Creating a Roman Century circa 150AD - how?

[Timotheos]

Hey Martin, ditch the shield and give the guy a round shield or oval shield.

With those heavy boots he wears, he'd make a good candidate for an auxiliary on garrison duty in some unforgiving place.  His armor is vaguely similar to German armor depicted in Osprey (shirts of laminated armor).

-Tim

[Gustavo]

I can see where they got the inspiration for the shield

[pic, attached]

and for a crossbowman who carries his shield to within crossbow-shot of the castle battlements, maybe a shield held in the right hand makes sense. It's big, it's very heavy, and once you plant it and hide behind it, it doesn't matter how you carried it there. [agreed]

As we've noted before, the Specials often seem to be testing the water. If that bunch of nutters hadn't bought 5-6,000 of this figure to build their legion, maybe we wouldn't have a Roman theme now.

Makes sense ... This solves the matter of the (medieval) shield.

& The new Roman shields look very accurate. (Although I don't have any yet, I've had lots (and lots ... and more lots) of pictures from you guys )


Gus

[Timotheos]

If that bunch of nutters hadn't bought 5-6,000 of this figure to build their legion, maybe we wouldn't have a Roman theme now.

Hi Martin would you mind buying 5-6,000 of the Kossack special?

I really have my heart set on a Tsarist Russia theme ().

[Gustavo]

Hi Martin would you mind buying 5-6,000 of the Kossack special?

I really have my heart set on a Tsarist Russia theme ().

If 500 people buy 10 each ...

I'm not the kind of guy who buys 100 of something, but I think I'd buy 10 of those soldiers, and more 8 "fletchers" ... They're the same colour, so, who knows, they'll become a future medieval citylife theme, to be relaunched in celebration of the new timbered houses to come ...

So ...


Gus

[Justindo]

Hey Martin, ditch the shield and give the guy a round shield or oval shield.

With those heavy boots he wears, he'd make a good candidate for an auxiliary on garrison duty in some unforgiving place.  His armor is vaguely similar to German armor depicted in Osprey (shirts of laminated armor).

-Tim

I agree.  I'd give him an oval shield because he'd make a perfect auxiliary.  I'd personally use these klickies as either the Emperor's German bodyguard or as German cavalrymen, perhaps serving in a cold climate.

[playmofire]

This book may be of use to people:

http://www.thameshudson.co.uk/books/The_Complete_Roman_Army/9780500051245.mxs/35/0/
 and list of contents:

http://www.thameshudson.co.uk/en/1/romanarmycontents.mxs?38f78265f072c43991cbd894e361bbac

I've not read it, but I have read a book in the same series on ancient Rome and found that very interesting and also well commented on by a friend who is a Classicist.

[Martin Milner]

Thanks for the links Gordon. AT present I'm up to my ears in Roman army books, but this one did come up on the radar.

What I'm now waiting for is a book about actual Roman Battle Tactics, something which has only been focussed on by one book in English so far. Unfortunately that makes the book hard to get hold of, and my order through Amazon is delayed.

My units are complete barring about 30 oval shields for a couple of the auxiliary cohorts, but I'm inclined to pack them away for now (after one more photo session) so I can assemble my double-ended arena on the display table.

[Justindo]

Martin, I'm not sure if the book below on battle tactics is the one you're referring to, but it's decent enough, if not exactly comprehensive.  Then again, beggars can't be choosers!

http://www.amazon.com/Roman-Battle-Tactics-109BC-AD313-Elite/dp/1846031842/ref=pd_sim_b_5

I'm amazed that you've been able to fully assemble your spectacular Roman army in so short a time!  I've been working on my Roman army, which doesn't feature any Partian auxiliaries  , for over a year now and while it's pretty substantial and nearly complete, it's not fully finished.  Playmobil's parts department must be a lot better in the UK than it is in the US!

[Martin Milner]

That's the one - 2-5 weeks is the estimate there, I've been waiting about three so far.

The UK parts department is certainly more reliable than the US one - they supplied 25 cavalrymen, though 4 signifers had to be sent back as painted ladies. I got a lot of shields, helmets and gladii via parts there too, and wish I'd got all my auxilairies that was to avoid the greaves problem. I may yet order a dozen or so auxiliaries with leather sandals to replace the greaves guys..

50 of the figures came via Gepetto, so thanks again for the Parthian Archers and fur-booted German Auxiliaries units - couldn't have done this without him. The Hamian Archer figures (both remaining as archers and transformed into Auxiliaries) mainly came from Play 1-2-3 on eBay, who dug them out specially on my request and put them up as a buy-it-now for me, at less than the figures would have cost to assemble via the parts department.

It's been fun and occasionally aggravating assembling my Legion, but I think I'm 99% there now. 11 centuries of 24 figures, so many that I can't get them all on the same display table, at least with the Hadrian's wall backdrop in place.

I also have the 6 Legates, the Praefectus Castrorum, and a dozen spare officer figures whose roles are yet unfixed. A couple will command the siege engines, and a couple more the baggage train. I may also have a gate commander.

[Timotheos]

I'm amazed that you've been able to fully assemble your spectacular Roman army in so short a time!  I've been working on my Roman army, which doesn't feature any Partian auxiliaries 

Recommendation: don't try to keep up with Martin.

When he was sixteen he woke up in the same hay loft with a very hung over Margaret Thatcher, and she's still trying to keep him quiet about it.

But seriously, how did Gepetto manage to nab 25 Roman blisters?  These stores usually stock about 5 at a time.  Was he able to mail order from somewhere?

Hey, here are some more book recommendations:

Pat Southern's "Augustus" (Southern was co-author of "The Roman Cavalry").  She goes into great detail about Augustus's political environment.  Sometimes too much detail, but it's there for the reading.  At issue is exactly how did Augustus frame his power.  Historians aren't even sure to what extent he may have co-ruled the republic with Agrippa (Agrippa managed the eastern portion as either an equal or as an exception to all Roman legal titles).  Augustus strived to couch himself in legal legitimacy and it is difficult to interpret all the layers of subterfuge.

-Tim