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Miniatures Adventure => Colonial Adventures => Topic started by: chicklewis on 01 January 2017, 12:50:01 AM

Title: Who knows of a miniature model of the/an Axum Obelisk ??
Post by: chicklewis on 01 January 2017, 12:50:01 AM
You may remember that one of the 'spoils of war' which Italy carried home from Ethiopia in the 1930s was the "Axum Obelisk".  I'm looking for a model of the same or similar obelisk to use at the "macguffin" for an Italian Colonial Game.  It was a huge project to get the obelisk down the the coast of the Red Sea without having it broken or damaged.  And it might make a decent scenario to have Ethiopian irregular forces attack the work parties and engineers involved in moving the huge stone.  

My eBay and Amazon searches turned up nothing about a miniature Axum Obelisk.  Can anyone help with a pointer?  I'll attach a link to a picture of the real thing.  The perfect scale model would be about 10"-12" high, but smaller would work, as well.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obelisk_of_Axum

Thanks in advance,

Chick
Title: Re: Who knows of a miniature model of the/an Axum Obelisk ??
Post by: Sir Barnaby Hammond-Rye on 01 January 2017, 04:16:13 PM
Horizon Creation 3D does several more basic obelisk designs...

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Horizon-Creation-3D/Fantasy-Terrain-/_i.html?_fsub=18822316018


You may remember that one of the 'spoils of war' which Italy carried home from Ethiopia in the 1930s was the "Axum Obelisk".  I'm looking for a model of the same or similar obelisk to use at the "macguffin" for an Italian Colonial Game.  It was a huge project to get the obelisk down the the coast of the Red Sea without having it broken or damaged.  And it might make a decent scenario to have Ethiopian irregular forces attack the work parties and engineers involved in moving the huge stone.  

My eBay and Amazon searches turned up nothing about a miniature Axum Obelisk.  Can anyone help with a pointer?  I'll attach a link to a picture of the real thing.  The perfect scale model would be about 10"-12" high, but smaller would work, as well.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obelisk_of_Axum

Thanks in advance,

Chick
Title: Re: Who knows of a miniature model of the/an Axum Obelisk ??
Post by: von Lucky on 01 January 2017, 08:45:47 PM
Yeah, I imagine when it was in Rome there would've been a chance to buy something (maybe not in size) from a souvenir store, etc. I think your best bet is printing out the four elevations and gluing them to card and painting the edges and basing to become some easy (but effective) terrrain.
Title: Re: Who knows of a miniature model of the/an Axum Obelisk ??
Post by: italwars on 01 January 2017, 11:25:14 PM
 And it might make a decent scenario to have Ethiopian irregular forces attack the work parties and engineers involved in moving the huge stone.  


i suppose you imagine a totally fantasy scenario...because the only interest Abbissinians had and still have with that object was practically nil......and the truth is that it had been an  absurd mistake to send them back at even pay for the transport...
Title: Re: Who knows of a miniature model of the/an Axum Obelisk ??
Post by: Widows Son on 02 January 2017, 07:03:24 AM
Try searching Ebay for 'Egyptian obelisk'.  I just did, and quite a few resin ones of about the size you are after came up and were priced around £10-14.  They had the more commonly found 'pointed' top to them, but they looked good for gaming with to me.  I hope this helps.
Title: Re: Who knows of a miniature model of the/an Axum Obelisk ??
Post by: chicklewis on 02 January 2017, 04:13:31 PM
Thanks, Egyptian obelisks are a dime a dozen, and not what I seek. 

I was considering a home-made paper model, and may go this direction. 

I appreciate the suggestions. 
Title: Re: Who knows of a miniature model of the/an Axum Obelisk ??
Post by: chicklewis on 02 January 2017, 04:19:32 PM
"i suppose you imagine a totally fantasy scenario...because the only interest Abbissinians had and still have with that object was practically nil......and the truth is that it had been an  absurd mistake to send them back at even pay for the transport..."

I'm interested in where you get this idea, Italwars.  We were in Axum in 2015, and big school parties, and family groups of Ethiopians gather all around the base of the returned stele and make a big fuss about it, seem to love it very much, and be proud to be photographed in front of it.  

Chick
Title: Re: Who knows of a miniature model of the/an Axum Obelisk ??
Post by: Jericho on 02 January 2017, 04:20:09 PM
Doesn't look like there are Axumite obelisks available, however I did find this:

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6ZU_85vaVfU/UzI4BWQ63OI/AAAAAAAAHYM/1wAV3n6LE7Y/s1600/Axum+08.jpg)

From this blog: http://www.soa.org.uk/showsblog/index.php?categories=Axumites (http://www.soa.org.uk/showsblog/index.php?categories=Axumites)

Might be helpful if you want to build one yourself.
Title: Re: Who knows of a miniature model of the/an Axum Obelisk ??
Post by: italwars on 02 January 2017, 10:43:37 PM
We were in Axum in 2015, and big school parties, and family groups of Ethiopians gather all around the base of the returned stele and make a big fuss about it, seem to love it very much, and be proud to be photographed in front of it.  
Chick
i'm sure that, after the poor show of 2005 in which Italy send their  obelix to Ethiopia to see it abbandoned and srrounded by goats, the Ethiopian dictatorial régime according to a typical populist stance of those embarassing states, staged a show for international opinion..but the simple fact is that , for the sake of justice , the obelix should be re send to Italy..or should we ask the  Leonardo Da vinci, Botticelli or Paolo Uccello pictures to be returned in Italy?