From Mike W - 10 x 35mm Gladiators [The Hall of Heroes], (90 Points)

We who are about to die salute you!

So my pitch for the Hall of Heroes is a group of Gladiators from the Gripping Beast 'Jugula' Ludus, I think they look like a pretty heroic bunch...

The new intake at the Ludos

I have been collecting these 35mm figures on and off since they were first released, however, they are really quite expensive new and so I have been squirrelling away figures and parts I have obtained over a number of months from eBay and other sources to complete a new batch of figures to join the 20 or so I already have.

The first pair of Gladiators, I used transfers on the small shied

I fancy at some point using them to play the excellent Gale Force 9 - Spartacus board game - but that's a whole other story. Does anyone know where I can find 35mm models of slaves and Roman Soldiers - its harder than you'd imagine!

The second pair of sparing Gladiators

Why go 35mm rather than 28mm, where there is a much greater range of figures? Well it was really because I liked the ability to build the gladiators from a kit form, selecting heads, weapons and shields to personalise each one. And I fancied trying something bigger!

So each of these figures has been decked out as a generic Gladiator type, with the majority the common types and a couple of the rarer types thrown in for luck. 

A classic Gladiator pairing! A Thraex versus a Retiarus

I can't take any credit for the more fancy shield art work on display, other than struggling with the decals to get them to lie flat on the shields, particularly difficult on the bevelled round ones, all I can say I don't be afraid to cut the transfers and take your time.

The fast and agile versus the slow and armoured - who will win? 

After building out each figure with it's head, weapons and shield options, I have undercoated the figures in white, as usual and fixed them to their bases.

And the final Gladiator pairing

I went for a range of skin tones, as a fan of the Spartacus TV series, this emphasised the diversity of the gladiators in the ring, I have tried to get European, African and Middle Eastern skin tones in the group.

The Thraex (or Thracian) Gladiator, with a double edged blade and small shield.

Another Thraex Gladiator, this time of African heritage

Loin cloths, padding and the like were kept as basic earthy colours except for a few of the higher status gladiators. What the Spartacus series did show nicely, was how much cloth padding was worn under the armour, to give additional protection. Armour was a mix of steel and brass and as noted where needed I used shield decals.

A Gladiatorial classic, the unarmoured Murmillo

A Hoplomachus Gladiator, this older guy, possibly a German slave,
is decked out to imitate Greek Hoplites in the arena

Another Hoplomachus , this time much more obviously
drawing on Greek military dress 

All figures were given washes of ink to help define muscles and I used a satin varnish finish on the flesh areas to give the impression of the guys sweating as they fought but used matt varnish elsewhere on cloth areas. 

Metal and some leather areas also got the satin varnish finish as at this bigger scale I think it makes a difference. I tend to stay away from blood on the weapons and equipment as it is way too easy to over do this and ruin an promising paint job.

A third Hoplomachus , this time with a Roman shield,
this one without intricate decoration - thus I painted it!

A Crupellarius Gladiator, a rare beast, covered in armour head to toe,
his weakness was likely his lack of movement and that he tired easily

Another Murmillo had a large shield and a sword.
This guy is of African heritage

Another classic Retiarus Gladiator - Trident & Net, relies on agility to win the day.
I love the detail of the lead / stone weights on his net

A third unarmoured Murmillo this time of European ethnicity

Bases were finished with fine sand and dry grass tufts, in an attempt to indicate a gravel arena with a few spots of vegetation.

Points wise I have guessed at 6 Points per figure as 35mm lies about half way between 28mm and 40mm!

POINTS

10 x 35mm Foot figures @ 6 Pts ea    = 60 Points

Hall of Heroes Bonus                           = 20 points

TOTAL                                                 = 80 Points