Preatorian guards

[hobbyworker]

Hi

I was thinking of painting my Preatorian guards a lite... different
How about painting them like the Preatorian guards in the film Gladiator?
black or dark metal and purple clothes..?
What do you think.

plz coment

Regards

Hobbyworker.

[mikeland]

I am planning something similar for my Preatorians. I wasn't sure about doing Preatorians any at all at first, the army I finally settled on was conquest of Briton era (only cos I was desperate for chariots & woad for my celts) so I wasn't sure how much they would be involved. But then I though Claudius made a personal appearance so perhaps his guard would have been with him.
That decision made I decided I would make them look very smart, and fancy as opposed to the rest of my romans who are mainly based on the veteran sprues. So I am thinking of Purple or Red, Black and Gold.
As to the historic accuracy of this, I don't know. I know some say that purple was unlikely because of the cost of purple dye at the time, also black cloth was apparently hard to maintain so I am told, but hey, they are the Emperors men, I'm sure the ruler of all the romans could bling them up to his hearts content!
(I may even go all BD and get some Attic helmets)

But before I start on them I have a bunch of dour P&S Scotts, some Roman Auxiliaries and a pile of celts to contend with...

This image was my inspiration:

[Eversor]

black or dark metal and purple clothes..?

The use of those colours for Praetorians or the legions is unlikely. Black was considered the colour of death and would have been seen as bad omen. Purple was restricted to senators.

Therefore you have to decide whether you want to use cool but unlikely colours or want to stick to those that could probably have been used (e.g. white or red).

[hobbyworker]

I want my Preatorians to stand out from the rest of my army so it will not be red anyway
and i think the Preatorians from the movie look hard

Regards

Hobbyworker.

[mikeland]

I want my Preatorians to stand out from the rest of my army so it will not be red anyway
and i think the Preatorians from the movie look hard

By the time of Imperial rome the restrictions on the wearing of purple were slightly different, only the Emperor was allowed to wear an entirely purple toga, then depending on rank the senators and their families were allowed to wear a larger purple band on their togas, then those of the equestrian class had a narrow purple stripe.

So the idea of the Emperors guard being dressed in purple is not actually totally impossible as they were the imperial body guard and an extension of the majesty of the divine emperor, the purple not being a reflection of their own status but that of the man they were bound to. But as to real hard evidence there is little, and the horrendously expensive nature of purple dye would perhaps have prohibited it being rolled out across a whole bunch of soldiers.

As regards black, yes it was the colour of mourning, but I'm sure I read somewhere that some of the emperors wore black and purple togas, can't find where now though, so it could have just been the results of my fevered imagination.

But really as Eversor says it is your call, I think they would look both cool and tough in purple and black, and seeing as we don't know for a fact either way go for it!

[Biggus Dickus]

I'd go with Attic helmets (But then i would!) purple plumes (though mine are black!) You may also want to consider getting some plastic Greek Muscle cuirass torso's and converting them.....I seriously considered doing this and may well in the future!




Here is a picture of my full unit of Praetorians with the new heads
bases only primed.

[NORTIVS MAXIMVS]

I'm considering white tunics with a dark blue stripe on the 'skirt' and maybe dark blue edges to the sleeves, to match these LBM shield transfers:



White or blue crests are a possibility, I guess ...

I've got some Foundry figures in cuirasses, so these could make command figures ... I think this century will be fun to do.

I'm considering the attic head/helmet combo too. I have received the transfers, and the attic helmets are really lovely ... but the faces were miscast (eye detail missing) so I'm waiting on WG for a replacement. Then I plan to finish one praetorian as a test and to whet my appetite!

Cheers
Paul

[Biggus Dickus]

I'm considering white tunics with a dark blue stripe on the 'skirt' and maybe dark blue edges to the sleeves, to match these LBM shield transfers:



White or blue crests are a possibility, I guess ...

I've got some Foundry figures in cuirasses, so these could make command figures ... I think this century will be fun to do.

I'm considering the attic head/helmet combo too. I have received the transfers, and the attic helmets are really lovely ... but the faces were miscast (eye detail missing) so I'm waiting on WG for a replacement. Then I plan to finish one praetorian as a test and to whet my appetite!

Cheers
Paul

Hi Paul, yes mine had the same issues on the faces but i just filled them with green stuff which took a while, admittedly i shouldn't have had to, but was in a rush to get it done...I thought warlord were working on it?

[Titus Flavius]

@ Mikeland...where is that painting from?

[Cubster]

@ Mikeland...where is that painting from?

It's by a Dutch painter called Lawrence Alma-Tadema who did a lot of Classical and especially Roman Imperial stuff, focussing on the opulence of wealthy lifestyles. This one's called 'Proclaiming Claudius'.