The Ostia Local Arena

For my En Garde project I had used a box (which may or may not have been sourced from a skip on the nearby Industrial estate) to create my tavern, a location that has already seen half a dozen sword fights.  So far I had overlooked the lid, but had always intended it to represent a courtyard area for the tavern.

Adding a sand floor to the box, which is 18" square, gave me the beginnings of my arena.  I then used wood filler to build up a slightly irregular surface, before using a mix of pva and two different grades of sand as a scatter.

This then received a coat of sand coloured acrylic,  before a second coat of pva, and a dusting of fine sand was added on top.

It was a nice warm day, so I took it outside to dry, whilst I painted the decking!

The next thing on the list, after drying, was the wooden palisade walls.  Luckily I could access a popular size of coffee stirring stick, just don't ask me about the exact source.  Still I do love a large Americano...

This is the lid of my storage box/Tavern, so I do not have the luxury of building a solid structure.  The walls lock together to hold them in place as the arena.  When stored they are not curved but actually flatpack into the box.

It is a full 360 degree arena, with a small entry gate, and is 18 inches in diameter.  

I may replace the wooden gate with a stone effect one, but I'm happy with the result, although for a proper game I would take the time to get the arena into a perfectly rounded shape.  Next on my list will be pillars, pits and traps...

The arena seeing action

A matched pair face off in my new arena.  20 sesterces on the Thraex!