Partizan

 At quarter past seven yesterday I was reluctant to get out of bed and cursed having decided to go to Partizan, 160 miles away, but then again, what else would I be doing on an Autumn Sunday promising dodgy weather. The drive south was uneventful which is always a surprise when heading that way and I got to Newark Showground in about two and a quarter hours, the weather there was nice as it usually is at this show.

I had taken a fiver and on entering was left with three quid, I had to break out the plastic although my shopping list was rather small and was really to top up on things which I didn't necessarily want but 'needed'. I always do the shopping first, and on my way round I got most of what I had come for apart from some Tamiya paint, their excellent 'Smoke' which is a great wash for armour. There is no point in going all that way and not getting a treat, so I stopped off at Foundry and got a pack of three mounted officers as spares for the Italian Wars, as Rubicon was there in force I went all out and got another halftrack, a 250/1 which I will paint grey for 1940/42.

On the way in I ran into Michael and Simon Curtis of 1st Corps who I first ran into back in 2014 and after at several War and Conquest weekends, after that it was bloggers who meet at shows, David Bickley (Tales from GHQ), Phil Robinson (News from the Front), Matt Crump (Wargames in the Dungeon, I am playing Matt on Wednesday) and southern boy Ray Rousell (Don't Throw a 1), links in the sidebar. As usual I stopped by the Helion and Co. stand as I work closely with editor Andrew Bamford who runs it, Andy and Charles were not there this time, however owner Duncan Rogers was paying a flying visit so we chatted for a good 20 minutes or so. One other mention was the chap who surprised me at the Rubicon stand who told me he read the blog and had recognised me from the pictures, quite made my day, thanks.

Now, the bit you have all been waiting for, the show. Partizan is quite simply the best historical wargame show in the country, the main focus is on wargaming, like me you will manage to shop but it does not have the number of traders for instance which frequent York, the emphasis is on games. Granted many of the games you could not throw together for an evening at the club and you would have to have a very large house and an understanding wife if you managed them at home. However the inspiration to aspire to the level of terrain, organisation and sheer spectacle hits you from the first table to the last.

There is a participation section which is well served then the main area with nothing but eye candy, there is a cafe which is always busy, take a lunch, all in a large well lit, open hall, albeit it busy, it was busier this time than in May I thought. They also have a writers corner where there is usually a couple of historical novel authors are sat. 

Here are examples of some of the games on show:

Thirty Years War 3D printed 6mm I think.

Imaginations game, Eastern Europe?

Tewkesbury, Wars of the Roses.

Imaginations again.

Arnhem, Lardy game.

Ray with my dad, oops, no it's me.

Battle of the Bulge.

The Bulge again.

Renaissance Eastern Europe.

War of the Worlds.

Hastings.

Bosworth

Most people at the tables made an effort to talk to interested onlookers, I had several good conversations. I did want to have a talk with the Bosworth guys for their thoughts on the new interpretation of the battle, however the guys at the time were discussing the movement of one unit and its possible effect on the future of England so I sauntered off.

There you have it, a good day out and a great showcase for our hobby. I shall have to save my pennies up for May as the petrol stung me on topping up before the Memsahib dipped the tank.