The 2011 shows season is well underway already …
(Vapnartak was one)
And, as usual, I have been touring the country with my Society of Ancients cap on (well, lapel badge anyway) …. James Roach has been out and about with his Western Desert game … most recently seen at Vapnartak …
15mm Recce
… although I would say Vapnartak wasn’t the best of shows for game quality (or captioning/explaining/joining in etc. … see my general report on the show on Ancients on the Move) … For a master of the spectacular like James, the desert in 15mm is an interesting choice as there is often very little landscaping … Nevertheless, in an overwhelmingly 28mm environment (overwhelming being an appropriate term), the Ilkley game stood out well.
Hammerhead at Kelham Hall (intriguingly enough, the Chesterfield club’s annual show) has a reputation as something of a fantasy/sci-fi event, though they do encourage historical exhibitors to attend (and help rescue those wayward souls from the gothic fringes …).. A much better array of games than Vapnartak – true diversity of scales, styles and periods, and a reasonable effort by most to explain what was going on … Mostly non-historical really, but with the odd tank lurking down the side streets
I was much more impressed by the games at Cavalier. A good range of topics across a number of periods … some spectacular looking kit and some innovative looking mechanisms (though I must confess I seldom get the time to stop and play) …
For looks, I really like the Budapest 1945 game (Loughton Strike Force) … here are some details …
Tanks in the City
The ubiquitous Polikarpov Po-2
Something for the 20mm enthusiasts, I think …
An obsolete string bag flying over the battlefield too. There were quite a few of them in action nearby, in the Mediterranean.
I really liked the neat look of this raid on Taranto game (I like shiny perspex as a game illusion for water …)
The (Staines Wargamers) game was, of course, based on the successful raid on the Italian fleet in November 1940.
Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers
Swordfish bi-planes from HMS Illustrious were able to thread their way through flak and barrage balloons to drop a mix of torpedoes and bombs on the Italian fleet ‘safely’ at anchor in Taranto Harbour. The attack was a sufficient success to blunt the Italian navy’s threat in the med. (and proved an inspiration to the Japanese as they planned how to take on the naval strength of the U.S. in the Pacific.
Taranto game makes a splash!
In this game, the top down asymmetry had the ships a much smaller scale than the planes (the reverse of how I show air units over land battles, but it worked very well).. I couldn’t stop for long enough to report on how well the game worked, but it certainly had plenty of takers. Another interesting topic for wargaming.
Full marks to Cavalier for the best selection of games so far. But how about we all try a bit harder to put up some signs and captions … possibly (if you can’t do captions?), speak to us so we know what the game is about …
James Roach’s Olincanalad blog
Related show reports from the Society of Ancients blog
Cavalier
P.B.Eye-Candy 
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