Carronade 2013 Wargames Show Report

The annual trip to Falkirk came around again last Saturday. The weather was a little wet in the morning which meant that the drive down was not the best and there was a bit of a dash in and out of the building to avoid the showers, however it cleared up as the day went on, and after-all we spent most of the day inside…

I drove down with my son and my gaming pal Jeff. We had booked a table at the “Flea Market Bring and Buy” with both Jeff and myself hoping to clear out a fair bit of stuff that we no longer had plans for! We arrived quite early (3/4 of an hour before the show opened), but were allowed in straight away and proceeded to get our wares set-up and ready to sell. As it turned out we had both sold more before the show started, at 10am, than we did in the whole time last year. All in all, by lunchtime we were both very happy with the funds we had generated and then proceeded to tour the show and find lots of things to “reinvest” the money in!

I felt that this years Carronade was another great success, the show was very busy, with good numbers through the door, there were a good selection of traders there and the quality of the demo/participation games was excellent. The scenic display on virtually all of the tables was stunning, with everyone making a fantastic effort to put on something really eye-catching!

As is my usual system with show reports, I will now dump a load of photos into this post and comment on those that caught my eye.

First up, Dystopian Wars. Not my scale of preference, but it looked a fun game!

A really eye catching sci-fi racing game with some lovely laser cut work…

Hawk Wargames new Dropzone Commander card building look like a quick way to get an effective table together. I prefer more 3D and solid terrain myself, but I am a professional model-maker so I guess I am a bit picky…

X-Wing, with a very simple table layout, looking quite effective even though it is all 2D.

Warhammer 40K, I dreadto think how much this lot cost, but it is impressive!

My son loved the flickering lights in the eyes of the Giant Skull statue, and the table appealed to me quite a bit too.

This is looking at the same table from the other end.

I wish I had had time to try this game out it looked great fun!

A very simple, but effective Tron bike racing game!

So that wraps up the the Carronade 2013 photo dump! As you can see, a very high standard of tables…

After speaking to a couple of the traders, it is apparent that sales were down a little, although this is across the industry and not just at this show.

Overall still my favourite Scottish show, although I may try to get along to Claymore this year (I haven’t been for 4 or 5 years).

I will post a review of my purchases in a day or two!

Painted Laser Cut Buildings

In an attempt to create some space I have decided to sell some of the laser cut buildings that I have designed, as I really don’t have the space to keep them in my workshop.

To help them sell a little easier I have painted them. It also helps to see how they look once painted up!

First up we have the Arena. Ideal for either Fantasy, Sci-Fi or Post Apocalyptic games!

This is the Dark Age Hall. I originally designed this for 15mm figures (which would be a huge building), but I have enlarged the rear door on this one for use with 28mm figures.

I haven’t shown these before, this are part of my Crystal Spires project. These are just small scatter pieces of terrain. the main terrain piece will feature in a full blog post of their own soon.

Finally we have the Fortified Tower House, perfect for Border Reiver games (or any other historical or fantasy games).

I have a table booked for Bring and Buy at Carronade 2013 (tomorrow) in Falkirk between 10.20 and 12.30, so if you interested in buying any of them drop by and have a look!

Anatomy For Sculptors Book Kickstarter

I have just found this Kickstarter project!

Anatomy for Sculptors looks like an amazing book and extremely useful for any figure sculptor.

I've backed (without hesitation)! As I write this there are only a few hours left on the Kickstarter, so I suggest that anyone interested moves quite quickly!

L E D Lighting for Models

Firstly, I know I haven't posted much recently, but I have been very busy with work and also preparing a pile of stuff to sell at a wargames show this weekend.

Anyway, on to the L E D lighting.

I spotted this Kickstarter a while ago, this is their second attempt. I think the first attempt was a little over ambitious. Anyway they have got it right this time and already reached their initial goal!

PoweredPlay Gaming are creating a range of simple LED lighting kits specifically designed for use in models. This seems like an excellently conceived idea and if they were in the UK (or at least Europe) I would have backed this Kickstarter without thought.

Over the years I have lit models in all sorts of ways, but this system looks nice and simple. I would highly recommend checking out the PoweredPlay Gaming Kickstarter.

Laser Cut Nodding Donkey available to buy!

I recently finalised an agreement with Fenris Games, so they will be producing and selling several of my laser cut designs.

The first release which is already available is a slightly revised version of my Nodding Donkey kit.

Scatter Ruins for wargames tables

After my recent post on 15mm scale ruins I dug out all my building ruins and thought it was worth getting them prepped for use.

Firstly, we have the 1/100 scale ruins that featured in the last blog post. I have added the building I put together from the second sprue now (rear right of the photo). These were the Ebay find that possibly comes from the Russian company Teknolog.

Next up, the Games Workshop Lord of the Rings ruins (I think they came with the Fellowship of The Ring set). I like these as they have a fair bit of style about them, but they could pass as Art Deco, so would work for almost any period right through to sci-fi games. they could also be used for different scales right down to 15mm without looking out of place.

This is the classic Games Workshop 40K ruins. Fortunately they don’t feature GW’s recent taste in adding skulls to everything, so they work well as a ruined church (or other gothic building).

The following items came out of a couple of model kits.

The first is from the Gigantics Giant Scorpion kit. I put the Scorpion togther and have it stored away for a future project. The building that came with it, although technically around the 1/200 scale I think, are useable with 15mm figures as the doors are not too small…

The main problems with them are, firstly the weird way that the rubble on the front of the building seems to have stuck to the building instead of falling to the ground and also the lack of backs to the buildings. I don’t think they will be too difficult to get around, just adding some plain walls with the odd window…

The second Gigantics kit is the Tarantula.

Again the building has no back, also the electrical gubbins is open at the back too. I will use it against a wall to hide the back.

Next up I have a couple of smallish resin pieces. The first is from iKore, and although the range was nominally 28mm, the size of the door, and the bunker as a whole would probably suit a 1/72 scale or 15mm scale game better than it does 28mm.

The same can be said for this old Kryomek emplacement from Scotia Grendel Productions.

My final post in this series looking at small ruins and scatter terrain items will look at the Alzo Zero 1/72 battlefield ruins set.