Sons of Mars Wargames

Now that I have a few figures painted up it's about time that I introduced my fledgling ludus. The ludus is based in Capua and is run by an ex-gladiator, the lanista Bibulus Proximo (so named as a homage to a certain well known actor who liked a drink or two). At the start of the campaign, the Familia Gladitoria Proximo consists of a mere three gladiators. I decided that for my first gladiators I would go for the slightly more exotic types, hence the first up is a Thraex (or Thracian). Sticking with the theme I have gone to the expense of equipping him with helmet feathers. The Petains immediately dubbed him flashy but as that's not in keeping I have called him Ostentatio. Ostentatio the Thraex Next up we have a Hoplomachus. As this is presumably based on a Greek hoplite I decided to go for a Greek name. Hence, I have called him Androcles - just in case he meets any lions! Androcles the Holpomachus And finally we have a Retiarius. This one I have named Symeon aft...

For my En Garde project I had used a box (which may or may not have been sourced from a skip on the nearby Industrial estate) to create my tavern, a location that has already seen half a dozen sword fights.  So far I had overlooked the lid, but had always intended it to represent a courtyard area for the tavern. Adding a sand floor to the box, which is 18" square, gave me the beginnings of my arena.  I then used wood filler to build up a slightly irregular surface, before using a mix of pva and two different grades of sand as a scatter. This then received a coat of sand coloured acrylic,  before a second coat of pva, and a dusting of fine sand was added on top. It was a nice warm day, so I took it outside to dry, whilst I painted the decking! The next thing on the list, after drying, was the wooden palisade walls.  Luckily I could access a popular size of coffee stirring stick, just don't ask me about the exact source.  Still I do love ...

The Marshal Petain Gentlemen's Club Secretary is the Scribe Quilp, at one time a minor collector of 15mm Peter Laing figures, now a full blown wargames addict... At the last meeting he introduced the club to the Gladiator rules set  Sons of Mars, using 54mm fighters. It should be clear that I am also an addict, albeit one that is ruled by storage space.  Gladiators looked like an excellent project for this .  So much so that I had already ordered some Pegasus Miniatures figures in 54mm. Having been experimenting with conversions and sculpting in 1/32 I wanted to "build" some of my own figures.  This involved the conversion of some plastic army men, price 99p for 50 figures, into authentic looking 54mm Gladiators, or at least as authentic  as I could make them. .. Using the Osprey Warrior 39, Gladiator by Steven Wisdom, and scrutinising Angus McBride's illustrations, I wanted my sculpts to look as close to correct as possible. I started with this guy...

The Prologue!  218AD Greetings and felicitations, and welcome back to the Ludis Scutum Quercu, the Oakenshield Gladiator Training school.  It is I, the slave Dubious, who shall be your guide to the goings on... Nones has come around and it is time for our Gladiators to prove their worth.  Biggus put two of them, Thorinus and Balinus into one on one matches in the local show.  The first to fight was Thorinus "Prince of Dwarves," but he is not really a dwarf!!!  He names himself Primus, but this is a little hasty as he has never fought and does not qualify.  Biggus Headus is more like it. Scurrilous rumour, started by myself, Dubious the slave, has it that Thorinus is dosed up on performance enhancing fermented turnip juice from Britannia!  The mad Druid Getafix sorts him out with this.  As his opponent Thorinus drew the Thraex Breslaw, a German captured by our legions as he lived wild in the woods...  For such a huge...

The Prologue! Greetings and felicitations, and welcome to the Ludis Scutum Quercu, the Oakenshield Gladiator Training school.  It is I, the slave Dubious, who shall be your guide to the goings on... The three brothers who set up this Ludis are the Biggus boys.  Biggus Brutus is the owner, but in reality he is just a front man for the Senator Naughtius Maximus. His brothers are Biblius and Burpus.  Table manners are not in vogue round the Biggus place! Elder brother Biggus Dikkus has not been seen in some time, but it is believed he is somewhere near Capua, running the Ludis Dikkus. As a house slave I, Dubious, was unsuitable as a Gladiator.on the grounds of incontinence alone...   I accompanied Biggus Brutus to the Slave markets.  Here he seemed to want to buy Dwarves.  The Senator Naughtius Maximus apparently delights in gladiator fights involving dwarves and women...  makes you wonder. Gossip is that his daughter Erot...