Roman Officer Costume (Gladiator style)

[Pete SSS]

Hi Everyone,

I've just managed to salvage these pics from my old hard drive and thought some of you may like to see them.

This was one of my projects I completed for my Modelmaking degree back at Uni, quite a long time ago now! I wanted to do a full costume project and knew I wanted to encorporate some leatherwork (I love working with leather), but struggled to find a suitable costume to make. I really wanted to do a Rohirrim Royal Guard from The Two Towers, but I was advised by one of the guys running the course that I'd be better off making a custom design based on an existing asthetic, as opposed to directly mimicing an existing design.

I decided to make a costume to fit into a Gladiator style world. The theory around the costume is that it would be used in a theoretical movie based on The Eagle of the Ninth book. This was years before thay acctually started to make this movie, and this costume has NOTHING to do with that production!

Anyway, onto some pics, taken over four years ago now!

A little info on materials,

Helmet is Fibreglass, as are the greves and bracers. The breaseplate, pauldrons and shirt are all leather with coldcast resin details. The sword is aluminium and walnut, the scabbard is MDF covered with leather and aluminium. The tunic is linin and the cape is a heavey cotton. And the boots are thick goatskin

Well, there you go, sorry about the big post, there are some more pics on my website if your interested.

Cheers!

Pete

 

[sebastian]

As much as I like authentic Roman gear, I loved the Gladiator costuming and your kit looks great.

Cheers

Sebastian

 

[Bossk]

Nice work. There is actually some archaeological and sculptural evidence for the "Hollywood Attic" type helmet, though I would recommend making your cheekpieces larger. The top crescent opening is for the eyes with the point terminating, and protecting the checkcheekbones, and the bottom of the second crescent should end at the bottom of the chin and be tied under the chin to keep the helmet on. A late Roman document lists factories that made leather breast armor, which may be 'muscle' cuirasses like you depict, though it also may refer to lamellar type leather armor.

 

[Pete SSS]

Thanks guys, yeah, I had to make a decision early on as to weather I wanted it to be historically authentic, or screen authentic, you can see which way I went! I'm certain that the only historically accurate thing in these photos is my distintly Roman nose

The info on a leather armour factory is facinating, I'd not heard that before. As I understood it the Muscle Cuirass breastplate depictions comes from sculptural references all over the Roman world. Although these are though to be mainly ceremonial.

Again, this suit is based on the style Ridley's designers created. I'm pretty sure there is zero evidence for Romans wearing bracers on their forarms!

 

[milk_man]

Im looking to make maximus' armor from the movie, with an almost identical breakplate to your own.

I wont have leather to work with so plan on spray painting whatever I use to make all the gear, so im wondering if anyone has a type of paint in mind that would mimic this look? Something with almost no gloss to it.

Love your greaves btw, the fur under them looks sick.

 

[MooCriket]

Absolutely fantastic work!

 

[TK1536]

Nice, I dig it!

 

[Dionysus]

Wow, I really like the detail on the bracers.

 

[Pete SSS]

Thanks guys!

Im looking to make maximus' armor from the movie, with an almost identical breakplate to your own.

I wont have leather to work with so plan on spray painting whatever I use to make all the gear, so im wondering if anyone has a type of paint in mind that would mimic this look? Something with almost no gloss to it.

Love your greaves btw, the fur under them looks sick.

This set was on display at our end of uni degree show, which we invited most of the London industry leaders along to, and a man named Robert Allsopp came over to have a look. It turned out that it was his company that made the real Gladiator armour (The General set in the forset anyway, not sure about the other sets!) And he said that they used Vacformed foam for the "brass" Cuirass (breastplate). I'm not sure what they used to paint it up though. It must have been a very close cell foam to look as solid as it does on screen.