Archive for the ‘ gladiator miniatures ’ Category

Plastic gladiators review

When I was a child I was used to play with soft plastic soldiers. Now I am older and I play with lead soldiers. I’m not so interested in plastic soldiers and I haven’t got them. I have got the new rigid plastic 28mm soldiers, but they are a bulk version for the lead ones when you have to built masses of pieces, and they are compatible with the standard corpse structure of the lead ones. Because I want to offer an overview of miniatures available for use as gladiators, I have to speak about plastic gladiators, a world that I know little. To accomplish the task I utilise the experience of Plastic Soldier Review, where you can go to read more about these pieces. I’m utilising here photos taken from that website too. Here you can find my personal brief reviews based on my knowledge of gladiators.

Atlantic

These are the soldiers of my childhood. I loved them so much. Only today I realized that their classic range was based on a confused knowledge of the period. Not only these gladiator are based on personal fantasies of the sculptor, but all the range was a farce. When I saw them today I thought that you can use them as Red Martians in a John Carter set… Moreover I wonder on which use you can do of the Christians…




Orion

I’m sure, the sculptor had seen the “Gladiator” film. And that film is not a film about historical gladiators but on what Hollywood believe is Rome and gladiators. So, if you want to play with film character these pieces are good, otherwise you can put them in a bin. Well, you can save something, but only a little. The fun part is the joke in the box, where you can find a gladiator with a pistol and a Wehrmacht helmet and another one with the right arm raised. Hail Caesar!





Italeri

At last, something with a tentative of historical carefulness. You have to put away the axes, but the content of the box resembles gladiators. Add some shields, and with some work you can obtain some right pieces. But if we are honest, the only right pieces are the retiarii. The piece that stands out is the chariot, for a fantasy essedarius proposal. Beautiful, but nothing more.




Pegasus

If you want plastic gladiators you have to buy this set! Beautiful poses, right armours, various types of fighters, a scissor and two dwarfs! There are even some inaccuracies, gross ones, but the overall aspect is great. I suggest to add the right shields (you can made them with cardboard or green stuff) and change some head to obtain something better.




Nikolai

And now some spectators, but only in 20mm format, while as general use in plastic soldiers world you can find the same proposal in 20mm and 54mm sizes. If you have got the right arena, this maker provides two sets of people to populate it.

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Memento Mori comic

If you think that 1/6 action figures are expensive and that building a scenario for them is something impossible due to space issues, you don’t know the Memento Mori web comic. It is a Roman story made of photos of customised action figures, a lot of them. So you can call it photo story book instead of comic book. It is still in development, even if in the last times I think that new work lacks. However we are speaking of 223 pages at the present. With a cast of 95 figures and lots of extras. Think to the effort, economic and artistic to realise it. Epic!

Read the story of these people made of plastic but with human passions, free on the web on Memento Mori web site.

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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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Pontiarii

Do you remember where I took this photo? I was in the Ancient History museum in Trieste this May. And this is a bas relief with Pontiarii.

While we are preparing the English translation for Ferrum et Gloria, something new is on the arena sands. I’m laying down and playtesting new kinds of gladiators for the second book. This time I have better player sheets and rules summaries from the book. More stylish and handy than notes made with simple wordprocessing.

Pontiarii is a peculiar combat set between retiarii and contraretiarii utilising a bridge. Who hold the bridge win the fight. You can throw stones from the top of the bridge. And all is more three-dimensional because gladiators can fight from top to down or from down to top. And the bridge is a peculiar terrain. A lot of situations that were clarified during the test.

In the same session we had a combat between velites. Other situations, other rules. And more things to play with gladiators.

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Romics: Autumn 2014

With Autumn, Romics came. This is the second annual edition of the Roman convention about comics and cosplay, with games added. We haven’t a table because people is not interested in wargame but cards games as Magic. Sometimes you can spot Warhammer. Cultural issues are not contemplated, all is about comics and gadgets vendors. Cosplay is the only thing that provides huge hordes of people (more than 100000 presences?) in this far land outside Rome. But to be free from the crowd we visited the fair only the first day, Thursday, so we couldn’t see lots of naked girl around.

Japan is worshipped in every form. Here one of stands with Japanese blades (but made in China and sold though San Marino state). At the end a ramen shop. However this Romics edition will be remembered as the one with 28 people intoxicated by rotten sushi sold in the fair.

A vendor specialised in coloured wigs. Yes, we are in a comics fair…

“Mommy, I want the RedSkull bust!”. And the vendor eats a panino with roasted pork (porchetta).

Some toys prototypes. Ma.K.s!




This time was present the local 1/6 action figures maker called Kaustic Plastik.

A new gladiator set in the box was presented as preview.

Their 1/6 real metal helm collection. I bought the secutor one and one of the legionary types.

And now another kind of action figures. Big breasts here.

Other fine imports from Japan.

And if you don’t understand, more Japan porn for you…

We met our friends of Elara, sci-fi editors. And after we visited the film area, where we viewed a trailer of the upcoming Doreamon film. It is like the anime but in 3D. I want to watch it!

In the late afternoon, under a raining sky, we proceeded toward the Ikea near my house to buy a new large bookcase for Andrea’s miniatures.

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New 1/6 gladiators

Gladiators in 1/6 dimension are one passion of mine. I own two of them but the high prices keep me away from new purchases. In the meantime two new products are on the market. The first one is a delicious dimachaereus (a fighter with two curved swords) by ACI, the best maker for this kind of figures. Moreover it is almost historically correct. The only evident (and common) mistake is the metallic junction at the elbows. And the points of the swords aren’t inside as sabers but external as hooks. But you can just turn them and all is fine. The right sword could be more long than the left one, but you can be satisfied the same. Quality of the finish is awesome indeed. Available in two versions that are different as colours of metal parts. A really great piece!

I’m less pleased by the other gladiator by CMTOYS. It is simple: it is neither a gladiator as fight category, nor a Roman as dress. It is sold as “Roman Gladiator Coach”. I think it is a transposition of a character from that TV series that I dislike called “Spartacus”. A fantasy item, then.

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Lucca C&G 2013: miniature island

I reported only something of what happened in the days of Lucca C&G. Too much things to do and to see. And now more than two months are distant from this event. However I hope I showed you what this huge fair means. So you could be here for the 2014 edition. Now it is time to concentrate on our specific area of interests: wargame.

We were inside the Games pavilion, in an area called Miniature Island. Around us there were some miniature related stands, than demonstration tables (where I was), and in the inside the painters area.

This a horse & musket wargame by our room mate in the hotel. I give him a couple of precious earplugs to survive to Andrea snoring.

A simple Napoleonic game by Narciso, now in the Clan Conan, veterans of demonstration games in Lucca.

Their huge playable scenario: Iwo Jima! Inside the Suribachi some tunnels are dug. To simulate the terrain they used huge amounts of coffee grounds! And all was assembled in the small living room of Narciso. That smelled of coffee, indeed.

Unofficial Games Workshop Warhammer 40000 demonstration battle. A nice group of alcoholic chaps ran these trenches and 4 days of fighting.

The magnificent trio: Sartori, Torriani, Sfiligoi. Presently they are the pillars of Italy regarding wargame rules. Their work is recognised outside our national and linguistic borders.

Losi, the martyr of last year Andrea snoring. This year he slept in another hotel. Co-author of the modern version of the Torriani’s wargame engine. In the fair he dressed as a Taleban or a private contractor. No, he is not totally mad. : )

The action in the streets of Iraq.

I feel the need of some concrete walls like these ones for my games…

A complete view of the set.

The new wargame by Torriani’s team is setted in Western period.

The painters area. He is Nano Nefasto (ill-omened dwarf), a professional painter from Brescia. On the left the Ludica team.

Luciano at work, illustrating how to paint miniatures.

Some of the pieces in the painting contest called Trofeo Grog.

Private collection by one of the painters.

The Blood Bowl gladiator squad by Auricchio grow convention after convention, year after year…

Always miniature sculpted by Auricchio: a 15mm Hastings range. Yes, 15mm, not 28mm!!!

Sculpting contest, always for Trofeo Grog: some gladiators.

My left thumb and a WWII US marine by Seven Samurai sculpting team.

1-48 Combat is back as 1-48 Tactic. This is a miniature for the game with his twin in a smaller scale.

We were a very large team in that mess. Some faces were the same of the previous years, some are new. Every evening we took a dinner together in various restaurants, the only moment when we could chat. We are part of a community, we are wargame players.

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Ludica Roma 2013: Ganesha Games

Last but not least, the part dedicated to Ganesha Games of the Ludica Roma 2013 full report.

Space is not a big problem in the pavilions of Ludica. So we obtained lots of tables to show rules and games. A DBA in 1:72 scale was organised by Diego.

On your wargame tables in 2016! One of the first playtests of some new ideas for a game by Andrea.

The first public preview of A Fistful Of Kung-Fu. Out by Osprey Publishing in February…

A photo from the first day in the fair. Building modular walls for my arena.

And after the masonry work, a chocolate snack. The candies stand poisoned the air with a terrible stench of chocolate. You couldn’t resist it for long. So I bought my waffel stick!

And here my arena. A lot of people appreciated it.

Those days my father was painting more spectators. However these are just all very active.

Among reenactors there were some involved in gladiatorial fights. A nice chap illustrated to people the specific disciplines of arena. I took advantage of the situation to brandish weapons and touch helms. So I could have a direct experience of what I studied and applied in Ferrum et Gloria.

Do you recognise the different kinds of helms? In Ferrum et Gloria you can understand why these are made in every specific way.

Shields and greaves. Due to hits, you can see as these are used in real fights.

In front of you an arbelas, with its crescent blade.

Back to Ganesha Games space. On the right a preview of the second volume of my rules: gladiatorial fights with ships.

A more detailed view.

An OGAM tournament was held the Saturday. I was very nervous because I only play it in playtests with Andrea mastering. Moreover I didn’t know the final version and how to build a winning strategy. Indeed this is my year: another great result, the third place! A Ludica gold dice and a book from Osprey as prize.

Another preview. I’m planning another game after Ferrum et Gloria. With this photo I suggest the topic of it. We knew in Ludica a reenactor of this historical period that is even a wargamer. An interesting meet.

Now we are waiting for Ludica Rome 2014. And the organisers are waiting for an analysis of the fair that I have to write to them. And you are waiting for other fair reports that still I have to write. In the meantime: Merry Christmas!

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