Hobby Stores in Japan

Last year our Ili went to Japan and was kind enough to write a short story about the hobby stores she visited while there.

I was 3 weeks in Japan and being a geeky (and admittedly an Otaku), of course I spent most of my time there at the famous Akihabara.

Akihabara Electric Town or simply Akihabara is a district in central Tokyo that is famous for its many electronics shops and has also gained recognition as the center of Japan's otaku culture. You can find everything ranging from practical electronics models or parts to gaming and anime merchandise and of course model kits and miniatures.

What my partner and I didn’t expect is that all stores here are at least 5 floors and the most I know have even 10 floors! Above is probably the most famous building in Akihabara, the Akihabara Radio Kaikan. The building is 46.5 m high, is ten levels from the ground floor and has two basement levels. The current building primarily hosts stores selling ota...

Red Temple of Light - Board for Necropolis28 campaign

This year, Agram Arena – an international tabletop strategy game competition – was back on the schedule. The team decided to organize a two-day campaign for Necropolis 28. It is an interesting game that has a very good hobby aspect, as it also involves making a gaming board. So I decided to join in and make one. This article follows my work on the board whose working title was Red Temple of Light…

I imagined the terrain as a temple made of brick towers, connected by bridges. Aesthetically, I wanted it to look like it was in the process of being demolished or built.

I made the towers from cardboard rolls for holding blueprints from local newspapers and for rolls of foil.

The decision to texture the bricks fell on cutting individual bricks from XPS, since that way I could get the most realistic joints between the towers and bridges.

Since it seemed too tall for practical use in the game, I decided to magnet...

Acropolis Board for Necropolis28 Campaign

This year, Agram Arena – an international tabletop strategy game competition – was back on the schedule. The team decided to organize a two-day campaign for Necropolis 28. It is an interesting game that has a very good hobby aspect, as it also involves making a gaming board. So I decided to join in and make one. This article follows my work on the board whose working title was Acropolis…

The first thing to do was to cut a board of good dimensions. The boards are 16’’x16’’, or 40cm x 40cm. Luckily, I had a board that width so I “only” needed to cut one cut to get the right size board. After sawing, I sanded the cut and placed the 3D printed parts of the Greek (Athena) temple and was quite happy with the layout.

After that, I started adding volume to the base using Styrofoam. I used 2cm and 5cm thick boards..

Then I started to cut out the shape of the terrain. In places I decided to have small cliffs, and in other parts to have a slight slope. In parallel,...

Exhibition of Miniatures and Tabletop Scenery 2026

The exhibition of miniatures and models "Agram 2026" was held this year from 19.2. to 08.03. 2026. The exhibition was set up on Wednesday 18.2. and was attended by a large number of members and friends of the Association who exhibited their works.

The opening of the Exhibition took place on Thursday, February 19, 2026, starting at 6:00 PM. The exhibition was organized on the occasion of our twenty-third birthday.

As always, the Exhibition presented a cross-section of the work of the Association, its members, participants of its courses and workshops, and members of the Miniature Painters Croatia FB group. In a large number of showcases, there were numerous miniatures for tabletop strategy games, board games, and an entire showcase was dedicated to award-winning exhibits from previous miniature competitions. Several showcases were dedicated to projects that ...

Miniature Painting Workshop - Grimdark Trench Crusade

AGRAM LEGO SECTION - F1 car: FW14b