Secutor and Scissor

Secutor:  The secutor was commonly paired up in combat with the retiarius.  The secutor was equipped with a helmet, a large rectangular shield, a grieve on one leg, a manica on his sword arm and a gladius sword.  His helmet's streamlined shape, small eyeholes, and fin-like crest served two purposes. First, it gave the impression of the head of the fish as part of the fisherman-fish aspect of the retiarius-secutor match. Second and more importantly, the eyeholes were very small to prevent the trident from piercing them and the helmet lacked a brim or ornamentation to prevent the retiarius' trident or weighted net from catching on it.

In combat, the secutor attempted to close with the retiarius and engage in close combat using his large shield for protection. The retiarius would try to avoid close combat.  The secutor could not match the retiarius' speed or mobility due to his much heavier armor.  Furthermore, his tight helmet with small eyeholes limited his vision and hearing.  Even worse, with no hole for breathing, the secutor would become winded and tire much sooner than his opponent.

The first figure below projects a murderous attitude, which is probably typical for gladiators.  And I was happy with the way the shield turned out for the gentleman with his sword raised in the air.  Enjoy the small successes!

Scissor:  When I first saw this miniature, I assumed it was an invention of someone's imagination because it looked so odd.  In fact, this gladiator type appears in reliefs from the Eastern Roman empire. The images reflect that a scissor was equipped with a helmet, scale armor or mail covering his body almost to the knees, a manica arm-guard on his sword arm and grieves on both legs.  The oddest feature is the armored forearm that ended in a wicked crescent shaped blade.  Since this gladiator had no shield, he relied on his blade to cut through a net or ward off a trident.  This gladiator type was one of the most heavily armored of all gladiators.

If I was paired up with this guy, I'd first pinch myself to wake up from a nightmare and if that didn't work, I'd run around and around the arena till he collapsed from heatstroke.

And in case you haven't tripped over one of my many listings, I have my Gallic army up for sale under the "For Sale" tab at the top of the home page.