Archive for the ‘ ferrum et gloria ’ Category

DBA tournament in Rome

Back to the 26th of September. Still t-shirts around, as DBA, in the 3 edition version. A tournament was held in Rome, the first and maybe the last with this rules version.

We waited for this new edition since a lot of years. Its publication was a thing that never happened. And DBA was lacking interest between players.

Rules modification proposals were around for years. So the new edition displease almost everyone because everyone had his personal ideas how to fix and improve the game. And the new edition was something other than so many people wanted.

It is impossible to create 1000 different rules for 1000 different people. And what was created was not so intriguing to placate unhappiness. Someone found in the rules new inspiration but more people that were dissatisfied now are looking for something else. We played DBA tournaments since 2003, so if people want something different, the new edition, with its usual hermetic language, was the decisive event.

We were in Solo Giochi shop:
https://www.solo-giochi.it/
And this is the mini-website that I made for the event:
https://www.legiopalatina.it/lopapaveronovoconclave/index.htm

Some western building to play with Torriani rules.

A commission work for a WWII set. Still unpainted.

This incredible set is modular, so new parts could be added. And you can play in sewers and cellars because there is an underground level with parts that are connected too.

Some 28mm minatures painted by the owner of Solo Giochi. He sells them. It think that the ancient ones are really great.


I didn’t play in the tournament. With old edition tournaments I could choose an army (usually a Roman one…) and play without review rules. I hadn’t patience and free time to study new rules. But I wanted to be with my friends at the tournament, so I bring something else with me.

Another try for venationes and an opportunity to show my book to customers that were in the shop. 3 copies sold.

If it could be the last official DBA tournament in Roma however it was not a funeral. We had a lot of fun. DBA is what created our friendship. No more official DBA tournaments here in Rome? We can always play with DBA, play with other games, and meet for our common passion about wargaming. It is not a matter of rules but only of free time.

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Flat tin soldiers

Back from the past! It was 2012 and we were in Switzerland at the Paolo’s marriage. During a visit at a castle we found, inside a large number of showcases, an exhibition of flat tin soldiers which were owned by the former landlord. While I was viewing old photos I found them, so now I show them to you. But remember, it is only part of the exhibition. When you speak about the number of soldiers that you have got, you are never sure…









Instead, for the days of that holiday, go to:
Lac Léman & Lac de Neuchatel: summer holidays
Lac Léman & Lac de Neuchatel: castles
Lac Léman & Lac de Neuchatel: weapons

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Arena du Fort Bastiani

Where have I seen this arena before? But it is a Playmobil arena! Instead of the full ring, here there is the choice to represent only the idea of the arena, building the scene for the play, utilising only three pieces for the walls and one piece for the terraces. The final aspect is very good, thanks to an added elliptic amphitheatre terrain and to a fine paint work. Easy to store and to transport. A further advantage is that with this system you have a lot of spare parts from the Playmobil set to built at least two more arenas! For a better view of the arena go to Fort Bastiani blog.

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A printed arena

Some years ago someone realised a beautiful graphic work about the walls of a Roman arena. A trapdoor was added as special entrance for animals and gladiators. These walls look almost real, with a 3D effect, even if they resemble more the external of an arena than the inside walls. Through the Brabantini Yahoo group, a pdf file with these image was available to download. You could print it on paper, cut it to the wanted shape, glue it to card. Then your arena for miniatures was ready.

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Hellana 2015: part 2

And now always Hellana 2015 but with a view on Ganesha Games stuff. We had three tables. The first one with a Fightin’ Fungi preview. Miniatures aren’t the kickstarter ones, they are still in sculpting phase. Delivery is scheduled for June. Some items was sold by Andrea here.
The other table was about a new game with Old West rules. This project is based on SBH mechanics and is written in Italian language. So Andrea have to translate it in English before publication. Seeing the late about Ferrum et Gloria in English, I don’t know when we will see it.

This one is my table. Always the custom Playmobil arena. And an introductive Provocator scenario. I have to do something new for next events. On the left some Italian copies of the rules, and gladiator miniatures.

Inside the arena a preview of the two 75mm gladiator miniatures painted by Simoncini. I am trying to propose a gladiator fight with bigger pieces, using these two. A combat pair of a secutor versus a retiarius. I must build some kind of arena and measure sticks for the fight. However they are very fragile, so maybe I can’t transport them around for wargame conventions.

During the day I mastered a couple of demonstration games. It’s hard to follow two players. The game is not so easy for children, even if Simoncini play it with his child, and the child win always. In the other play, father versus son, the son was more brilliant with rules, but had very bad dice.

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Squig fighting arena

Among my perpetual arenas proposal I want to show you something a little different, an arena for Squigs, in other words a fantasy biped creature composed of a head with a big mouth full of sharp teeth. We are in the GW’s Warhammer world, and these wild things are some kind of pets for Orks. Imagine a sort of all red and weird Warner Bros’ Tasmanian Devil.

However, I am showing to you this arena because it is particularly well done. And you can follow here the realisation from the initial draw to the final stage, passing through every phase. It could be very inspiring for your things, even from a technical view.

Some images about this arena. A mix of fantasy and science fiction for the rough Orks’ architecture.

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Atlantic plastic Colosseum

When I was a child I didn’t know Airfix or other brands for plastic soldiers. I only knew Atlantic. English speaking people can read on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_%28company%29 a brief summary of what Atlantic meant.

Atlantic was producing its ranges in two scales. A that time I was collecting the range of ancient soldiers in the big format. They had got on the box an historical profile of the period. My mum bought them because they could develop an attention for history at school. A lot of years after I graduated at university in something as ancient history and culture, indeed. A gladiator miniature range was available by them too. Well, during those days a Colosseum was produced by Atlantic for 1:72 plastic miniatures. It was very expensive for my child finances, so I could watch it just on comic advisements. Now it is a luxury toy for adults that were children in ’70s. It is very beautiful, a model thought to be a real scaled Colosseum. You can view on this video as it is.

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School of Pompeii part 2

The new gladiatorial set by Kaustic Plastik. In the box one body, two helms, two shield and various weapons. So you can build one gladiator of a kind but you have pieces to build two more. You need another two bodies or you can change equipment to the present body when you want to do it. Quality is great and real metal is used for weapons and helms. Real metal is another thing rather than coloured plastic. My only concern are long necks, typical in 1/6 action figure to accommodate changing heads: helms are fitted too high so neck and shoulder protection is ineffective. However,… a must have! This Kaustic Plastik improves over time. Limited series, obviously.

Myrmillo

Thraex with sica supina

Thraex with spiculum. It isn’t an hoplomachus, but this is a common mistake. Hoplomachi are myrmillones with a more rhomboid shield and an helm with sides with a pronounced vertical shape.

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