"The time has come - fight with honor and die the same!"
Another Miniatures unpacked now brings you the pleasure of introducing Pegaso's Roman Gladiator Thraex in 90 mm, sculpted by Gianni La Rocca, box art painted by Emiliano Locabacci, who both did an amazing job. I have to say this is my first 90 mm Miniature i am starting. I feel very comfortable with the scale of 54 mm and i am still working on the 75 mm Arkvenger, where i like the scale too but hell yeah 90 mm is something completly different so this Mu will be a bit different too :)
I was lucky enough to get this model second hand on a forum's trading place for a cheaper price and what can i say - i am totally in love as i am a big fan of gladiators since i am a little boy, remembering my old books of the series "What is What", remembering building up the collosseum in 5th grade in school with some friends by using LEGO for a school event and having the fan feeling refreshed by the wonderful series of STARZ. As this is the place of unpacking the model i hope it is ok if i write a little bit why i have so much fun with this model even this is not the right place for it. The mind works tricks on me right now but i carve them in words and do what i like - i am getting tons of inspiration of the series by STARZ but won't link up much of it as it is very bloody and i don't want kids reading in here being shocked by cruel videos. Here are the names of the series:
Spartacus - Blood and Sand (main series)
Spartacus - Gods of the Arena (prelude, actually running)
I found but one Trailer that is cool and not that bloody and gory so i'll show you this one - i am not very good with my intentions but this has to be a glorious beginning, muharhar:
So now to business, unpacking the model. This is how the box arrives, like always i marvel of the seight of Pegaso's wonderful boxes. I most time hear the model call me from the inside out and sometimes the gods answer my prayers to bring me the right model in the right time. I already knew that with the powers i have these days that this model will not be a long time WIP. My mind again is drifting, the box:
Opening the box did not roughly stop me from dreaming of the arena. It calls me, even i feel much respect for the size of 90 mm at this sculpt - you can always click the photos to get a bigger insight, don't you forget that:
As you can see in the photo above there is again 2 sheets of paper bringing information about the detailed historical background and the painting suggestion. At this point many thanks for the talk to my man Peter T. who is working on it to do a doctor's degree in history, you are really a book full of treasures, you shall recieve my gratitude for all these little hints and stories which sculpted this idea even more. Looking inside and counting, list follows:
In the box you find 17 parts of white metal to build your Thraex:
1x base
1x head
1x torso
1x shield (parma)
1x sword (sica) with hand
1x shieldarm
2x legs
1x helmet
1x facemask
1x addition to the helmet
2x big feather trimmings
2x small feathers
2x shinguards
"The helmet of the Thraex was decorated with a tall solid crest terminating in the head of a griffin, the companion of Nemesis, goddess of vengeance and retribution."
I guess i will use every piece, except the base - i am stupid and want to build up my own sand arena base, haha. Much stuff but easy to handle because of its size. Now having a closer look on the parts, talking about mould lines and fitting accuracy. The main parts are for sure the legs and the torso. There are some small mould lines from the process of casting, but in this seize they are really easy to find. On the shins you have prepared places to put the shinguards in. Legs together give hold for the torso. There are some minor rests of the casting as you can see on his toes, but they are also fast cleaned. If you are intrested in the way you can clean your white metal model please read this article - it will help you understand that a good cleaning is important before painting and will make it easier to understand my talk here:
I started to clean these big components first by using a scalpell and fine sandpaper. I pinned everything together with a small metal pin, but before i did i drilled a hole, damn still no pinning article in the jungle, gnurks!! I removed the metal part under the feet because they were done for the delivered base that i don't use. A round up check on every place where the model is glued together later on has been done to prepare everything with sand paper for a good fit when glueing starts.
Taking a closer look on the smaller pieces you will find the same quality. Easy to clean if you are patient and take your time needed. Don't you hurry at cleaning, don't you hurry at all :) - everything fits well together after some minor cleaning but i would recommand pinning everything together for the safety of such a heavy model. Smaller parts before the clean up, here we go - you can find the small mould lines easily i hope (there are not many), understand the path of assembling the parts, which even works with a fresh banana and my gorilla brain. Also make sure you'll clean up the sides of thinner parts like the shield, helmet or shinguards. Important again is that you check the assembly fit piece by piece.
It took me about 5~6 hours to completly clean every part, preparing a good fit, pin everything and drink litres of coffee meanwhile. I guess i was fast and i am sure i did forget something, just for you to understand that patience takes time. In this Scale even more... now he stands tall in the shine of fortune and is pinned for sure to my alternative sand base, which is simply wow, haha :) - i've already filled some gaps (small ones i could not avoid) while i was bringing the parts together one by one - i did not glue the shield yet as i would not be able to reach the body for painting, instead i cleanded the place well and prepared everything for the good fit later on. I did glue the facemask as i plan to paint him way less shiny than the box art, so there won't be anything visible of it in the end.
Always remember: Preparation comes first before the sands will decide the path of destiny. So I still did some minor cleanings without taking much photos and after this went to priming. 90 mm is really great, when priming with the 2k method of black and white you can see the light fall so clearly - here are two photos of the model primed but made black and white for a better understanding of what i mean - i can now already read the hot spots :)
Closing words
The sculpt is magnificant in its quality, but also its pose. I would say that the model and the cleaning process, for sure also the size of 90 mm and the weight that comes within is not for beginners, but it is for sure something you can gain experience from. I've learned from starting him that there is nothing to be feared by such a 'Miniature', instead i can feel it calling very strong for my colours and as a man must accept his faith or will be destroyed by it i've already begun to enjoy swinging my brush. He will not be dark skinned, as i have completly different vision of him than shown in the box art. I am planning to paint him fitting into the mood of the series Spartacus, he shall look like he is edging his legend in blood in this glorious moment, never forgotten by the history of the republic. And believe me 90 mm has nothing to do with miniature painting, it is about painting with full force in the beginning, this is my Thraex after 2 hours of painting, ... with more yet to be presented :)
For me this is a glorious beginning that is why i wrote much of blabla to this Review. I hope you enjoyed the read. Let the games begin and happy painting!
Best Regards
Roman
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