Sunday 29 April 2018

Travelling Man

After racking up over 1500 miles this week, I was back in the saddle yesterday and heading over to Newark and my first wargames show in well over 20 years.
"Hammerhead" was certainly worth the trip, since not only did I experience the mouth-watering display of games and trade stands, I also had the pleasure of meeting up with Roy http://garrisonmutineergaming.blogspot.co.uk/ and John http://vagabondswargamingblog.blogspot.co.uk/ from our little corner of the blogosphere.

Despite almost giving in to temptation on more than one occasion, I managed to leave the show with plenty of inspiration without adding too much to the painting queue, and more significantly - no additional "projects" (a minor miracle really since I was extremely tired and in a very susceptible state, and could quite easily bought into some new games!).
Without further ado, here's the mandatory "post show loot posting"......

A mini I spotted that was perfect for the "Bat Form" of the counts missus when she metamorphs from SqureHex

Two more flying witches to represent airborne versions of the 'Ladygate Coven' from Rapier Miniatures

A nice looking "Falcon" light gun along with a gun crew that caught my eye on the 1st Corps stand

A resin load for the two wheel wagon from Colonel Bills

I also picked up some paint and varnish that needed replenishing to add to my modest haul.

Thoroughly enjoyable day out, and hopefully only the first of more to come!

32 comments:

  1. Terrific Loot posting Wargame Addict, and I liked your little annotations explaining what you were planning on using your buys for. I've not been to Newark since it moved location but it sounds better than ever from the enthusiasm of your posting :-)

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    1. I was quite blown away by the show Simon, and could easily have spent a small fortune!
      Bear in mind though that I've never been to Hammerhead before, so can't compare it to any previous incarnation ;-)

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  2. Well done on showing such restraint, Greg. Of your loot items my favourite by a long way are the two witches, especially the one on the right with her pet cat/familiar hanging on for dear life.

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    1. Thanks Bryan - I actually amazed myself ;-)
      I can understand why you like that mini best out of the bunch, and she was a "must buy" when I saw her 'in the lead' (I wasn't going to get her from the photo on the webstore).
      Everything was on my shopping list except for the gun and crew, which I DID need, and just looked such nice models - I made sure I grabbed a copy of their catalogue with a view to getting more of the ECW range in the future.

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  3. Great stuff Greg! Can't wait to see you get some paint on those witches :)

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    1. Thanks Ivor, I just need to decide which "foot versions" of the coven they'll double for (but the frog and cat familiars are HUGE hints!), so I can match-up the colours :-)
      I think the Vampyre will be first in the queue though, since I've got an idea for a location to provide a backdrop for her photo ;-)

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  4. Hi Greg I agree the show is well worth a visit, certainly a good location, plenty of space parking and some lovely games.
    I was very taken with the Rapier figures in general but the witches in particular so look forward to seeing these flying round your table.
    It was good to meet up and put a face to a name and thanks again for the iconic Lidl mat that will be appearing soon at a wargames table near you:)
    Cheers

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    1. TBH John, if we hadn't 'pre-arranged' to meet up, I would probably have stayed at home and fallen asleep on the sofa - so a big THANK YOU goes to you for getting me there :-)
      Totally agree about the amount of space at the venue, and the only 'scrum' I saw was around the Tabletop Sales (bring & buy).
      Have you started on those planes yet ;-)

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    2. I've taken them out of the box, and then put them back again, so you could say I have started ;-)

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    3. Definitely a start ;-)
      I know I should wait and see, but what will you be doing about flight bases etc?

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    4. I've not given it to much thought. Litko do some, and I have some perspex left over from the last time I did flight bases 30 or so years ago.
      Seeing your comment below, as well as "aw much" we also say "it'll cum in" well that's why I still have the perspex. I've been toying with looking for some aluminium or plastic tube and rod to make my own stick things. The rod fits inside the tube and then the next section fits on top of that.
      I've just had another game with the little planes and used the iconic mat and it looks much better than the one I used the first time round and it's a good size too, Five planes and plenty of space. I'm wondering about painting fields and hedges on it. Maybe I'll just have a snooze and think about it. ;)

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    5. Hmmm, I don't hear "it'll cum in" as much from the obergruppenfuhrer, and certainly when I use the expression it's met with "MORE clutter?" ;-)

      Sounds like you've got a plan sorted for the flight stands, but as for the mat - how about cutting fields, roads, rivers etc from felt?
      Hobbycraft stock sheets of it but it's cheaper from a haberdashers.

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    6. I've used felt in the past and of course still have some, but it always looks like felt. I really like the idea of the deep cut studio mats but they are about 70 odd euros.
      I've seen some painted mats and they are good, not as good as DCS but a lot cheaper.
      You probably need to take the obergruppenfuhrer on one side and explain how lucky she is to have a Wargamer as a husband. Maybe it's best if you don't use her full title, darling or sweetheart or even eh up lass might be better. Clutter is such an ugly word, maybe antiques in the making might be more appropriate.
      Let me know how you get on, once the brushing has subsided.

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    7. I dunno which sounds worse - brushing or bruising, neither sounds pleasant so maybe I'll keep my trap shut ;-)

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  5. Some lovely buys there Greg, love those witches

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    1. Cheers Andy :-)
      To have brought home a sizeable "stash", I'm pretty chuffed with the prospect of having all the new stuff painted within the week ;-)

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  6. Great to hear you had a good time at your first show in 20 years, and always nice to meet up with people you chat to, Roy is a great guy.
    Nice haul and congrats on the restraint, my favourite has to be the bat form in the first picture

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    1. Thanks Dave. Yes Hammerhead will always have a 'special' attachment for me now :-)
      As an old grognard it was interesting to compare the current scene with "the old days", and a pleasant surprise to find that some things never change :-)

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  7. Hammerhead is a great show. Definitely, first and foremost, I can say that. Both as a trader and a show-goer, I've done both and enjoyed the event just as much (though I never had chance to look at the games on Saturday). Good location and venue. Good lighting, toilets and electrics/wifi/mobile phone coverage. The cafe is a little pricey, but that is beyond the control of the show organisers.

    I've got to admit that I'm not great to meet in person, as I'm not exactly sociable to start with and my conversation soon dries up unless we're talking trading. But, never the less, it was great to meet you, Greg, and speak in person. Unlike yourself I did get ambushed into buying things I didn't budget for (Dave Lanchester is a master of his profession, lol. Though I have to admit the books he found for me are top stuff and very reasonably priced).

    You have now got me thinking about the Witchfinder General rules and what I can do for a Col. Bill's game! :)

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    1. Roy, it was only because I didn't manage to catch you on a break that we didn't get chance to chat properly - I was very conscious of the fact that you were working, and didn't want to 'drop you in it' ;-)
      I enjoyed the brief natter(s) we had :-)

      Oh, and seeing your painting first hand was a treat!

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  8. Nice bit of loot Greg, I'm a big fan of having models that are doing different things so I know that have the flying witches will add a lot to your games if you know what I mean :)

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    1. Thanks Frank, and yes, I could easily have any of the 'foot' witches placed on top of an upturned shot glass when she's 'flying' but much prefer being able to swap mini's. I think you'd refer to it as "production values"?

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    2. Oh, and thanks to you, I spent quite a while 'hovering' around the Pulp Alley rules and expansions on sale at the show ;-)

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    3. No need to go blaming me Greg :) its a fun game & if your into solo play it works well, the only grip I would have when playing solo would be its I go you go (yes I know that sounds wrong) but I think I might have away of changing that :)

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    4. It's no use trying to wriggle out of it - yours are the only Pulp Alley posts I've read, so it's GOT to be your fault ;-)
      I'll be most interested to hear of any 'tweaks' you come up with :-)

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  9. Some splendid wins there, quite taken by the bat.

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    1. Many thanks Michael - I checked the "West Wind" miniatures stand first and their 'Vampire Wars' range, but they had nothing on show that fit the bill. I couldn't believe my luck when I spotted the bat two stands later...... and at only £2 :-)

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  10. Great loot haul and obviously all essential (bo, serioously, I ddn't spot anything I would classan an impulse buy.
    Unfortunately, for me at least, Newark is just beyond my limit for any wargame show these days; I would probably need to stay the preceeding night (and a week to recover no doubt!).

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    1. I think it's something to do with being married to a Yorkshire lass for so long Joe - every time I ALMOST made an impulse purchase I could hear her voice in my head saying "'ow much?" ;-)
      Shame it's outside your theatre of operations, but for what it's worth, the "Terrain Tutor" guy was there filming for one of his YouTube channels show reports.

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  11. Brilliant loot haul. Like the look of the witches.

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    1. Thanks Simon.
      Sadly they're not "in flight" versions of the same mini's on foot, but throwing paint at them that matches their counterparts will make 'em pass for gaming purposes ;-)

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