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 Leven. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leven. Show all posts
Sunday, 7 July 2019
Sunday, 28 October 2018
Fiasco 2018
Over the Pennines to my annual visit to Leeds Royal Armouries and Fiasco, my last show of the year. The venue is right on the docks on the River Aire and the Leeds & Liverpool canal, and my ambition is to attend this one year from our boat - though as the round trip from our base is 3-4 weeks that will probably have to wait until I retire.
I was aware before going that I would not be able to stock up on my main target, 6mm tanks, as neither Wargames Emporium nor Magister Militum would be in attendance. Baccus was there, but they have not released anything for WW2 since the Shermans, which I picked up at JoS. So I was going for bits and pieces, and for the atmosphere.
The show was pretty much as usual, a good middle-to-large one day show. The venue is a single large hall, OK but the upper walls and ceiling are decorated in black with small lights like stars - quite atmospheric but personally I would settle for more light.
As usual at a show, I first did a full circuit of all the trade stands, not looking to buy very much (though I picked up a couple of pots of paint) but making notes for later, and seeing if anything struck me out of the blue. At about noon I went off for lunch - with the best will in the world the food at the venue could be called "functional" so I walked over towards the city centre. As a bonus this took me past the docks and over the river, which I looked at in a new light now that we are seriously likely to be boating down here in a year or two.
I went to the same place as last year, a bar called Revolution - clearly a place which will be packed in the evenings but quiet on a Sunday lunchtime, and perfectly acceptable ribs and beer. Then back to the show.
The main thing I wanted to get was Leven buildings, because they are such fun to paint, so I picked up some that are suitable for the Eastern Front - Russian cottages, a Ukrainian church and so on. I pondered a few other things, but I didn't want to buy stuff just for the sake of it. In the end the only other significant item was a set of rules from Osprey called The Men Who Would Be King. These are for 19th Century Colonial battles, which is something that interests me a bit, but the other reason for buying them is the solo rules or AI within them. This is called "Playing Against Mr Babbage" and has been mentioned many times in the wargaming press, so I wanted to take a look.
Things wrapped up around three, and I set off for home. A good friendly way to end the year, and I will be back, by road or water.
I was aware before going that I would not be able to stock up on my main target, 6mm tanks, as neither Wargames Emporium nor Magister Militum would be in attendance. Baccus was there, but they have not released anything for WW2 since the Shermans, which I picked up at JoS. So I was going for bits and pieces, and for the atmosphere.
The show was pretty much as usual, a good middle-to-large one day show. The venue is a single large hall, OK but the upper walls and ceiling are decorated in black with small lights like stars - quite atmospheric but personally I would settle for more light.
As usual at a show, I first did a full circuit of all the trade stands, not looking to buy very much (though I picked up a couple of pots of paint) but making notes for later, and seeing if anything struck me out of the blue. At about noon I went off for lunch - with the best will in the world the food at the venue could be called "functional" so I walked over towards the city centre. As a bonus this took me past the docks and over the river, which I looked at in a new light now that we are seriously likely to be boating down here in a year or two.
I went to the same place as last year, a bar called Revolution - clearly a place which will be packed in the evenings but quiet on a Sunday lunchtime, and perfectly acceptable ribs and beer. Then back to the show.
The main thing I wanted to get was Leven buildings, because they are such fun to paint, so I picked up some that are suitable for the Eastern Front - Russian cottages, a Ukrainian church and so on. I pondered a few other things, but I didn't want to buy stuff just for the sake of it. In the end the only other significant item was a set of rules from Osprey called The Men Who Would Be King. These are for 19th Century Colonial battles, which is something that interests me a bit, but the other reason for buying them is the solo rules or AI within them. This is called "Playing Against Mr Babbage" and has been mentioned many times in the wargaming press, so I wanted to take a look.
Things wrapped up around three, and I set off for home. A good friendly way to end the year, and I will be back, by road or water.
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| A Spitfire outside the Royal Armoury |
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| Leeds Waterways |
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| The Booty |
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. |
Thursday, 28 December 2017
Leven Old West buildings
At Fiasco in Leeds, back in late October, I bought one each of all the Leven Old West buildings - 18 in all. Actually a few more than 18 buildings, as a couple of the packs had multiple items. My overall intention is to build a town on a large base, maybe a couple of feet square, but I started out by painting them all up individually.
As usual the Leven buildings are a pleasure to paint, with nice details which show up well. On many of the buildings I was able to include signs (Saloon, Doctor etc) which I simply found on the web and downloaded to print. I think these really enhance the look of the whole thing, and help to establish scale and period. One of the "buildings" is the entrance to a mine, with rail tracks and general clutter - this is another nice model, but it may be a little tricky to include it in my townscape.
As usual the Leven buildings are a pleasure to paint, with nice details which show up well. On many of the buildings I was able to include signs (Saloon, Doctor etc) which I simply found on the web and downloaded to print. I think these really enhance the look of the whole thing, and help to establish scale and period. One of the "buildings" is the entrance to a mine, with rail tracks and general clutter - this is another nice model, but it may be a little tricky to include it in my townscape.
Sunday, 29 October 2017
Fiasco 2017
Over to Leeds today for Fiasco at the Royal Armouries. This is my third or fourth year - it is not too far to drive, a bit over the hour, and it's also well timed as there's not a lot of other shows going on right now. I parked up and had a quick look around, then went looking for lunch. The docks area around the Armouries is very smart, all big new buildings or modern conversions of original warehouses - but it's a bit soulless. I walked over the Ayre and up into the older part of Leeds. I found a bar/club called Revolution - no doubt very trendy at night, but for a rack of ribs and apint on Sunday lunchtime, just perfect.
Back to the show along the Ayre - someday we might come over on the narrowboat and moor close by. But that is well in the future. For this year's show I had a few specific items on the list, and I got them all. The first target was some Old West buildings from Leven - I have an idea to create a western town as a sort of diorama. I'd like to try playing a gunfighter game at 6mm, but so far I am struggling to find suitable figures, and I had no more luck today. While I was at Leven's stand I als picked up an extra building, as I often do, just because I liked the look of it. In this case it was a big British pub, called The Push, apparently based on a real building in Beverley.
After that I wanted some more Chicago buildings in 28mm, having built a couple last week. I found some 4Ground kits at Colonel Bill's stall, and I got a garage and a shotgun shack. I was tempted by a large warehouse, but at £80 it was just a little too much.
My other targets were smaller. I got a pack of gangsters from Pulp Figures - Bugs Malarchy's Mob - who will obviously be fighting around the new buildings. And I went to Baccus and picked up the Fallschirmjager Nebelwerfers - they had sold out at Salute, and I didn't get to Joy of Six, so I wanted to get hold of it, though I am not currently painting WW2.
I got away after three, and home by about half four - it was a lovely day for the first day of winter, so the drive was no problem - a good day out all told.
Back to the show along the Ayre - someday we might come over on the narrowboat and moor close by. But that is well in the future. For this year's show I had a few specific items on the list, and I got them all. The first target was some Old West buildings from Leven - I have an idea to create a western town as a sort of diorama. I'd like to try playing a gunfighter game at 6mm, but so far I am struggling to find suitable figures, and I had no more luck today. While I was at Leven's stand I als picked up an extra building, as I often do, just because I liked the look of it. In this case it was a big British pub, called The Push, apparently based on a real building in Beverley.
After that I wanted some more Chicago buildings in 28mm, having built a couple last week. I found some 4Ground kits at Colonel Bill's stall, and I got a garage and a shotgun shack. I was tempted by a large warehouse, but at £80 it was just a little too much.
My other targets were smaller. I got a pack of gangsters from Pulp Figures - Bugs Malarchy's Mob - who will obviously be fighting around the new buildings. And I went to Baccus and picked up the Fallschirmjager Nebelwerfers - they had sold out at Salute, and I didn't get to Joy of Six, so I wanted to get hold of it, though I am not currently painting WW2.
I got away after three, and home by about half four - it was a lovely day for the first day of winter, so the drive was no problem - a good day out all told.
Thursday, 27 July 2017
A light shines
I painted a number of Leven buildings which I have bought from two or three shows. Mostly rural buildings suitable for the ACW theme I am working on, but also including a lighthouse which I bought for no better reason than I liked the look of it.
Saturday, 14 January 2017
Leven buildings
I decided to paint up a number of Leven 6mm buildings I have had around for some time - I think most of them go back to Joy of Six in July. It was a mixed bag - three industrial buildings - a set of garages, a canal mill and an engineering works. Then there was a railway station building, a small garage with a petrol pump, and a group of garden sheds and a greenhouse. I also had a wizard's tower, despite the fact that I don't have any 6mm fantasy figures, just because it's such a lovely model.
These models are a joy to paint, especially the ones with brick texture, which really stands out well. I put a few of them on metal bases to do a bit of landscaping. Its a different sort of painting from doing models or troop, you have much more freedom in the choice of colours and a chance to be a bit inventive.
These models are a joy to paint, especially the ones with brick texture, which really stands out well. I put a few of them on metal bases to do a bit of landscaping. Its a different sort of painting from doing models or troop, you have much more freedom in the choice of colours and a chance to be a bit inventive.
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