Tribune Impression and Muscle Curiass ?

[FlaviusCrispus]

Ave, Hadrianus!

Legio VI Victrix PF (CA) has recently incorporated several Praetorian / Tribune impressions into our unit. As a result, our members have acquired three muscle cuirasses and a number of Attic-style helmets. To portray a Tribune, you have a choice between a short muscle cuirasses, as seen worn by our Chris Ramirez here:



Or a full-length muscle cuirass, as seen modled by Greg Douglass and Gil Whitley here:



Two of these cuirasses (the short cuirass and the one worn by Marius) were made by Antoni Feldon of Munich, Germany;Gil's was made by a custom armorer in Los Angeles (Gil, when you see this, please provide the name). The Feldon models, off-the-shelf, cost about $1,500-2,000 apiece. I believe Gil's custom cuirass came to $2,500.

The Attic helmets are by Valentine Armories of Canada; at $275, their helmet is a good value, but needs some custom work to bring it up to snuff. Our J.D. Fiegelson took a Valentine helmet, stripped it down to the bowl, then created this beautiful example out of the raw materials:



The trim and floral decoration are taken from the famous Praetorian relief in the Louvre. J.D. went with mail for his cuirass (we know some legates and even emperors went this route, as evidenced on their coins). His full Legate impression can be seen here:



Any of the guys who created these impressions, primarily Gil Whitley (aka Gaius Darius Severus on this board), will be happy to tell you more about sources, prices, and reviews of the available gear.