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Still working on gladiators, but briefly it has to be noted that at some point I should like to have a lady with a ship on her head. Ideally two, one with a sailing ship and one with a space ship. Maybe one with an Aquila. Eventually I want to do two noble houses - the black and yellow House Vauren I've got a pretty good start on, and a more steampunk/vampire/goth house with black white and purple type colors. Then we can have "Two great houses, each alike in dignity...." Anyway, I think there are a few around - this one is from Signum the game in Europe.

I'm amazed that you were able to find a lady with a ship on her head.

i'm amazed and inspired that such a thing even exists.

i may have to wear a ship on my own head from now on.

There are at least TWO other 28mm ladies with ships in their hair I've seen, as it has been a bit of a trope for centuries:



If you do wear one yourself, bonus points if your hair resembles a kracken devouring it:



Maybe I should do a large scale bust with a battle fleet gothic ship in her hair... ...although I tend to do only at least somewhat game usable miniatures.

I decided against buying gladiators at least to start with and bought some gladiator heads very cheaply on e-bay instead. The ones from CP models in metal were a bit large on most figures unfortunately, but the (I think) Anvil Industries ones in resin work out very well. This let me use up figures I had "lying around", and also I generally enjoy scratch building more than painting.

I determined that each gladiator would have at least SOME science fiction element to them. I have a fair number of regular gladiators in my "Beauty and the Beast" army (although their basing is off), so that angle was covered. I also tried to think about what their "Style" would be and how they would function in the arena. I think the gladiatorial events of Pentegrad would, like those of Rome have their roots in (corrupt) religious rituals - a kind of morality pagent that originally told the cautionary tale of how the world's liberator, the primarch Angron fell from grace, but that part is now pro-forma no one watches, and instead the focus is on gladiators killing each other with a thin religious or historical veneer. I always liked the part in the Gladiator movie where the announcer shouts "the Barbarian horde!" and twenty or so gladiators straggle out and "The invincible legions of Scipio Africanus!" and out come three chariots driven by women.









Here we see several independent gladiators of middling status. They have fairly decent equipment and armor and are hoping for the big break that will make them celebrities. The Flagellum in the center carries a a retractable ball and chain. To his left a fairly standard Secutor with a chainsword. Behind an Ignatrix, usually a female style, with sword and flame gauntlet. On the right a well armored Retarius with Electro Trident. Most Retarii dispense with the net. It is traditional for them to be pitted against the Xenodrii:



The Xenodri are closer to the imperial norm of "Pit Slaves". Usually they are cybernetically modified and of low status. They wear helms and armor that invoke the aquatic Xenos that have plagued Pentegrad down through the ages or sometimes more generically divers or environmental suits. The Xenodri Majoris are huge and usually pitted against several Retarii or used as the "boss villain" in some way. Xenodri Minoris are drawn from among the 25mm and Ratling population and are more comical - one is often sent in to enliven a somewhat static duel by forcing the contestants avoid being stabbed in the back or hamstrung.



The Chernops are a heavily cyborged style favored as body guards outside the arena. They are armed with a power sword, stake launcher, and a shoulder mounted tech weapon of some type, usually designed to disorient rather than kill such as a dazzle launcher. Traditionally they are body sculpted into an exaggerated female form, though given the amount of modification involved their original gender is pretty much moot. Expensive and rare, they are associated in the popular mind with machines and the Mechanicus.



A more common style is the Leo. Armed with a shield and a large caliber pistol, the Leo puts a premium on massive physical strength achieved usually through vat grown muscle and hormone regimens. Inside the arena the Leo's pistol fires a phosphorescent beanbag round that burns and disorients but does not kill (for the safety and amusement of the audience). Having stunned their enemy, the leo is then expected to close with them and kill them with their bare hands before the crowd gets bored. Smaller or female Leos may be given a dagger or claws for this task.



I'm doing a mix of gladiators armed as they would appear in the arena and as they would appear as hired muscle in a street fight, as militia, or during an insurrection. Hence some guns and support weapons that wouldn't be safe in an entertainment venue.



Here we see two Elcari armed with twin blades or estocs and spy helms. The spy helm provides information on the target's armor and condition designed to enable the Elcari to win with a single precision strike.

Brilliant stuff loving the style descriptions very evocative.

Gladiators are looking good!

Haha! That kraken hair boat thing is absolutely fantastic if only I still had dreads I could do that at the next fancy dress thing I go to...

Love the gladiators especially the amount of thought you've put into it, and the way you've bent the real historical setup of gladiators into the 40k universe. I especially like the Xenodri. Ancient Rome had a habit of making types of gladiators based on the stylised versions of the various foes they had fought, so it fits perfectly that the Imperium would model gladiators after the various xenos they'd fought

Sadly my hair is too fine to properly krakenify a ship.

Really fun stories for all the gladiators!

Loving these designs, all the models I never thought of using or even knew existed. Most excellent!

Thanks everyone - I hope to get them painted and ready with their arena, though I'm kind of running out of steam at the moment. Part of the problem is that I bought a bunch of reaper flesh triads in the hopes of uping the quality of my painting, but I haven't really been getting very good results from them. : ( I think it would be cool to do various "Enemy" styles of gladiator - I was trying to figure out what an Ork style would be like. I thought about using an Ork head as a helmet, painted metallic, but it just didn't work.

Side note: Zenit miniatures in Spain has some lightly mutated gladiators:

FOr Mordheim there were Gladiators with that exact theme, a human dressed as a beastman, an Orc etc. Gorkka Morkka Diggas were also human Ork posers.

Even if you can't track down the figures they might have some inspiration.

How about a human with ork arms sown on Frankenstein style?

Human with Ork arms is really... ...creepy. That could definitely work. I've decided to do the gladiators in white and blue in honor of the pre-heresy world eaters (officially for some other reason of course).

The old diggas from gorkamorka tried to emulate orks. Main design elements I remember were spiked shoulder pads and iron gobs; those should convey quite clearly what they're meant to be

Just lucked on to this thread and it's brilliant! Absolutely captures the Rogue Trader feel - love the improvisations and conversions too, this is exactly what 40K should be about, not bloody Titans and Primarchs. Bravo OP, keep it coming, and I will be stealing ideas from you right left and centre :-D

Blood love those gladiator style helmets.

EDC

 Skinflint Games wrote:
Just lucked on to this thread and it's brilliant! Absolutely captures the Rogue Trader feel - love the improvisations and conversions too, this is exactly what 40K should be about, not bloody Titans and Primarchs. Bravo OP, keep it coming, and I will be stealing ideas from you right left and centre :-D

Well thanks!

Seems "New GW" agrees with you at least a little which is very encouraging:

Two gladiators painted:





I'm working with Reaper's skin triads with... ...adequate results. The bronzed flesh triad looks good with a Reiksland flesh wash on the dude, but the Pelegarth's Olive skin triad doesn't work as well. Might try it with an Agrax wash.

Nice work on all those models. I always liked the civilian side of 40k. Good to see someone give it the attention it deserves. I particularly like the big bulldozer conversion and the terrain.

Excellent work on the gladiators.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the new industrial kits

EDC

Great work on the gladiators. Good skin tones.

Love that chainsword on the gladiator. Nicely done!

Thanks! Sadly, I don't ever see myself throwing down the cash for the cool crane and tractor, but I do have a few new figures coming for Reaper. In other news, Insurgency Walker is going to run a necromunda/gorkamorka/RPG sort of mash up, so cars are getting bumped to the head of the painting line, but it apparently involves pit fighting, so I'll be back to that shortly. In the meantime, here is the obligatory topless gladiator:

NSFW

Idea to save: I want to do a Rogue Trader ship and crew based on the Grand Magus of Dreadfleet. These guys could be the crew:




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Along with some converted Ogryn!

Nice idea. Certainly a lot of potential in it. Especially the Ogryns

EDC

Yeah, there have been some great Ogre kingdoms type models - the plastic ogre bull seems to be great to work with, and I look forward to having some. I tried trading for some, but wound up with Menoth for my decadent religious stuff instead, but so so it goes. In the meantime, we have one of I-Walker's models -

The Transporter and his Car:




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And his car:









It looks like he is some kind badlands courier, highly paid, transporting the most valuable cargo to remote outposts in the desert. Clearly the best of the best.

Super cool character with that car!

Yup, Insurgency can sure pick a classic model! I do like painting old school figures best. Idea for future use: A feral world based on native americans of the pacific north west/Anu of Japan. Lots of wearing reed cloaks (not hard to sculpt), long houses with "teddy bear hair" thatched roof, space marine/ork totem poles (about the limit of my sculpting ability I think), warriors who each have one piece of sacred space marine armor. Kind of a Princess Monoke meets 40K thing.

Now back to painting gladiators!

Yes, leftovers from Necromunda. Looking forward to that games return. Thanks for the awesome painting! Alas though he would appear to be a high skilled transportation specialist his current gig is Noodle monger at the Noodle Yum drive in diner. Which I should post some pictures of, cause every game needs a container converted into a Noodle Yum (tm) drive in.

Nice! Love the idea behind the transporter. The both the mini and the car look excellent!

EDC

Thanks!

Beautiful painting on that car!