Well after what seems forever, my scutum is finally finished. I thought I would share it with the RAT community.
A good friend of mine did all of the woodwork and brass metal working, and what a fantastic job he did. I did the artwork on the shield and etching etc. on the boss, along with some gold plating and patina.
The scutum was laminated with 3 layers of timber and then covered with Marine linen. Red milk paint was used to colour it, and then casein paints for the design. The boss is a replica of the Junius Dubitatus boss, found at the mouth of he River Tyne.
Not only am I very grateful to my mate Jimmy, I couldn't have made it without the help of Matt Lukes who initially gave us some valuable help and tips, and most of all my very good mate Brian Stobbs who has been an absolute mammoth help in this project and so many other things. Thank you all!
Very Nice scutum. Finally somone who painted the details as they would have been....real looking feathers and leaves not
the monochromatic logos seen everywhere.
One thing, if I may, Phil. The umbo should not be black. I know the original looks but really was not The background of the umbo was tinneds. So it would have been silvery in color with the brass figures left alone.
Just a piece of info.
Cheers
"You have to laugh at life or else what are you going to laugh at?" (Joseph Rosen)
I don't wish to appear rude in any way but here is a picture of the original Dubitatus shield boss from the river Tyne and does show black or rather I think Nielo.
[attachment=6690]ps128289_l1Medium.jpg[/attachment]
No problem. However, I would like to point out that many of the helmets found that are currently residing in museums also have a black surface and they were made of iron. This black stuff, from what I know, comes from the preservation process not necessarily the color of the original metal. Of course being in the ground for so long also alters the surface.
"You have to laugh at life or else what are you going to laugh at?" (Joseph Rosen)
Congratulations Phil. That is a splendid effort on everyone's part. Thank you for sharing the finished results.
Moi Watson
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Merlot in one hand, Cigar in the other; body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, what a ride!
Thanks everyone,
Doc,
You are right in that the original umbo was indeed tinned over the bronze to give silvery effect, which has now blackened. As Brian mentioned it gives that niello appearance. I personally prefer the black look and did it that way with a patina over the silver plating.
Unfortunately though it seems that I will most likely have to redo this umbo colouring again. What has happened is this. I silvered plated the brass boss after I did the decorations on it. I then masked out the gold areas and put a black patina over the remaining silver which turns it a grey/blackish colour....the effect I wanted. Next I unmasked the remaining silver and gold plated the figures etc. It turned out beautifully, though an underlining chemical reaction is still going on with the patina over the silver and brass, which is gradually tarnishing as such the silver away and revealing the brass again.
So I will in time get the boss back to bare brass, redo the silver and gold plating and let the silver age naturally. I considered niello, though it seems way to complicated.
Here a two images, one of the boss silvered and the other
[attachment=6692]umbosilvered.jpg[/attachment]
