A couple of weeks' ago, I was able to pop in to the Border Reiver show in Gateshead. I had been busy doing something else hobby related, of which more anon, so I was only able to get in towards the end of the show. Border Reiver isn't a particularly big or busy show, and by the time I got there (about 1345) - which took a bit longer than it might, the roadworks around Gateshead are a bit confusing - there was only an hour and a bit before the end, so it was definitely on the quiet side (although outside wasn't particularly quiet - there was a Women's Soccer League match on at the same time! - Howay the Lasses!)
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| The first game I saw was just being packed away - pike and elephants always give a hint of Raphia! |
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| The details of this one have totally escaped me, I'm afraid. Looked good though. |
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| A FPW game; BBB continues its long march through the "big battle, modest table" institutions of C19 wargaming... |
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| Some kind of SF (possibly VSF) flying game |
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| A very nice, wintry WW2 game; Chain of Command, I think |
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| Warmaster! Very nice-looking game. Makes me wonder why I don't see more Warmaster games, given how influential it seems to have been |
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| A great WH40K scene; the models were really nice, the guy said it had been one of his lockdown projects, to make the terrain look great |
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| A big WW1 aerial game, with British fighters intercepting the German Gotha bombers. |
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| Glorious-looking Gothas. They are big things! |
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| A game company show case, with really nice volcanic terrain - there are little lights in the crevices to provide the glowing effect: it was genuinely awesome, well done them. I can't recall the name of the game, although I think it began with Chrono-. |
At that point I ran out of charge, so I didn't get to take pictures of many other games, although since most of the games and traders were packing up by this point, I guess that doesn't matter too much. I missed taking some shots of a really big Punic Wars game, which was a shame. One of the guys was showing me some of the Fernando Enterprises painted figures they were using, they did look really nice, so if you were thinking of sending some figures off to Sri Lanka, I guess that is some evidence you should do so with confidence.
I was then at that slightly difficult moment of whether to ask traders if I could look at/buy stuff whilst they were packing up (this was about 1430). I did it a couple of times, and people were fine, but I got a bit less confident as the packing up intensified, so I bought a very nice cake (Border Reiver has the best cake stall!!) and then left. I have been to shows near the end before, so I do get it, but I wonder what I would have made of it if this had been my first show. Anyway, I guess I can spend my pocket money at the Other Partizan instead. Everyone who I did talk to was very friendly, and I got a good rundown on some of the games, including plenty more praise for Bloody Big Battles.
The smaller shows that I visit have a very visible ‘die off’ by 1 PM and I imagine those traders who have had a slow morning are only too glad to get away handy.
ReplyDeleteThese days, perhaps a rulebook needs to be in print as a new edition to be (a) the latest favourite (b) blog / review material, so more in the public eye. Behind closed doors, there must be loads of Warmaster still being played. The wargame group behind the ‘Warning Orders’ eZine seem to play it a lot, AAR’s appear in most issues.
Quite. I have been to shows near the end before (a couple of times) and I was expecting it to some extent, but this was fairly noticeable even with prior experience.
DeleteI think you must be correct about rules, that visibility is very different from actual games played, and in this context, demonstrated...difficult to know, of course.
I was there at the other end, waiting for it to open at 10. I think the move to Sunday probably had something to do with the die off. I know I wanted to be back in time for Sunday lunch! There were a few empty tables where planned things hadn't panned out too.
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice little show, but the Middlesborough one is much bigger and better (and has a cash machine on site)
Probably better than the last edition I went to in 2023.
Yes, definitely possible that it tailed off sooner as people wanted their Sunday afternoon free. I do like the show, people always friendly, a bit of space to browse throught the wares and find something useful.
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