What colour to paint Hastatii shields?

[Zippee]

Red!

Red is the Gods colour, they will favour you!

Pinting your shield in the gods colour is hubris - they will punish you

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Pinting your shield in the gods colour is hubris - they will punish you

How doo you drink a shield

[Techno]

Cut it into small strips, and pretend you're a sword-swallower ?

(No one is to put anything remotely smutty after this.....Or I'll use the delete button.)

Cheers - Phil

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Damn - Phil just deleted my last post in this thread ...

IanS 

[toxicpixie]

How about pink?

That fits, right?

[Techno]

Damn - Phil just deleted my last post in this thread ...
IanS 

Oooooh......I never...You fibber.....Just to get me into trouble.

(I liked that, Ian.  ......Good one !)

Cheers - Phil

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Couldn't resist !

[Orcs]

Vegetius wrote:

"Lest the soldiers in the confusion of battle should be separated from their comrades, every cohort had its shields painted in a manner peculiar to itself. The name of each soldier was also written on his shield, together with the number of the cohort and century to which he belonged."

I voted other, as I go with Ithoriel (and Vegetius).  I find the thought that they would not use such an obvious way to designate units as highly unlikely. It also adds to the units morale.


I would designate each troop type ,  principes ,triari and  hastate a different shield colour.

THEN:-

1 Paint each troop type the same shade of the chosen colour and add a different coloured/type  emblem for each legion - Use VVV transfers

2 Paint each legion a different shade of the designated colour for that troop type.

3 A combination of both of the above


I look forward to seeing your 10 mm legionary shields painted as stated by Vegetius with their name, Cohort and Century on the shield 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Never expected this thread to reach three pages! 
Thanks chaps

[Luddite]

Red ones go faster...

http://allthetropes.wikia.com/wiki/Red_Ones_Go_Faster

[d_Guy]

All The Tropes - what an interesting place - thanks, Luddite.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

I've gone for red, with a proportion in white and also some in yellow.

[FierceKitty]

Just a thought: a triarius would have started life as an hastatus, then become a princeps....Shields were private property; would they have been repainted when their owners transferred?

[Ithoriel]

Legionaries of the period were indeed expected to provide their own weapons and armour but it seems likely that the state provided these which were then paid for through deductions from pay as food, clothing and other equipment was.

A repaint of a shield wouldn't be a difficult or time consuming activity. Shields must have been replaced or repaired fairly regularly I'd have thought.

The truth is we don't know for sure. Hence my vote for paint it whatever colour you fancy!

[FierceKitty]

I find myself remembering the story of the legionary given a snide comment by his general for having an ornate and oversized shield. That sounds like an item that didn't pass through government channels.