Circus Maximus

Pretty late here now but just managed to quickly start adding some colour to some wrecked chariots, 2 of each colour.

I have only just started these, so they are looking pretty rough at the moment and the photograph is pretty terrible too.

Once I get a bit more done on them, I will take some better pictures.  Until then, have an awesome weekend.

Groundwork.  I picked up a 12′ x 5′ drop sheet from the local hardware store and dyed it a sand colour in the washing machine.  More by fluke than anything else, the sheet looked almost identical to the basing I had previously done for my Blood and Plunder Terrain.

So, with that, I based up my chariots, completed my wrecked chariots and based them too.   I like to sieve the sand as I apply it, just to get out any random bits of dirt and debris.   Once the glue has dried, I base coat it with Desert Yellow spray, followed by Bone spray, and finally wraith bone spray.  When applying the spray, I do so from the sides to keep the middle of the bases slightly darker.  This helps create a little shadow that the model will sit above.

I can almost see the finish line in sight now and couldn’t resist taking a few glamour shots.

Basing.

For the basing on the models in this project I started by covering the wooden bases with fine sand that I passed through a sieve.   I do this to filter out any unwanted elements and debris that can end up in the sand over time.

Once the sand has been firmly glued down, I use Desert Yellow spray to put down the initial layer of colour.

After that is Skeleton Bone spray.  I spray from an angle around the edges to get paint on the rim of the base and to also fade off a bit as it goes towards the centre of the base.  Once the figures are in place it will help to create a natural shadow beneath the models.

The next step is to use Wraithbone spray.  Again, I spray at an angle to get paint on the rim and to also allow the paint to fade away as it gets more towards the centre of the base.

A good thing to do is to move your bases away from where you have sprayed them to check their colour.  They will look different on different backgrounds; it can be hard to judge their colour when they are surrounded by overspray.

These bases are for the mobs that can potentially invade the track.  I have done these as round bases to help emphasise that this will move in any direction and are not restricted to turning limitations like the chariots are.

The plan is to do maybe one or two bases with Roman Guards, obviously there to prevent riots and the remainder as a random number of Plebians.  I was thinking 10 Plebs to a base but that may be too regimental to portray a mob.

Following specific chariot teams began to be aligned with other social and political agendas and it was not unusual for wider problems to spill out onto the tracks.  Often, as in Alexandria in the 70s AD, it was just a case of fans overrunning part of the track or minor riots.  However, in 532 AD a disturbance caused by followers of the Blue and Green chariot factions at Constantinople Hippodrome ended with half the city in flames and the death of thousands.

In Faustus Furius it is possible that a player’s actions, or rather inability to perform actions, can incite a mob to invade the track.

When a mob enters the track, it creates a movable obstacle that the chariots will have to negotiate around.  Further instances that incite the mob can either add an additional mob to the track or cause an existing mob on the track to move.  Although the mobs can’t intentionally move into contact with a chariot, there is nothing stopping them from being moved into a position that will cause a chariot to crash into them.

Managed to get to this point this morning.  I am hoping that I will get these finished this evening, then I can move on to painting up some Roman Guards.

Finished off six bases of Mob.  Once again really simple quick paint jobs courtesy of contrast paints.  Nothing too fancy here.

I doubt that a game will ever require that many, but you never know.

The last two ‘Mob’ bases will be of Roman soldiers, painted in more Praetorian Guard colours.  I know the figures don’t really represent Praetorians, but they are what I have available.

I have a few extras that I may add to the Circus walls.   I’m not sure yet.

A Charioteer who conducts a Crowd Pleaser becomes, however briefly, the People’s Favourite.  The player receives a token of some type to signify this status.

The fame of the people may be spent to conduct a variant of the usual compulsory movement which ignores all other vehicles, wrecks, mobs etc. in its path.  The charioteer is buoyed up by adrenalin and the roar of the masses and somehow manages to jump over or otherwise navigate their way through the obstacles.

This special movement can be made on any turn, but once the special move has been made the charioteer loses his status as Peoples Favourite and must give up the token.

A charioteer will lose this status if another player conducts a Crowd Pleaser.  In effect the other driver’s antics have stolen the people’s favour; the crowd is fickle, and charioteers are advised to use their fame whilst it lasts.

To keep tokens and the like to a minimum I have decided that I shall use nice gold embossed dice to represent the ‘Peoples Favourite’ status.  White embossed dice for everyone else.

A few more pictures of how the game is coming along.  I have ordered some little cocktail sticks with fancy ends that I will use as flag poles to line the top of the Circus walls.  I just think that it will help finish things off a bit and add an extra element of glitz to the feel and look of the set-up.

So, to do I now have;

• 2 Bases of ‘Mob’ (Pretorian Guards).
• Some Praetorians to ‘stand around’.
• The flags for the Circus Walls (Awaiting the arrival of cocktail sticks).
• Measurement Sticks (Including deciding on lengths).
• Quick Reference Sheets.
• Something to determine turn order (I have something in mind for this already).

I am open to any suggestions of what else I should/could/or need to add.

Finished off the Praetorian Guards.  I ended up only adding a couple of standing Guards to the imperial box.  I have a load more that are ‘mostly’ painted but I don’t think I will use them.

So, with those now glued in place, I will call this project officially almost done.

Sounds like a bit of an anticlimax, doesn’t it?   Well, I still have to wait for the cocktail sticks so that I can complete all the flags, that’s really only a small job.  Type up some quick reference sheets and cut some measuring sticks to length.  On the topic of sticks, I am going to go with these lengths, Short 4″, Medium, 8″ and Long 12″.  This will mean on an average turn a chariot will likely move 24″, providing it doesn’t need to change direction.   This should mean that a two-lap race should not take too long to play, even with 8 players.

Hopefully, I have achieved something close to making this simple game bigger than Ben Hur.

Of course, I will come back to this Project with the final finishing touches as soon as I can but until then, a few more pictures.

Time to start something new.

Maybe…

Battletech terrain (Modular Hex terrain with lots of options)

Victorian Science Fiction Town (Including an Aeronef Station)

Fantasy Town (Bridges gatehouse and winding streets)

Blood and Plunder (Ships to build including a Ghost Ship)

Open to suggestions here.