Lots of new stuff to come from Heroics & Ros, including: Russian VDV: WW2 German High Command: Centurion Mk V: Ww2 Finns (AWESOME): And LRDG:

I had planned for a quiet Sunday as I am not feeling to clever of late and I've been working a little too hard. So, I was not really into the idea of having to go into town, but, as I had work for two of my trade clients who were going to be at Joy Of Six, I made the journey in. And what a joy it was. The catering is great, the venue is wonderful, and the size and atmosphere, everything that most shows today are not. The entusiasm was palpable, and Heroics & Ros were so busy that I could not even have a conversation. I had to just grab a bag of new releases for painting and say a brief 'see ya'. I will be putting J.O.S in my events calendar as a visitor proper in future, as it really does seem that shows of this type are the future of the hobby. Excellent work by Baccus 6mm and Wargames Emporium - Way to go, folks!

Okay, I did say I'd say more on the conversations I've had with gamers, traders and members of the public regarding Triples and the reasons for it's decline and eventual demise. So here's a brief overview of some salient points which have cropped up... The one thing that I have heard over the last few years and again in the last week, is the belief that the show organisers didn't listen. That's perhaps a little over simplistic, but to a degree, I would concur. I think the 'deafness' is a byproduct of still envisioning a world where nothing has changed since the heyday of the show and that we still live in a world where 'build it and they will come' is a valid business plan. It isn't The show going public do still enjoy all of the classic 'features' of a show, but they are also a lot more aware that they are paying to be entertained, not merely to fill the hosts coffers with a somewhat random hotchpotch of traders, bas...

Well, yesterday was a harrowing day for a treason I won't go into as it is private, but was gaming related. Not private for me you understand, but for others... On the brighter side, my 20mm Germans arrived and I am very pleased to say that they were s well packed that not one was damaged, and they are better even than expected... Now to sort then into Rapid Fire units. I have looked at and tried Bolt Action, but, for a a serious historical mind like my own, the permutations and anachronisms you can get away with make it feel like Worldwarhammer... I have had a few more conversations regarding the demise of Triples this week, and all were very well thought out, all pretty much drawing the same conclusions, which was interesting. I'll maybe go into those in a later post, but I have to go and take a ride in the countryside for a little lunch and to clear my head of this and that. TTFN PS: I will be working hard this week on getting painted previews for a whole slew...

Well, I was really looking forward to getting my Celt and Norman armies... Alas, when they arrived, they were beaten up to the point that I threw in the towel after repairing 11 chariots and sold them, making a 30% loss. However, I did manage to snag almost 200 20mm WW2 Germans for £120, which I consider a low enough price to offset my other loss. And yes, they are all metal. I'm going to be using them to revisit Rapid Fire after my gaming buddy and best friend, sneakily purchased a ludicrous Russian army from eBay for a fraction of bare model price. Anyway, here are some pics: One other thing has popped into my mind in the last couple of days. If a club has a show secretary on it's committee, but then ceases to have a show, what happens to that post? TTFN

Sheffield's Premier Wargames Show  The venue for the show is the Heartspace at Sheffield Hallam University. This is a large stylish atrium which will give a light and airy atmosphere to the event – something which will be of great relief to those of you who have suffered the Workstation main room on a baking hot July day. The venue also has brilliant easily accessible on-site catering, and the menu will be tailored to wargamers at reasonable prices. admin@baccus6mm.com

Sheffield Triples was the first wargames show I ever attended, back in the early 1980s. It was there that I bought my first historical figures in the form of 12 1/300 vehicles from the bring and buy (run by the club itself back then) at 9p each - painted. I guess that was when I really became hooked on historical gaming as much I was on Dungeons & Dragons at the time. I was aware of historical gaming, and attended the local school based club, run by the venerable Steve Roberts, but I'd not really delved into it despite my deep love of history.  I never missed a show until 2015, and when I lived out in the sticks in 1987, I actually climbed the wall of a park adjacent to the venue and slept on a bench so that I would be there on time on Sunday morning, as the bus services were so poor at weekends. It was with mixed feelings that I read today of the demise of the show with effect from 2017. It was a bit like hearing of the death of someone you were close to at school, bu...

The grapevine is alive with news that Sheffield Wargames Society have announced that the Triples 2017 show has been cancelled. Upon looking into the rumour, it seems to be fact. The SWS website ( http://www.sheffieldtriples.co.uk ) states: 'Sheffield Wargames Society wishes to announce that sadly, the 2017 Triples wargames show will not take place.  This decision was taken reluctantly but is the result of waning interest and increasing costs. All deposits taken to date will be returned and the club secretary will be contacting competition organizers individually. Sheffield Wargames Society would like to thank everyone; traders, competitors and the general public, who have supported and enjoyed the event over the past 35 years.' It would appear that the chatter on on the web earlier this year was not hyperbole. The decision saddens me, as it was Triples which provided both my first experience of a wargames convention and indeed where I won my first painting co...

It's funny, but sometimes the strangest things resound so deeply with my lifetime love of fantasy gaming. One Christmas, I would guess it was 1981, as it coincided with my finding of the one true way, my parents included as a stocking filler a little game-cum-puzzle as a stocking filler, by the name of 'I.Q' produced by Skirrid International. It was basically a glorified version of 'Solitaire' and even though it had absolutely nothing to to with Dungeons & Dragons, swords, wizards, Car Wars, Traveller, in fact anything other than it was a wonderful example of design at the time, I played the damned thing to near destruction. Time passed, I moved out of the parental home with the assistance of South Yorkshire Police, I lost it. Over the years, the mere thought of that little black triangle of consternation has made me go all warm and fuzzy in the same way as the girls in Games Workshop did when they wore fancy dress up on Xmas Eve, when I was a youth, but...

Well, yesterday I had the latest W.I.P update from Steve Hornsey who I have commissioned another model railroad layout from to replace the disappointing 8ft layout I had built last year by The Fiddle Yard. If only I'd known of Steve back then... Anyway, I commissioned a 6 foot shelf layout earlier this year, and it was/is lovely. So, I had no hesitation in asking Steve to take on a more ambitious project this time, with a 12ft x 2.5 foot N scale layout depicting a a single track branch set somewhere just South of the U.S / Canadian border along the Great Lakes. It's going to be DCC with analog points and as you can see in the W.I.P pics below, it features a lakeside terminus, space for several industries as well as a large yard for sorting car consists. Behind the scenes is a single storage line to hide the outbound trains which will then be carried over to the shelf layout which represents the fictional small town of 'Loose Dog, Alberta' I am really happy w...