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Thoughts On Shows Pt 2985

 On Saturday, we attended a local show. Let's call it WotACon (TM) Never, have I seen a wargames show like it... Frankly, it was unlike a traditional gaming show, the games seemingly secondary to what I can only describe as an event organised by people who have heard about gaming shows but never seen or experienced one, and then invited cosplay companies and Hipster cafes to attend. For this, we were charged the entrance fee of £5 to witness the most miserable selection of trade stands, piss poor catering (thankfully we went elsewhere for lunch) and a bring and buy run by a motley selection of dealers who are so fucking brazen, that one of them actually simply crossed out the price on an item he he bought at Hammerhead and re-marked it at £10, not even bothering to remove the piece of card it was mounted on. Cheeky bastards... Sorry, but I call it as I see it. Mediocre would be generous. Is this really where we have arrived in what was once a fine hobby? So, that's now three sh...
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Thoughts On Shows Pt 2984

Two shows into the season, with a third coming along this weekend and I am seriously questioning giving up on a part of the hobby I've enjoyed for nearly 45 years. Now, for fear of sounding like a grumpy old man - which of course, I am - it's time that the old guard came out of retirement/hiding and put a thistle up the arse of the show circuit. 'Show' - the thing is, that these days, with a few exceptions there is little on show. When I think back to my first proper show at age 13, there was a genuine sense of excitement and wonder when you walked into the main hall. Remember that this was time before static grass, speed paints and for the most part, any paints which were not oil based, the standard and scope of the games were fantastic. Fantasy and sci-fi games were colourful imaginative affairs, sometimes on terrain on par with model railways in terms of skill and attention to detail. Hostorical games- anyone remember the stunning 15mm 7YW Falkenberg game put on by I...
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Memory Lane: Part 7

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 So, we've seem so far, that I had a lot pf places to get my 'fix' of toys and models, and as you will recall from the first instalment, it was one of these lifelong (well I was only 12 going on 13  after all) haunts which gave forth my first whiff of wargaming models, and I was now buying the odd pack of figures (not blisters, but the baggies used by Citadel for trade stockists) and using my model paints - enamels back then - to give them rudimentary paint jobs. I was going into Beatties and Redgates and looking at the boxed games including War Of The Ring, D&D and Sarforce: Alpha Centauri (a scenario from which had of course, given the name to the Sheffield synthpop pioneers 'The Human League') but I could not make that link between the miniatures and these strange new products - and it was frankly a little fucking frustrating. I was looking everywhere, even in Sheffields 'Underground' book store 'Exit Books' just down from West Bar... I knew i...
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Vintage 25mm ECW Collection Seeks New Garrison

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 I am considering parting with the Roddis ECW collection. It's all vintage models, and many of you will have seen it previously. It's big with 1900 pieces If you are interested, pitch me an offer of cash or figures or a mix of both. prefrother AT gmail DOT com I would be interested trades or part exchanges for: 28mm Tudor English 28mm Tudor Scots 28mm Dark Age (incl Late Roman era) 28mm ACW 15mm Mikes Models Renaissance   Willing to consider cash offers. To be honest I have too many 16th century pike and shot projects on the go, so I want it to go to a new home :
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First Thoughts On 'Space Battles'

 Well, as I sat watching STNG last night, sated with a good meal of steak and broccoli, Amazon delivered my copy of the new Space Battles rules by Rick Priestley. So, this morning, I was up, showered and ensconced on the sofa with one of the domestic canine units to start reading through the rules. If you haven't already watched Mr Priestley's YouTube video, then I suggest you do, because that is one of the things which got me interested. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SDXRaCU7R0 However, upon reading the rules, there are some nice little twists and tweaks that I didn't see in the video which just have me itching to play the game. My own mat will be 6x4 feet using a 7.5cm grid, giving an 18x24 grid. I'll probably actually go with 12 x4 using two mats, to allow multiplayer games spanning start systems, because as you know, I don't do anything by half. The A5 rulebook is full colour on matte paper, and in a decently sized typeset, with the rule...
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Lost In Space?

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 Well, I'm making good speed on increasing my collection of Citadel/QT starships this week. Here are the best of the bunch: The astute observers of you, will know that the pointed prows of the two central models, are actually constructed from a helmet which was part of the original Champions Of Chaos set. I have a lot of these in my collection which are pirate vessels in my own game world: Now, I have to dig out my original collection, which as I say, is a massive one. I also picked up a couple of books today, from the Terran Trade Authority and Galactic Encounters series, which as afficianados know, primo eye candy for those of us, who spent their youth, daydreaming about far out sci-fi sex kittens and space battles - mostly the latter because the TTA Handbooks showed us the space battles we'd be fighting in the year 2000... If anyone reading this has any of the ships below, I'll pay £5 to £10 each for them pplus shipping. Reach out to me at prefrother AT gmail DOT com   ...
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