Need help on designing a cape, shirt, pants, & eagle emb

[Whitestar19]

Hey guys! My first post. I'm so glad I found this place. I'm a huge Rome fanatic and I'm looking forward to joining your ranks when I put together my outfit. Now, I hope you don't yell at me for what I'm about to say next, but its better then nothing right? Here it goes.

I want to look EXACTLY like the legionnaires do on the HBO series Rome. I can buy the armor from Museum Replicas. I'm talking to a tailor now to make me a cape, shirt, and pants but we need a little research first.

1) Cape: The cape on the show looks... layered? It has ripples and folds in it? How is it made? What's the shape of it? Rectangle? Oval? A mixtures of the two? What is the exact color of it? How can a tailor make a cape to look just like it does on the show? Are there directions somewhere?

2) Shirt/Pants: The shirt and pants are easier to make but do you know the type of material/color I can use? Can the tailor go into a store and say "I need the color Roman brown"?

3) Eagle Emblem: We need a good picture of it so we can print it out, and then press it onto the shirt. Do you know where I can get one?

4) Can you think of anywhere else that might be helpful for what I need?

I'm confident you've all seen the show so you know what I'm talking about, but if not, I'll find some pics and post them. Thanks for any and all info you can give!

[Magnus]

Sorry dude, we only do authentic recreations here. There are many reasons why...so all of our information and skill is basically for accurate portrayals of equipment. If you want, just try finding pics from that series and patterns on the internet. Google will be your friend.

[Whitestar19]

Thanks for responding so quickly. From what I know of the show, it's pretty historically accurate for a TV show. I don't think its too far off from your own cape, which is why I wanted to ask here.

[Wes]

If you want to save money and headaches, do not purchase the gear from Museum Replicas!!! Use the search feature of RAT and find out the proper and authentic items/gear!! PM me for anything if you want to do it right!!

Wes

[Icelandic]

This is a good site to see when checking to see if something is reputable or not:


http://www.larp.com/legioxx/bad.html

[Tarbicus]

Hi Whitestar19. I may as well say you need to add your real name to your signature before a Mod asks.

I'm confident you've all seen the show so you know what I'm talking about, but if not, I'll find some pics and post them. Thanks for any and all info you can give!

I think most of us love the show, but understand we spend a lot of time and effort researching the real thing and trying to reproduce the real deal. The chainmail shirts were not bad, but the rest lacking I'm afraid. Forget the eagle on the tunic, and the short trousers, and the helmet, and the shield.... :wink:

This is more like how the costumes should have been, just so that you know:
http://www.romanhideout.com/legiov/fabr ... ica_it.asp
http://www.romanhideout.com/legiov/fabr ... ula_it.asp
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/hamata.html
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/cloak.html
http://www.markaurel.de/alltag.html
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/CoolC1.jpg
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/Mont1.jpg
http://images6.theimagehosting.com/Punic.8c9.jpg
http://fotos.reconstruccionhistorica.co ... temId=2231
http://www.redrampant.com/roma/rep.html
http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/c ... repinf.htm
http://web.mac.com/heraklia/Caesar/grap ... onary2.gif
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/repscuta.jpg

[Whitestar19]

Wow! These are great and very helpful links, thanks!! Looks like the cloak link will be just what me and the tailor need. Awesome! Good to know that the chainmail shirt I want from Museum Replicas isn't listed in the "what not to buy" link. Is there another site I could buy the chainmail from? Any more info and advice you guys wanna throw me, I'm all ears.

One last thing. Are the legionnaires from the show that far off from history? I swore I heard from somewhere they were pretty close to the real thing. Maybe not 100% accurate, but 80-90% accurate?

[jvrjenivs]

I don't know all the shows, but I would surprised if they were 80% Accurate.

On the chainmail thing. Check the marketplace forum. There you could find topics about the Find-it-armory and the Ashok Rai mail. They both are great.

[AntonivsMarivsCongianocvs]

It would be best to base your recreation on authentic items… honestly in most cases, no matter what, it will take you just as much time to do it wrong than to do it right and you don’t have to spend a fortune either.

For example... if you make your tunic out of Polyester or some modern synthetic material… that would not be authentic and you won’t save any time or save any money doing it wrong.

1. Buy a red wool blanket for your “capeâ€

[Tarbicus]

Good to know that the chainmail shirt I want from Museum Replicas isn't listed in the "what not to buy" link. Is there another site I could buy the chainmail from? Any more info and advice you guys wanna throw me, I'm all ears.

Well, the devil is in the detail. I'd personally advise spending your money on one of these:
http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=14225
http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=11586

Are the legionnaires from the show that far off from history? I swore I heard from somewhere they were pretty close to the real thing. Maybe not 100% accurate, but 80-90% accurate?

I really wouldn't like to give a percentage, but it would be much, much lower than that. But then, you can tell from the site that we go into all the nitty-gritty detail.

If the tailor wants to really get stuck in, here are some archaeological stitching patterns
http://heatherrosejones.com/archaeologi ... .html#Wool

Honestly, steer clear of Museum Replicas for the gear if you want to be authentic. Don't believe everything you read in the press.

[Matthew Amt]

Good to know that the chainmail shirt I want from Museum Replicas isn't listed in the "what not to buy" link.

I could probably put EVERY "Roman" Museum Replicas item on that page, but honestly I recommend avoiding that company completely (for anything pre-medieval at least).

Basically, I think you have 2 choices: Either outfit yourself exactly like the TV show, in which case Museum Reps probably has a lot of what you want, but none of it will be acceptable at any Roman living history event. That might not be a problem, of course--you'll still wow everyone at sci-fi cons, LARPS, that sort of thing. OR you can browse through the rest of the Legio XX site, this board, and a few other good sites and assemble a historically accurate kit. We won't hate you if you go the HBO route, but we do tend to focus on the historically accurate stuff here, so we won't be able to help you as much.

Is there another site I could buy the chainmail from?

Find-It Armory is offering an excellent mailshirt for $425, and an even better one (smaller rings) for $800. There are a couple other companies starting to carry good mail, too. See the Marketplace section of this board, and:

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/supplrs.html

Are the legionnaires from the show that far off from history? I swore I heard from somewhere they were pretty close to the real thing. Maybe not 100% accurate, but 80-90% accurate?

Not that close, I'd say. From what I recall there were a lot of inaccuracies. Some items were not bad overall but had visible errors, others were worse. Oh, you can save a little money going the accurate route because Romans didn't actually wear those wristguard thingies.

Good luck, and have fun!

Matthew/Quintus, Legio XX

[irwimar]

Trabicus, what model of helmet is represented in this picture you posted above?

http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/c ... repinf.htm

Thanks.

[Tarbicus]

Trabicus, what model of helmet is represented in this picture you posted above?

http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/archive/arma/c ... repinf.htm

Thanks.

I can't really second guess the artist as they're the one who knows, but it looks like a Coolus C on the face of it?

[P. Clodius Secundus]

Greetings Whitestar,
If you are interested in joining the Roman reenactment community, and it sure sounds that way, please come and visit us in Kingston MA at Gray's Beach Park next weekend (19 & 20 May). We are having our first full-unit living history event of this season and you can see what everyone means by "acceptable gear". We usually have some loaner gear that you can try out to see what it's like before you rush out and spend good money on cheesy kit. Researching, fabricating, and using accurate stuff is much more interesting than buying copies of some set dresser's fantasy. Our unit website is www.legioiiicyrenaica.org .
Regards,
Publius Clodius Secndus, Tesserarius, Legio III Cyrenaica
"Caesar's Conquerors"

[A_Volpe]

Oh No! Clodius got to you before I did! Hah!

Clodius - Go easy on him, don't make his head explode like the last time...Let Quintius and I take care of that. Heheheeheh.