VAPNARTAK...
Vapnartak is York Wargames Society's show, held today at the York Raceground. It's a show that I've been meaning to go to for a few years now, as one of my colleagues in Archaeology at Durham University has been suggesting that I go for ages. Usually, I've either been doing something else or have just plain forgotten. So this year, I made sure to put the date in my diary and make the effort to head down to good old Eboracum to take in the sights.
The day did not get off to a cracking start when I was awoken at 8am by the radio, realising that my 7am alarm hadn't actually been set. So, getting down nice and early was off the cards, but a hasty breakfast, shower and a quick nip up to a cashpoint for a bit of spare change in case it was needed and I was in the car and off for 9.30 and landed around 11am.
One of the things I really wanted to have a gander at was Warp Miniatures' stand, mainly because of their game, Arcworlde. It's a whimsical fantasy skirmish game, a bit like Moonstone in theme, but they have been doing it longer and the RPG elements in the ruleset have really intrigued me. Plus, their minis are stellar. So, they were my first port of call to pick up their new 2-player starter set (featuring Undead vs Vampires), the rulebook and, because why not, I also picked up their custom deck of cards.
I had a bit of a wander afterwards to peruse some of the other stands to have a look what was on offer. I was trying to take some time so I didn't blow all my budget in one go, but I did stop off at Bad Squiddo Miniatures stall because Annie makes fantastic miniatures and you should always pick something up from them when they're at a show. So, a pack of Vampire Hunters and some femme samurai made it into my bag.
I'd wandered over to the Pendraken stand to have a look at their 10mm fantasy stuff, but was a bit disappointed that they were only carrying their army starter sets rather than individual blisters of stuff, but then their range is massive so they can't bring everything. I've been looking for some 10–12mm stuff for doing small scale Midgard, because I don't have the space for a 6'x4' board in the house. Disappointed, it was at this point I bumped into my colleague and we all went off for a bit of lunch and a chat about the morning's purchases.
On the way over to the café, I did swing by Epigram Game's stand. I knew they were selling mech minis and I've recently picked up Osprey Games' Gamma Wolves ruleset, so I was on the look out for something suitable for that. Epigram were there to promote their Hypersteel Nightmare rules, a miniature agnostic game designed to do small scale armoured warfare. It looks intriguing, but I knew there were other things that I wanted, so I didn't end up picking up the rules at the end of the day. I'd recommend giving them a look though, if you're looking for something in that genre.
After lunch, I explored the upper floors in the venue, bouncing between vendors and the demo and participation games upstairs. There was some really cool stuff on show, but by far and away the best (in my eyes) was the Midgard participation game that was on display, put on by Harrogate Wargames Club — Romans vs Celts with some beautifully painted minis and a wonderful snowy themed board. Lovely stuff. I wish I had taken a picture, but here's one posted by the organisers.
After a bit of a mooch about, I homed in on some more things to pick up, starting with a bunch of minis from Black Scorpion Miniatures' Breninmoor range, which fit closely with Warhammer Fantasy's Empire and I'll be using in my Old World themed Devilry Afoot hack. I was on the look out for some samurai stuff for Ronin, which was something I picked up over Christmas, but other than Test of Honor on offer from Sarissa Precision, I couldn't find much that I liked. However, I did wander over to Kallistra's stall and I think I found the 10-12mm stuff that I wanted there. So much so that I picked up enough blisters to put together both the Elven and Undead army lists from the Midgard rulebook. That was a bit of a curve ball, as I wasn't entirely planning on buying a load of 12mm stuff, so I then hunted out some extra bases from Pendraken and Warbases so I could do heroes etc. With that done, and my wallet feeling much lighter, I headed out of the con, but not before swinging by Wargames Foundry to look over their extensive selection and pick up a pack of armoured Norman archers to add into the Gondor army I'm putting together.
With that done I hauled my bag of goodies back to the car and drove back up to Durham to heap them onto the slopes of Lead Mountain.
The climb continues...