Monday 5 February 2018

Vapnatark 2018

Much ’ummimg’  and ’arrring’ on Friday and Saturday about whether I would be ok to go to York. I did feel much better on Saturday so we booked into the Marriott Hotel York using some of my accumulation of reward points and checked in on Saturday around tea time.  The hotel is a stones throw from the venue at a York Racecourse so it’s quite handy.

My main reason for going to the show was to collect some figures which my mate Barry from the Like a Stone Wall Group had painted for me and to give him another batch. Almost all Sikh Wars stuff, I was collecting 80 Sikh Gorchara cavalry and 40 Bengal Light Cavalry  and depositing some camel gunners and a few artillerymen and command figures, as well as a unit of Perry Austrian Napoleonic uhlans destined to become yet another Emigre unit, the Uhlans Britanique.

I was deposited at the entrance around 10:30 and the queue had died down to a trickle (as in many things that is a consequence of getting older I guess). After a steady tour around the ground floor where I bumped into numerous acquaintances from among the great and the good there was a fire alarm and the building was evacuated, albeit briefly.

I only ever made it up to the first floor and the first mazanine. The table top sale was very very busy, in fact the entire building was jam packed with wargamers eager to spend their money. I’ve not seen the show as full in all the years I’ve been going. It was actually  fartoo busy (oppressively so) for me as I had my my trundulator with me (walker) which whacked a few ankles and feet as I fought my way through the throng. Next year I am going to get scythes fitted to the wheel hubs! Either that or stick the front end of a WW2 Hobart’s Funnies flail tank to the front of my walker.

I didn’t take very many photos. I couldn’t get up to the higher floors where many of the games were located for various reasons which were nothing to do with the show organisers, but more to do with the physical crush, and a second fire alarm and (partial) evacuation? The best games were imho in second place the League of extraordinary Kreigspielers WW1 Middle East game and in first place by a mile the South London Warlords (my mates Martin and Des from AMG) Sands of the Sudan participation game. The other two big games on the ground floor were also pretty good visually even if one was fantasy, and I’ve pinched a few terrain and vignette ideas off them thank you.













The swag bag was relatively empty when it was time to depart. Some basing materials and more mdf bases, some draught bullocks to pull my Sikh Wars cannon and a pack of streams from Early War Miniatures. Oh, and three discounted boxes of Perry plastics. The best part of the show was of course speaking to lots of old friends and acquaintances during the course of the day. In fact the socialising was probably the major part of the show, and after a late lunch in the canteen (one of the best at wargames events I’ve come across) we departed and were home in time for tea. Not sure about next year. We will be much closer by then but the organisers need to do something about the crowds and arrangements for disabled visitors.



12 comments:

  1. Glad you had a good show and thanks for the pics.

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  2. Thanks for sharing those pix Colin, I might see if I can swing a weekender in York next year.

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  3. Sorry to have missed you Colin. I agree that it was a particulalry busy show this year. I picked up a copy of Pike & Shotte and the 30YW supplement,

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    1. Oh bugger. Never mind. See you soon perhaps? And at Carronade for sure.

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    2. Not sure if I will be at another show before ours but will definitely see you at Carronade of course. Trade stands and game space almost all booked up again so it should be another good show. Your Trundulator Ben Hur /Mad Max /Death Race idea has the makings of a good PP game ;-)

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  4. Thanks for sharing these beautiful and impressive pictures, sounds fab!

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  5. I saw you trundle (ator) past while I was having nosebag - sorry I didn’t get the chance to speak . My overall impression is that it’s the Salute of the North - all trade and very few games and even less quality - Martins game was the exception - great attention to detail and a lot of fun including pith helmets - the league produce great looking games but don’t really engage with the public - I would like to see them do something else now as they are very talented but we’ve kind of seen it now several times - great catering , as you say Colin the best and I added considerably to my paint mountain !

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    1. Sorry to miss you Ian. Salute of the North is a good description.

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  6. If it is the Salute of the north I’m glad I missed it. It seems you enjoyed it though, so well done.

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    1. I think it only succeeds because it’s the first major show after Xmas and we are all craving like minded company - before they moved the date that honour fell to Alumwell - terrible venue but first show so we all went and moaned about it afterwards ...

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  7. hi Colin, it was good to bump into you at the show. I was a little disappointed this year re the gaming content. The trade was good and saw most of my wargame comrades there but seemed light on well wargames. Being turned out for a false alarm was just one of those things, and at least it was sunny. B&B was well organised. Pondering Hammerhead in March?

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    1. John yes good to chat. Hammerhead was on my list of shows for this year but as we are moving the week before we will have to give it a miss.

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