This past weekend saw us pack up the van and head down to the first show of the year, Vapnartak in York. This show has been growing every year, and this one was no exception, with over 1500 people through the door and a very busy day for us.
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As early mornings go, this one isn't too bad, as Dave was outside at about 6:30am, along with Gandalf who was joining us for the day. There was a slight drizzle in the air, but nothing major, and it didn't really affect unpacking the van. Having an extra person to help out makes a huge difference, and we were up and ready by 9 o'clock, and Dave went off for his customary wander about. He returned a bit later with the bacon butties, but then somehow managed to eat mine by accident, so another trip to the cafe was required!
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The show is held over 4 floors, each one kind of staggered to the next. The majority of the traders/games were on the ground and first floors, with the third normally having the B&B, and the top floor being the competition games. This year they had swopped the B&B for a tabletop sale instead. The premise was that anyone could bring along anything they wanted rid of, and could purchase a table for £1 per half hour (I think?). Any money they made was then their own. I think this decision was made due to things going missing on the Bring and Buy in previous years, which is understandable. I'm not sure how well it went though, it seemed pretty quiet up there as I wandered past.
Ground floor:
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Second floor:
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Third floor:
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Top floor:
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Doors opened a bit early, around 9:40am I think. The crowds immediately headed upstairs, whether they were expecting the B&B or not I'm not sure. They didn't seem to filter back down til about 10:30am, but once they did, we barely stopped all day!
Lunch was provided by the cafe on the ground floor, and Dave looked pretty happy with his shepherd's pie. At nearly £10 for that, plus a tea and two apple juices, it wasn't a cheap affair, but there was a huge queue their when I popped through for a drink around 1-ish. I didn't find out until later on that there was another bar on the top floor which would have been a lot quicker!
There were a good few Forum members at the show, but I completely lost track of who was who. New rule, if you're ever at a show, you have to introduce yourself as your Forum username!
The other traders I spoke to all confirmed a good day's business, and along with the increased numbers through the door, really confirms that this show is just getting bigger and bigger, and is definitely worth a trip if you need to get over the lack of shows during winter!
So for the games:
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We started packing up just before 4, and were on the road for 5-ish, for the 35 mile trip back home.
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It was an excellent show. Good mix of traders and games and the traders did seem busy during the morning. Things thinned out mid to late afternoon but that just gave space to walk around! I did an hours stint on the tabletop sale and made some spending money. From what I could see it worked far better than the B&B and I got rid of some extraneous bits and pieces. Left an order for some DAK with Pendraken and bought some scenery and other wargames essentials (or so I tell my wife!).
One thing I did notice was that a lot of the games were 28mm in scale and the micro scales didn't really get a look in. I may have missed them but I saw no 10mm games at all which was somewhat sad as they can be just as visually appealing as their larger brethren to my mind.
Ah well, roll on Triples!
Nice pics Leon :)
QuoteHe returned a bit later with the bacon butties, but then somehow managed to eat mine by accident
Hahahaha - don't tell me you fell for that old line ;) ;D
Quote from: Jubilation T Cornpone on 13 February 2011, 07:41:26 AM
One thing I did notice was that a lot of the games were 28mm in scale and the micro scales didn't really get a look in. I may have missed them but I saw no 10mm games at all which was somewhat sad as they can be just as visually appealing as their larger brethren to my mind.
Ah well, roll on Triples!
Yeah, I think the smallest I saw was 15's. There's a 10mm game in the works for Triples, put on by the Barnsley club, are you part of that? One of the other members has asked us to see if we can get the game put somewhere near our stand.
Quote from: nikharwood on 13 February 2011, 10:12:04 AM
Hahahaha - don't tell me you fell for that old line ;) ;D
I'd have had his, but he'd got mushrooms on it... :-&
No, not part of the Barnsley club but its just down the road from me. I tend to wargame with two like minded friends but we are considering forming/joining a club at some point. I am, however, the only one out of the three of us who has realised the true way of 10mm!
Quote from: Jubilation T Cornpone on 15 February 2011, 10:42:34 PM
I am, however, the only one out of the three of us who has realised the true way of 10mm!
Ahhh, you'll have to bring them on here and see if we can tempt them with something!