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.
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.
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.
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.
Last day and half to the end of this Kickstarter project. They have improved the look of their modules to compose the arena. In this way you can obtain an arena with a real decent look! I suspect that they showed before only rough prototypes. Bad move in my opinion. Now it express more potential.
An “only walls” version is available too. In this way is more easy to play because with all the full structure it is difficult to move the miniatures. In this way the arena seems a biscuits tin arena, even if larger but more frangible.
There a lot of stretch goal still locked. They aren’t unnecessary, they are necessary to give a better look at all! So if they will be locked how could we see them realised? Here the modules available to compose your mdf arena. I only disagree with the rough form of wooden terraces and with some other aesthetic and not so historical choices.
Pledge here before it will be too late: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hurlbat/28mm-modular-gladiator-arena-and-accessories
Another Kickstarter proposal: a modular gladiator arena! You can add which modules you want. The choice is among wooden or stone terraces, and some modules have doors or peculiar features. There is an imperial podium too. A 8 section arena, a circular one, is labelled 60 quid, an elliptic one made by 10 section is 75 quid, a longed one by 12 section is 90 quid. The ground is available with patterns according to popular gladiatorial game rules. I remember you that with Ferrum et Gloria you don’t need hexagonal or squared ground because there is free movement in the style of other Ganesha Games rules.
MDF is the new material for scenic objects on wargame tables. It is lighter and cheaper than resin, and the objects are not a single closed block but something that you can handle inside. So this proposal is something that follow actual tendencies. It is good, so you can have your huge arena for 28mm figures at a reasonable price. My only concern is about the style of some modules: they don’t know how a real arena was, indeed. Moreover, I wish a step system for the terraces but here there are only unnecessary doors and decorations. Pity! The idea is really great, the realisation is not so great. A more detailed study and attention on real arenas and this stuff would be the definitive arena. However now is maybe the best area that you can buy on the market. After some customisation it will be better. Pledge here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hurlbat/28mm-modular-gladiator-arena-and-accessories
Alongside our space at the fair in Macerata there was this open wooden suitcase with a gladiator arena modelled inside. All in 20mm scale. Look at the terraces and the fences. A fine work of art.
