Monday 18 February 2019

"Beachhead" Loot 2019

"Wargames Terrain Workshop" WIPs - A Zodiac Warrior Rooster and Zodiac Warrior Goat
This past Saturday I decided to make my first trip to the Bournemouth International Centre, Dorset, in order to attend the "exciting tabletop games event" known as “Beachhead”. To be honest my expectations weren't particularly high for this show, as despite being in its fourth year, there was no Bring & Buy sale and its single hall only boasted approximately thirty industry trade stands; which is less than half the number present at "Warfare" 2018.

Fortunately however, one of the first vendors I stumbled upon was Dave Stone of "Wargames Terrain Workshop" fame and he was soon showing off his stunning "selection of warrior animals based on the Chinese Zodiac" to me. The range currently consists of ten different sculpts, with the largest model, the Zodiac Ox, quickly catching both my attention and imagination due to its formidable size and pugilistic pose.
"Batman Miniature Game" WIPs - Black Adam, Black Mask and Black Manta
Indeed, I quickly ensured Dave had one put by behind his till for me to collect later, and then spent a brief while picking up a few of his smaller pieces to tackle the giant bovine boxer in hand-to-hand combat. Ultimately, I went with a Rooster, Goat, Monkey and rabbit, and have subsequently set to work priming the plucky bird and billy goat gruff. These miniatures really are quite incredible to behold in the flesh and seem especially sturdy due to them miraculously containing a wire skeleton deep inside the resin...

"Great Escape Games" also soon caught my eye with their increasingly tempting "Dead Man's Hand" range of Wild West figures, and I have little doubt that the next time I see this characterful range I will be picking up a few of its "Down Under" and "The Curse Of Dead Man's Hand" miniatures. On this occasion though I was able to resist due to succumbing to a quite reasonable sale of old "Knight Models" at a nearby stall.
Pre-painted "Heroclix" - This second-hand box contains Spiders Man, Dark Deadpool and Montana
I actually own a fair few sculpts for The "Batman Miniature Game", yet quite quickly fell 'out of love' with the range due the difficulty I experienced trying to assemble its fiddly metal miniatures. In addition, as I already own a vast array of "Wizkids" plastic models, it has always seemed a bit silly to invest heavily in a second set of super-hero related figures. Having said that, it was arguably impossible to resist the likes for Black Manta, Doctor Fate, Black Mask and his Crew, Hawkman, and Black Adam for just a fiver each.

Interestingly, by far my favourite 'pick' from Bournemouth actually came in the form of a birthday gift from my eldest rather than anything I bought from "Beachhead". A whopping box of "Heroclix" miniatures, including a few members of the Enforcers, usually means an evening being spent chopping figures off from their clicky-bases and readying them for a re-paint. But this time round I'm tempted to keep some of these models intact, and try to get my head around the collectible miniatures game's rule-set once again...

22 comments:

  1. Bargain on those KM minis. I look forward to seeing the ox painted up from Dave's stand

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    1. Thanks Simon. There were a fair few more "Knight Models" in the sale, but, with the exception of Doctor fate, I went for the ones with fewest pieces. Hopefully I'll have a few of Dave's models painted up over the next few weeks.

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  2. I love Dave’s zodiac warriors, no doubt they’ll go on the shopping list sooner due to your efforts Simon

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    1. Cheers Andy. Dave's Zodiac range is excellent imho.

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  3. There is always something of interest here. Of particular interest is the WTW stuff. Dave is an easy guy to talk to

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    1. Thanks Clint. Dave is an absolute gent, and seeing him again was my main reason for going.

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  4. I do like the Batman black characters!

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    1. They are great now they've been assembled and primed, Fran ;-)

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  5. Those zodiac warriors are an interesting concept so I look forward to see how they turn out, especially the Ox. I love the Batman minis range (and DC Universe) but agree some of the sculpts are a b***** to put together. Can't wait to see those. No Aquaman to face off against Black Manta? Nice little haul.

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    1. Sadly, I couldn't spot many heroes at all amongst the "Knight Models" sales pieces, Undercoat. In addition I was thwarted from looking at all the stall's "Infinity" bargains by three chaps who simply kept looking and talking right in front of the display, and I never went back to see if they ever moved (or even bought anything) - saved me a fortune :-)

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  6. Look forward to seeing how the Zodiac warriors turn out Simon, you found some other great models as well. Can fully see where your coming from on the Knight models, the Suicide Squad box was an absolute pain ! LOL

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    1. Thanks Dave, and great to see you again. I deliberately picked the "Knight Models" which were simple to piece together because of the difficulty I have experienced in the past!!

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  7. What a great haul of figures. It is always a pleasure to see anything from WTW so I look forward to seeing how you paint your zodiac warriors. I like them a lot but I just can't find a use for them right now.

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    1. Cheers Bryan. I did briefly talk to Dave about a rule-set for the Zodiac Warriors as he's yet to pen any. I'll probably make a home-brew set up at some point just to get them on the tabletop...

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  8. S9me great looking characters Simon.

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  9. Nice haul, Simon. Chinese zodiac warriors are a cool idea.

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    1. Cheers Finch. Dave's Zodiac Warrior range is indeed novel :-)

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  10. Sounds like a good day out and everyone loves a bargain. ;)

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    1. Thanks Michael. I certainly enjoy a bargain!! :-)

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  11. Warrior birds and chickens ? Your ind works in some very mysterious ways, but no doubt you have a plan !

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    1. Cheers Joe. Although it was Dave's idea for the Zodiac Warriors to contain a rooster in their roster, not mine! LOL!!

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