Archive for March, 2014

Castel Decima

A different way to pass the 8th of March. Castel Decima is a nature area near a rural castle at the South-West of Rome, just outside the GRA (the motorway that encircle Rome). Here there was a large, and practically unused, WWII defence system for Rome, with bunkers and trenches. A visit was organised only for local WWII reenactors. No other people involved.

The area is not properly equipped for visitors as a museum area: bunkers are houses for bats, trenches are among debris and woods. After 70 years th structures are still solid, made by concrete or tuff stone. I tried to find the layout of the area by GoogleMaps, but from the sky all is well concealed. We think to explore more the surroundings for another time.

The visit was even a photo opportunity for reenactors, a way to show off weapons and uniforms. It is a way to live and understand history, as wargame. And there was the presence of a real veteran of war, a man that fought in that area to delay the Allies in their march on Rome. We listened about his experience and visited with him the place where he and his comrades destroyed a Sherman column.

I’m a member of the Italian paratroopers historic group. Almost 70 years ago in this place, the commander of Italian paratroopers died heroically. So we organised a ceremony at the war memorial.

Maybe in April I will participate to another meeting, but this time with a paratrooper uniform of the other political half of the divided Italy after the 8th of September.

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Billboard

To add more terrain to your playground an original choice could be a billboard. It is easy to build: a flat vertical surface with a couple of poles to carry it. But I found a more sophisticated billboard by Pardulon, with a metal structure as poles, bolted to a concrete base.

Another view, from behind the advertise.

It has a 8x5cm surface that can be magnetised with strips. So, using metal card as base where to glue paper posters, you can change message and feature.

I made 10 posters using font icons and downloaded images, all elaborated through Photoshop and printed with a normal printer at 300dpi. They are themed for the future games that I will play. I’m thinking to do the same thing for posters to add to external houses walls.

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I’m thinking to the next Lucca Comics & Games. Yes, it is for the 1st of November but I have to prepare something to show to the audience. I haven’t got Zen Garden boxes anymore because I stopped their production. Maybe a new release in cardboard? Well, I wish newer things to old ones so I don’t think to give new life to the garden. This year I must complete my gladiatorial rules, so I haven’t so much time to develop another set of rules. Neither a fill-in. I have a great idea and I have started to work on this new project, but now it’s not the right moment. I hope my long awaited Ferrum et Gloria will be ready for November. Yeah, I know that I’m saying this thing year after year… So what to do? A playable and simplified demo? Playing with bigger figures? Propose a larger table with special effects? However I and Andrea have to think to what will be ready at that date for Ganesha Games so we can focus our efforts on some presentation. In the meantime the old Lucca C&G 2013 strike back. I found this official video on our Miniature Island. Sad thing: I and my table is not on it! However you have a general view of our space and Andrea is on it. Enjoy.

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We found that Of Gods and Mortals rules can be suitable as tournament rules too. They are more sophisticated, sly and depth than you could feel during the first reading. Tournaments are the final test for rules and OGAM is strong enough to allow a fast and interesting tournament play. This time we were in the games shop in Terni. I studied the rules to act better against other tournament armies. I was looking for a powerful combination of troops to win games. I chose Athena as god, Herakles and two generic heroes as legends, and Spartans and psiloi as mortals. I lose two on three games, but only for some mistakes, because I could win another game if I was more resolute. However I had a lot of fun and I think that I’m on the right way to develop better tactics for the tournament in Macerata: the next time I want to be on the top steps of the podium.

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Lego Doctor Who

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!

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