Back to the 1st of October. Romics is the comic convention of Rome. It is held twice every year in Rome fair. However the buildings are sinking in the ground. Moreover Rome fair is sinking in debts. But be happy: Romics is a money war machine and we will have a Roman comic convention continuously.

We are always present in the convention the first of the four days, from opening hour to end. It is the less crowed. So we can spend money freely and talk to people. And we did it abundantly. But not so many naked female cosplayers around the first day. Pity.

This time the convention was exploded in five pavilions. It is a very huge convention with lots of people around, but without cultural events and publishing companies presence. It is only shops and cosplay.

More boardgames this year. But it is not an easy situation where you can play: too many people around that don’t know games and don’t want to know them. In a matter of fact, as Ganesha Games we are not interested to be here.

However our friends of Reindeers club are here every edition. Praise them and their efforts to spread gaming culture. And this is the last Zerloon realisation: Mad Max flick was out in that time. And roads needed warriors.

Speaking about cars, an exhibition about Diabolik. And his cars.

This time there were two interesting exhibition: one about Bruno Bozzetto work, and this one about an Italian comic legend. He is the “king of murder”. A fictional one, obviously.

Some original drawings on the walls. The cover of one of the first numbers and its modifications. Look at the Diabolik’s eyes. And on Lady Kant the sign of a patch to change lineaments of the girls in following editions.

Another original draw and another version.

The original cover of a new series.

Comic convention are not more a matter of comics. They are more based on merchandise and gadgets nowadays.

And all what is from Japan is classified as something comic related. Thanks to anime, and later to manga.

Stuffed animals are cute and related to comic convention. Too much girls around nowadays as comic fans. But this is good. And I bought one of them for my love.

More cute things. Doraemon as a superhero.

Statues. Costly enough. And 1/6 action figures by Kaustic Plastik. I need some Roman to add to my collection.

To close some statuettes. Males like them more than stuffed animals. I don’t know why.

Another post for Romics 2015 spring edition. This one is dedicated only to statuettes and similar things. Sorry, no cosplay girls, they are more naked Saturday or Sunday. I visit the fair only Thursday. Here my friend Paolo with the present sensation about characters in a cute dolls format.

Kaustic Plastik was present with their last products. Pity, this time I have no money for this, but at the first opportunity I want to add a 1/6 gladiator to my personal collection.

Action figures for Ma.k.s. I need them. But more realistically maybe I could copy the idea of put nameplates under my 1/6 figures when I will realise their new installation in the new house.

In this showcase the best piece is the crossover between Doraemon and Captain America, two of my favourite comic characters.

An here Suppaman from Dr.Slump and Arale. A real superhero.

Statuettes, another form of comics fruition. And Japan ones are the most popular around.

A dark version of Rei Ayanami. I watched the anime films and I found them lacking of a logic in the storyline, so I can’t understand why they are so famous. However as imaginary are great.

Another crossover, but this time between cute girls, cute animals and cute WWII planes. Only Japanese minds could concept sometime like this.

Another Japanese passion: boobs. And something to give a strong character to your bookshelves.

More boobs.

Another vendor but same kind of boobs.

Boobs and something more.

Next Romics will be at the start of October.

The Roman comic convention Romics, spring edition. We went the first day as usual, a Thursday, taking a day off from work. It is the only way to avoid crowd. What is empty in these photos is full as a Roman public transport during other three days.

I’m a little sad because the first day only a few cosplayers are here. However you can watch the fair very better!

Dresses are a large part of the fair. Comics are only the motive for all is relate to them. Sometime who dress like a comic or a manga never read them, it is a concept that lives for itself.

Wigs are related to this world as if this would be a fair for hairstylists. It is not a scandal, it is the modern way to feel comics.

Japan dresses. Or better, something that can be taken for Japan dress. Japan is manga and anime. So this is the right place. Simple.

The ultimate match for your apparel. Select the best for you.

An innovation: a maid cafè! This is a group with female dancing waitresses too! An information booth was available for the fan club…

A Warzone cosplayer. This miniature game is still popular around.

Back to comics. Budget purchases were available around. I am attracted by ’70 comics, things that I couldn’t buy when I was a child because of small age and poor wage from parents.

Andrea was in Romics together with me. Two days after he went to Modena for the Italian game convention, Play Modena. Here while he is enjoying some original comic tables.

I said to myself that with an house I could buy some original to put on the walls. Now I have the house but not so much money to buy these things. And no free walls due to the large amount of books that I collected. Maybe after the refurbish works I will pick something…

Holidays are an heavy duty so less news on the blog. However I promised to myself that this year I had to spend less time on the blog because I need time to write rules for Ferrum et Gloria. Well, this year I published 86 posts instead of 88. Target achieved…
Some brief news. In a month I visited my fiancée, spent a lot of money in a couple of fairs in Rome (books and food), walked around a lot, ate like a pig during Christmas, worked at my bureaucratic job, wrote an article for Dadi & Piombo about gladiators (out in April). And I took this photo at another playtest for Song of Spear and Shield. The rules are still blurred as this photo. Every time Andrea is not happy enough with the rules, but even this time he think that he found the right way. Instead for my photos I’m thinking about a new camera at the start of 2015.

The last part of 9. So, after some aspects of Lucca C&G, now I’m going to speak about our small experience as Ganesha Games.
This year the available space was very small, only a large table divided in three parts. Andrea presented a small set-up with super-heroes for Power Legion. And another one with the same factory scenario but for Harder Than Steel.

Andrea games, in this small space in the huge space of the fair, were almost invisible. So I changed the cloth with the black side. Over, my large arena. Yellow on black, as bees, something more visible.
However in Crazy Factory vendor stand, a better set-up was ready for Harder Than Steel. So some demonstration games were played there. They will sell a custom edition of the rules for their sci-fi universe. They are miniature makers and a full miniature range is in development to be played with these rules. All will be ready for Lucca 2015. We are developing this since Lucca 2013, when we met these people and had the idea to work together. Lucca is even a meeting of creative people to build something new.

Andrea almost lost his voice after only a day. For his dead time I suggested to draw some sketches for upcoming Fighing Fungi miniature kickstarter.
I presented the printed copies of Ferrum et Gloria, my gladiatorial rules. Ready at last! One of the best things that you can live is when people appreciate your work. Here a mother explain to her children what were gladiators.

After 5 days, I and Andrea with official Lucca C&G caps. This is the end of the fair. Another great and good experience. We will remember these moments. Then on the road to home. We reached Terni at the 4 of the morning. Than a brief sleep, the train to Rome, home at the 5 of the afternoon. Ready for the next time.

After the overview of Lucca C&G, now it is time to something more nearer to what we were doing in the fair. This is the wargame area, a drop in the ocean among so many things to see and do. Our macro-area is called Miniature Island. This is a partial view with our stand in the back (note the blue banner on the wall). I took this photo the afternoon of the day before the opening. Stands were still in set-up.

Our friends of Clan Conan were giving the last touches to their 3 scenarios. They are used for free playing with simple rules.

The director of Lucca C&G was involved with the set-up of his miniatures display. The day before of the event, the maker of this 400000 people madness was thinking about his miniatures! Saturday night, the day of 100000 tickets and another 100000 people around for free events, he was together with us for a dinner with wargamers.

This was the game with ancients by Clan Conan. They were using simple rules but the same set-up was utilised for some presentation of the new Centuria rules by Massimo Torriani, the winner of Conan prize 2014.

The Vietnam game. Look to the lady interested to wargames. The other game was about modern combat in Middle East, managed and build by my friend Narciso.

Big participation game with WH40k. The last year they were more vicious, indeed.

Inside Miniature Island there was our area called 3D Authors (Autori 3D): on the right, Massimo Torriani (Centuria) and Valentino Del Castello (Wild West Chronicles); in the half, I (Ferrum et Gloria) and Andrea (Power Legion and Harder Than Steel); on the left, Lorenzo Sartori and Marco Guarnieri (Lords and Servants); on the extreme left, another stand together with us by Gainsworth publishing company.

Italeri model makers, other Lucca comrades of us, on the left of this photo. A young couple watch what we are doing with our little soldiers.

Our area is the opportunity to test wargames by leading wargame authors of Italy. And to chat with them about wargame. It is even the situation to interact with people that don’t attend to wargame conventions and that discover this world for the first time.

Another area of Miniature island is the painters space. You can meet miniature painters that teach their art. Here my friend Luciano Molina.

Nano Nefasto is one of the top painters in Italy. Since last year I’m thinking to spend a lot of money for his art.

A sculpting contest. We are thinking to hiring Paolo Fabiani (on the first photo) for some future Kickstarter project. He is currently working with various miniature companies. Paolo and Nano Nefasto discovered in Lucca that they are working on the same miniatures for an international company: the former sculpt the miniatures, the ladder paint them.

And here one of our convivial dinner after the show, a group of wargamers that like to live their hobby (or work) with other people.

Nowadays Lego is more common among fairs and modelling conventions. Marketing, films and adult fans made this. We had in Lucca C&G a stand with a free construction zone in Games pavilion and a couple of exhibitions around, with a large area in Family Palace, the ancient palace dedicated by Lucca C&G to children activities.

This year theme was “Star Wars”, or I think it was because you could find a lot related to Star Wars around. However in the fair an entire pavilion was for “Star Wars” with another one only for its reenactors.

Minifigs are ideal for wargame. As this one. Planet of ice battle.

If you are a professional collector you can enlist a full army of Imperial minifigs. Here there are 816 soldiers with some special troops, officials and rebels added.

Ewoks as they were filmed…

And now more Church of Gundam.

Space Shuttle and astronauts. A vintage image due to dismiss.

A slice of Genova city.

A Lego city, from kits and personal creations.

A piece of the huge “Games of Thrones” diorama. Maybe you can play with it, due to the huge availability of minifigs ready for a wargame.

More robots in Lucca C&G: exhibitions and action figures for sale.

Patlabor. Waiting for the revamp following the live action version in 2015.

Biped tank.

A must: Ma.K.s

A knight robot with lots of mechanical parts.

A Luca Zampriolo’s creation. This year he was a Lucca C&G official guest.

Godzilla in a church exhibition. Yes, Godzilla in the house of God…

Gamera too.

And the Captain Harlock’s ship.