Derby Show Report!

[Leon]

The Derby show is one of our favourite on the show calendar, as we get to make a full weekend of it, staying in a hotel only a mile away and going out on the Saturday night for a curry with the Border Reiver club.  On top of that, the show has a nice airy venue, and attracts a good number of folk.

We always set off on the Friday for this one, so that we can take advantage of the evening setup slot.  Our plans to get there in around 2 1/2 hours were quickly shattered, as the A1 and M1 both had severe delays.  Despite some last minute detours to avoid the jams, we ended up stuck in them anyway, so resigned ourselves to sitting and waiting.  The hot weather was not the ideal setting for being stuck in the van, and we'd managed to forget any drinks...    I took the opportunity though to play around with my new camera!  



After a massive 4 1/2 hours on the road, we finally made it to the venue to find a whole host of traders already there setting up.  We spent an hour or so getting the basics done, and then retired to the Premier Inn down the road for a much needed shower.  A couple of the guys from the Border Reiver club had also travelled down, so we met them in the pub next door for some munch.

Saturday morning we got to the venue around 8-ish and finished off the stand.  Dave was routinely disappearing (which isn't that odd), until I noticed a small gathering at the top of the walkway...



Me not being a rugby fan, I couldn't understand the appeal, but the noises coming from the mob showed that something was going on!

Getting ready the night before makes for a very relaxed morning, so I pottered about as we waited for the show to open.  The show is held in the University of Derby:



The main atrium houses the majority of the traders and quite a few display games...



...while upstairs there is the Bring and Buy, along with a couple more traders.  I didn't manage to make it upstairs over the course of the two days, but I heard a few reports about there being a significant odour problem up there.  This isn't really surprising, as the Saturday was an exceptionally warm day, and we were overheating in just our Pendraken shirts.

The other main aspect to the show is the games, both tournament and competition.  The tournament games have always been kept separate, which isn't really much of an issue, as they automatically drive traffic to them with participants.  The other change for this year though, was that some of the display games were also moved away from the main hall.  From what I heard, this was due to the University making some last minute changes to how much space was available, meaning that some of the games couldn't fit into the raised area.  Unfortunately, this meant that they had to be resited out into a separate building, and from talking to the people running these games, it really harmed the amount of footfall they saw during the weekend.  As a credit to the organisers, they acknowledged the problem, and said that they'd be having a chat with the University for next year.

Back to us, the numbers through the door on the Saturday looked good, despite there not being a queue as far as I could see.  Business was slow, with no real busy spots, but there were people about.  There was a lot of perusing going on, which is something we've been seeing more of this year.  The obvious assumption would be that the state of the ecomony means that people need to be more careful in where and how they spend their money.

By close of play on Saturday, it felt like we'd been quiet, and the till showed about the same as last year.

After the show closed, me and Dave got our glad rags on and joined the Reiver lads again, as we all hopped in a taxi and headed down the road to Balti International.  This was a 'Bring Your Own Booze' affair, which I found a bit odd, especially when all our carrier bags only contained Stella or Tetley's...  To be fair though, the curry was one of the best I've had, so if you're ever in the Derby area, give them a go.  Be warned though, the following day can be hazardous...!  

As always, the second days of shows don't hold much hope for traders, as there are always less people, and less money about.  We were quite optimistic though when the show opened on Sunday, as there were a good number of people in within the first five minutes.  Trade though continued at Saturday's pace, with more browsing than buying.  While it's not the ideal, and we'd prefer to be cramming great wads of cash into the till, it does give us the opportunity to chat with folk.  Among the various visitors to the show were a few Forum members, and we spoke to AndyRob, agtfos, Jim Ando, and Eldamarelf.  There were others, but I forgot to make a note!  

After dinner on the Sunday, I disappeared for my photo'ing, and managed to kill nearly 2 hours away from the stand!  The new camera proved pretty handy, and the pics look to have come out very nicely.  I've not really mastered the settings yet, but I'll have a play about before the Skelp show.

By half 3, we started packing away, and we were all done and ready to go before 5.  The final tally in the till showed about a £20 increase on last year, so we can't complain.  Regardless of the money aspect, we had a great weekend as always, so thanks to the Derby Wargamers, and also thanks to the Border Reiver club!



So, on to the games!


Assault on the Antonine Wall









Skirmish in Normandy









Battle of Sedgemoor











Gettysburg







North Africa, 1942 in 10mm!!!













Battle of Almoncid, 1809











Clash of Empires?









The Battle of Trebia, 218BC









Vienna, 1683









Fenit Landings, Irish Civil War, in 10mm!!!







Battle of Leutzen







Gazala, 1942 - The Battle of Bir Le Harmat











Fantasy Participation








Nazi's Zombie Apocalypse





League of Augsburg




















Red Alert - Assault on the Yamantau Complex (using 3D printed vehicles)









Newbury 1643









And we also had 3 new members of the Pendraken Auxiliaries, as the Baccus team donned the helmet!

[Techno]

Great stuff Leon !

Lovely crisp piccies.....Ultra sharp !....What did you treat yourself too ?....Digital SLR ??

Cheers - Phil.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Good stuff.

IanS

[Leon]

Lovely crisp piccies.....Ultra sharp !....What did you treat yourself too ?....Digital SLR ??

It's a Fuji S4000, apparently it's called a 'Bridge' camera?  I didn't want to go for the full SLR jobbie, as it's a bit too bulky for carrying around the shows, but I still needed something a bit better than a regular digital.  This one had a great macro when I tested one in Jessop's, plus there's a Super Macro feature for shots closer than 2cm.  Once I figure out how to use the thing I'm sure it'll be a sound investment!

£160 from Amazon if anyone's interested.

[Leman]

When I see these I wish I'd been able to go, but had to go to Brighton that day, then broke down on the 260 mile drive home. Got home, with RAC tow from Egerton's (thanks chaps!) at 5am Sunday morning. Sound familiar?
DP

[Arsenus]

Very good report! Photos are incredible!

But...

You're driving on the wrong side of the road!^^

[Leon]

You're driving on the wrong side of the road!^^

Here you go then, just for you... 

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Arsenus]

Thanks! Feel much better!^^

[Leman]

Yeah, cheers Arsenus, it was a 1966 left-hand drive 2CV6.
DP

[Bishop Lord]

As always a great report young man . I really should get to some more shows

I got the same camera few weeks back they had a deal on in PC World/Currys (other electrical outlets are available)mainly for my eldest to use in his A Levels,but i'm sure it will be focusing on some 10mm in the near future

Jason.

[nikharwood]

Nice report & great pics Leon [bargain camera!] - I'm a touch concerned though:

we were overheating in just our Pendraken shirts.

Hope you had a licence...

Another thing - why is it that gamers put together lovely looking games & take hours to paint figures & terrain, take it miles to display at a show for all & sundry to admire...and then stick their drinks & lunch etc on the table...bizarre.

Nice battle of Sedgemoor though - Paul D & I have discussed this one with an eye on LoA figures: it's a major battle that's local to us [about 25 miles away] - and we'll do it at some point [hmm - maybe for Nikfest next year...if the cavalry are ready!]

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Wont need a lot of cavalry for that one Nik, but do have the suprbly named "Oglethorpe's Blues".n 

IanS

[nikharwood]

Wont need a lot of cavalry for that one Nik, but do have the suprbly named "Oglethorpe's Blues".n 

IanS

Yep - although the Royals deployed forces of about 200 cavalry [10% of army] & the rebels around 600 [of a 3600 force] - so they're there...and I like Oglethorpe's first name too: Theophilus 

[Aart Brouwer]

Yeah, great LoA pics.

Cheers,
Aart

[Hertsblue]

Another thing - why is it that gamers put together lovely looking games & take hours to paint figures & terrain, take it miles to display at a show for all & sundry to admire...and then stick their drinks & lunch etc on the table...bizarre.

Been saying this for years, Nik  

Incidentally, Leon, they call it a "bridge" camera because it's supposed to bridge the gap between simple point-and-shoot cameras and the full blown DSLRs.