Victrix Hoplites. A calm but steady flow.

I'm sure my painting output is dropping as I advance into my forties, 15 years ago when I set out on this Hellenistic Odyssey I could churn out 3 or 4 Macedonian phalangites every night. Now if I complete 6 or 7 infantry a week I consider it good going. Admittedly it doesn't help when I make a rod for my own back by hand painting all the shields and there is the assembly time to take into account with plastic figures so maybe its not actually all that bad.
The other thing to consider is the fact that most of my involvement in the hobby seems to revolve round painting figures rather than actually gaming with them. Mr. Ireland and I actually got off to quite a good start this year with a couple of games in short order and a resolve to try and game at least once a month, but in the face of busy lives at work this resolution has again evaporated and frankly opportunities are likely to be thin on the ground in the foreseeable future. In view of this it doesn't actually matter if the output is slow, at least I won't be needing to spend money on more new figures to paint before the end of October.
Right, lament over, heres the eye candy:

I've started to vary the shield devices, the AP is the symbol of Arkadia & the trident represents Mantinea both of whom formed links with the  Achaean League in the third century B.C. so their use seems appropriate. At the moment I'm keeping away from the more decorative elements sometimes seen as these seem more representative of earlier eras.
Theres still another coat of matt varnish to go on to really flat the paintwork down but another phalanx is beginning to take shape. Slowly.
N.B. Still not 100% happy with some of the helmets in the Mercenary box set, the Attic and Thracian patterns are fine but the bell type ( or Pilos in modern parlance) wouldn't disgrace a London Bobby.