Painting Early Imperial Roman Legionaries: 28mm Guide

Plan the paint order around armour and shields

The Victrix Early Imperial Roman Legionaries Attacking set gives you 25 figures with 9 body options, 17 head options, 30 shields in 3 options, 33 unsheathed gladius, 35 pilums, and banners, furs, cloaks and crests. That variety is the point, but it also means a single assembly-and-paint sequence will not fit every figure. Decide early which figures will carry shields and which will be built as command or specialist poses, because shield faces are the largest area you will paint and they change how you handle the rest of the figure.

A workable order for 28mm Roman legionaries is: clean and assemble in sub-assemblies, prime, paint the body and armour, paint the shield separately, then attach shield and head before final detail and basing. Keeping the shield off the figure until its face is finished avoids awkward brush angles around the gladius and pilum. The set includes reinforced helmets for the wars with Dacia and shields and crests for Praetorias, so check your chosen heads and crests before priming; a head swap after painting is more work than deciding at assembly.

Painting lorica segmentata and the figure in sequence

Lorica segmentata is the defining armour of these figures, and the supplied parts include an extensive range of armour and weapons. The steps below keep the metal bands readable without turning the figure into a single silver mass.

1. Assemble in sub-assemblies: Build the body and legs, leave the shield separate, and keep the head and crest aside if you plan to paint faces before attaching. The set's 9 body options and 17 head options give you room to vary poses, so match heads to bodies before committing glue.
2. Prime and base the tunic and flesh: Prime the figure, then block in the tunic, flesh and any visible trousers or cloak areas. The set includes 6 furs and cloaks, so decide which figures wear them before you start; a cloak covers much of the torso and changes where armour bands are visible.
3. Paint lorica segmentata band by band: Work from the lower bands upward, leaving a thin dark line between each horizontal plate. Use a mid-metal tone over the whole armour, then a lighter tone on the upper edge of each band. This reads as overlapping plate at table distance without needing a wash on every figure.
4. Add leather and metal fittings: Paint the belt, straps and scabbard fittings in leather and brass tones. The set includes 33 unsheathed gladius, so decide whether the sword is held or stowed before you paint the hand and scabbard area.
5. Paint the face and helmet: Paint the face, then the helmet. The reinforced helmets for the Dacian wars are a supplied option, so check whether your chosen head has that reinforcement before you paint the helmet bowl. A simple metal helmet with a darker wash in the recesses is enough for rank-and-file figures.
6. Finish the shield face separately: Paint the shield face flat and let it dry completely before adding any design. The set gives 30 shields in 3 options, and the supplied notes say shields and crests can be customised with the LBMS shield transfer range. If you use transfers, apply them to a gloss or smooth surface and seal afterward; if you paint freehand, keep the design simple enough to repeat across the unit.
7. Attach shield, head and pilum: Glue the finished shield and head to the body, then add the pilum. The set includes 35 pilums and 1 trumpet, so command figures can be distinguished by the trumpet rather than by extra paintwork.

What the Victrix set gives you for a painting batch

• Early Imperial Roman Legionaries Attacking: 25 high quality 28mm miniatures, with 5 Warrior Frames and 1 Command Frame. A 25-figure batch is large enough to justify assembly-line painting by colour rather than finishing one figure at a time.

  

• Early Imperial Roman Legionaries Attacking: 9 body options, 17 head options, 6 furs and cloaks, 8 banners in 7 options, 30 shields in 3 options, 35 pilums and 33 unsheathed gladius. The parts count tells you to plan head, cloak and shield combinations before priming; otherwise you will paint parts you later swap.
• Early Imperial Roman Legionaries Attacking: Numerous head options with reinforced helmets for the wars with Dacia, and shields and crests for Praetorias. These are supplied variant parts, not a single uniform look; choose your head and crest style before you start the helmet and shield stages.

Painting the shield face without losing the unit look

Roman legionary shield painting is where a batch of 25 figures can drift into 25 unrelated designs. The set supplies 30 shields in 3 options, so start by sorting shields into the three types and assigning one design treatment to each type. That keeps the unit coherent while still using the variety in the box. The supplied notes point to the LBMS shield transfer range for customising shields and crests; if you go that route, paint the shield base colour first and apply transfers before you varnish the figure.

If you paint freehand, work in layers: base colour, a simple geometric motif, then a darker outline. Keep the motif large enough to read at arm's length. The same discipline applies to crests for Praetorias; paint them as a separate small sub-assembly so you can handle the shield and crest without touching wet paint on the helmet.

Basing Roman legionaries for 28mm Ancients games

Basing is part of the paint job, not an afterthought. The supplied record does not specify a base size or a recommended basing product, so check your ruleset before you glue figures down. What the set does give you is a consistent 28mm figure scale, which means a single basing scheme can cover the whole 25-figure batch.

1. Decide the basing scheme before painting: Choose a ground colour and texture that contrasts with the shield faces and armour. A muted earth base lets the metal and shield designs stand out.
2. Leave the shield and pilum until after basing: Attach the shield after the base texture is finished, so you do not have to paint around it. The pilum can also go on last, especially if it projects beyond the base.
3. Keep the command frame figures distinct: The set includes 1 Command Frame, 8 banners in 7 options and 1 trumpet. Base command figures with the same ground scheme but consider a slightly different banner or crest treatment so they read as leaders without breaking unit cohesion.

What to confirm before you start

The supplied product record does not include preparation or operating instructions, so this guide stops at the painting and assembly decisions the parts list supports. It does not give a paint range, a primer type, a drying time or a base size. Those are choices for your own collection and ruleset. The one supplied customisation route is the LBMS shield transfer range for shields and crests, which is worth planning for before you paint the shield faces.

The catalog price shown is USD 16.47 against a comparison price of USD 27.00. If you are buying the set specifically for a painting project, the 25 figures and the large parts count are the practical value: you get enough bodies, heads and shields to paint a full unit without repeating the same pose.