..so here I am fresh back from Warfare which, for me at least, is the last show of the year - and how was, it you may ask?? (and to be honest, if you're not interested, this is the point where you go to the next Blog!J)
..well, in summary, I thought it was "OK" which on a scale of excellent to awful is on the right side of the halfway point, not excellent, and probably not as good as last year, but still well worth it and an enjoyable day out. I think they were missing a few traders which I would have hoped to visit and spend money with if they'd been there, so from a personal perspective that lowered the overall score, I thought that the display and demo/participation games were not really much to write home about. The show has always been primarily a trade fair & competition weekend, but they usually put on a couple of good display games, and with some exceptions those seemed to be missing this year...
....so what did I buy? Well in the absence of Keep Wargaming (who in the UK carry Minifigs at the shows) I had to miss out on some new stocks of WWII 12mm to feed the "Blitzkreig Commander" fires, instead I spent the money on Stuart Asquith's new book "War in the Sudan 1884-1898: A Campaign Guide" at the Caliver stand (picture to the right) - I've been meaning to buy this for some time, but usually I've already spent my funds by the time I get to it - this time with no WWII to buy I had the cash.... I'll review the book more fully in a later post, but suffice to say that having had a quick flick through, and a light read, it looks to be the business and exactly what I was hoping for..
...following the recent success with Wood's regiment of horse, I also took a visit to the Freikorps stand and bought enough new lead to make up another two regiments of cavalry for the Marlburian forces, and with some spare cash left over, I also bought some cavalry from Essex. The Marlburian project, more than any of the others, seems to be one where I am buying figures from all over the place, but enjoying the whole process enormously! I'll update the project page with some comparison pictures soon, but I think that means I now have samples from about 6 or 7 suppliers for my horse..
..well, in summary, I thought it was "OK" which on a scale of excellent to awful is on the right side of the halfway point, not excellent, and probably not as good as last year, but still well worth it and an enjoyable day out. I think they were missing a few traders which I would have hoped to visit and spend money with if they'd been there, so from a personal perspective that lowered the overall score, I thought that the display and demo/participation games were not really much to write home about. The show has always been primarily a trade fair & competition weekend, but they usually put on a couple of good display games, and with some exceptions those seemed to be missing this year...
....so what did I buy? Well in the absence of Keep Wargaming (who in the UK carry Minifigs at the shows) I had to miss out on some new stocks of WWII 12mm to feed the "Blitzkreig Commander" fires, instead I spent the money on Stuart Asquith's new book "War in the Sudan 1884-1898: A Campaign Guide" at the Caliver stand (picture to the right) - I've been meaning to buy this for some time, but usually I've already spent my funds by the time I get to it - this time with no WWII to buy I had the cash.... I'll review the book more fully in a later post, but suffice to say that having had a quick flick through, and a light read, it looks to be the business and exactly what I was hoping for..
...following the recent success with Wood's regiment of horse, I also took a visit to the Freikorps stand and bought enough new lead to make up another two regiments of cavalry for the Marlburian forces, and with some spare cash left over, I also bought some cavalry from Essex. The Marlburian project, more than any of the others, seems to be one where I am buying figures from all over the place, but enjoying the whole process enormously! I'll update the project page with some comparison pictures soon, but I think that means I now have samples from about 6 or 7 suppliers for my horse..
..and that was it as far as purchases went - so what about the games? Not a lot of competition but my game of the show in the face of the far more professional Touching History game (of which more in a moment) went to the guys from the "Wildgeese and Galloglass Gamers" who presented the "Battle of Knocknanuss" for our delectation - a Warhammer ECW game in 25mm. I just thought it looked really nice... a real traditional looking game, actually being played, and which I for one would have been happy to join in on, and last of all in a period I've always liked... here's an overall view (apologies - not the best)
...and these are some closeups of a couple of the units in the game - I especially liked the infantry unit - blue coats, and very effective en masse...
..this was the Touching History game - as I mentioned above it would have been the winner but for the fact that this guy is a "professional" (J), and I have to say I thought the ECW game slightly edged it for me anyway...
..last time I saw him he was doing an American war of Independence game, this time he'd shifted periods to WWII - a strong allied attack on a German fixed position... the choice was interesting in itself as his web site indicated he was going to be bringing a new AWI game (something to look forward to at Salute perhaps!) By the way anyone interested should visit his web site for some mouthwatering pictures of all the projects he's currently engaged in.. inspirational stuff, and I hope the plans for a regular Battlegames article pan out...
..nice half track model - always had a soft spot for these in my own games...
..not really my scale, as I've always had a (totally personal) view that 6mm figures are basically just boardgame counters, and that's not why I wargame, but the MADGamers put on a demonstration game featuring the American Civil War battle of Shiloh in this scale.. 6mm is quite good for a game of this size - the figures were from Baccus so were good, but it was still not enough to persuade me to collect in that scale.. it was the paddle steamers that caught my eye in this game..
....last of all, you may remember way back around April this year, that I mentioned I'd seen a game at the Salute show representing a Spanish attack on an Inca city, complete with 4 foot high temple, sacrifices etc. They were also at this show so I got a few more photo's - a quite astonishing layout and it would have come higher up my list but for the fact I'd already seen it earlier in the year!
....and that's it for this post..
Thank you for the photos and a bit of background on the show.
ReplyDeleteAll that I get to attend here on Vancouver Island is a small local gaming show that is nothing like what you get to visit . . . so I appreciate the glimpses at something much nicer.
And, from the photos, I too think that I liked the ECW game best. It LOOKED like a game, not a display.
-- Jeff