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12-28-2004, 07:03 AM

Ave, 
I am a noob to the reenacting world, and I am planing on joining a legion. For this I need a suit of Lorica Segmentata, 
(most likely Corbridge type). I am young and have a very limited buget but still desire a good suit. If anyone has any ideas about what armorers to go to or anything, that would much appreciated!! 
 
Thanks, Jake

12-28-2004, 09:38 AM

Welcome to Rat! 
 
I don't know if you thought about it yet, but how about making your own? It would cost less than a third of finished one. You can get all the info you want on the net (a good place to start is the website of Legio XX from Matthew Amt). 
All additional questions you might have can be asked here. 
 
Success, what ever you decide. 
 
Jurgen/Quintilianus

Mithras · 12-28-2004, 02:24 PM

You know, I fancy making (or having a go at making) a Newstead. The steet metal I can get. I can cut it and shape it OK. I can get hold of leather and rivets OK. But I am at a loss as to what-else I need, or where to get it ... 
 
To explain more fully, I am normally 3rd or 4thC and wear only hamata - my knowledge of segmentata is currently sketchy. Paul Elliott/Caius Fortunatus 
 
3rd Century Auxiliary (Cohors Quinta Gallorum) 
 
4th Century Legionnary (Comitatus) 
 
www.geocities.com/zozergames/interactive.html

12-28-2004, 07:09 PM

I thought about making my own, but I don't have the time, the means, or really the know-how. Does anybody know of any good armorers that make segmentata for a fairly reasonable price? 
 
thanks, Jake

Caius Fabius · 12-28-2004, 07:35 PM

What is reasonable to one person might be outrageous to another. 
 
You might try going to some of the re-enactor webpages and reading their list of approved or recommended suppliers. You might join yahoogroups RomanArmy forum and look at their links, Some Re-enactment groups to look up using a search engine would be LEG IX HISP, LEG XXIV, LEG XX. Depending on where you live, you might be able to hook up with a group who has a set of 'loaner" armor. We'll have extra equipment at Lafe Arkansas in March, both Segmentata and Hamata. (you can make a functional set of mail armor for under $60 if you will spend an hour a day working on it).

12-28-2004, 09:19 PM

I recently constructed a new torso section for my Albion segmentata. The fit of the original toso section had always been an issue. It wasn't all that difficult to do. You might buy a cheaper Deepeeka imported segmentata and then rebuild it to get something that fits you better. Start with a cardboard mock-up and then cut metal. Use the patterns at the legio XX site as a guide.

12-28-2004, 10:03 PM

Being 20 myself I know what you're going through. I saw this set on Ebay, which was my best friend for putting together a World War I kit for dirt cheap. 
 
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI...86470&rd=1 
 
It looks like an acceptable Corbridge A to me, though I could be wrong since I'm new to Roman gear myself. The price is pretty good as well, and I've seen this set relisted a few times. Just get rid of the helm, its one of those piece of junk trooper helms from Mueseam (sp?) Replicas/Windlass. 
 
You could also consider using Lorica Hamata (ring or chain mail) if you can find a better price for it. 
 
If you can't get a hold of a set quickly check with the group you're going out with and see if they have any loaner gear to lend you, most reenactment groups of any period do. 
 
Finally, you could also consider going out as another impression besides a Legionary, I'm going as an Auxillia myself, and some of those impressions such as a slinger are fairly low cost. 
 
Chris Goshey Coh I Nerviorum Legion XXIV

12-29-2004, 10:32 PM

Salve, 
 
The set for sale on ebay is an interpretation of a Corbridge A. BUT! the shoulder plates look rather out of prpoprtion to the rest of the seg. The plates also look a bit too rounded and the hinges only appear to be half rolled. Some of these gripes may seem a little picky but they're the sort of things that'll really get up your nose after a while. 
 
The bottom line is that good quality seg's at discount prices are few and far between. Unless you can find the time to make your own (or a philanthropist to do it for you) your gonna have to put some pennies in a piggy bank. 
 
I wouldn't get too caught up with the need to get lorica straight away. Most groups you join can help with some loan equipment and if not go expeditii (unarmoured). Although the Lorica Segmentata has the most visual impact of the legionary equipment, it is probably one of the last pieces of equipment you should obtain. If you can get booted and suited (in a tunica) and follow this with a scutum, cingulum, gladius and cassis (helmet), you can start a portrayal. Without these items a segmentata on its own is next to useless. 
 
Being a newbie it's easy to get excited and want to get kit asap, but it is definitely worth taking a breath and slowing down. It's really easy to waste money on incorrect kit and in the long run it's probably cheaper to wait and buy quality correct items rather than spend on the wrong stuff and have to ditch it. 
 
If you tot up the cost of all the kit you'll probably end up buying or making you'd have a heart attack. But, hopefully you'll have many years in the roman reenactment world and looked at this way you are spreading the investment out. 
 
Keep looking for that elusive Seg at an unbelievably low price you never know you might get lucky. But remember CAVEAT EMPTOR (buyer beware). 
 
Vale 
 
Mummius Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=mummius>mummius</A> at: 12/29/04 11:33 pm

12-30-2004, 02:19 AM

Does anybody know if Roman Legion Quartermaster segmentatas are any good? And does anybody have any pictures of a set of it? 
 
-Jake

12-30-2004, 04:37 AM

Jake, here's a shot from a recent military history show in California last October: 
 
<img src="http://www.legionsix.org/hibernicusvisit.jpg" style="border:0;"/> 
 
The armor, in order from left to right: 
1. a Leg VI probatti in a Roman-style chain-maille hamata. This was one of those full-sleeved chain shirts that you can get off of eBay for circa $120; we then removed most of the sleeves and used the material to make the shoulder doublings, adding leather trim and a bronze fastener after. 
 
2. (back to camera) Sean Richards/Hibernicus, leader of Leg IX Hisp, in his RLQM lorica. This is one of his older ones, and has seen many years of use. Price not shown on the RLQM site. 
 
3. (center, looking left) me in my home-made Newstead. I made this for about $150, and lots of input from Arik Greenberg/Diogenes, Caius Man, and of course, Dr. Mike Bishop's invaluable work on the revise Newstead design. Having already built a Corbridge C model, I can personally affirm that this was the most difficult piece of armor I've ever made, and took three times longer than my Corbridge to build! 
 
4. Caius Man, leader of Leg VI Vic, in a Deepeeka Corbridge A from Albion Armories, around $360. Albion's newer Corbridges look a bit different (though not necessarily better-- http://albion-swords.com/armor/roman/lorica.htm ) and are up to a whopping $500 now. 
 
5. Dave Michaels/Flavius of Leg VI in his home-made Newstead. 
 
6. Greg Douglass/Marius of Leg VI in another Deepeeka Corbridge A. 
 
This display is by no means complete, but does give you an idea about the one you last inquired about. As you can see, there's an enormous difference in what's available out there in terms of price, workmanship, fit, appearance, etc. IMHO, eBay is almost always a very poor source for Roman Empire equipment, though it can be fantastic for other time periods (WWI, WWII). I fully concur with Mummius, who recommended waiting til later for that particular piece of gear... you're going to want to build a computer file of segmentata photos, along with comparative costs, availability, etc, to help you decide. Any good reenacting legion will have loaner gear, and there's no shame in wearing it, though it's usually the more out-dated stuff. You'll actually be doing the honorable thing by researching and saving your pennies, rather than buying a pile of crap like this http://www.a2armory.com/romlorseg.html 
 
The most economical (and fun!) choice is to simply build it yourself, using the Leg XX Handbook as your guide, as Quintilianus and Neuralmancer have suggested http://www.larp.com/legioxx/lorica.html Again, hook up with a legion in your area for assistance. Those can be found here: 
 
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/groups.html
http://www.legionxxiv.org/legionlinks/
(caution, though, his Newstead diagram is the out-dated, inaccurate one personified in the Museum Replicas segmentata!) 
 
Best of luck in your quality Roman legionary impression, and welcome to CaesarÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s legions! 
 
Gaius Darius 
Legio VI Victrix 
So Cal

Hibernicus · 01-04-2005, 10:57 AM

I wore that seg for the last time a few weeks ago.. The shoulder leathers have stretched .. 3" - 4".. over 8 years! Egads!! The torso leathers have been replaced 3 times. The shoulder leathers are about 8 years old. Too many SCA wars, too many hours upon hours of weapons drill, too many miles on the road, too many feet of ditch digging.... 
 
It's in pieces now, headed for the forge to get hammered and blued and turned into a laoner. 
 
Roman Legion Quartermaster.... www.rlqm.com... . pics and prices for segs are posted. $550 for a custom fit one of a kind seg. 
 
Hibernicus

01-11-2005, 07:19 PM

Hi, just read this reply... What type of leather are you using that stretches 3-4"!!? I've had leather become more supple with use, or brittle, dried-out, etc., but have never known any type to "stretch" anywhere near this amount, even with the use you describe. I know of no leather that even possesses these extreme elastic properties. 
 
Though you explain the droop of the shoulder plates as an elastic leather issue, this photo [recently-posted on the Leg IX Hispana website] would indicate that all the RLQM segs are made this way: 
 
<img src="http://www.legio-ix-hispana.org/trench01.jpg" style="border:0;"/> 
 
As such, it does not appear to be a question of elastic leather, but rather an element of deliberate design. I think most people simply assumed that, since you describe using these in SCA combat, they're merely conforming to the SCA safety requirement of elbow protection (and a clever solution, if that were the case). 
 
I'm not sure why there was a need to "explain" the droopy shoulders at all, since (a) they appear consistent with all RLQM segs, and (b) no one actually said they looked goofy or inaccurate. To find out now, however, that the leather used on the armor actually "stretches" this amount over time is a different issue altogether. If this is in fact the case, I would strongly recommend a different supplier/animal. 
 
Vale, 
Darius

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