The Raetian Limes, 2nd century A.D.

by Michael Rieß



I painted some Roman legionaries a while ago and was thinking of building a diorama for them. The Raetian Limes is quite close to my hometown, so i decided to build it and to add the figures.
The figures are mainly from Caesar Miniatures, the barbarians are from various manufacturers like Italeri, Revell and MiniArt.
I painted them with acrylic paints from Revell.

The watch tower is a laser-cut kit from Fredericus rex and consists of cardboard and thin wood. I tried to add a dark wash, but i soon realized that the thin material starts to disintegrate and to bend, so i stopped the procedure.
The research and construction of the diorama made a lot of fun, maybe i will do more of this stuff, like a Roman fort or harbour scene.

The diorama shows Germanic bandits who raided the back land and now try to return into the safety of Germania. To get there they have to cross the Limes border. Unfortunately they are hunted by roman Legionaries and have a unit of roman watchmen in front. Now they have to fight their way through, which is almost impossible considering the numeric superiority of the romans.

I made a quite detailed video about the history of the Limes and the construction of the diorama. Enjoy!

Decurio Equitum 3rd century A.D.

by Michael Rieß



This white metal figure in 75mm scale is from Pegaso Models. The quality of the kit is superb.

I painted the figure with acrylic paints from Revell and Lifecolor. Oil paints were used for the shading.

The kit includes a small base, showing a Roman cobblestone street. I replaced it, because the base was too small in my opinion. I made a bigger one using an old picture frame, modelling clay, earth and green stuff from Fredericus Rex (Green line). I used no pigments or other weathering techniques here.

Roman Trireme diorama 1/72 scale

by Michael Rieß

The Roman Trireme kit is from Zvezda ( Trireme of the Roman Emperor #9019). It is quite hard to get one of these kits these days because it is out of production. I bought my kit on ebay for about 40€. The figures are from Orion Haron and Cäsar Miniatures.
The quality of the kit is nice and the details, especially the engravings of the wood structure are excellent. The only weakness are the decals, they don´t dissolute properly and disintegrate very easy.
The kit offers a full hull and a waterline option. I built a similar trireme some years ago in the full hull option, so i decided to build a waterline model this time.

I had some trouble to create the water on the diorama. I used transparent Window Color paste and later on "Water effects" from Busch and Noch. At least it looks like water, but it is hard to create waves, because the paste is very thin fluid. I´m happy with the finished diorama anyway.

MiniArt 1/16 Praetorian Guardsman

by Hamilkar Barkas

Hello my friends :-)

This figure is from the Ukrainian manufacturer MiniArt. The quality is really bad, it is impossible to assemble the figure without using filler, but the figures are beneficial (12 €) and i like the motives that MiniArt offers.


This figure depicts a Praetorian Guardsman (# 16006) stationed near or in Rome in the 2nd century A.D. It is basically the same kit as the Roman Legionary i built several weeks ago. There is just a additional sprue included for the different type of helmet. I decided to replace the limbs to give the figure a different look, because the Praetorian would have the same pose as the previous Legionary.


I painted the figure with acrylic paints from Revell and Lifecolor and oil paints from MIG Production. Usually people would paint the Tunica of the Soldier with red paint but this time I decided to use a dark purple paint (inspired by the Praetorians appearing in the movie "Gladiator").
The included decal for the scutum of the Praetorian was very hard to handle, it is a very thick one and there is always the danger of cracking. I sealed the decal with Humbrol Decal Fix.


The whole project was some kind of training to improve my skills because i have four white metal figures from Pegaso in my storage and i want to paint them with some new techniques.



The Praetorian Guard (Latin: Prætoriani) was a force of bodyguards used by Roman Emperors. The title was already used during the Roman Republic for the guards of Roman generals, at least since the rise to prominence of the Scipio family around 275 BC. The Guard was dissolved by Emperor Constantine I in the 4th century.
The term Praetorian derived from the tent of the commanding general or praetor of a Roman army in the field—the praetorium. They were an elite recruitment of Roman citizens. It was a habit of many Roman generals to choose from the ranks a private force of soldiers to act as guards of the tent or the person. They consisted of both infantry and cavalry. In time, this cohort came to be known as the cohors praetoria, and various notable figures possessed one, including Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Augustus (Octavian). As Caesar discovered with the Legio X Equestris, a powerful unit more dangerous than its fellow legions was desirable in the field. When Augustus became the first ruler of the Roman Empire in 27 BC, he decided such a formation was useful not only on the battlefield but in politics also. Thus, from the ranks of the legions throughout the provinces, Augustus recruited the Praetorian Guard.
The Guards began to play an increasingly ambitious and bloody game in the Empire. With the right amount of money, or at will, they assassinated emperors, bullied their own prefects, or turned on the people of Rome. (wikipedia)