Bob Lippman

This miniature was based on a sketch by David Day for The Magnificent VII, a GURPS Imperial Rome adventure module that appeared in Game Trade magazine (Vol. 1, Issue 6).  The artwork is shown below for comparison.  I ended up changing the pose to something a bit more provocative, since the Retiarius in the artwork looks like he is down and about to be out.  After spending some time playing in the backyard with a broom and bed sheet - trying to get a sense of how a real Retiarius might have used his weapons in ancient times, I decided on a more or less classic fencing on-guard position and a swinging net.  The shoulder armor was dropped for the sake of mobility (actual Retiarius gladiators almost never wore armor) and the harness was left off the torso because I just liked the way his abdominal muscles came out and couldn't bear to hide them.  The helmet was left off and a bald head was decided upon partly because, as I say,  historically Retiarii did not wear much armor and I thought the bald head looked more intimidating.

  Here is the final result of my sculpting efforts, before the mini was cut up for casting or removed from its cork.  I use corks to base my sculpting work because they are cheap (free with a nice bottle of wine), and just feel right in my hand.  The wire armature can be pushed into the cork easily to accommodate any pose.  Some people prefer alligator clamps and fancy vise-like bases, constructed so that the miniature can be accessed from the underside.  In this case I was able to get sufficient access by cutting the cork base with an X-Acto™ knife. 

Here is the figure from the back.  Note that care has been taken to give the mini a 3 dimensional and dynamic pose without making it impossible to cast.  For example, the folds of the net have been placed so that the rubber mold will not get caught in any nooks or crannies.  This takes a lot of planning to get right.  In the case of the trident, that will have to be removed for casting (otherwise the back end of the polearm will get stuck in the mold).  I knew this would happen, so planned ahead by using very thin armature wire in the right arm.  The spot where the forearm padding (the "fasciae") ends will hide any seam nicely, so that's where I will do the necessary surgery. 

This picture shows the Retiarius, after his arm was removed for casting and a slotta-tab was attached. This scan gives you a slightly better look at the facial details, as well as the relief sculpting on the greaves.  After cutting off the arm I had to fill in any damage with fresh putty, then sculpt a pin and socket to make reattachment easier for the end user.

A complete, nearly step-by-step description of how this figure was made follows. This is the first figure where I kept such detailed records. No one was more surprised than me at how long this miniature took to make. I guess if it teaches anything, its that to be a (hopefully) decent sculptor, it takes a lot of patience and willingness to do things over until you get them right.  Sorry about the absence of intermediate pictures of each step, but when I am sculpting I am always loath to stop to find a camera, mess about with lighting and lenses and all that.  I find it very disruptive to my work flow.  Maybe next time.

Bob Lippman