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Armored gauntlets from the black orcs

To take things a bit further how about his hands http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/productDetail.jsp?catId=cat440078a&prodId=prod1160143a??

Theres also this look of Cestus

It looks fairly Brutal and might look quite good on a World Eater.
Given that your army are Hunters, the idea of using some beasts teeth in a weapon would fit

looking forward to seeing what you come out with though

Again, thanks for the comments and ideas, people! It's through your suggestions that this project has taken on a life of its own instead of being just an idle distraction between bigger projects!

Regarding the Cestus, I have already started collecting suitable bitz to represent the gauntlets: Some Ogre Kingdoms fists might work, although minus the actual fists (far too large, even for a servant of chaos). Black Orc gauntlets seem like a feasible alternative, as do Lightning Claws. And, like I said earlier, there are those spiffy gauntlets from the WFB plastic Chaos Lord -- I think I'll give those a try! I also really love the idea posted by Chaos Emperor, though: Those tusks strapped to the gauntlet look absolutely killer! Ah well: decisions, decisions

For now, let's look at the finished stuff and the next WIP models in line: I have to say that your comments also made me take another look at the classical sources. I had always seen ancient Roman gladiator types as a vague inspiration, of course. But I hadn’t delved too deeply into historical sources, fearing that the results would be too Roman and not World Eater-ly enough. I think I have that problem under control, though

In any case, some of the models I will show you today (and those that are yet to come) will be patterned after classical gladiators, while others will be less historically recognisable, but just as gladiatorial, I hope. Anyway, let’s take a look at where the squad is headed at the moment:

First up, a better look at the Secutor I already showed you:















Transforming the historical design into something fitting the overall look and feel of my World Eaters did take some doing, but the model has really become a favourite of mine, to tell you the truth: I think this guy has a rather brooding, sinister presence, due to his pose as well his “faceless” helmet.

Then there's this guy:



I built this model quite some time ago. Like all of the gladiators so far, it was kitbashed from a mix of Khorne berzerker, (Chaos) Space Marine, Beastman and Chaos Marauder parts. Those bitz allowed me to achieve the partially armoured and slightly feral look I wanted. In this case, the model received a chain glaive, a fitting weapon for a follower of Khorne (even though the more recent fluff seems to have transformed it into a traditional weapon of the VIII legion).

Anyway, here's the finished model:













Once again, the model is wearing a tatoo reminiscent of Angron’s own warpaint:



I am calling this kind of gladiator a “Glaivex” for the chain glaive he wields. There wasn’t any similar gladiator in ancient Rome because glaives and halberds were apparently invented much later, but since it’s a weapon I definitely wanted to incorporate, I had to improvise. I still think he rather looks the part though:



So here are the two recent additions to the squad:



As an added benefit, two additional models mean that the squad is now playable as well! It also looks fairly nice, if I do say so myself



So what do we have so far? From left to right: A Secutor, Dimachaerus (wielding two swords), Vorl Dustwalker with his huge war axe, another Dimachaerus (sword and axe, this time) and the Glaivex. I am really happy with these, and yet I am already hard at work on the next additions for the squad. Some are even halfway presentable, no less:

You already know the Retiarius, built to serve as a playfellow for the Secutor:





Again, getting this guy’s pose right took a bit of work, but I really couldn’t be any happier with the result! The model is basically finished at this point, and definitely next on the paint station!


But there’s more: Here’s a (slightly more WIP) model not patterned after a classical gladiator. I am calling this guy a “Carnifex”, after the latin word for executioner — rather than a huge alien-dinosaur, people







Please ignore the blue grenades: a rather dubious colour choice taken by the previous owner…

Anyway, even though this guy will need some more sorting out, I think he already reads as a gladiator.

Here are the two next squad members together:



And, like I said earlier, there are some more gladiator types that might warrant further exploration: The Cestus, the Bestiarius,... The sky's the limit here

Another important thing to note is that the gladiator theme is something that gets repeated throughout the army, even beyond this particular squad. The two visual leitmotifs for my World Eaters are that they are hunters (adorning themselves with trophies and pelts of their prey as well as acessories like war horns, skinning knives etc.) and that they are gladiators, wielding weapons and equipment that sometimes seem slightly gladiatorial. Brother Hokar would be an example of that:



Or, indeed, Lord Captain Lorimar himself:



For now, though, thinking about new models to add to my gladiator squad and getting them built and painted serves two objectives: It allows me to finish models that I am really happy with, and it gets me in the mood for building (and painting!) more World Eaters, and that’s always a good thing, right?



In closing, let me say that this project wouldn’t have become so much fun without the constant feedback from you guys! So thanks to all those who have helped shape these models, and please keep those comments coming!

As always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

Amazing good work

Looking sweet yet again!! One tiny idea though: how about giving the Carnifex a severed head instead of a dagger to solidify his name??

I am always blown away by this thread, Kraut. I can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Been a while since I commented in here buddy and I'm liking the look of the Gladiator squad.

Couple of tiny nitpicks. The Retiarius is looking great however have you tried turning his head slightly to his right? It's te same idea as your Raptor a while back. I think it will help with te flow of the model charging.

And the Carnifex has some awesome elements in there. I do think the legs are a little static though. But if you built the base up slightly and had his left leg sitting a little higher and turn his head to the left then replace the dagger with a severed head as suggested above I really like the helmet choice though. He looks brutal. If you did try the suggestions above you could try lowering the axe a little as well? All in I know you're gonna knock these guys out the park but just wanted to throw a few suggestions your way.

Looking good and looking forward to more although thinking about it some mutants and beasties for them to fight might be fun.

Lorimar is a beast! Gladiatorial squad is coming together so well.

Thanks a lot, guys! Once again, your feedback has been amazingly helpful!

@ Nevie: Cheers, mate!

@ Legio Ultra: A severed head might in fact be a very good alternative -- why didn't I think of that? Am I losing my edge? Anyway, I might just give that a try!

@ Freytag93: Thanks a lot!

@ Biohazard: Great to see you back here, buddy! And as always, you're saving my neck with your suggestions!

Regarding the Retiarius, I did in fact try several positions for the head, and this was the one that ended up working best for me. However, when it comes to the Carnifex, you're right on the mark: I just tried making the alterations you suggested, and BAM:







Much better, if you ask me! Awesome! I've also taken the time to clean up the conversion and glue everything, save for the left arm, together. I haven't yet managed to get around to try and add a severed head, as per Legio Ultra's suggestion, but I think the model's already much improved. Thanks for the killer ideas!

@ Llamahead: Well, funny you should say that... First off, there are some pretty big mutants for these guys to play with, namely the Forsaken, their devolved former brothers:



I think these look pretty awesome together, and you get the feeling that the gladiators themselves might end up as hulking, mutated beasts at some point, lest they're not careful...

As for actual beasts, good thing the Bestiarius is the next conversion I am working on. Now, after giving it a bit of thought, I am going to re-activate an earlier idea for this guy: A rather long time ago, I built a bigger base with three slots. My idea was that a Huntmaster and his two chaos hounds could be slotted into the base to make up some kind of mini-diorama. Seeing how this perfectly fits my idea for the Bestiarius, I think I'll just give that base to him! Here's a couple of WIP shots:

First up, an early mockup of the Bestiarius himself. Nothing's glued together yet:



The one thing I have already decided is that he will be grasping the chain leashes of two chaos hounds in his right fist:



The whole diorama will look like this:







Of course there will be the chains running between the gladiator's fist and the chaos hounds: I expect that effect will be rather tricky to achieve But the end result should give me a mini-diorama that should look nice enough, with each of the three models still playable as separate models, should the need arise. In fact, if I ever get around to painting more chaos hounds, the Bestiarius would make a perfect "squad leader" for them.

On a related note, maybe you can help me out once again: The head currently used on the WIP model comes from the WFB Chaos Chariot, but I am not perfectly sure I'll keep it. I am currently looking at several heads from my bitzbox as possible choices for the Bestiarius, and maybe you lot can help me narrow it down:



I. One of my favourite WoC heads, and it certainly looks suitably brutal and feral for the Bestiarius.
II. A Skullcrusher head (minus the "bunny ears") that has both the Khornate look and the hoplite feel typical of some gladiator types.
III. A pretty cool Chaos Marauder head -- my fear with this is that the model might end up looking too much like a WFB Marauder, though...
IV. A CSM rebreather head -- could be used for a more futuristic look.
V. Another option would be to make the Bestiarius look more feral, just like the beasts he leads into battle. This could be achieved by using either this SW head...
VI. ...or the truly bestial Khornate head from the chariot kit. While I love the snarling face, though, the head and neck seem a bit too large to comfortably fit the body.

Anyway, what do you think? I'd be glad to hear any ideas you might have!

2 for sure.

The Carnifex is looking miles better mate. Great stuff

As for the Beastiarius it has to be 1 or 2. As for the chains I picked up some of the chains from the Chariot kit for my Jugger lord. They're a great scale and with being plastic easy enough to form the shape you want. I really like the scenic base so far

I'd say 2.

Also, jewelry chains are pretty useful for miniatures- they're cheap, and they're a lot easier to flex and bend around protrusions.

Gale Force 9 makes sweet chains that scale perfectly. They're pretty cheap and I think you get several feet of them. I use them on my CSMs and they're pretty easy to work with. Getting them to hang a particular way or "bounce," for lack of a better term is a bit tricky though.

This squad keeps getting better and better !!!
As for the heads, am i the only one who thinks that no.4 looks like a muzzled madman (Hannibal Lecter style) and this gives it just the bestial look for the Bestiarius??

For free hanging chains I use this stuff
http://www.3d-miniatures.com/fine-brass-chain-1-0-mm/

But what you probably need is something like these plastic reigns from the Dark Elf scourge runner:
http://bitzbarn.com/oscommerce/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=23_48_750&products_id=13923

Maybe you could drill a pin into the ends of the reigns, with a corresponding magnet hidden in the collars of the hounds.
the pin would provide enough magnetisation to stick while all three are on the display base...
then if you made the Bestiarius' hand/forearm holding the reigns removable and magnetised, you could make a weapon- holding hand for him... That way you could "Release the hounds!" during gameplay, and the Bestiarius could then also get in on the action...

These World Eater gladiators are just fantastic!

O, head 2 for sure... And maybe he could have a lash, driving the beasties onward!

I'd go with "VI", he looks in tune with his charges. Like a beast himself or on the verge of becoming one. Great stuff by the way, always enjoy reading your updates.

#2 look the best.

I like the idea of #2 as well.

Do wonder whether a whip would work better as the armament. Something to heard his charges along if you want to avoid the mildly Slaaneshi vibe an Ork shock prod would also work well.

Why would anyone want to avoid a mildly Slaaneshi vibe But do think Llama's on to something with the idea of a goading weapon rather than the sword.

#2 looks good, but what about #1 with the horns removed, or possibly replaced with those from #3?

2

I would use two or four, I personally like the look of a futureistic looking beast herder.

I'd also think about having a whip rather than another weapon to help get the hounds working proper like

wonderful stuff here.

Just browsed a bit and I found out a rather nice set of chains for the Bestiarius (unfortunately the'yre already sold out on the particular site ). They come from the WFB Chaos Warshrine if you already have it then why not try them out??
I'm posting a link for the picture http://www.bitsandkits.co.uk/chaos-war-shrine-chains-p-9185.html
Also I think you should either lower the Bestiarius' weapon so it (almost) touches the ground or bring it a little to the back so that he seems he is actually using a large amount of strenght to keep his hounds on the leash

Thanks for the many comments, everyone! This keeps me really motivated right now

Regarding the question of chains, I do have those chariot chains Biohazard suggested (bought the whole chariot kit a while ago, mostly to cannibalise it for bitz), plus some spiky chains from the Skullcrusher kit and some other "chain-y" bitz and bobs, so I think I am all set. However, the longer I work on the model, ther more I begin to explore a slightly different option:

I am not afraid of the whole thing with the chains turning out to be too fiddly, because I am pretty confident that I could make it work. However, my main problem is that the Bestiarius himself would only ever look really cool while being placed in the mini diorama with the hounds: As soon as the models are separated (during games, for example), he'll always end up looking slightly silly due to holding two huge lenghts of chain without anything on the end of them.

Then there's the idea of adding a whip, like some of you suggested: I really love that idea, because he would need something to sic the hounds on his enemies and whip them into a frenzy, literally, but I also think he needs a chain weapon a) to 40k-i-fy him a bit more and b) make him read as a World Eater. So I exchanged the clunky berzerker arm for a more sinister looking sword from the Raptor kit and used a whip instead of the gauntlet holding the chains. What do you think?







Personally speaking, I believe I am happier with him now: He looks more balanced, if that makes any sense. Also, if you place him on the bigger base, he looks like he just gave the hounds a good whipping







Still not 100% decided on the head, btw: It's probably a race between I and II at this point, though. While I love the bestial face, the problem is that it would need a serious shaving down in order to actually work with the body, and there's a pretty big risk of ruining it in the process -- I think I might rather use it on a bigger model somewhere along the way?!

Anyway, let me know what you think!

He definitely looks better with the whip.

I like this head.

The whip is a little understated for my taste, Would making it into 3 tails make it too "tentacle-ly" to fit into your army?

SOOOO Much better!! Loving the progress of this squad and I ove the look of them with the possessed.

Cheers, guys!

@ Kandle: I fear a three-tailed whip (I'll just refer to it as the "drama-whip" in the future) would probably look too much over the top and draw away too much attention from the rest of the model. Plus I don't have the required bit, so there's that too

Alright, some more food for thought: I added a couple of accessories and messed around with the head:

Standard WoC head:



Head with horns and crest:



Horns clipped off, crest remains:



Without horns and crest (seems almost Slaaneshi, if you ask me):



Which of these do you think is the best fit for a model that's a World Eater, gladiator and Chaos Space Marine at the same time? Your feedback's very welcome!

I agree that without the horns it looks a bit slaaneshi, so I'd keep them on.