of the leather strap holding the shield (added using foil) hid this fix. You may come up with a better solution, but I urge some extra thought before starting to glue.

Continuing with accessories, the following picture shows the quiver, bow, and arrows. Also the two cheek pieces for the helmet, the loop for the shield, and the clasp for the cape showing the Vergina sun symbol. There are four brass loops, two for the sword and two for the quiver. The model also contains a replica of an ancient coin showing the head of Philip. While not necessary for the model, this extra touch can be used for the base or some section of your display.

No significant cleanup is needed for any of these pieces. The quiver is very well sculpted showing an interesting scene of many figures. The cheek pieces have small pegs to fit into the helmet, but these do not provide a very secure connection. The end model should include a number of leather straps (two for the bow, two for the sword, one for the shield, and possibly some for securing the cheek pieces on the helmet). A piece of foil is provided for the painter to cut and bend these straps into place. The one things not include (or overlooked and lost by me) is a piece of string for the bow.

Conclusion:

This is a great figure that I would recommend for the experienced modeler. The sculpting and proportions are all very good in my opinion. The number of accessories and detail included provides a lot to work with. As a bust, you get not only the face but the entire upper body including two full arms. The head and hands are well sculpted and lifelike, containing a good deal of character. There was minimal cleanup needed.

While not a flaw, this is a complex figure. The size of the accessories (particularly the shield, helmet, and sword) make securing them difficult and the fit can be tricky. For example, the shield connects to the cape and the left arm. The sword also connects to the left arm and the front of the torso. Coordinating the fit on all these pieces will not be easy for a novice modeler. The size and weight of the shield makes a secure connection problematic and the thinness of the shield makes it difficult to place pins. None of this reflects poorly on the figure, but I would recommend at least moderate modeling experience before attempting this kit. There are also several straps that must be cut and placed, which I know was difficult for me when I was just beginning to model.

The one actual flaw I would say is the lack of base connection. The bottom of the torso has a small hole, but not one big enough for a rod strong enough to hold this heavy figure. While a larger hole can be easily drilled, the inside of the torso-cape section is hollow and thus there is nothing for the rod to secure to. My solution was to drill several holes through the rod. I then placed a cross bar through the rod that the torso could sit on. I also placed several pins through the rod inside the torso and filled the empty space with putty. The end result was very secure. One should also be aware that the sword hangs down quite a bit from the body and thus sufficient space must be left between the torso and the base.

In summary, this is a great figure but I would recommend at least moderate levels of experience before attempting it.

Continue reading to see a review of the historical merits of the sculpting.

This is a bust of Phillip the II of Macedon (382 – 336 BC), the father of Alexander the Great. He instituted the phalanx, conquered the Greek world, and was preparing for an invasion of Persia when was assassinated. The only thing keeping Phillip from a more prominent role in our historical memory is his misfortune of having a son called "the Great."

On any ancient figure a strict evaluation of the historical accuracy can be problematic. Items may not have survived the millennia (for example linothorax, a widely used armor in ancient Greece). We can look to written accounts or paintings, but those are not necessarily accurate. Artists and writers may not have firsthand experience with the subject or may be following the customs of the time. For example all the vase paintings of nude Greek warriors are artistic, not historically accurate. The Greeks most certainly did not fight nude. However, the nude body was thought to be more ascetically pleasing and so was often portrayed.

I mention this to stress the uniqueness of this model. Almost every item worn by this figure can be directly linked to the Macedonian royal line around the time of Phillip II, perhaps even to Phillip II himself.

In 1977, Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos unearthed a complex of three tombs at Vergina in northern Greece. The tombs belong to the royal line of Macedonia and come from the time of Phillip II. The first tomb was looted, containing only wall paintings and scattered remains. The second and third tombs however were intact. Andronikos declared that the second tomb contained the remains of Phillip II and one of his wives, Kleopatra Eurydike (more on this later).

Found in the second tomb were:
1) An iron cuirass with gold trim. This is probably an iron copy of a linothorax most likely worn for ceremony. Some sources mention that the iron would be covered by leather... although many neglect to reference this so I do not know if it is just conjecture or supported by physical evidence.

2) A shield decorated in gold and ivory. The outside is decorated with the Greek key and the Vergina sun (a symbol of Macedonian royalty). The center shows two figures, possibly Achilles and the Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons. The shield is too valuable to have been used in battle, so it too was most likely worn for ceremony.

3) A damaged iron helmet in the Phyrgian style.

4) A sword. Due to corrosion, decoration of gold and ivory was not preserved.

5) A gold decorated gorytos, a bowcase for a Scythian bow. The scene possibly depicts the capture of Troy.

Each of these artifacts are sculpted onto the bust of Phillip II. The fact that all of the equipment on the bust were found in a tomb linked to his family or Philip II himself give this miniature, in my opinion, unprecedented accuracy for one modeling a subject matter approximately 2,300 years old.

However, scholars do debate if this portion of the tomb actually belonged to Philip. Instead many believe it belongs to Alexander the Great's brother, Philip Arridaeus and that Philip II was buried in the first room which was later looted. This would place the artifacts in the second tomb one generation after Philip II. In fact, one could argue that many of these pieces actually belonged to Alexander the Great and returned to Philip Arridaeus after Alexander's death. Some have proposed that the damaged helmet was the one Alexander the Great wore at the Battle of Issus where he was struck and almost killed.

The arguments for and against Philip II center around an analysis of the bodies, their age and possible injuries that correspond to known injuries of Philip II. Let me stress that scholars agree that the tomb and these artifacts belong to the royal Macedonian family of Philip. While we may not be able to concretely link them to Philip II himself, we can date them to within a generation of Philip.

In conclusion, this figure offers us what perhaps is an incredibly accurate depiction of a man who died over 2,300 years ago. Depending on your point of view and which scholars you side with, the equipment could be dead on or one generation off. Still, not bad considering the difficulties in accuracy for an ancient. In my opinion this is a great figure and you can find a wealth of source material and pictures (some provided above).

Thanks for the update on my history. I love it.
That bust looks incredible and it seems very accurate.
Gonna look for this one on our show.

marc

Hi David,

I've admired this bust for some time and considered buying it myself.

I'm extremely impressed with the thoroughness of your historical research and attention to detail in this review. You've made me want this bust even more.

Thank you.