by Bob Barnetson

In March 2006, Casemate Publishing released Roma Victrix: The Roman Army in Miniature. This 72-page book contains detailed painting instructions for 10 large-scale vignettes and dioramas centering on the Roman armies (both Republican and Imperial). It also contains a very useful six-page spread addressing Republican and Imperial tactics, equipment and organization.

Casemate Publishing is a newer publisher based in the US with offices in the United Kingdom and originates about 20 books annually. It also distributes for 32 clients for an annual total of some 280 new books. Titles address topics ranging from 16th century to the current war in Iraq, including over 100 modeling titles. Roma Victrix is a translation of Andrea Press’2003 Spanish title and retails for $22.95 USD.

Initial Impressions
The cover of the book momentarily overwhelmed me as it slid out of its padded envelope. The cover shows a life-like Roman general (actually a 54mm model) astride a horse in a snowy European forest. The picture falls somewhere between a photo and highly rendered illustration. As it turns out, the photo-illustration is based on one of the dioramas developed in the book, with a few snowflakes added and perhaps some fancy digital filtering.

Each page of the book contains colour pictures of miniatures and dioramas being painted and assembled. The content is divided up into self-contained sections similar to magazine articles, although the clarity of the photographs is significantly better than what you find in the glossies. The articles address everything from gladiators and chariots to Republican and Imperial Legionnaires, as well as elephants and the various enemies of Rome who would normally appear on a gaming table.

A quick flip through the book resulted in me moving it to the top of my reviewing pile. The glorious photos and step-by-step painting instructions are really top-quality. The book is divided into 11 sections that are considered individually below.

Roman Centurion
The book begins with a painting tutorial focused on a 1:8-scale bust of a Roman centurion. While few of us game in 225mm, the value of this article to a moderately experienced painter is the planful manner in which the author goes about imparting an astonishingly realistic look to the centurion’s face.

The main technique is very essentially the “working from the inside out” approach. Seeing this technique rendered step-by-step in great detail and resulting in a life-like face is inspiring and got me thinking about how washes can be useful with smaller miniatures. The author also spends significant time detailing the clothing and armour visible on the bust. Again, most of what is discussed is applicable to 28mm and 1:72-scale figures.

The photography is exquisite and, like all of the articles, this article concludes with a colour palette for the entire bust. There is also a detailed illustration demonstrating the subtle tonal changes required to achieve the realistic skin tones.

Julius Caesar
The second article in the book demonstrates how to paint a 90mm figure of Julius Caesar. In painting this figure, newer painters can see how the techniques shown in the centurion article can be scaled down somewhat. The most useful sections demonstrate the application of the three-colour highlighting technique that is predominant in 25mm painting. Here, the author does a great job of bringing a rippled cape and wrinkled drape to life.

Roman Racing Chariot
A 54mm (1:32-scale) Roman chariot is the focus of the next article. As I’m currently painting a bunch of plastic 1:32-scale ancients, I was very interested how the author treated the horses. The article focuses on using an airbrush to apply several shades of well-blended primer and paint. A similar effect can be produced using washes and a brush, although the subtle gradations possible with an airbrush are enviable.

Gladiators
This vignette of two 90mm gladiator figures does a nice job of contrasting painting techniques when trying to achieve white and black skin. Again, the article focuses on the use of an airbrush, but similar layering techniques using washes are quite possible.

Roman Encampment
Another 54mm diorama shows two Roman legionnaires in camp. In addition to an interesting example of armour disassembled for cleaning (so that’s how it goes together!), this short article shows some lovely metal work and a useful painting guide for tunics as well as silver and gold coloured metal.

Legionary of the Empire
Some very convincing weathering is conveyed on this vignette, showing an Imperial legionnaire advancing. Among the details are a slightly damaged shield, beat up pants and mud splattering.

Roman Legions
The six-panel foldout centre section is perhaps the most useful part of this book for gamers. When you initially open the centre spread, you see an illustrated depiction of the organization of Republican and Imperial legions, including how they are arrayed at (for the Imperials) the cohort, maniple and centuria level. There are also visual guides demonstrating manipular tactics for the Republicans and drawings of the different types of soldiers comprising each legion.

Opening the centre fold up creates a four-panel spread. Inside we find two pages of detailed drawings of 22 different types of Roman soldiers showing their arms, armour and colour-schemes. There are also detailed drawings of Republican and Imperial arms, shields, helmets and armour. For a newcomer to gaming with Romans, this spread is valuable and is actually much more useful to a wargamer than the tactical discussion in last year’s Roman Battle Tactics by Osprey. That said, if one were only interested in the book for information on gaming, the appropriate Warhammer Ancient Battles supplement might be a better purchase.

Strength and Honour
The second half of the book contains more involved dioramas. The first diorama shows Roman troops readying for battle in Germania, circa 180 BC. This diorama shows various 54mm troops, painted with a high degree of skill and would be a useful painting guide. Included are artillery crews, archers, legionnaires, standard bearers and musicians, and cavalry officers. There is also a useful discussion about converting figures using putty to shape the anatomy convincingly. The end result is a stellar diorama with over 50 1:32-scale figures atop a craggy and snow-covered hill.

Legionary of the Republic
This two-page treatment of a single Republican legionnaire is useful in that its shows how a dusty figure can be quite attractive. Using a 54mm metal figure, the author outlines a low-contrast paint scheme that is appropriate for Punic War Romans.

Rage and Fire
This 30mm diorama shows a Celtic attack on a Roman force atop another snowy hill. Being closer to the scale in which most of us game, the diorama advice here is quite useful for staging games.

The Enemies of Rome
The final section of this book addresses Rome’s enemies. This includes the Celts, Senones, Bretones, Germans, Carthaginians and Huns. These pages address painting shield designs, complicated clothing patterns (e.g., checks, plaids), fur, metals and hides. Particularly compelling is a four-page discussion of a Carthaginian elephant that conveys the strength and power of the elephant. I’m about to paint a 1:32-scale HaT elephant so this example and discussion is very timely. There is also a useful discussion of painting horses with the Huns.

Comment
For a moderately experienced painter and gamer, this book is a useful resource. The most valuable section from a gaming perspective is the centre-spread, which summarizes the composition and tactics of both Republican and Imperial Romans (more than their shield shape was different!). It also provides a useful guide to different types of soldiers, weapons and armour and acts as a painting guide. The detail contained in these six pages is often spread throughout other books—oh, to have had this resource five years ago!

The individual vignettes are useful in providing inspiration. Although most of the figures presented here are 54mm or larger (unusual scales for gamers), the effects that are shown are replicable by a competent painter at 25mm and 1:72-scale with some adaptation. The results of the airbrush are nothing short of spectacular. But you can get something similar by using a brush.

This book was originally published in Spanish. The translation is excellent with only a few odd phrasings. Converted figures are spoken about as “transformed” figures. This one idiomatic criticism is offset by the exceptional miniature painting and photography. As with many of Casemate’s books, this is an exciting opportunity for English-only readers to investigate resources otherwise inaccessible.

Conclusion
This book provides a useful painting guide for moderately experienced miniature gamers interested in supplemental painting sources and extending their painting techniques. The book also contains a very useful description of both Republican and Imperial army composition, equipment and organization, although newcomers to gaming with Romans may benefit more from an introductory book.

The book is likely not suitable for a beginner because it lacks the basic historical introduction you might find in an Osprey and the painting techniques shown are too advanced. That isn’t meant as a criticism (the book is not meant for beginners), it is simply an observation on the target audience.

Pros:

• Useful guide for moderately experienced painters.
• Exceptionally useful summary of tactics, organization and equipment.
• Very high production values.

Cons:

• Not a stand-alone resource for beginners.