Fiasco 2008

My one and only show of the year, and terrible timing too! In so far as I leave the country again in little more than a month. Still even if the show isn't needing a visit, it does have possibly the best venue of any wargaming show - the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

You could easily spend all day exploring the displays at the Royal Armouries, and my visit for Fiasco also allowed me the opportunity to catch the Weta armouries exhibition, featuring amazing weapons and armour from the Lord of the Rings movies, The Chronicles of Narnia (if you like that sort of thing) King Kong and others.

Just the techniques involved in making the real weapons and the props were fascinating, but seeing things like Sting and The Sauron's armour in the flesh was great.

As for the show itself; well a much smaller affair than recent year, and with no Bring and Buy at all! Why the club didn't organise their own is beyond me, but with the space available it'd been a squeeze to say the least.

A few notable absentees in the traders too, no Irregular Miniatures for example. But thankfully there were a number of great games on to provide some nice eye candy.


Here, the Battle of Ravenna in 25/28mm. Very tidy painting, but somewhat unispired (presumably historically accurate) terrain.

Another set of 15mm WW2 rules entered the fray, with a scenic table. On close inspection the figures were more of a let down., but you can't have everything now, can you?

A gorgeous 28mm ship of the line bombards a fortress in what I presume was a Napoleonic game of some sort. I never got any details, but the model ships were fantastic!

But the winner for me, was this 28mm Indian Wars game. The figures were lovely, the table visually striking, and strongly evoking its' theme, and the details were fantastic. Aside from the Indian camp, there was the chasm, the gold mine, the farmstead, the cavalry fort....

Gladly I bumped into a variety of the local gamers and my old opponent, Chris, giving me the opportunity to arrange a last game with him before I depart again.

As for shopping, well, What I would've really wanted - A copy of Victory at Sea and its' supplement seemed to be the only thing not for sale anywhere. Otherwise I caved in on the lush Perry plastics, and picked up a box each of the American Civil War models. The only other purchase being 10 Halberdiers to add to the Dogs of War. All in all 58 miniatures for £26. Great, if only I could justify them!

Ah well, I'm sure by this time next year they'll be painted; and quite possibly sold. Such is the wargamers lot.