Hello fellow gladiators!
I was part of the Kickstarter for Arena Rex so I've been a fan from early on. Arena Rex was also the first Kickstarter I donated to and it's been the most successful so I've been fortunate to watch Red Republic Games grow and release new models as time goes on and I hope the community and the game grows across the world. A game like this deserves that success.
Now for my Arena. I initially wanted to wait to play the game once I had more models painted, but I'm a slow painter, and only Urbicus, Micon, and Viatrix are finished. Instead I decided to take a brief break from that and work on an arena for my game so I could introduce my friends to it.
Garden of Aesculapius
The Garden of Aesculapius was known to far away lands as a place of healing and recovery. Indeed, pilgrims journeyed from afar with hopes of relief from ailments that their own healers could not treat. The eternally warm waters sutured sores and wounds, the fruit restored vigor, the herbs rid the body of vile humours. Priests of Aesculapius tended to visitors indiscriminately, a legion captain or a senators daughter were granted the same attention a penniless beggar or humble fishmonger would receive, regardless of their offerings. A ritual sacrifice was all that was required to keep the holy grounds bountiful.
Until the priests disappeared.
A wealthy and celebrated ship-builder had journeyed to the temple hoping to find respite for his wife and twin sons, all afflicted with a mysterious cough that wracked their bodies to the bone. Having only heard tales of what the temple had to offer, the ship-builder did not take notice that no priests welcomed his family, no pyres burned, and a deep chill hovered over the grounds. In his haste, he led his family to the pools of healing, where to his horror, the still water rose to a violent boil and flayed his beloved alive.
When his mind was mended and his senses no longer lay in pieces, he found himself in his home about to hold a desperate meeting with his senator. He shared the awful news of how the water scalded flesh and the gardens were thick with vicious and weeping black thorns. The senator concluded that the lack of sacrificial blood had angered Aesculapius, and that chickens, goats, and cows would no longer suffice. The blood of Gladiators would be tested next.I had ambitions about what I wanted my arena to be, but my first effort is something simple that I could build quickly and transport easily. My base is a 24" x 36" cork bulletin board, which cost something in the neighborhood of $35. The actual area within the border is slightly smaller, but after testing it made for a good size, it takes a couple of turns using only free movement to make it to the center. I thought about adding walls, and had already cut out the pieces to do so, but the arena became even smaller, so I left them out this time. The center of the arena is a styrofoam block roughly 8" x 8" with the pattern drawn in pen and then run over with a rivet wheel to give it depth. The inner circle is 5" in diameter, perfect for a focus point. The rest of the stone is also styrofoam, half as thick as the center. Prior to sanding, everything was brushed with black acrylic paint since I didn't want the propellant from spray cans to eat at the foam.
The hazards were a lot of fun to make. I didn't cut into the board so I had to simulate depth in a different way. The pools were made second, after everything had been sanded with Woodland Scenics sand and then painted with roughly three or four short cans of Tamiya acrylic paint, two different colors. I used very thin plasticard cut to fit the inside of the pools as tight as I could make it. They were first sprayed with black primer, then dark green Tamiya, then burst with some black Tamiya to give it a toxic look, and finally sealed with gloss.
The foliage is also Woodland Scenics. The plastic plants are from various aquarium plants, it's a very simple way of obtaining durable foliage to provide lots of variety and break up the appearance. Everything is secured with super glue once I got a good idea of how I wanted to achieve visual balance.
These hazards are my favorite part of the board and I'm very pleased with the results.
I bought two
Roman columns from Amazon. I could have used Greek and gotten more columns for the same amount of money, but I insisted on Roman design. These are used for cakes and so their plastic is a little harder than what I'm used to when it comes to miniature wargaming. The columns were cut in half and the bottom halves were meant to be freestanding. The top halves were mounted on plasticard bases so I could have them lean over the arena. They were all primed black, painted with Tamiya, and then heavily drybrushed white. The trees were plastic coated wire sets from Woodland Scenics, and I used green stuff epoxy to sculpt roots. In hindsight, the roots were a little too thick, but we'll chalk that up to corruption stemming from lack of sacrifices at the gardens.
I glued bits of flock, grass, and slate to the arena to simulate overgrowth and I've actually still got a fair bit more to do. I still need to add more grass and flock around the border and drill a cabinet handle into one of the longer edges to make it easier to carry. Soon I'll also be making more hazards and platform to add to this before moving onto my next arena (something more traditional). The arena looks great, plays great, and has gotten awesome reactions so far and I had a lot of fun and learned quite a bit during the build. I'll be sharing this on Reddit soon as well.
I'll gladly answer any questions you guys might have. Sorry I can't really provide many more pictures, the main camera on my phone is busted and I had to have my friend take and send these pictures to me. I might be able to get more shots this weekend. I'll leave this last shot here too so you can see some of my painted stuff:
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