Question about Victrix Hoplites

[sunspear]

I am thinking about buying a few boxes of victrix hoplites, I really like the models and I think I would enjoy painting them. I am going to work toward an army with these. By I need some help from those of you more knowledgeable than me about the time period. I see they make several different boxes of hoplites. Are these just soldiers from different regions and could be fielded in the same army? From what I have read this seems to be the case. Also would it be historically accurate to include the Iberian cavalry in an army with the hoplites?
I guess another question I have, the hoplites from different regions could be painted in different colors? The robes and shield symbols?
Thanks for any advise

[kuba]

Victrix boxes have same parts for bodies, arms, shields and spears, the only differences between them are heads, instruments for musicians and cloaks. Victrix spartans have chlamys cloaks, double greek flute and mostly pilos helmets. All of the heads have distinct spartan hairstyles. Theban hoplites have beotian helmets and trumpet held in one hand. Athenians have more hellenistic style helmets, normal cloak and trumpet held in both hands. Mercenaries have mix, with mostly hellenistic style helmets. That distincion is somewhat artificial -it would be much more proper to mix the helmets, maybe only spartans could be more uniformed and their hairstyles would have to be corrected before using the heads in hoplite armies other than Lacedaemonians. The beotian helmets for example were not in use only in beotia, probably there were not even more popular there than in any other part of greek world. Their use was more common in cavalry as there were not as limiting vision and hearing as other styles of helmets. To answer Your question -all of those boxes could be used to make units for one army, the best way to do that would be mixing them rather than making separate different units.
As for colours -the hoplites were citizen force and there was none uniformity, or perhaps even no colours distinct for different polis. Warriors usually bought equipement themselves and colours and designs would vary. Spartans were exception -they wore red cloaks and used lambda symbol on their shields.
If You want Iberians in Your force fighting alongside greeks You can model Your soldiers as hoplites from Syracuse -tyrants from that Sicilian polis employed a lot of mercenaries and iberian cavalry could likely fit in Syracusan army, alongside other exotic warriors: gauls, italians, etruscans.

[Mithridates1]

Kuba covers the ground but I am not sure if you would see Iberian cavalry mercenaries fighting for Syracuse?    Infantry no problem.   Suggest you have a read of the WRG Armies and Enemies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars.   New edition available for sale (check with Mr Google) or else read the older one online:

https://www.scribd.com/doc/29391428/Armies-of-the-Macedonian-and-Punic-Wars-359-BC-to-146-BC

If you want to run Victrix's excellent Iberian cavalry and hoplites you might want to think about a Carthaginian army?

[commissarmoody]

Think a for the info. I put an order in for that book a few mins ago. 

[AdamPHayes]

The Victrix hoplites are great figures and easy to chop around to make your own versions. For an army with hoplites and Iberian cavalry, you are probably looking at an early Carthaginian force (First Punic War, the mercenary revolt or the Barcid conquest of Spain.)