West Midland Military Show - Alumwell

With my past record in missing whole cities when driving along the motorway system of Britain I had some trepidation in setting out for the W.M.M.S.. show  near Walsall. But thanks to excellent directions provided by club member Martin Gould, I got there with no problems and in just over an hour from Manchester. I arrived early, so I was able to grab a parking space, of which more later.

The venue is a large school and community centre. A series of sports halls provide large open, well lit spaces in which to house a large variety of games, and an excellent collection of trade stands. Wandering round the stalls my eye was immediately taken by a stone medieval fortress produced by Zveda, and costing around £26. This looked very good value, and with the benefit of a careful paint job would be an excellent addition to any wargames table.

Phoenix's Napoleonic encounter	The Prussians advance

I wandered round passing time with the trade, as usual trying to persuade them of the benefits of E Commerce, and of course of taking advertising space on The Forum (of course I know that all of you mention the Forum when ordering from our advertisers DON'T YOU!). I also requested details of new releases and samples for review. Many Traders responded positively to my request, so look out for more reviews in the future. However I became engaged in a surreal discussion with one manufacturer who told me that on principle he never sends samples for review. Apparently in the past he sent a large number of models to be reviewed by a now defunct magazine. Having invested hundreds of pounds in models and postage, he received a few column inches of half hearted review, no pictures, and few customers. Consequently he will never provide any more samples.

The pity of this is that some rather good models are not getting the publicity they deserve, and that this trader is not making the most of his potential. It was interesting to note that in the period that I spent at his stall he had not one customer, despite rapid selling on surrounding stalls. He was undoubtedly ripped off by the magazine, but I don't think that his bitterness is doing him any financial favours, still it takes all sorts....

Upstairs there was a very active bring and buy, and a few bargains to be had. However I was struck by prices that seemed remarkably high for some models. I purchased a nice group of World War 2 vehicles and figures, and some nice Greek hoplites, which you will see at some time pictured in the Forum. I also picked up some very reasonably priced and well painted Elven Warriors, so that's my son's Easter Egg sorted!

Mark Copplestone's Punishing the Slavers	Scimitars Gladiator

So what struck me in the games? Well Mark Copplestone presented a very simple "Punishing the slavers" game, using figures from his "In the Heart of Africa" range, in which a naval landing party advanced on an arab defended zariba. Nice figures, well painted, and lovingly created terrain. In all a great game and a fascinating period; if you have not already done so get hold of Thomas Pakenham's, "The Scramble for Africa" and be inspired.

Chase wargames club revealed a large World War 2 game with US marines taking on the Japanese, unfortunately they had not thought of a title for the game when I spoke to them, as originally the game was set in Burma against the British, but they fancied a change and brought in the U.S. Marines. Whatever the name eventually granted, the game was impressive.

RAF Stafford refight the Spartacist Revolt	The game with no name!

I also like the Spartacist Rebellion game brought to the show by RAF Stafford. This was played using Warhammer Ancient Battles, which the players said gave them an excellent game, and which they have used to fight actions up to the late medieval period. However they said that problems arise with the introduction of gunpowder weapons. The demonstration itself  was very impressive, with well painted figures, nicely sculpted buildings and even a galley patrolling the coast.

Fantasy fans were well served with tribes of Orcs and pygmies fighting around a stepped pyramid, and the potential human sacrifice, in Burton's Lustria Campaign game. On a nearby table a Lord of the Rings refight , with the Fellowship battling in the Chamber of Mazarbul attracted loads of younger gamers all who seemed to have great fun, and seemed very well clued up on the details of the book and film.

Pyramids, pygmies, and human sacrifice	Adventures in Moria

Birmingham's Phoenix Group staged a large 25mm (or is it 28mm) Napoleonic game. Talking to the players they were very proud of the fact that they were upholding a proud tradition of fighting large battles in this scale rather than using 15mm. And I have to admit that en masse the figures did look good, and maybe they have a point that for display purposes the 25mm scale is still the best. However as a gamer my preference remains with 15mm, or less, for large games.

Having met up with Paul Kay we compared noted on the display games and we agreed that the game presented by Border warlords was the most impressive at the show, although facing stiff competition from a very familiar viking raid game staged by Guards Wargames Club, and reported previously on this site. I also liked Scimitar's small but perfectly formed Roman Gladiatorial arena. 

Border Warlords had worked hard for two years to produce their Siege of Shrewsbury, 1069, the scenery was well made and very, very impressive especially the fortifications. The figures were from a range of manufacturers but the excellent Gripping Beast range was pre-eminent.

Border Warlords	Siege of Shrewsbury

Other displays that caught my eye included Stoke's Operation Battleaxe, and Earlswood Wargame's, Fall of France 1940. The Pike and Shot society display included the siege of a Vauban designed town. This could have been very impressive, but was simply not up to the standard of a number of the club games, for such a major society I would expect better. I have noticed at past shows that the Society of Ancients have often hosted small, less than impressive games, that seem more about plugging the latest WRG rules that promoting the society. Certainly The Lance and Longbow Society regularly produce impressive wargame displays to support the aims and activities of their society, perhaps other groups could follow their lead.

I must mention the very impressive display of military models of all scales presented by U.M.S.. This included some excellent models that really caught the eye, although the Lara Croft type model, armed to the teeth, her shredded T Shirt revealing impossibly peaked, and large , breasts, seemed a bit out of place to my puritan eye. Although a lot of younger males seemed very impressed (including Paul Kay, who muttered something about knowing her before she became famous????).

Impressive skills on display from UMS

Unfortunately I had to be home by early afternoon to let my wife travel to work, so I was not able to stay longer. A real pity I enjoyed the show, and there was loads to see, and spend your cash on. I recommend a diary entry for this one. However be warned, as I left the car park I became aware of no less that 6 police officers handing out tickets on illegally parked cars, a sea of no parking cones, and a gaggle of angry residents complaining about the visiting vehicles nose to tail along the road. So arrive early or park away from the access road.

France Falls again	Scimitar's impressive arena

JOS & PK