What luck, then, that issue 462 of Wargames Illustrated, out this week, provides just the minis I need! As a promo for a gladiatorial combat game called Blood on the Sands, WI this month includes a cut-down version of the rules and a sprue of suitable figures from Wargames Atlantic.
The sprue provides the parts to build two gladiators (a murillo and a thraex) as well as these two:
They're intended to represent a pair of lanistae (owners/trainers of gladiators) and as that pretty neatly reflects the day job of our two gang-patrons, it was a no-brainer to pick up a copy.
They've had a fairly rushed paint job because I wanted them ready for the weekend. The basing is designed to work in either the arena or on the streets of the city.
-o0o-
Because a rule of the campaign is that player characters don't appear if their player is unavailable, I needed a few more gang members. A quick rebase of the servi castrensi from my Polybian Roman army gave me some useful additions:
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| Secundinus the Assassin |
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| Plinius, who thinks the blood of a snake can cure poison |
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| Titus, who prefers camel meat to pork or chicken |
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| Maximinus, who only uses arrows with barbed heads |
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| Iovianus, born half a world away |
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| and Balbus, who once killed his landlord with the leg of a chair |
