It's come down to the Triarii

17 March 2017


The Roman Triarii. Solid, dependable and wealthy. Now, how do I convey that status in a paint job and keep it simple?

For starters I am going make their tunics red - it looks imperial and was a more expensive dye than most other colours at the time. 

I've also decided to use a gun metal (dark silver) for the mail coat. This was an expensive item, but if you were wealthy would be considered a necessary expense.

Another metal for the helmet, but not gun metal and I think a dark bronze for the helmet is another sign of having a bit of money. This is all going to be topped off with a solid black plume.

For the Triarii shields the first base is going to be unbleached wool colour. The other bases shield is going to be red. 

Once I have painted and based these little guys the collection calculator says that they, as a collective, is going to worth about £14.00.

Triarii (Sp - Spear)


Brown, Bronze and Metal 

As I approached my first bases of solid infantry in close order to paint, I had to pay particular attention to the overall look rather than the detail of the Triarii. Firstly I didn't have as much room to get in between the figures with the brushes as I did with the Velites or the Cavalry bases, secondly it was eight figures in one session rather than the 3 each of the Cavalry bases and the initial 2 of the Velite bases. 

There will be lot more areas on these figures to miss as I begin to enter the "factory" process of painting a lot of figures in one go. Overall I think the Triarii are another good result as I build up in confidence to tackle the larger number of figures for the Hastati and Priceps of the main line.

This is the Triarii, pictured from the front



Triarii from the front right of the base showing the detail of the painting job



Triarii from the front left of the base showing the detail of the painting job



This is the Triarii, pictured from the Rear