One of my favorite movies is the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator with Russell Crowe. According to Wikipedia, the Latin word “gladiator” literally means “swordsman” (gladius meaning sword).

Gladiators used to entertain audiences in the Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, animals and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the arena. Most were despised as slaves, schooled under harsh conditions, socially marginalized, and segregated even in death. You can read more about the life of gladiators here: about Gladiators

Ever since I have first watched the movie I have been making gladiator minifigs. I enjoy the challenge of looking for official LEGO minifig torsos and heads that would work well for gladiators. I arm them with various weapons made by LEGO and custom brands to give them a fair chance in the arena. And I use the BrickForge gladiator helmets, face-masks and armor pieces to give them some protection.

I really like the Harry Potter Death Eater face-mask (seen on the middle fig above)! I think it works great for gladiators! I also like the armored arm on the litte guy on the left. I had to modify the piece a bit to fit a regular hand-piece, but it worked out perfect!

I particularly like the menacing gladiator with the eye-patch! The head is from a Prince of Persia set.  

And here is the whole line of my little LEGO gladiator guys individually. Just click on the tumbnails for a larger view. I will ad more as I find more interesting torsos for them. 😉

Do you have a favorite LEGO gladiator creation? Let me know in the Comment section below! 😉