Lego is a constant presence in Lucca. A large area was full of millions of small bricks. Small children wandered like crazy flies in all this Lego paradise.
This is the city, with trains, ghostbusters, and a pub.

If you want could add this Simpsons setting.

Space oddity.

This year a theme about pirates and their vessels.

Spirit of ’76.

What I like most was this Lego reproduction of Forum of Nerva. Great!

This is a Roman amphitheatre, now a square. And inside it, the pavilion with the event theme of this edition: Star Wars.

However other Star Wars pavilions, shops and events were scattered in the city. Here an hooded Andrea as a Star Wars character.

Our preferred restaurant, “Gli Orti di Elisa”, changes in “Star Wars Restaurant”.

The cake called “May the Force be can you”.

An event based on the more numerous quantity of laser swords in a place.

Lego and Star Wars. I want a lego AT-ST walker for Christmas!

A weird kind of cosplay for Star Wars.

And a sexy one.

Back to September! A lot of things to do and so I’m late with reports of past events scheduling. Let’s begin with this game convention in Roma, the 20th of September.

T-shirts, hot weather (but rainy) and wargames in a sporting centre. All was mainly under a pavilion but other tables were around. Roman people is very individualistic so it’s almost impossible to organise something larger. However you could find a lot of people involved in local wargaming scene. Even from our region as this naval table from Latina.

Some local shops were present too. But not their customers. Not so great advertising for the event, as usual. Advertising means money and energy to spend, but without it means no people around. People organise events but doesn’t work on them properly. It is a matter of time and resources. Of mind too. However it is all volunteering work, so we must praise them in spite of everything. The problem for who is in the commercial side of wargaming and gaming is that everyone thinks to his garden and none thinks to spread garden culture. Events like this one must be the arrival of a common path, not a extemporaneous moment.

Children are the resource for the future of wargame, or what wargame will be in the future. Easy games were run for this. Great!

More table around.

The Gundam club and a wargame with mobile suits. I have to find time to try it. This club is very involved in spreading Gundam culture. They participate to translation and adaptation of Gundam manga and anime in Italy.

Boardgame space run by Reindeers club. I think that adding boardgames players at this event would be a great thing. Wargame and boardgame are two different things but they are always “-game” with people who can enjoy both.

Soldiers on ploughed camp.

Lego wargaming is something to explore more!

Our Ganesha Games tables.

Fungi scenario to try.

The first preview of new rules about venationes. Ferrum et Gloria development still run!

What for next year? I hope still this convention and more. Rome is a big city and I wish it as a great city for wargaming.

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.

You can find every kind of Doctor Who toys. However until now we haven’t got a Lego version of our dear doctor. Sure, there is one made by Character Building. It is cool, but it is not the same thing. Why buy an imitated adaptation of Lego minifigs when you aspire to the real one?

Now the license to produce Doctor Who toys is expired or changed, so Lego can build a real version of him with a proper license. I hope that there will be a real interest in it. Here there is a full world of characters to be proposed as minifigs.

In the meantime I enjoyed very much the Lego Movie. I watched it in 3D and it was a real spectacle, maybe the best occidental animation film that I watched in these years. I found the plot very solid, interesting and fun. Spoiler: beware of the aliens from Planet Duplo!

I like Lego so I’m happy when I see kids that play with it. A great way to conquest new people to this world is what this Lego group do: you can build something with available pieces, then you can bring it at home paying the price based on the weight of the final piece. Simple and fun.

Another thing that this group brought at Ludica was a modular mosaic with a view of Fontana di Trevi. Using a lot of Lego little cubes and a guide, the public could build this wall piece by piece during the days.

But the real impressive Lego kit (!) was this reproduction of the land of Game of Thrones. I forgot the number of bricks that they used, it was huge indeed. And thinking to the time and the skill for it, I could think about ages to realise it…

Troops to convert the diorama in a real wargame…

And now some photos to show you this table. Look at the details!

If you don’t like fantasy sets but real ones, think about what you could do with these tanks…

To the end, a photo of me on a wall made of Lego minifigs, a collection made of every kind of existing minifig, I think.

I like Lego, I grew with these toys. So I like to watch the realisation made by the Lego community. In the Ludica fair a large space was dedicated to Lego games. And to a Lego city. Summing Lego brick after Lego brick, Lego set after Lego set, you can obtain this, a continuous table with lots of little scenes and details. With a railway and a monorail added.

Some realisation have a less gaming aspect, like these pieces inspired by Star Wars vehicles. Fictional reality deconstructed in Lego bricks.

In the Ludica Model pavilion there was an area where you could freely play with Lego and buy it in weight. A very popular place for children. While in the Ludica Bimbi pavilion there was a really huge mosaic with the image of the Colosseum. People could built it by sector using Lego bricks having a sector map for guide. Up with Lego community!

I play with Lego since I was five years old. This shaped my way of thinking: everything needs order, a place in the flow of events, is part of a structure, and so on. For example, I refer to Lego bricks when I think about code blocks in programming. Or I think the simple lines of that blocks as the basic principles for interior design (yes, I like IKEA too). When I visited Legoland in Billund, I fulfilled a dream from my times as child. Moreover I like the minifigs and I think that they could be great miniature soldiers if they cost less, because they are fun, it is easy to change weapons and it is smooth to put them as dead on the ground. And buildings made of Lego bricks are ideal for damages done during the play. I have got only 6 minifig gladiators as miniatures for my wargames, I wish more.

If you are a Lego modeller you are interested in building new and interesting things. Ryan McNaught has thought to build a Lego Colosseum, a huge arena made of bricks white marble coloured. It is only a half of the entire ring, and as a quarter with the ancient look and the other quarter with the nowadays look. It is G-R-E-A-T. The elliptical form is a challenge to reproduce it by standard rectangular bricks. The real aspect of the current Colosseum is more dark red than white, but the ruins are well done. I would prefer an entire arena at the times of Emperor Traianus, but I can say that it is already enough so!

Inside and outside are recreated some fun sketches to set the mood and liven up the model. Outside there are more things to view, with the modern part made of fake legionaries, illegal sellers of soft drinks, tourists and the Pope-mobile (!) with Emperor Palpatine as Pope Ratzinger (!!!) because they are almost twins in appearance. Only a question. I liked the Meta Sudans and the Arcus Constantini, but where is the real Colosseum, namely the Emperor Nero statue, outside the Amphitheatrum Flavium? He has forgotten it.

On this Flickr page you can find more Lego Colosseum photos by its designer: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanmcnaught/sets/72157630334220300/