Border Reiver – 5th September – AAR

So, with cash in hand I entered the Arena, Newcastle for this year’s Border Reiver Wargames Show. I’ve missed the last couple, mainly due to kid type duties but was keen to go this year. And for me it was a good show. The lighting level in the Arena was, as usual, bloody awful and with my failing eyesight it made close investigation of anything hard work. But there seemed to be more traders this year and more representation from local clubs.

Tyneside Wargames Club were running a large 10mm Malburian game. I only have a couple of pics from my not brilliant phone but they give a good idea of the games scale and look. Hopefully the Club Blog will have a fuller write-up soon.

From South Shields, the Shot and Shell Gamers ran an impressive Bloodbowl game with an excellent arena. The club meet on Sundays but it’s unlikely I’ll have a free day to make it over for a visit. There is also a very active club in Blythe. Local suppliers Under the Bed Enterprises and Gateshead Gaming were also present.

The Bring and Buy was a little disappointing, maybe the eBay effect again, but there were a few bargains to be had. There were 4 boxes of 15mm AWI at £50 a box (c.130 figs in a box) which I was very tempted by but I have a good few AWI as is and there were Old Glory which I felt would not fit in well with the predominantly Essex, Freikorps and Polly Oliver I have. Also the painting style was not a good fit. So I resisted and someone else got a bargain!

So what did I buy? Lots of odds and ends really…

three Ospreys. Cannae, Romes Enemies: Gauls, The Hun, Scourge of the West.
a copy of Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy with stuff on Numantia and Saguntum
the latest Ancient Warfare with lots of good Punic War content. Very impressed.

figures: very restrained here. Just a single battle pack from Lancashire Games of their Republican Roman Legion. However, Pete from the Club had bought down a bag of 15mm Early Byzantine Cavalry he’d sculpted a while back and cast a few for me.

terrain: a couple of unpainted TSS field castings as an alternative to making all my own from scratch, and some Silfor grass tufts. These latter were from Mutineer Miniatures from West Lothian who also do some rather nice terrain pieces. I’m planning on getting some of their river sections as they offered to match them for color with my own terrain. Their website is still being fully populated, but they were friendly, helpful and I shall be putting some business their way. The tufts I’m hoping will add to my marsh terrain and maybe make a few figure bases a little more interesting.

So not that much really, but then I am planning on going to Derby next month so will need to preserve a little cash for that!

And finally…there is a boardgames club meets just down the road from me every fortnight. They seem to mostly play Euro games but there are a few with more historical interests. My regular (but not for a year or more!) ASL opponent Neil has been going down with his new opponent and playing ASL there. Today, the club had a few tables and games running and Neil and Andy were playing a Valor of the Guards Stalingrad scenario. Neil had brought down relics from his recent trip to Stalingrad (including his rat!).

Although he keeps winding me up about my apparent abandonment of ASL and move to figure gaming he did buy a 20mm ruined Stalingrad building and 5 packs of 20mm Russians! I’ll have him figure gaming yet!

So that was my show. I’d hoped to meet up with a couple of guys from the WD3 forum but it didn’t work out. All in all a good day and I look forward to next year!