Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Age of Myths, Gods and Empires => Topic started by: AKULA on February 03, 2018, 07:48:49 PM
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The release of Gangs of Rome finally tipped me over the edge, so I decided to start a thread to keep track of my new project...
I’ve been toying with the idea of a game centred around a small town for some time now, and the multitude of character options now available means that it’s doable for me in a Roman setting. The town will lend itself as a backdrop to all manner of scenarios, but I quite like the idea of a player being put in charge of limited resources and having to deal with all sorts of different problems as governor/town council or similar. At some point I expect I’ll write a set of fast play rules for it, and the basic dynamic might well work for different periods...Old West, modern etc
For now though, my attention will be upon assembling a large cross section of the inhabitants, and building some test pieces of terrain.
With apologies to button counters/budding historians, I’m focusing upon producing some gameable terrain rather than a museum piece, so apologies if my cubiculum or triclinium are in the wrong place...
;)
Each terrain board will be based upon a 450mm x 450mm square of 12mm exterior plywood, so they are easy to store/transport and can be interchangeable. The edges of the tiles are 1mm board, to represent roads, while the raised central area is 3mm, giving me footpaths, and serving as the base of the buildings. The alleyways between the buildings are c2” across so will allow a couple of figures abreast, whereas the roads (when two boards are placed together) will be 2-3” across. I make the roofs at some point, but they aren’t a priority for a gaming piece.
The first board - 4 houses for the mob rather than the more well todo citizens)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh72/AKULADEEP/AKULAs%20Roman%20Project/2E89D673-E752-4CCF-8B22-3B9BBD06C260_zpskvd1qzlz.jpeg~original)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh72/AKULADEEP/AKULAs%20Roman%20Project/5C84EBEB-D4BC-4638-983F-2333B86877E5_zpsm669z8fa.jpeg~original)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh72/AKULADEEP/AKULAs%20Roman%20Project/19E0A956-D410-44DA-BAFD-8C7AD389FB83_zpsb7zeqthc.jpeg~original)
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That looks very promising!!!
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Welcome back and I’m looking forward to more 8)
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Good to see you back fella :)
cheers
James
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I fancy doing some thing similar, though on not quite a grand scale.
Having looked at the Sarrissa buildings (& what it would cost to cover even a small area, say 3' x 3')
I am very interested in building it myself, though I do like their bridge.
Looking forward to your progress.
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Ooh this looks good. 'Sits back with box of popcorn and waits for the spectacle to unfold'. 8)
Great start - looking forward to seeing this come together.
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So are you going for a suburb or all of Rome?
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So are you going for a suburb or all of Rome?
This is Akky..... it'll be most of central Italy ;)
Looking forward to how this ends up 8)
What are your initial impressions of GoR, Matt?
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With apologies to button counters/budding historians, I’m focusing upon producing some gameable terrain rather than a museum piece, so apologies if my cubiculum or triclinium are in the wrong place...
Alright then, half an hour wasted on typing… lol
Very good start. Already has a certain Roman flair about it. I will never have the skill to construct nor the space to store something like that, but it's an intriguing concept. Looking forward to the next steps.
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Great start mate! :o
What are you using to make the flagstones? Are you going to put filler on the outsides of the buildings? Are you not worried about the amount of “stuff” you now have to make for the insides? ;)
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Great start. :-* :-*
Looking forward to your developments. :)
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Welcome back and I’m looking forward to more 8)
Good to see you back fella :)
Thanks guys...just trying to get my mojo back...work is about to step up another gear or two, but I think this project will keep me motivated.
:)
Having looked at the Sarrissa buildings (& what it would cost to cover even a small area, say 3' x 3') I am very interested in building it myself, though I do like their bridge.
I agree...the Sarrissa buildings are attractive, although they presumably lack any interior detail? The cost per square should be considerably less than a single precut building, although I am v.tempted by the amphitheatre....
So are you going for a suburb or all of Rome?
Maybe just a more unfashionable backwater of a town... :D
This is Akky..... it'll be most of central Italy ;)
Looking forward to how this ends up 8)
What are your initial impressions of GoR, Matt?
Hi mate, hope you are well?
:)
You could be right about the scale, I’m already getting some crazy ideas about this one. My original plan was just for six squares, but I’ve got a new layout in my games room, and could theoretically have two tables each with 12 squares, plus another six on top of some storage space...the latter appeals to me, as it’s slightly higher than the tables so could maybe represent a hill/citadel type area.
Re: Gangs of Rome - I’ve had a quick read through, and it has some concepts I like, such as the random activitation order using pebbles (if you remember I use playing cards in my zombie AR:SE rules for the same reason). I probably won’t use the rules in my own game, as I’m thinking of something more like a mass skirmish...ie hundreds of figures in play... but I can see them working well.
Great start mate! :o
What are you using to make the flagstones? Are you going to put filler on the outsides of the buildings? Are you not worried about the amount of “stuff” you now have to make for the insides? ;)
Thanks Andy :)
For the flagstones, I’ve just scored the card and then will try to give a bit more depth when I dry brush. Figure bases will probably be a mix of milliput and sand, but I wanted something that is quick to produce on a mass scale for the terrain.
Undecided on using filler for the exterior, but it is something I’ve considered...I’m unconvinced that pebble dashing everything will make my gaming more enjoyable, whereas I’m pretty sure it will make the whole build process much more tedious, and so less likely to ever finish. I’ll add some more detail to the exterior, and perhaps score parts to show brickwork underneath the “plaster”.
For the interiors, I will add “stuff” as and when something catches my eye, but with the emphasis on keeping it as a gaming piece...too much clutter and it will make moving the figures difficult, so I may limit it to beds, tables and the like. I’ve got plenty of figures to base, so I expect I can start on making a collection of small items from leftover milliput after each session...at least that’s the plan.
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Always good to see your builds progress mate.
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plus another six on top of some storage space...the latter appeals to me, as it’s slightly higher than the tables so could maybe represent a hill/citadel type area.
Or a volcano?
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Or a volcano?
lol
I did watch Pompeii the other day, but I’ve no plans for a volcano...yet.
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As to filling the rooms with detail.
I wonder about doing one room & taking a photo from above, then printing the room
interior. Sticking the plan view picky to floors in other rooms.
Several pictures of rearranged furniture would provide variety.
This would:- look nicer than empty rooms; be cheaper than buying lots of scenery and
enable ease of figure movement.
In fact I am surprised no one (that I know of) provides Ancient versions of Dungeon floor plans.
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Great start
Can I suggest Eva craft foam for flagstones - it comes up very well when painted
Here is are some pics of my peninsular village with flagstones
(https://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j375/ErictheShed/Peninsular%20Village/DSC_0899%201280x856_zps5gtbgd1q.jpg)
(https://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j375/ErictheShed/Peninsular%20Village/DSC_0870%201280x1082_zpsyvkeilds.jpg)
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Can I suggest Eva craft foam for flagstones - it comes up very well when painted
Here is are some pics of my peninsular village with flagstones
That’s a beautiful looking village you’ve got there - v.jealous!
I might use foam for flagstones later on...particularly if I make some more sloped streets. For now I’ve started work on a second board, and have scored the card with a sculpting tool. The flagstones won’t have the same depth as the foam alternative but was quick to do, and will take a bit of punishment without any damage - I used foam in my Planet of the Apes build and it showed the wear after a while.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh72/AKULADEEP/AKULAs%20Roman%20Project/FDAF64C0-6C1A-4126-9EBA-7B95307F12CC_zpsupmcrfiy.jpeg~original)
It’s still early days, so I can always change my mind later on
:)
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Impressive town
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This looks to be a great project to follow.
The Sarissa buildings are a good option if you get pressed for time however they do suffer from the same thing that all MDF buildings suffer from: not much detail or texture.
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Have had a bit of a reality check of late, and decided to prune back on a few projects, in part,to make room in my man cave, but also to raise a bit of cash to reinvest in this (and other projects).
As this particular project is one I want to get on the table and game with my son, as soon as possible, I’m going to chuck some money at it....rather than let it slowly ferment over ŵfive years or more...
Much of it will still be built, or painted by me, but equally I’m going to use figures and buildings from other sources, albeit some may be partially repainted/adapted for my purposes....on the plus side, if you follow this thread, you should see some fairly rapid progress...at least by my standards.
For starters, I’m going to blend in some of the new Sarissa MDF buildings, with my own scratch builds ...and... some from other sources, including the legendary Ron Ringrose (who frankly puts my own megalomania to shame).
First up, are some adobe buildings that Ron made...i’ve added them to one of my terrain boards, plus some road/paving round the outskirts, given the exterior a paint job, and added a second floor to the building in the left foreground.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh72/AKULADEEP/IMG_2143_zpszh9ptlqa.jpg~original)
Next up, i’ve been scouring fleabay etc for useful figures ...again, a lot were already painted to varying standards (some considerably better than others) so some just required a bit of rebasing, while others needed up being redone almost completely (not a disaster when the price was around the bare metal price).
First hundred completed (will post some better pictures later)....
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh72/AKULADEEP/1232d598-a2a1-4278-8beb-080d561d7485_zpshwsazqup.jpg~original)
Getting these finished gave me a bit of a boost, as I’ve already got plenty for a small game, but I have bigger plans in mind... the first hundred, includes fifty military, which might sound completely unbalanced, but I plan on the eventual project being a whole lot bigger.
Some more (of my own) to follow...
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Next 130 based up, and primed... mainly Foundry, and Crusader, with a few others mixed in....
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh72/AKULADEEP/3C720665-47C9-4A52-BD3E-8437AC7010FA_zpsw1iktty1.jpeg~original)
First couple of paint jobs from scratch - the right hand one has had a head swop from one of my old spare opera miniatures...figures are (from L-R) Foundry and Front Rank I think.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh72/AKULADEEP/9a626972-eb92-4ee2-9c8e-aba25cdca287_zpspgkjlukv.jpg~original)
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This has the potential to end up quite the spectacle. Considering all the stuff you've built, I'm half expecting to see the whole Apennine Peninsula en miniature next year!
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I often wonder if you understand the concept of a small project ;)
You started the volcano yet?
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This looks like a great project.
If you are still planning on more buildings there are some floor plans in Colleen McCullough's First Man in Rome series, particularly the insula in which the young Julius Caesar is brought up in. She also talks about the different types of togas (or is that togae??) so you can differentiate your senators and knights from the rest (I didn't realise that their tunics also bore a stripe).
I agree, a volcano is a must.
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First couple of paint jobs from scratch - the right hand one has had a head swop from one of my old spare opera miniatures...figures are (from L-R) Foundry and Front Rank I think.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh72/AKULADEEP/9a626972-eb92-4ee2-9c8e-aba25cdca287_zpspgkjlukv.jpg~original)
Isn't that Biggus Dickus?
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Somehow I missed the mid June posts. Momentum is building I see :D