Early Imperial Roman Infantry Kitbash

The newly released Roman military figures from Kaustic Plastik and Haoyu Toys (all of which I intend to review) inspired and made possible a little kitbash attempting to recreate some of the most typical appearance of the early imperial legionary and auxiliary infantry -- about the time of Claudius I (41-54).

The most obvious differences in the look of these early imperial forces from the "classic" look of late-1st-/early 2nd-century Roman troops are: the use of simpler bronze or bronze-colored helmets; the use of chain mail for both legionaries and auxiliaries; the absence of long (braccae) or knee-length (feminalia) pants; rectangular shield (scutum) with curved side edges for legionaries and oval shield for auxiliaries. Obviously, there was plenty of variation (for example, as to which side to place the sword and the dagger, tunic color and shield devices); moreover, this is still a work in progress, and I am planning some upgrades and changes (e.g., repainting the auxiliary shield with a different decoration).

Most of the pieces were from the new KP sets, with some others from Ignite and other sources. I used KP bodies because you could easily remove and replace the upper arms, something very useful when dealing with these tight rubber chain mail tunics, but these KP bodies have some weak joints and stiff hands, and this was a pain to pose and photograph. I hope it is still presentable.











This last photo (below) shows a couple of Roman infantrymen about to attend to camp tasks, having taken off their armor. The pants indicate they belong in a slightly later period.



Hope you liked them.

#roman #kitbash #custom #kp #kausticplasik #ignite #romanempire #legionary #auxilia #ancient #historical #military #infantry

They look good. And I like the photo background you placed them in as well. I’m not super aware of all the clothing elements,but I appreciate the effort that must go into these figures.

Oh! I love them! Very well done. Enjoying the details, and can appreciate the time that must have gone into putting these together.  I also really like the background -- makes me think they could be somewhere in Germania... : )

Nice one. Once the proper research is done, it doesn't take any more work or effort to create a historical figure compared to a fantasy one.

A few little nitpicks: Only cavalry wore pants. There is nothing to suggest that a padded garment was ever worn under any Roman armour except for the segmentata. Perhaps the brown helmet can be painted gold so it looks like ancient tin-bronze rather than modern silicon-bronze.

Agreed that removeable arms are essential when working with a lot of miniature body armour.

Stryker2011 wrote:They look good. And I like the photo background you placed them in as well. I’m not super aware of all the clothing elements,but I appreciate the effort that must go into these figures.

Thank you, Mark! I was worried that the background was a bit too colorful and distracting, but I guess that helps add some realism to the scene.

skywalkersaga wrote:Oh! I love them! Very well done. Enjoying the details, and can appreciate the time that must have gone into putting these together.  I also really like the background -- makes me think they could be somewhere in Germania... : )

Thank you! That was the idea. I have a more stereotypical, dark forest background, but it was not suitable for the flooring, so I went with this.

shazzdan wrote:Nice one. Once the proper research is done, it doesn't take any more work or effort to create a historical figure compared to a fantasy one.

A few little nitpicks: Only cavalry wore pants. There is nothing to suggest that a padded garment was ever worn under any Roman armour except for the segmentata. Perhaps the brown helmet can be painted gold so it looks like ancient tin-bronze rather than modern silicon-bronze

Thank you! As noted above, the last photo was intended to be from a later period, when artistic representations and my reference books show pants were introduced even into the legions -- apparently following upon cavalry and auxiliary practice. Likewise with the padding -- the guy has set aside his lorica segmentata. As for the bronze, you're right, ancient bronze is supposed to look like brass.

I think the entrenching tools are my favourite accessory. Roman legionaries did a lot more digging than fighting.

According to Mike Bishop, segmentata underpadding had thick shoulder pads to enable the shoulder plates to sit properly and stop them digging into the neck but the garment itself wasn't padded or quilted.

shazzdan wrote:I think the entrenching tools are my favourite accessory. Roman legionaries did a lot more digging than fighting.

According to Mike Bishop, segmentata underpadding had thick shoulder pads to enable the shoulder plates to sit properly and stop them digging into the neck.

That would make good sense, because it does dig into the neck (I speak from personal experience).

The tools are from Ignite's marching pack set. Some of these tools were recreated for the HY Imperial Army Reloaded Infantry set, too. With a bit of weathering (Ignite's stuff is pristine), they would look better.

These look more than presentable mate, they look awesome.

I love all the little details, and for me researching these things and expanding my knowledge is half the fun of building figures like this.

Well done

Paul

scalawag wrote:These look more than presentable mate, they look awesome. I love all the little details, and for me researching these things and expanding my knowledge is half the fun of building figures like this. Well done. Paul

Thank you very much, Paul. I agree, research and recreation is both fun and educational. I can't really claim too much credit with the actual creation of the little details, as they are mostly "sourced" and kitbashed, and my own custom additions are few and far between (like the pteruges over the upper arms of the legionary), but I appreciate your kind words for my research and presentation.

I am totally ignorant on all these details, but it looks amazing to me, and I love the comments. It's as if you guys went back in time on vacation last week and are reporting on the details you saw

Your background looks awesome. I'm no detailed eye, but it seems to me that the boys are in a clearing with dappled sunshine.

Peaches wrote:I am totally ignorant on all these details, but it looks amazing to me, and I love the comments.  It's as if you guys went back in time on vacation last week and are reporting on the details you saw Your background looks awesome.  I'm no detailed eye, but it seems to me that the boys are in a clearing with dappled sunshine.

Thank you very much! Well, didn't someone say reading books is like taking journeys to different places and times? That's more or less all I did here. A clearing with dapples sunshine seems like the best way to describe it.

Awesome legionaries man!

ahbake wrote:Awesome legionaries man!

Thank you, I'm glad you liked them. One of them is technically an auxiliary, but they're all Roman dudes. (Well, technically the auxiliaries became Roman only upon retirement, but anyway...)

Great custom figures. They look no less good than actual official sets, tho I reckon those would have more history inaccuracies. You did some realistic poses and that background did work out very well. Not to mention educational.

Thank you, glad you liked it -- and found it educational!

They look great, I do enjoy seeing ancient bashes, it's a shame I don't see that many of these anymore or maybe they still make plenty of ancient stuff but it just goes over my head.

Theboo-bomb wrote:They look great, I do enjoy seeing ancient bashes, it's a shame I don't see that many of these anymore or maybe they still make plenty of ancient stuff but it just goes over my head.

Thank you very much. Glad you liked them. Apart from some of those fantasty sets, seems like ancient ones are narrowed down to HH & HaoYu these days. They do lend themselves to providing kitbashing materials, but with rising prices, are going to make the whole process more painful, and bashes more rare.

I've been thinking about some Roman enemies and I was recently commissioned to make a falx so I thought I'd stick it in this thread (plus it bumps a cool thread about legionaries). Turned out pretty good. It is made from 2mm steel plate and hardwood.

Thank you, Dan, and these really turned out great. As always, I admire your ability to use "real" materials to make such tiny replicas.

That's pretty cool. I like how you can see the tang between the wood.

"presentable"? To me those two figures rock the casbah and the choice of background works very well! That's much more than presentable!

blackpool wrote:"presentable"? To me those two figures rock the casbah and the choice of background works very well! That's much more than presentable!

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked them and the background. If you knew what a pain they were to pose and stand with these relatively weak joints, you'd know why I felt I was settling for "presentable." I think with stronger joints they would have posed even better and I could have done something more creative. But the type of "chain" mail used here made these bodies and their detachable arms pretty much a must (although there are now some narrow-shouldered detachable-arm World Box bodies, too).

Fantastic work!

Very authentical Roman soldiers to me. I like the sandals and the heads are well choosen as ever. I can see R. Crowe in the HS.

Kynaithos wrote:Fantastic work!

Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked them.

Ephiane wrote:Very authentical Roman soldiers to me. I like the sandals and the heads are well choosen as ever. I can see R. Crowe in the HS.

Thank you very much, Ephiane. The sandals, luckily, came pre-made (from various companies), and so did the heads. I just put them together. And yes, that is definitely a rendition of good old Russell. Apparently he can be difficult, but I can't help but like the guy...