Once you have selected your tabletop army from the various manufacturers, the next task is to paint it. The first place to look for painting information is the Notitia Dignitatum or the WRG book by Phil Barker (listed below). These provide information on the shield patterns for the units mentioned above. The clothing of most of the troops would consist of tunic, pants and shoes/boots provided by the government or locally purchased. Many of the issued items were produced in state factories specialising in weaving, leather tanning or related production. The tunic would probably be generally white or off-white based on the known examples of Roman paintings depicting soldiers. Veterans and officers may have used red tunics. Decorations and appliqués (clavi) on tunics were various shades of purple or similar colours. Pants were probably light brown, except for officers, which were white. Shoes and boots were dark brown. Cloaks were light brown or yellow. Although clothing was often issued, this should not be thought of as a uniform in the modern sense. Clothing issues were increasingly being commuted, with soldiers being given an allowance from which to purchase what they needed. There is no evidence to show that there was any attempt to standardise clothing colour. Some colours seem to have been more common than others, with white and yellowish beige being very common (typical bleached or undyed wool or wool-linen colours) and red a close second. Blues and greens occasionally were used. Leg coverings could also be varied. Long tight Germanic trousers were commonly worn. These were rather like leggings and covered the foot as well as the leg. Knee breeches were possible alternates, although less fashionable. Troops in hot climates (North Africa and Asia) often did without trousers or breeches. From the 3rd Century, the lower leg was usually covered to the knee with a long sock held up by thin laces in a cross garter pattern, or by linen bindings similar to modern puttees, or by a gaiter. Metal armour was a combination of iron and bronze. Recent reviews of the Notitia Dignitatum, artwork and artefacts suggest that Roman soldiers wore a protective non-metallic piece similar to a medieval gambeson or aketon called a thoracomachus, which was made of woollen felt to form a padded layer between tunic and metal armour. The thoracomachus were probably produced at state factories such as in Mantua, Italy and Autun, France (listed in the Notitia Dignitatum). Non-metallic greaves may also have been worn by some soldiers. Accoutrements were mainly leather and there are several appropriate shades to give variety to the figures. Guards and senior officers had more elaborate uniforms as well as veterans, who chose to modify their issued items. Cloaks, accoutrements, tunics and armour can be painted with the intent of reflecting better quality equipment and clothing. Static or newly recruited units can be depicted in fairly uniform white/off white tunics, with veteran field army units showing much greater variety with several soldiers in brighter colours and fancier decoration. More Late Roman Army Late Roman Army: Introduction Late Roman Army: Weapons Late Roman Army: Personal Organization Late Roman Army: Bibliography Late Roman Army: Sources and Terminology Late Roman Army: Military Organization Late Roman Army: Unit Sizes and Types Late Roman Army: A Model Army Late Roman Army: Painting Tips Late Roman Army: Bibliography Back to Saga #75 Table of Contents Back to Saga List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Terry Gore This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com