Slitherine

I was wondering if someone could briefly explain what lammelar and scale armour were. What colour should they be painted? Would somebody be able to recommend some Vallejo paint numbers for them?

thanks

Scott Elaurant

Whose?

Some were metallic, others leather which was sometimes laquered.

Definitions are here:

Lamellar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamellar_armour

Scale: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_armour

And as he said, depending on your army the various pieces could be painted or laquered, and the backing cloth for scale definitly was colored in most cases.

Which army are you fielding?

I have some Arab figures I never finished painting before I gave up on DBM. I also have ordered some Greeks and Macedonians to flesh out my Hoplite army to allow it to cover Successor lists. Lastly, I have some Mongols I never finished painting, including some with scaly looking armour over the front of the horses.

I should add, I have a few Osprey guides and the pictures (Angus McBride) are great, but it often doesn't make clear the rational for using a particular colour on particular bits of armour. Sometimes I suspect it is artistic not historical.

Agesilaus wrote:I have some Arab figures I never finished painting before I gave up on DBM. I also have ordered some Greeks and Macedonians to flesh out my Hoplite army to allow it to cover Successor lists. Lastly, I have some Mongols I never finished painting, including some with scaly looking armour over the front of the horses.

I should add, I have a few Osprey guides and the pictures (Angus McBride) are great, but it often doesn't make clear the rational for using a particular colour on particular bits of armour. Sometimes I suspect it is artistic not historical.

At least some of the Ospreys with plates by McBride do include detailed notes in the back about the choices made in the reconstructions in the main plates. They look some thing like footnotes and are in smaller print as I recall, so it is easy to skip reading them if you don't realize what they are. Might be worth double checking your books. I think it was something introduced in later Men at Arms books and also in the Campaign series.

some scale armour was made from split horses hooves ( perhaps other animals too ? ) , usually used by the steppe peoples and other Eastern nations .

Its been recreated by a re-enactor group i know and the colours range from creams , yellows, greens and greys , as the scales cure they also change colour as they age .

It also smells rather odd for a long while after being made into armour .

cheers tom