Bio:
Name: Timos of Syracuse
Position: Naphtha Sprayer, Legionnaire.
Hometown: Syracuse

Timos comes from the same island that spawned Archimedes; that and his rare, dark red hair both seem to make this Roman a perfect fit in the Legion's unit of naphtha sprayers. The Legions use flame as a demoralizer, to frighten troops into giving up a siege or battle, and Timos is a consummate professional. One of the few who guards the secret of "Greek fire", he is just as concerned over the safety of fire as he is the supremacy of Rome.

An "Ancient Discoveries: Warfare" program on Discovery channel gave me the fuel I needed to create Blowtorch, by suggesting the science and skills to create handheld flamethrowers was possible. Having decided I couldn't get enough Duke out of the head to be Snake Eyes, I shaved down his chin and nose a little more, and smoothed out much of the scarring.

As far as intricate work goes, that has to go to the figure's feet. I think I did a really good job transplanting those calves; they have repeatedly (as in more than four) been puttied, sanded, and painted until I felt that the seams were sufficiently hidden. I also carved down the kneecaps to eliminate Alpine's kneepads.

The focus for Blowtorch was on his accessories.This was my first real exploration into using strip styrene, which I think lent a lot to the banded mail. And it was just luck that I had a soft plastic VvV Viper helmet, which needed only minor modification to become the Roman analogue. His 'blowtorch' looks very much like the one theorized on the program: it's pump action, like a super-soaker, with the naphtha reservoir in the bottom tube. Pump back, the change in pressure pulls the fuel to the top tube. Pump forward, the naphtha sprays out the end and ignites. The show's reproduction, using only the materials the ancient Greeks would have had, launched a stream of flame over 20 feet!