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| Able Company WIPs - These "Sally 4th" 28mm miniatures have been based and primed |
This past Saturday I made the annual trip to the Rivermead Leisure Centre in Reading and attended the opening day of the Wargames Association of Reading's weekend long show "Warfare". I've actually been regularly attending this event for well over a decade, but having bought just a few 'bits & bobs' this time round, disappointingly felt that it has probably seen far better days than it does in its current format. Indeed, a handful of the usual faces, such as "Hysterical Games", were noticeably not there, whilst the likes of "Warlord Games" and "Mantic Games" arguably presented some disconcertingly underwhelming stalls...
Fortunately, I did still manage to rummage around and purchase a few pieces of interest, with "Sally 4th" in particular providing a fine display of their wares, including some of the miniatures which form part of the Albedo Combat Patrol ACP164 Anthropomorphic "Kickstarter". Based upon "the unique comic book art of Steve Gallacci" I was sorely tempted to buy a few automatic-rifle carrying rabbits, foxes, dogs and cats, yet in the end actually decided to 'pick up' four of the manufacturer's 28mm metal figures from their Classic Movie Miniatures range.
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| US Lunar Force Rover WIP - The huge 15mm vehicle has been superglued together and partially primed |
I'm not currently convinced as to what rule-set I plan to use these somewhat chunky Able Company characters with, albeit "Sally 4th" would seem to be targeting them towards those who play the Game of Extraordinary Action and Adventure entitled "Pulp Alley". So for now I have based them all on the lipped circular stands I use for my "Bolt Action" models, just in case I decide to utilise them as characters for "Konflikt '47" at some point in the future. In addition, I have had to do some restoration work to the barrel of the not-Jim Morita miniature's firearm, after the soft metal muzzle came away whilst basing him. Hopefully, once painted, the piece of metal wire I have employed as a replacement will look good enough...
Equally as enjoyable to visit was "Ground Zero Games" which was located in exactly the "same location as the last few years - first aisle on the left of the main trade hall." I've been tremedously impressed by their 15mm "Moongrunt" range in recent weeks, so treated myself to a second of their US Lunar Marine Starter Force boxes. These 'reinforcements' should enable me to hopefully build both variants of their US Lunar Force Rover, which is a truly formidable-looking and heavy combination of resin and metal, as well as give me a surplus of astronauts to potentiall paint up in the orange and yellow of Moonbase Alpha from "Space 1999".
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| Cave Troll WIPs - The two metal "The Lord Of The Rings" monsters have been reassembled and primed |
Perhaps the show's highight for me however, was it's Bring & Buy sale, which whilst seemingly dominated by discarded "Flames Of War" forces and unwanted partially-painted "Warhammer 40K" warriors, did contain a tidy little collection of old "Lord Of The Rings" miniatures by "Games Workshop". Admittedly, some of the Nottingham-based company's early plastic sculpts for their Strategy Battle Game are still reasonably accessible in today's second-hand market, despite being released to co-incide with the 2001 film "The Fellowship Of The Ring". But I can't remember seeing two of its early metal Troll models sold together as a pair before.
Incredibly, the box was handled by at least a couple of (dis)interested parties before I could 'nab it', and I was particularly pleased to see that both the monsters' arms were already pinned in place and that they came with a small horde of Moria Goblins too. Of course, I have subsequently cleaned up the enormous cave dwellers' joints up and re-attached the limbs before gritting their bases with gravel. I'm hoping to get these finished reasonably quickly, as I've already assembled a sizeable collection of 'half-done' Middle Earth-based models ready for the start of next month's Second Partially-Painted Pledge challenge.
Glad to hear you had a successful outing, even if the show itself seems somewhat in decline (this appears to be the same all over, the internet, Brexit, petrol costs, take your pick as the reasons).
ReplyDeleteSally 4th have some nice stuff, and these fall into that category, likewise the GZG stuff, Moonbase alpha spacemen would be very cool!
I had that troll as a sample from GW back when the Lotr game first came out, but never painted it, I think I gave it to a fellow gamer who was into the game way back then, I think I gave him the Balrog too (please don't tell me how much these are going on Ebay!!) ;-)
Cheers Roger.
Thanks Roger. I was actually surprised at how poor I thought the show was, tbh, having found the latest "Colours" show to arguably be one of the best I can recall. So I was hoping for better things. "GZG" do some corking stuff, so as I'm currently in a 15mm mood I was always going to splurg there. I'm really pleased with the "LoTR" trolls, and the goblins which accompanied them; albeit one of the biggest disappointments of the show was that no-one, except the Bring & Buy, had any "LoTR" stuff by "GW" on show, and I was hoping to pick up the latest rule-books whilst there.
DeleteYou got some nice loot by the sound of it. To be honest the mantic stand was quite small at Newark and they forgot to bring the Walking Dead Event Exclusive figures. But they did send it out post free for me though.
ReplyDeleteCheers Simon. The "Mantic Games" stand was actually incredibly small and really easy to miss. It was demoing the latest "TWD" game and had a few shelves surrounding it of discounted stuff. But I walked past it twice before I realised it was their official table. Not impressed tbh.
DeleteSome great loot Simon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ray. Good to get to a show tbh, as I won't now be visiting one until probably "Salute" 2019.
Deletenice stuff. It seems a trend that shows are in decline. A inverse link I think with the number shows there are. I can go to 8 in the north alone. 4 too many
ReplyDeleteThanks Martin. I tend to do three a year myself, but have been increasingly tempted to travel up and do a more Northern one at some point. Is there one you'd recommend? Happy to do an overnighter if the travelling is long.
DeleteNice haul, I need some of those Moongrunt vehicles!
ReplyDeleteCheers Fran. Really pleased with the “GZG” “Moongrunt” minis and think you’ll do a corking paint-job on them when you get some.
DeleteIdid keepmy eyes peeled for "the usual suspects" on Saturday, but failed to spot you amongst the scrum. I agree that the show wasn't as good as previous year's, but it was still semi-worthwhile for me - I shall be doing a post regarding my impressions shortly, as I actually did take some photos this year.
ReplyDeleteI did actually spot you from afar, Jez, methinks you were at “Lesley’s Bitz Box”? I look forward to seeing your loot, and inventive ideas surrounding why you purchased this and that.
DeleteNice little haul Simon, it's getting harder for traders to attend shows, as the costs keep going up, but the number of customers buying lessens. I think it will end up going the way of the high street and most things will end up being online only
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave. I actually had high hopes for this show as “Colours” had been a vast improvement on past years imho. Sadly, it wasn’t to be, and I’ve since discovered my credit card was somehow scanned whilst there too, which has left a decidedly sour taste in my mouth for the show...
DeleteThat's terrible, I presume you've got in touch with your card company ? A lot of the shows won't bring in new companies sticking with their regulars so it becomes stagnant, I found this when first starting out with shows being told oh you can go on a waiting list, then never hearing anything at all, but later finding resellers getting places just by asking. This I find bizarre as it brings nothing new to a show ! It's part of the reason I'm assessing every show I go to, and may well be dropping a few
DeleteThe card is all sorted fortunately. Stagnant is a very good word for “Warfare” imho, albeit as I mention in my posting the likes of “Sally 4th” put on a great stall packed full of all manner of new minis and manufacturers. It really was a hoot looking at their stuff. But as you say, the vast majority were the same old faces from the other shows and disappointingly few had many deals. Perhaps two shows in the Newbury area within a couple of months of one another is a bit redundant in the age of E-Sales..?
DeleteI think there is a lot of factors with shows, disposable income being less with so many Kickstarters, layout of the event with small traders being hidden at the back with the big companies being at the front, so many shows in the calendar year ( there's almost one every weekend up and down the country), Rising costs of pitches and additional costs (hotels, fuel, food, etc), so many factors to consider with each event !
DeleteYup! All good factors to consider Dave. Personally I always think the main selling point at a show is that I can see the minis in the flesh, so-to-speak. Plus I do like a show deal and a chance to talk to the manufacturer about a range (e.g. what is coming in the future) - that certainly helps me decide whether to invest in a range or not.
DeleteSounds like you had a productive venture into retailing despite the seemingly underwhelming show Trolls lookgood, but all the MOvie minis I've seen in the range seem a tad 'stumpy' reninding me of many in the "Dixons'" ranges.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it was productive Joe, and I do see where you're coming from with your "Dixons" comparison. I'm certainly unsure whether the "Sally 4th" Classic Movie Miniatures Range is compatible with other ranges due to their 'unique' look. Once I've painted one I might do some scale comparison pics to prove the point...
Deletegood loot.
ReplyDeleteMost of which I love and would have bought myself.
Thanks Clint. You certainly seem to currently be enjoying your 15mm models :-)
DeleteAn interesting posting and a shame about the show. I was disappointed too, but there was still interesting stuff there, but nothing really exciting. I think smaller companies still make a great effort at these shows, but retailers with a bigger selection of stuff from numerous producers don't seem to go any more. Thank goodness Salute still attracts a great cross section! Can't wait to see Able company!!
ReplyDeleteCheers Undercoat. "Warfare" is one of my fave shows as a rule, as I have a strong sense of nostalgia for it. The smaller companies were certainly far more impressive than the bigger named ones, imho, with some real "Battlefield In A Box" pre-painted scenery bargains also catching my eye ;-)
DeleteNice bit of loot Simon! That's brilliant that you picked up the Howling Commandos from Sally 4th 🙂 Can't wait to see you get them painted up (just primed mine last week)!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ivor. I look forward to seeing your Howling Commandos too. What rule-set are you planning on using for them?
DeleteI'm going to use the Pulp Alley rules - I had already made up a league for them when I was in the early days of working on my Agent Carter game, but just couldn't find proxy figures that I was happy with so I ended up changing the entire narrative of my game because of it. Super excited I can now stay in that WWII era Europe with these figures :)
DeleteI'd be very interested in your thoughts on "Pulp Alley", Ivor, as "Sally 4th" had a whole range of the books on their stall, plus a load of card decks too - all very intriguing tbh. I'd also be interested in what minis you're going to be using as opponents, and whether they're a good match in scale etc. Lots of questions I know, so happy with a link to your blog if they're answered there :-)
DeleteNice wee haul indeed. I remembered recently that I had the Action Man in space suit when I was a boy. Which was funny cos none of my other Action man toys matched that set so he rarely got used in lieu of the more traditional military equipment. The vehicle fits that aesthetic perfectly.
ReplyDeleteI really like the LotR Troll designs and the minis are nicely dynamic in the main too. Nice find.
Such a shame to read that Flames of War minis are being flogged to cheaply. Battlefront really screwed up when they made such radical changes to their 4th Edition rules release. Means I'll never get a half-decent price when I try to sell my own Flames of War stuff. :/
Cheers Dai. I've managed to track down all the "Action Man" books from that series and love 'em. Spookily I was an "Action Jackson" fan as a boy, with my relatives bringing me one back (plus the american football and ice hockey clothes) from their trips across the Pond. Great memories.
DeleteI'm really pleased with the LoTR Trolls, and as I say can't believe that people were putting them down...
I think maybe the general motivator for getting rid of all the "FoW" stuff was the move from the older resin vehicles to new plastics? Although whereas last year the gaming hall was packed with "FoW" battles, this year a good quarter were "LoTR".