Gladiatorial Armor

[Gregory J. Liebau]

I suppose not having a tunic wouldn't be too bad. I'm only 17 years old, and my upper body is far from being of a matured look, but I suppose with a bit of sunlight things wouldn't be too bad!

I've decided I'd either like to do a Hoplomachus or a Thracian from around the time of 80 AD, to coincide with Pompeii.

I'm supposing that as I want to use a small, square shield rather than a concave, round one, a Thracian would be more appropriate? If so, I'm assuming this other gear would be acceptable? I want to be as heavily armed as realistic, so here goes:

-Small Scutum
-Short Gladius (Or was it always the short, curved sword?)
-Padded Leg Armor
-Brass Thigh-length Greaves
-Brass Manica
-Brass War Belt
-Brass Helmet w/Crest Attachment

Now, as to that stuff, two main questions! How should the scutum be painted? I'd really like red, myself, possibly with a gold border and brass edging to supplement it. Would they have bosses *Talking about Thracians, of course.*

Also, how should the belt be made? Would it likely be pieces of metal rather like a Samnite war belt of the Republican era? I like these, so making one wouldn't be a problem with me at all! I know that the Gladiators sometimes had more armor around the waist than just the belt, possibly something behind it? What might this be?

Modern illustrations I've seen floating around make it look like a piece of leather (probably layered, with padding in between to make it comfortable?) behind the bronze belt. Is this a good assumption?

Cheers!

-Gregory-