"Libyan heavy infantry tunics/shield colours?" Topic

I have three bags of Old Glory 28mm Libyan heavy infantry. These are veterans in Roman mail and with roman shields. I'm wondering what colour to paint the tunics and shields.

I have seen a lot of red tunics and some off white (undyed linen). Is there evidence of anything else?

For the shields, I will try to get some shield transfers. But I have to decide whether to paint them a uniform colour, by unit, or mix them up. What do historical sources say?

Hi Chortle,
Unfortunately the sources don't say very much at all – just that the Libyans (and not the Celts or Spanish) were equipped so as to be indistinguishable from Romans. It's likely that most of Hannibal's troops would have been re-clothed by their Celtic allies as they crossed the Alps in to Italy, so they could possibly have worn plaid or other celtic style tunics (and who knows what they would have looked like for sure??)As for shields – they may have put some sort of distinguishing motif on them, but Duncan Head thinks this is unlikely as it would not be too hard to separate friend from foe when formed up.
I'd go for a hotch potch of tunics – a real mix to reflect the ad hoc clothing the army would have worn by this stage, and leave the shields very 'Roman' – maybe with a Barcid 'lightning bolt' on them to represent Hannibal's sigil.
Cheers
Greg

I've got another Republican legion in the works (as if I didn't have enough to do) and I plan to paint their tunics in a variety of earth shades with red reserved for officers.

At the moment, shield colors are up for debate for this project. I MAY use one color for the entire legion's shields, or use a different one for each century. I'm sort of playing it as I go right now. There's a few months for a decision, though, until I get the other items ahead of them finished.

In my own opinion, I have come to the conclusion that Roman military tunics were made from either undyed cloth, or dyed with the least expensive dyes available. After all, these tunics were being issued by the state, and then (as now) the lowest cost would have prevailed.

Additionally, those dyes were all natural materials, and so would suffer from exposure to the elements, especially the sun. The colors would begin to fade, even changing their hue depending upon the dyes used.

For example, Logwood dyed cloth used for confederate uniforms began life as a medium to dark grey, but within a few month's time in the field began to change to a sort of olive shade and then to a tan/drab color.

Ancient cloth would have suffered the same fate.

So to my mind, a variety of drab, earth colors would be best. If you want blues and reds and yellows, even plaids, I'd consider using a washed-out of faded version vice bright and new.

Just my two-cent's worth.

Carthaginian mercenaries aren't poor either. Now clothing will wear, deteriorate so patches are fine and fading but these aren't levies en masse

The LBMS shield designs are very nice. Personally that is what I'd use.

At the time of Hannibal, the Roman Army hadn't undergone the Marian reforms, so enlistment/conscription was based on class and the state didn't supply anything.

I still don't completely by that. If this were true, then as soon as the lower class ran out of equipment, clothing, etc, over the course of a campaign, they'd be useless and have to retire. You cannot claim that the Republic didn't supply camp equippage or rations.

I find it ludicrous to think that any commander would take the field without sufficient logistical support for his army, from food and shelter, to arrows, bowstrings, even sling stones. Certainly clothing and blankets of some fashion MUST have been available for issue on an as-needed basis, otherwise the army would cease to function as more than a slowly-dissolving mob over the course of a few weeks.

V/R

Thank you for the suggestions. I've updated my notes.

For these figures the the tunic only shows a little at the knees and at the arms. It isn't worth painting a plaid. But I will do one on a cloak, where there is more space to work.

I will do a mix of shields within each unit, biased towards one colour per unit – so that they can be visually told apart.

"Barcid 'lightning bolt'" ? Can you link an image?

Duncan Head's Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars mentions the Libyans getting some Gallic clothing en route to Italy, but I imagine these would be plain style tunics rather than anything fancy?

For colours, red, white, off white, blue, perhaps a green or yellow if you are feeling daring.

What I did for mine was use google images to see a selection of units and then chose the colours I thought looked best :)

Cheers,
Aaron

I second (or third?) the colors suggested by TL Achilles and even earthier colors. Shamefully, my 6 legions of Republican Romans are the off white tunic color because back when I started I thought they were more uniform. (One day I'll go back and paint 400 different colored tunics…after the Pyrrhic army, perhaps).

I also don't think that the state supplied a tunic…many things were bought by the soldiers themselves – they were conscripted after all (though more willingly than most other armies). If a tunic was in rags they probably bought a new one out of their pay that Romans had been getting since their fight against Veii (396 BC), which is the only mention I remember of anything being supplied by the state besides a pectoral plate for those who couldn't afford that.

IMHO, paint them as you want. Nobody is really sure of the colors. I used a off- white but that is what I wanted! Mike Adams

I agree with TKindred. By the time of 2nd Punic War the Roman state was supplying basic equipment to its soldiers. That was certainly the case during the 2nd Punic War when soldiers were in the field for years at a time and losses had mounted up.

I would suppose that the standardization of the Roman dress came during the 2nd Punic War when the state did assume more responsibility for outfitting the troops and that this tradition carried forward into the 2nd century.

Hi Chortle,

The family name 'Barca' (Hbrq in ancient Punic) means 'lightning', so I like the idea of the family sigil being a lightning bolt. Hannibal after all did strike down out of the Alps like a bolt from the sky. No historic basis for it though, unfortunately.

Cheers
Greg
Agema Miniatures

A plaid is a garment worn over a shoulder by Scottish Highlanders. Stop gibbering, some of you.