Fiasco is a wargames show with a difference.
Next door is the national armouries https://royalarmouries.org/leeds and if you have never been it’s fantastic and even if you have been it’s worth a revisit every now and then.
I did a selective tour to fill out my visit to Fiasco wargames show next door in the dock hall.
So take a trip to Fiasco 2025 and get a free entry military museum into the bargain.
Having missed the spring partizan show I did not want to miss the autumn offering.
The crowd descended on Newark in a leisurely fashion arriving half an hour after the gates opened. We expected a shorter queue but no it was still the length of the building and some.
Once inside (fairly quickly as it happens) the place was heaving.
So my first comment is it was too crowded to take in all the excellent displays. I am not sure what you do – if the show is less congested people will feel it’s not thriving etc. I don’t think we will see a return to the two venue set up that saw competition games plus more traders in another hall?
In short maybe it’s me but it felt busier than ever?
So overall a busy, popular and I expect successful show.
The congestion also deterred me from taking as many pictures.
Turning to the retail side – all the usual suspects were there but just maybe a few less new offerings and less 3d print offerings visible?
There were no showstoppers in retail as far as I noticed.
I did throw some dice at Chris Kemp’s NQM game – I failed to drive away the Germans from longstop hill…..Chris uses on board indicators to avoid lots of rule checking and I think the scenes are intended to look congested so it’s abstraction might not suit everyone. The important elements are the variety of components that work together to enable the fighting elements to launch and sustain an attack or defence…….a neat grid game which is now a published ruleset.
So what about the table glamour…….
That’s it except to say a well organised and enjoyable show means I plan to return.
Nothing like scissors, paper, pens and in this case pins for a bit of craftwork.
As it happens it’s world mental health day today. I am not a great fan of the idea/method/mechanism except (originally a few days per year was memorable….) to remind us that there are many more than 365 worthwhile things to celebrate or promote.
Mental health is especially important though. The modern world makes massive demands on our number one muscle and it needs continually looking after.
So simple hobbies like craft, art, imagination, writing – not to mention gardening, music and travel – in fact anything that gets you away from your device – mobile/tv/screen is worthwhile – and which releases your creative side is to be welcomed.
Today in my case it’s creating some map pins so I can experiment with map games.
Well back in Spring if you said to me scenery would be centre stage for three months while the miniatures paint brushes holidayed then I would have said no chance.
Yet July, August and September have seen a positive glut of pieces appear from the pit of scenery.
This post is about completions.
First up are my troublesome timber defences. These are very old resin castings. And initially I had painted them in dark and then deep colours with contrast paint. All to no avail. I did not care for any of it.
Finally I went for more neutral browns and slightly washed out. Narrowing the colour range has helped here. I also decided the soil was just that, despite the temptation to grass it.
So these are fresh defences and although I suspect they were sized for early 28mm medieval fantasy i.e. games workshop they are my only ones so will need to do service across the ages.
Next up is a very pleasing Alera destroyed cottage.
I kept it simple with craft paints sienna on the roof, and the wall damage, then stone colour on the walls, dark gray interior and chocolate brown timber. I dry brushed some blast effect around the wall damage but at three feet it’s not there…..
I did not take John at just needs varnish advice about card basing, sloshed one side in craft paint – it curved. Then I sloshed the other side the next day and while still slightly damp got it flat. Short cuts………..
Then of course when I stuck the cottage on plus the static grass it curved again. This time only the free end which with overnight weighting flattened enough.
Moral is – listen to John at just needs varnish
https://justneedsvarnish.wordpress.com
I had planned some rubble or a tree/shrub for the grassed area but for now it will stay plain.
Finally I had reservations about the walls being simply hollow.
Then when I painted them the lack of thickness just disappeared.
I wonder what’s next – maybe the miniature brushes are back from their long holidays?
The July/August scenery challenge proved to be quite productive and it meant some items were still to be completed when the finish line was crossed.
So here are a few that have now made it home so to speak.
First up, I normally plan my wargames activities in darkest December during the lull in UK shows.
This summer I began thinking that perhaps the football season cycle is now more attractive?
I tend to stop gaming and painting in spring as the outdoors beckons. This kind of coincides with the football season ending climax in early May.
And as football returns and autumn beckons my thoughts tend to turn towards indoor interests.
Ok so this summer I did do quite a bit of scenery work courtesy of Dave Stones season of scenery challenge.
https://wargamesculptorsblog.blogspot.com/2024/09/put-one-foot-infront-of-other.html?m=1
That however, seemed to reinforce summer as a break.
So if this is now to be the start of my wargames season what’s on the cards for the next twelve months?
Well firstly probably the plan will fail! With that out of the way what might be done if it succeeds?
Painting wise I feel it will be more mid 19th century forces.
Also nearly mechanised feels like it will get an outing.
Brief summer spells of interest in ancient and renaissance plus Wild West periods have fizzled out in 2024 and I can’t see that changing into 2025.
I guess one wild card could be sci fi which has gained some traction in recent years.
The painting table is more likely to see guns rather than spears it would seem.
Gaming wise I think it will revolve around campaigns and again currently mid 19th century wins out along with nearly mechanised.
I hope to go to the Other Partizan which I missed last year especially as I missed Partizan this year. Oh and I should manage two out of Battleground, Fiasco and Recon.
Recon will be the last at Pudsey civic hall as the property is being sold off.
And just maybe online painting/modelling challenges will figure given both AHPC14 and season of scenery have seen my output of painting and making increase and diversify.
Purchases wise the war chest has been thin of late more because I have what I need so it follows the figure mountain and scenery pit are full.
Books wise purchases have trailed off since 2023. Although 2034 gave me a surprise. But that’s another post.
If I do buy it is more likely targeted. For example I would like some more Irregular Miniatures bell shako infantry as well as some garibaldi men.
Well that seems like the bones of a plan. We will see……
Happy Wargaming.
I managed to squeeze in two more items finishing last night.
First is a laser cut bridge which I always planned to store dismantled. Not sure about its endurance as it only got used once back in 2018! Since when it’s languished at the bottom of my bits and bobs scenery box.
Now it’s painted it might actually see the Wargames table again.
Finally I dug out a more recent purchase. Some warbases? walling. I say dug out – basically you get a set of walls and in my case I found one I missed this morning – twerp more haste less speed springs to mind.
Finally some of those that got away.
Again they come from the pit of scenery, both by a company based in Northumberland. I bought mine in a fantastic Welsh model shop in Porthmadog.
I bought a bridge and damaged cottage.
They hark back to bellona days…..
Indeed the bridge will probably stay like this while the erratic in me wanders off.
That was Dave Stone’s season of scenery challenge 2024!
Next up I dug out some long abandoned fortifications and decided on a whim to play around with contrast paints on large surfaces.
Some worked domestically didn’t. Mainly because I did not try hard to match the base coats closely.
Still it proved a quick way to get these over the line so to speak.
That’s it, I might just squeeze another post in but thanks Dave – your challenge has meant a whole host of finished scenery is now added to my collection. Cheers!
Well this summer has proven to be fruitful when it comes to scenery. Having decided to join the challenge set by Dave Stone it has filled the gap caused by my figure painting brushes legging it on holiday (they are still not back!) while gaming/campaigning has been virtually non existent.
Here are some woodland items I have completed.
They came free with some nicer trees I bought at the VAP bring and buy. The guy threw in this box of trees mostly ex model railway with no basing.
They have laid unloved in a box since early 2023. And then earlier this year during AHPCXIV I decided to have a look at them. I got some old nuts and washers and pendrakens circular bases and soon I had a very odd collection of trees that at least stood up.
Many are on the tall side for my gaming but variety is the spice of life.
The good trees I bought at the time were all one size, and very good they are. These freebies will allow some mixed woodlands to be added.
I put the newly based trees to one side and then they dissappeared.
So I remembered them and dug them out for this summer challenge.
Essentially I have simply added some scatter material. In this case its dried tea. Having completed that task I decided not to shade the tea and so these trees will be trialled with the tea naturally coloured.
I am quite pleased with what was in the end a “quick” win.
Alongside them are a few bases of scrub using some very old rough mdf bases and initially holding just the remains of one of the trees which broke in storage. I added some woodlands scenices scrub and again covered the base in dried tea.
Thats it for now.
Well having reached a dead stop on the Italian hill town I have progressed some other items.
Well its proved to be a good investment in the scenery season so far.
Not sure what else will get done.
The Wargaming Erratic 