A Grand Day Out

Yesterday, I travelled with a couple of fellow gaming nerds to vapnartak in York, probably the biggest wargames show in the north of England? Dozens of traders and demonstration games, a few tournaments and hundreds of nerds milling around, peering into cabinets, blister packs and bargain bins. It was very busy to start with, especially on the bring and buy stalls, always a popular and crowded section of a wargames show.

I went with a modest list of things to buy, looking for some dice and grass tufts, small items that are relatively expensive online because of postage. I was, of course, also keen to browse for anything interesting or unusual, and to hopefully sniff out a bargain or two. And I was hoping to get a look at some of the display games.

After a good five hours of wandering around, with plenty of breaks for coffee and snacks, I think I just about achieved most of my aims. The grass tufts were a real disappointment, looking at the tiny blisters available I think I will be relying on my static grass collection, or ordering online. I did find a good variety of dice on one stall and now have a handful each of d4, d8, d10 and d12, for those few games that stray from the more usual cubes. On the bring and buy stalls I snapped up a box of Lord of the Rings elves and a few metal Saxons at giveaway prices. My most interesting discovery was found tucked away in a corner on a smaller stall, I think the guy was a painting service. What caught my eye was the glaring white of these plaster buildings, I am pretty sure they are 15mm scale. I have some grand ideas for these, not a trip to the moon, but I certainly hope it turns out to be a cracker. Groan, sorry, that was a bit cheesy. Okay, I will stop now.