13 October, 2016

My Very Late Historicon Report

I started this post back in July then got sidetracked.  I'm trying to catch up on all my activities over the summer.

I left Thursday morning at 7 am and arrived at the hotel just after 1 pm.  It is a nice drive from South Carolina.  We stayed at our usual hotel, the Hampton Inn across the parking lot from the convention center; I like staying close in order to be able to make short trips to drop things off or take a break.  After checking in I made my way over to the convention center, picked up my badge and made my first circuit of the vendor hall.  I like to do a walkthrough of the vendors before buying much.  Although I bring a shopping list, there are always new things to be seen.  After taking a break for a work-related conference call, I met my friends who had arrived from Columbus.  We returned to the vendors and ran over to Wegman’s for a quick meal.  I found my first game, ‘A Hot Time at the Oasis’, using The Sword and the Flame rules.  It featured the French Foreign Legion defending a fort against Tuareg rebels.  It turned out that my friend Tom from South Carolina had also signed up, and we valiantly defended the fort until we were overwhelmed.  Fun game.  Played Seven Wonders afterwards in the hotel breakfast area.
On Friday, I skipped the SAGA tournament I usually play in and wandered around looking at games and buying things on my shopping list.  I had a table in the Flea Market in the afternoon and sold the most I ever have, paying for my trip and purchases; the only thing remaining unsold was a painted SAGA Viking army.  Anybody need one?  Friday night I played in ‘The Secretary Denies Any Knowledge’, using the 7TV rules.  This was a great game with beautiful terrain.  The players cooperated to stop a terrorist attack on the Canadian coast while the GM ran the terrorists.  We succeeded with minimal casualties.  After a late night visit to BW3 it was time for bed.
Saturday morning I played a demo of the upcoming Triumph ancients rules, a Romans (me) vs. Gauls battle.  They have some similarities to DBA but also a lot of differences.  An easy set of rules to learn; I’ll be keeping an eye on their development.  Saturday afternoon I played ‘Saving Prince Kishan – A North-west Frontier Adventure’.  This game was run several times over the weekend and featured hundreds of Pathans, fewer British and a visually stunning set-up by Bob Giglio.  My British held on for a while but crumbled under the Pathan assault.  After venturing into the vendor hall again, I played a Very British Civil War game using the Trench Wars rules with my friends Mike S. and Jenny.  I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are not interested in trying those rules again.  We rounded off the night by playing Seven Wonders a couple more times.
Historicon was a good convention this year.  It is always a pleasure to spend a few days with friends from back home in Ohio.  After going to Cold Wars instead in 2015, it was also nice to be back in Fredericksburg.  The loss of Architects of War was noticeable; I usually picked up a few things from their stand.  It was good to see Reaper there and there were some other new vendors with different stock.
So what did I buy?  Starting at the top (l-r):
Five 28mm trees in the flea market.

A MDF Cargo Ship and Police Station from TT Combat.  This is a new manufacturer to me and they have a lot of good, reasonably priced 28mm terrain.  I have wanted a police station for a long time and the ship will be useful in a variety of games.  Terry Jones at www.wargametools.com was very helpful in showing me the TT range and carries a lot of their products.  My friend Mike D. of http://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com also bought a Cargo Ship, for use in his Pulp Alley games.

Four Reaper Bones figures: Horace ‘Action’ Jackson, Ape-X (both for use in my 7TV games), Aina Female Valkyrie and a Female Centaur (both for my daughter to paint).

Congo Merc, a Decision Games boardgame dealing with mercenary actions in 1960s Congo.  A quick solo game.  It may be adaptable as a campaign system for Mike D.'s Modern Africa rules that he is finishing up.

Four packs of Blue Moon 15mm AWI I needed to complete my AWI project.

A free Warlord Crimean miniature given to attendees.

Ten of Brigade Games' new 28mm Post-Apocalypse range.  Great detail on these, I noticed a lot of details I didn't see in the online pictures..

Four 28mm deer and 3 dogs from Iron Wind.

A pack of 4 28mm North-west Frontier Afghan Riflemen by Artizan; I needed one for my 7TV SHIVA cast and failed in my attempts to find a suitable single miniature.  I am sure I’ll find a use for the other 3.

Not pictured: 8 bottles of paint that have already found their way to my painting area.

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