Rome wasn't built in a day, but we've come close

 

Not quite Rome, but getting close.

Click on all pictures to enlarge the view

I finally finished the Roman temple that is shown in the picture above and I am quite pleased with the results. It even has a lift off roof, a feature that I rarely use in my buildings. The height of the model almost makes it a requirement to make the roof a "lift off" type.

My Roman town continues to grow. I have made and modeled eleven structures since the beginning of 2025 as well as nearly six feet in length of aqueduct sections.

The view of the city from the other side of the river.

The temple was a fun project, but it took me awhile to figure out how to do the roof. I finally decided to make it a removable roof for two reasons: the height of the model and the ability to place figures inside the model. All of my previous buildings had fixed roofs.

So now I am up to eleven buildings and six feet of aqueduct models that I have constructed so far in 2025.

Three of the Patrician class discuss the day's events on the temple steps.

The front view of the temple. Note the use of coins attached to the front pediment
to similute carvings. They are (from Left to Right) a US Lincoln penny, a British 2 new pence coin, 
and a US Roosevelt dime on the right. I wish that I could use a "Mercury Dime" instead
of the Roosevelt dime, but the former are hard to find in circulation.

The removable roof of the temple

The new Roman temple in situ

Two of the '"swells" are discussing the day's events in front of the entrance.
This is what the floor looked like before the paper tiles were added.

I searched the internet for a nice looking downloadable image of stone flooring and finally found one that fit the bill. The exterior temple floors represent large stone blocks. The interior tiles were sourced at Michael's Stores and are sheets of wrapping paper that the store sells. The columns are from a wedding cake tier set.

Paper floor tiles that I found on-line. The guard is made by John Jenkins Designs.
the fellow in the blue toga is a King & Country figure, and the senator with the red striped
toga is from First Legion. I don't recall the origin of the fellow with his back to the camera.
These are all 1/30 scale figures.

My next building project is to make some forum style buildings with columns that will line one edge of my Roman forum area. The table mat is made by Cigar Box Battle Mats and it looks like I will have to order another mat if I want to expand the size of the town (currently at 5ft wide by 6ft long). I also want to make a smaller version of the temple.

The Little Wars game convention is coming up on April 24 through 27th in Lisle, Illinois and so I need to get more focused on preparing for the game rather than building construction. My game will have three 6ft by 15ft tables and there is probably only enough room to place two small Roman farms in the corners. One of the back tables will have a Roman camp too. The Carthaginian side of the tables may have only one farmstead in one of the corners.

The Roman Camp

Here are some pictures of the Roman camp that will be placed on one of the back tables in my Little Wars convention game. The camp pieces are made by Toy Soldiers of San Diego ("TSSD").

cc