This weekend I took the short train-ride over to Reading for Warfare 2007. This annual convention, which is hosted by the Wargames Association of Reading, is one of the best deals on the convention calendar. Just £4 buys a full day of games, talk, and access to around 70 dealers.
This year I went in uniform (my Osprey shirt), and ended up talking to quite a few of our fans. Most people wanted to know about Field of Glory – when is it coming out? What armies are going to be included? what basing system does it use? A few people were interested in our out-of-print books and if we have any plans to reprint such and such a title. (The short answer to that question is – yes we do!). I know that for many people, the chance to talk to like-minded hobby fans is THE reason for attending conventions. For me, however, the primary purpose of Warfare was shopping.
I was working with a pretty limited budget this year, but the dealer’s room still had plenty of opportunities for me. My first purchase was two packs of discount Foundry figures for an Expeditionary Force I’m working on. How many places can you pick up Foundry packs for £5 a piece? Later, I picked up a discounted box of Horrorclix Aliens figures for my Space Hulk project. (Thanks to the guys at The Miniatures Page for putting me on to these). I rounded out my day by purchasing a new figure case from Figures in Comfort and a few Vallejo paints. My one regret, because there is always a regret after a con, was not dropping some money at Black Cat Bases, which had all kinds of neat stuff available. Next time.
Anyway, thanks to everyone at the Wargames Association of Reading for putting on another great Warfare. I’d love to hear what everyone else bought, or regrets not buying this year. Also, I’d be interested to know if there was anything good on the Bring and Buy table, because, try as I might, I could never get near the thing.