Schleswig Holstein War – The Wargaming Erratic

Stockton on Tees and nearby Thornaby played host to a very friendly and inviting show I had never previously attended.

Located in a Sports Hall on the University site I was a bit late arriving so only just got a parking space in the adjacent carpark, although in fact there is plenty of parking around the site generally. The Railway Station at Thornaby is 800 yards away plus there are bus services to be had according to the well detailed Pendraken Show website. It even has pictures of the road junctions you will encounter on the way in.

And I have not even talked about the event itself!

I found the venue bright (something I struggle with at the Fiasco black hole in Leeds). There was less catering than many shows but enough – coffee/tea and snacks plus an outdoor food wagon. With a big shopping centre nearby you were not going to starve.

But it was the wargaming we had all come for in terms of food for the brain.

This is not a big show in the sense of a Salute or a Newark. However it has some particular aspects which make it a rich experience. Quite a few reenactors, living history groups were dotted across the show – I guess the point here being a lot more than you might normally see.

Then there were two talks in a dedicated room – one about the spanish civil war and one about anglo-scottish border warfare. I failed to get to either simply because there was so much I wanted to see elsewhere in the show.

The Sponsor is Pendraken and entry was not only free, you also got entry into a prize draw – some 20 odd prizes being offered.

So what about the show – traders, games etc.?

In that respect you would be right to say it has the same sort of mix as many other shows.

Here are some selected photos

The Schlieswig Holstein War (the first one!) Demonstration caught my eye and I will post again about that encounter.

This RPG horror in Venice had some impressive paper buildings

The theme of paper was to the fore with these “flats” – a massive Spanish Succession Wargame

Paper Buildings plus some humour all made for an engaging demonstration

Naval interests were also to the fore with this galley action being hard to miss

And this medieval naval battle was equally vibrant and a participation game into the bargain of which there were I guess 50% at the show

No daylight but a well lit arena and the viewing area allowed people to easily sit out for a while

The usual traders plus some local and regional companies were present. Irregular Miniatures have a stand which itself is veteran class yet I still love to examine figures in the flesh like these 20mm metals which have character. Sorry despite the infinite ranges of newly printed 3D they seem to be too accurate for my liking when compared to say Irregular’s metal sculptures.

Irregular do lots of basic ranges in lots of scales complete with guns and wagons.

Late on I found this participation game I had missed several times

I have only ever dipped a toe in the 6mm water below 15mm scale but these League of Augsburg 10mm figures were quite enticing

The show was celebrating 10 years in its various forms

Needless to say no564 did not win any prizes

All in all a very enjoyable day out (that was prize enough) and a show that will be on my list for 2024.

Next week if all goes ok I plan to go to Recon 2023.

I did not go to Battleground with a shopping list and as it happens none of my usual interests drew my wallet out. However I did pick this book up at the bring and buy – yep I don’t do desert war in any scale!

Happy Wargaming……