Macedonian phalanx

[The Stranger]

aren't the shields of the macedonian phalanx to small, cause i thought they were only a bit smaller than the hoplon and not that small at all

[conon394]

They do seem rather small

A Macedonian Talamon shield should be about 2/3 the size 60-69 cm vs. 90+ cm for the Argive Aspis (at least according to what I have read). A lot of the RTW ones look to be maybe 1/3 the size of the Hoplite shield or smaller.

[Kraxis]

They are far too small. They were rather capable shields in melee, not these bucklers.

[The Stranger]

so i'm not the only one, thought i went crazy

[Red Harvest]

They are crazy small! If you look at the unit cards they are shown as being noticeably larger. The position is also a bit off. I've heard others discuss some problems with placing the shield at a more appropriate point--something to do with "bone" placement on the skeleton, etc.

[Kraxis]

Well, the hoplites carry their shields correctly, elbow at the center and the hand at the edge. The pikemen had a similar setup, though their hands would extend out of the shield (hence the need for the shoulderstrap), which could then be used to carry the pike twohanded.

And Red is on to something, the unit pictures show them with fairly large shields that are about the size of the real shields. But in battle we are presented with gladiatorial shields... That is not fair to the phalangites.