SanchoPanza Rides Again – ReVamping Gangs of Rome

I am nearly the final stages of the first phase of my Gangs of Rome Project as I have complexed most of the buildings, just a Temple and two houses under construction to complete and a Aqueduct under construction to do. I am loving these Streets of Rome buildings from Sarissa Precisions as they are really helping in bring the city to life.

I know that some people say that the buildings can look a little flat, but remember that these are gaming pieces and you can add to the surfaces using texture and stencils, I think of them as starting blocks for you to bring to life. Personally I don’t have a problem with the flatness as it is the game that’s important.

This is the first time I have seen all my buildings together and playing about with the board layout as is needs to be open enough for the game and especially the mobs to play in while still giving that feeling of Rome. What I like under the new version of Gangs of Rome is the fact that the playing table should be more open, you don’t need all your toys on the one table, and also the game doesn’t has to set in a urban environment, in fact the game is as happy do on Hostus Pompilius Torquatus’ rural villa or Cossus Atrius Galarius’ farm as much of Ratae’s Forum to the streets of the Avertine.

I am pleased, very much so, with the look and feel of the table so far and cannot wait to see it full assembled, with mobs and gangs running through the streets, demoing it for the general public.

What do you think?

I have uploaded my second video on my Revamping and Upgrading my Gangs of Rome (Footsore Miniatures & Games)​ buildings by Sarissa Precision Limited​ to my YouTube channel PanzerKaput’s Painting School for Scoundrels.

This time it is the turn of the Foricae, Roman public toilets.

I hope you like this video and if you do please like, share and subscript.

Cheers PK

The next building on the on my Gangs of Rome revamp and upgrade is Gregorius Pistrinium, The Bakery. One of the most important buildings in ancient Rome the bakery, the Pistrinium, baking was a popular profession and source of food in ancient Rome. Many ancient Roman baking techniques were developed due to Greek bakers who travelled to Rome following the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC). Ancient Roman bakers could make large quantities of money. This may have contributed to receiving a negative reputation. Bakers used tools such as the fornax, testum, thermospodium, and the clibanus to make bread. Most Roman breads were made using sourdough. The most common way to leaven bread was using flour mixed with grain.

This was the starting building which was fine and serviceable but I now want to take it to the next level and make it looks the same as the other buildings I have done. So I gently removed the building from the base and started to work on the interior floor tiles using the Sarissa System Stencils and my General Purpose Filler and PVA mix. Basically masked the area off that I wanted to be tiled and then I place the stencil down other the area I wanted to texture and with a cake palette knife I smoothed the mix through the stencil and gently pulled up the stencil and little it dry before doing the area.

After finishing the floor tiles and pavement I started on the pantiles using the fridge liner sheets, cut into shape, glued down and overlapped to give the impression of roofing tiles. I primed the plastic sheets using Vallejo Black Polyurethane Primer as I wanted the paint to stick to it as these as waterproof and as I am using acrylic paint I wanted them to stick.

Then I drybushed the painted with Vallejo Game Colour Scorched Earth. Next I gave it a heavy drybush of VGC Terrcotta, followed by a lighter drybush of VGC Prague Brown and finally a drybush of VGC Tan.

I picked out some of the individual tiles using the same colours I had used for the drybrush to correct some interest and I applied a light wash of Vallejo Game Colour Black Wash, the Dipping Formula not the inks.

Next was the upgrade to the doors. Once side of the doors, the inside has not detail etched into them, makes sense as that is the side you dont see but I needed to add some texture and bulk to them so I cut some balsa wood in strips, shaped them and glued that down. Next I basecoated them with Vallejo Model Colour German Grey, but in hindsight I should of used VMC Black Grey.

Then I gave them a drybrush of Vallejo Game Colour Scorched Brown, next a drybush of VGC Plague Brown, then a drybush of VGC of Bronzed Flesh and a final light drybush of Vallejo Model Colour Pale Sand. Afterwards I applied a wash of Vallejo Model Colour German Grey and really should of used VMC Black Grey as it has a more greeny, softer tone to it.

New Video uploaded to my YouTube channel PanzerKaput’s Painting School for Scoundrels

This time is a departure from the Medieval and the Barons War and I go back further in time to the streets of Rome as i start a new project revamping and upgrading my buildings for Gangs of Rome (Footsore Miniatures & Games)​

I have you like the video and if you do can you please click like and subscribe.

Thanks

The Domus Amet, the Domus Voluptati, the House of Fun, a pleasure house where it is said that the ladies read to their clients upstairs, well thats the rumour, no hanky-panky in there, snigger, where the crowd taberna on the ground floor is full of men wait to be read at. The Domina of the house, The Lady Serena, keep the men in order and has been know to “help” with the readings too but is mainly found wondering around the taberna ensuring everyone is happy. The rumours as that she is a head of a crime gang but no one wants to ask her.

This is the fifth building that has been revamped and upgraded for my Gangs of Rome games and with an upgraded roof and pavement but also this time I have tiled the floor inside the taberna too. The building itself is from Sarissa Precision’s Streets of Rome range, and is called a Lower Rank Insula Corner and it is a lovely kit. Its goo to have these corner buildings as it means you can have these house blocks to add interest on the table.

I have added the fridge liner pantiles to the floor and this time besides adding a pavement I also added a floor inside the building using the Sarissa stencils.

This series of pictures is showing the method used to create the tiling on the taberna floor. It is rather simple and the mixture I used was a woodfiller mixed as a bit of PVA to give it a little flexibility and strength. I masked off the area I wanted to be filled with the floor as there was a pavement to be added and you did not want it to go under the walls either, so left a gap there. I simply spread the woodfiller/PVA mixture, rather like spreading butter, ensuring the stencil is held down tightly, I actually use a cake palette knife, no hobby tax there, for this. Once spread I careful lift the stencil up and leave it to dry.

I did the same process for the cobbles/paving stones outside and then painted it to match my bases for my gangers for Gangs of Rome.

Well I’ve finished playing with the new test Sprue from Warhost’s and Footsore’s Gangs of Rome Kickstarter and they are great. Wargames Atlantic have really knocked it out of the park on these.

I love the choice of arms, legs, torsos and heads and the bewildering array of weapons and extras. I know that some will not make the Sprue but I hope the torso with the cloak moulded on and my favourite the cloak covering the left arm with a dagger in hand, you do rarely see that on plastics.

I have done eight guys, four as fighters and four as the mob/civilians and it is amazing just what you do with these and will be a great asset for the game. I hope the two amphorae arms make the final Sprue.

I really can wait for these to finally come to market and can see the possibilities of a Roman Slave army in the making for Clash of Spears as well of uses for fantasy games like the up coming Barons’ War: Goes Fantasy and Kings of War.

For the eagled eyed of you, there are some pantiles stacks, amphoras and bails markers that can be throw in the game of GoR.

Here is a progress report on all the buildings I have revamped so far for my Gangs of Rome streets. For the eagle eyed amount you, you might noticed that there are actually six buildings showing in the pictures that have been revamped and upgraded but so far you have only shown 4 buildings so far. Well, I better sort out the other too revamps really quickly, lol.

What do you think of the progress so far?

We have so far revamped

Two Semi Detched buildings,

One Lower Ranked Insula Corner building (To be shown fully),

One set of Workshops, which have been converted in the foricae, public toilets and a toga shop,

One Roadside Shrine/Mausoleum/Temple,

One Bakery (To be shown fully).

This actually means I still have a number of buildings that still need upgrading and revamping.

One row of Lower Ranked Shops.

One row of Middle Ranked Traders.

One Large Temple/Civic building

Two maybe four Insulae Under Construction..

All buildings are from Sarissa Precision’s Street of Rome range and they are lovely kits.

I am really enjoying this project and creating a new improved table to demo, Gangs of Rome 2 on.