mercoledì 6 aprile 2022

R&D: HELLANA GAMES 2022

 

    Last Sunday a wargames fair was held in Agliana, a small town in Tuscany with a very active modeling group: the "Gruppo Ludico Aglianese" (here their website and facebook page). It was the twentieth edition of the event, even if this year is the first to be held after a two-year hiatus due to the covid emergency. It is not a large-scale event, but which nevertheless attracted people from all over Italy.



    Being also the first edition that takes place since we returned to the hobby, it seemed like a good opportunity to take a dip in the world of miniature painting and wargame, so we went to visit it in the afternoon. We were exceptionally accompanied by G - R's wife and D's mother respectively - who has a very limited tolerance towards everything related to miniatures, wargames, role-playing games and the whole fantasy world!
    The event was hosted in a school gym, where the gaming tables were put in the center, while the stands of exhibitors and sellers were arranged along the walls.






    The event was more focused on historical modeling and  wargame, although there were also stands offering fantasy games and miniatures for sale, with even some oldhammer pieces.




      The only manufacturer present was MIRLITON of Florence, and in its stand D was attracted by these boxes of medieval dioramas (the butcher's shop, the bell wagon, the "scriptorium" of a monastery.  





    Among the painted miniatures exhibited by some hobbyists, we were struck by those of Davide Segatori, and especially by two small dioramas from the Roman era and by the miniatures of a gladiator and a centurion on a larger scale.





    Various historical periods were represented on the gaming tables, from antiquity to the Second World War. There was also a table for WHFB, but we couldn't photograph it as unfortunately it was already being dismantled when we arrived. Here are some photos (exceptionally coming not blurry due to D's embarrassment of taking pictures in the crowd!).





    The most spectacular table, however, was that of the battle of Faenza in 1500, with the assault of Cesare Borgia on the city.







    Despite the many temptations, we both managed to BUY NOTHING, mentally doing the mantra that we must first conclude the ongoing projects and not accumulate other pieces in our "pile of shame"...
    However, the visit, as well as fun, was used to hold in our hands some miniatures and materials that we had only seen in photos on the web and to realize how they really are, to consider or exclude their purchase in the future. And now put our nose to the grindstone and complete some miniatures, so that at the next fair we can buy a lot!

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    Nella giornata della scorsa domenica si è tenuta una fiera di wargames ad Agliana, un piccolo paese della Toscana con un gruppo di modellismo molto attivo: il "Gruppo Ludico Aglianese" (qui la loro sito e la pagina facebook). Si trattava della ventesima edizione della manifestazione, anche se quella di quest'anno è la prima che si tiene dopo un'interruzione di due anni dovuta all'emergenza covid. E' un evento non su vasta scala, ma che comunque ha attirato persone da tutta Italia.



    Essendo anche la prima edizione che si svolge da quando noi siamo ritornati all'hobby, ci è parsa una buona occasione per fare un tuffo nel mondo della pittura di miniature e del wargame, per cui siamo andati a visitarla nel pomeriggio. Siamo stati accompagnati eccezionalmente da G - rispettivamente moglie di R e madre di D - che ha una tolleranza molto limitata verso tutto ciò che riguarda miniature, wargames, giochi di ruolo e l'intero mondo fantasy!

    L'evento è stato ospitato nella palestra di una scuola, dove al centro erano stati concentrati i tavoli da gioco, mentre a ridosso delle pareti si erano sistemati i banchi di espositori e venditori.





    La manifestazione era concentrata maggiormente sul modellismo e sul wargame storico, anche se c'erano anche stand che proponevano giochi e miniature fantasy in vendita, con persino qualche pezzo oldhammer. 





    L'unico produttore presente era MIRLITON di Firenze, dove D è stata attratta da queste scatole di diorami medievali (una macelleria, il carro della martinella, lo "scriptorium" di un monastero).



 




    Tra le miniature dipinte esposte da alcuni hobbisti, siamo stati colpiti da quelle di Davide Segatori, ed in particolare da due piccoli diorami di epoca romana e dalle miniature di un gladiatore e di un centurione a scala maggiore.






    Sui tavoli da gioco erano rappresentate diverse epoche storiche, dall'antichità alla seconda guerra mondiale. C'era anche un tavolo per WHFB, ma non l'abbiamo potuto fotografare perché purtroppo stava già venendo smantellato quando siamo arrivati. Ecco qualche foto (eccezionalmente venuta non sfocata a causa dell'imbarazzo di D di scattare foto tra la folla!).







    Il tavolo però più scenografico è stato quello della battaglia di Faenza del 1500, con l'assalto di Cesare Borgia alla città.






    Nonostante le moltissime tentazioni, siamo riusciti entrambi a NON COMPRARE NIENTE, recitando mentalmente il mantra che prima dobbiamo concludere i progetti in corso e non cumulare altri pezzi nel nostro "mucchio della vergogna"...
    Comunque la visita, oltre che divertente, è servita per toccare con mano alcune miniature e materiali che avevamo visto solo in foto sul web e renderci conto di come sono realmente, per considerarne o escluderne l'acquisto in futuro. E ora sotto con le miniature da finire, così che alla prossima fiera potremo fare man bassa!    

8 commenti:

  1. Ahhhh it's always good to share the excitement of a show! Not been to a show of this type since before COVID (although I've been to oldhammer events - but there's something about these more general shows which is very exciting, because you never know what you're going to discover).

    I love the Mirliton diorama sets! I only think of Mirliton as the current supplies for the Grenadier miniatures... you remind us that we need to think about the rest of their range too. Did D get any of the diorama sets? I'd love to see them painted!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. D:Thank you for your comment. No, I didn't get any diorama set, because I prefer to complete previous projects. But I will consider this purchase... ;)
      R: Actually D would also have liked to buy some pieces, but I was the one who slowed down ... then at home I took out an old miniature of mine from my secret hobby box, and I showed D that we already have a lot of stuff at home to paint!
      Yes, I was also hoping that the Mirliton stand had some Grenadier orcs, but they weren't brought to this show. However Mirliton also has its own Fantasy range and a very rich historical range. The latter is very particular, even if it is not very compatible with fantasy miniatures because it is not in "heroic scale".

      Elimina
  2. Good to see you out and about. The assault on the castle looks great

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. We enjoyed going to this fair! The diorama of Borgia's assault on the city of Faenza first attracted us, both in the richness of details and miniatures and in the particular choice of faithfully recreating an area of ​​the city as it appeared in the year 1500.
      The quality of the painting of the individual miniatures was not very high, but of course the focus of the diorama was the overall setting (we do not remember if it got an award).

      Elimina
  3. Hey, the event looks enormously cool. It's good to see life is getting back to the hobby. I hope the three of you enjoyed (even G!) :)

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Yes, it's nice to see people and things live, especially after two years in which a screen and the web have been your main interlocutor for the hobby.
      Well, we think G was at least intrigued too ... although after half an hour she asked us if she could wait outside until we finished our visit!

      Elimina
  4. A lovely looking show…
    I like the look of the naval game and I suspect that I would have bought the Mirliton figures… whether I needed them or not…

    Alll the best. Aly

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Yes, the wargames tables were in general all very accurate in the setting and set up by different competing modeling associations.
      As for missed purchases, we have been exceptionally moderate ... normally we don't!
      Btw, yesterday re-reading your last post on the Neuchatel battalion, we had a shock: we recognized the belonging to it of the fourth Napoleonic 54 mm miniature that we are about to restore and that until now we had not been able to identify. Perhaps it was Berthier's ghost that created this coincidence ...

      Elimina

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