Across to Sheffield for the annual celebration of all things tiny. The show has settled down into a nice routine now, based in the Hallam University buildings - though we were on a different floor again this year. Quite handy, in fact, as one end of the room was the cafeteria, though as usual I went for a meal and a pint at a nearby pub, the Head of Steam.
All the usual suspects were at the show, along with a large number of games, about 50/50 participation and demonstration. I didn't get involved with any of the participation ones - with a fairly limited amount of time at a show, and lots of purchasing decisions to make, I begrudge spending an hour or more sitting at a game table. They all seemed to be getting a fair amount of custom, it must be said. All the expected vendors were there - Wargames Emporium with GHQ, Heroics and Ros and Baccus, and Scotia Grandel who also carried the new 2D6 range. Sadly the new releases aren't quite ready yet, so I confined my model purchases to a fair few GHQ packs for early war - the Panzer 1A which is a new release, the command tank version of the Pz 1, some Panzerjaeger 1B and Sdkfz 221, 231 and 232 armoured cars. To face them I got British A9 and A10 Cruiser tanks, and some Mk VIB light tanks.
I continued to circle, trying to decide what more to buy, if anything. Leven were there as always, but I don't really have any burning need for buildings right now. In the end I got some hedgerows and fencing from GS Miniature Workshop - they are based in Manchester and always attend JoS, and I always buy some stuff - you can never have too many hedgerows. I left about three and had a fair trip home - another good day out.
Showing posts with label GS Miniature Workshop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GS Miniature Workshop. Show all posts
Sunday, 7 July 2019
Sunday, 15 July 2018
Joy of Six 2018
Having missed last year because of family illness (I have been to all the others since the start) I was keen to get there reasonably early, and despite the best efforts of some Cycling Fun Day I was able to navigate Sheffield's ring road and arrived in the venue about half ten.
There was a slight change of location this year - although it was in the same building we had moved out of the atrium (the "Heartspace") into a more conventional area, two long rooms connected by doors, with a canteen at the far end of one of them. Personally I htought this was an improvement - while the Heartspace looked spectacular, especially from three floors up, the layout was actually quite awkward, with games squeezed around the stairs, and some relegated to rather cut-off side rooms. Here everyone was in essentially one large space, and I don't think anyone will have felt they were out of the way.
The games were all good looking as usual - with the impression of large-scale battles given by this scale. For looks I would pick out the Manchester ECW board - it wasn't huge, but it was covered with buildings representing the city and the bridge to Salford during the siege. Most innovative I think was the Cold War Commanders (using the rules of the same name). They had a long table with three battles side by side. The terrain represented the same area on each (Wesel in Germany) but in different time periods - 1959, 1973 and 1989. They fought a Russian attack in each period simultaneously, using the appropriate troops and vehicles, but under the same CWC rules.
Purchasing was of course the most important aspect. I started off at H&R, just a chat really as I thought I had their latest stuff on my painting table already. But a casual question revealed that they had some brand new Fallschirmjager, not yet on the website, so I bought some of those. I went to the Baccus stand, but sadly the Panzer IV they had on display is not yet ready for sale - the gun barrel is true scale, which means it is too flimsy to be practical as a wargame model, so it will be out soon.
It wouldn't be JoS without a visit to the Leven stand, and despite not having a building project on the go at the moment, I had to pick up 4-5 assorted models. Down to the other end of the area to Wargames Emporium, where I got some of the new GHQ Lloyd Carriers (with and without 6lbdr guns) and some German Leichter Ladungstrager (essentially tracked quad bikes with trailers). I got a couple of Ospreys (Market Garden and the Valentine Tank) from Christopher Morris books, but my biggest purchase was a bunch of scenic items from GS Miniature Workshop. I got four of their "canopy woods" as well as an assortment of walls, hedges and palm trees.
All in all a very good day. I had lunch in the Head of Steam, though sadly they don't do rack of ribs any more. The trail to and fro over Snake Pass is tedious, especially with all the cyclists out int he sun, but worth it for a unique and very well run show.
There was a slight change of location this year - although it was in the same building we had moved out of the atrium (the "Heartspace") into a more conventional area, two long rooms connected by doors, with a canteen at the far end of one of them. Personally I htought this was an improvement - while the Heartspace looked spectacular, especially from three floors up, the layout was actually quite awkward, with games squeezed around the stairs, and some relegated to rather cut-off side rooms. Here everyone was in essentially one large space, and I don't think anyone will have felt they were out of the way.
The games were all good looking as usual - with the impression of large-scale battles given by this scale. For looks I would pick out the Manchester ECW board - it wasn't huge, but it was covered with buildings representing the city and the bridge to Salford during the siege. Most innovative I think was the Cold War Commanders (using the rules of the same name). They had a long table with three battles side by side. The terrain represented the same area on each (Wesel in Germany) but in different time periods - 1959, 1973 and 1989. They fought a Russian attack in each period simultaneously, using the appropriate troops and vehicles, but under the same CWC rules.
Purchasing was of course the most important aspect. I started off at H&R, just a chat really as I thought I had their latest stuff on my painting table already. But a casual question revealed that they had some brand new Fallschirmjager, not yet on the website, so I bought some of those. I went to the Baccus stand, but sadly the Panzer IV they had on display is not yet ready for sale - the gun barrel is true scale, which means it is too flimsy to be practical as a wargame model, so it will be out soon.
It wouldn't be JoS without a visit to the Leven stand, and despite not having a building project on the go at the moment, I had to pick up 4-5 assorted models. Down to the other end of the area to Wargames Emporium, where I got some of the new GHQ Lloyd Carriers (with and without 6lbdr guns) and some German Leichter Ladungstrager (essentially tracked quad bikes with trailers). I got a couple of Ospreys (Market Garden and the Valentine Tank) from Christopher Morris books, but my biggest purchase was a bunch of scenic items from GS Miniature Workshop. I got four of their "canopy woods" as well as an assortment of walls, hedges and palm trees.
All in all a very good day. I had lunch in the Head of Steam, though sadly they don't do rack of ribs any more. The trail to and fro over Snake Pass is tedious, especially with all the cyclists out int he sun, but worth it for a unique and very well run show.
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| Hastings |
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| Hastings |
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| Manchester/Salford - ECW siege |
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| Gilly 1815 |
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| Austerlitz |
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| Bag the Hun |
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| Normandy 1944 (Iron Cross rules) |
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| Normandy 1944 |
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| Zeebrugge Raid 1918 |
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| Horka 1708 |
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| Weser Cubed - three battlees in one |
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| Weser Cubed - 1989 foreground, 1973 middle, 1959 far end |
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| Battle of Britain - Check Your Six. |
Sunday, 17 July 2016
Joy of Six 2016
Across the Pennines to Sheffield for this show, possibly my favourite. It's not huge, though today was the biggest so far, I think - 22 games at least, and 8-10 traders. The big factor is that all those traders are selling 6mm figures or scenery, so every one is of interest to me. I think I bought stuff from nearly every stall. The venue is the Heartspace in Hallam University - a fancy name for the atrium in a large building, about five stories high. With glass walls and roof it is a nice bright airy space, and it is in the centre of the city so plenty of places to eat and drink. In fact the worst aspect of the day was the drive over - the A57 was being resurfaced and I spent an extra hour in the queues. I went home via the M1/M62 and that was fine.
As I said, lots of games going on. The ones that really caught my eye were, first, the First Day of the Somme, on a large table right below the entrance stairway. This was next to the Time Cast stand and it seemed to have a lot of their scenery, notably their new trench lines. Another one right in my sweetspot was the Bridge at Remagen, using simplified Spearhead rules - linked to the film, with points for improving on the performances there. A Cold War Commander fight occupied another large table in the centre of the room, and a really large battle of Dresden was in an alcove to one side. With the expansion of the number of games they were also using two side rooms, for the first time I think.
After lunch - ribs and a pint in the Head of Steam - I started on the serious business of purchasing. I got five packs of GHQ Italians - gun crews and a variety of tanks - for the Western Desert. I then went to Baccus and picked up packs of most of their new British Paras. From H&R I got various command strips and vehicles, German, British and Italian, to provide command stands. On the scenery side I picked up about ten buildings from Leven - mostly industrial or railway. I got some bridges from Time Cast, and I picked up a good number of hedges and walls from a firm called GS Miniature Workshop. Their main product (at this show anyway) were "modular forests" - these have a base with tree trunks, and then there is a separate canopy of green foam which sits on top - the idea being that you can put your troops inside and then replace the canopy. They look very nice, but my figures on 1" square bases wouldn't fit between the trunks.
That was it - and after one more circuit, with my little remaining cash desperately trying to jump out of my pocket, I left. A very good day, and now to get on with the painting. I need to get the Italians done first, but there are the Paras, those command stands and the buildings all winking at me.
As I said, lots of games going on. The ones that really caught my eye were, first, the First Day of the Somme, on a large table right below the entrance stairway. This was next to the Time Cast stand and it seemed to have a lot of their scenery, notably their new trench lines. Another one right in my sweetspot was the Bridge at Remagen, using simplified Spearhead rules - linked to the film, with points for improving on the performances there. A Cold War Commander fight occupied another large table in the centre of the room, and a really large battle of Dresden was in an alcove to one side. With the expansion of the number of games they were also using two side rooms, for the first time I think.
After lunch - ribs and a pint in the Head of Steam - I started on the serious business of purchasing. I got five packs of GHQ Italians - gun crews and a variety of tanks - for the Western Desert. I then went to Baccus and picked up packs of most of their new British Paras. From H&R I got various command strips and vehicles, German, British and Italian, to provide command stands. On the scenery side I picked up about ten buildings from Leven - mostly industrial or railway. I got some bridges from Time Cast, and I picked up a good number of hedges and walls from a firm called GS Miniature Workshop. Their main product (at this show anyway) were "modular forests" - these have a base with tree trunks, and then there is a separate canopy of green foam which sits on top - the idea being that you can put your troops inside and then replace the canopy. They look very nice, but my figures on 1" square bases wouldn't fit between the trunks.
That was it - and after one more circuit, with my little remaining cash desperately trying to jump out of my pocket, I left. A very good day, and now to get on with the painting. I need to get the Italians done first, but there are the Paras, those command stands and the buildings all winking at me.
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