Sunday 16 September 2018

I have been to....Skirmish in Sidcup, Kent

After the minor hiccup of the Kurz and Allison title it was with some relief that I spent a very enjoyable Sunday morning at the Skirmish Toy Soldier Show in Sidcup, Kent. I really like this show as it is quite small, is easy to get to (around 35 minutes in the car) and can be done and dusted in a morning. It is normally on twice a year but I missed the early 2018 show - I have a feeling it was when the ‘Beast from the East’ was in full fury - so was really keen to get there this time.

It was a low key affair and the trade stands were  definitely down on previous years. If I am honest I wonder how long they will keep this on for as it seemed quite sparsely attended. There were a number of games being run, one of which really caught my eye, as well as a rather nice Bring and Buy.

Of the games the one that really caught my eye was a French versus Berber action set in somewhere in Morocco in 1918. The games was called ‘Action at Sidi Khup’....it took me a little while to work that one out! This was run by Skirmish Wargames and featured some really nice terrain. Sadly I did not take many pictures but trust me, it looked very nice indeed.


The French force had been tasked with repairing a derelict fort to which the Berbers took a dim view.



Fort Soixante Neuf or something similar. Note the legionary washing line....

The bring and buy was pretty busy and quite unusually for me I managed to snag a couple of bargains. I consoled myself that this went some way towards easing my disappointment over the Kurtz and Allison book.


Tomorrow’s War is Osprey’s ‘hard’ Sci-Fi skirmish rule set. This normally retails for £25 I believe - mine cost £6. The Paraguayan War is published by Foundry and is probably very expensive - mine cost me £10 which was pretty darned good in my opinion!

The big news from the show though was that I was able to catch up with three of Posties Rejects - Ray, Big Lee and Postie himself. We discussed matters many and varied, had a laugh and I was honoured to have been asked to attend the Shed of War for a game at some point. There was mention of some kind of strange initiation ceremony but I did not like to dwell on that, at least before lunch in any event...

Bob Cordery was also there and we were able to transact a small amount of business and discuss matters Portable Wargames related. I always enjoy discussing stuff with Bob as it is always a sensible and rewarding conversation. I am quite sure I must drive him bonkers with questions about ‘stuff’ but he always comes back with rational and plausible explanations. I will not go into detail but I have a more rounded and in depth understanding of some of the key Portable Wargame concepts and how these can be used almost as a wargames toolkit.

Thought provoking for sure and exciting with it.

As a result of our transaction I am now the proud owner of some extra sand coloured Heroscape tiles, a couple of Games Workshop gaming mats - one green and one sand - and a box full of metal Spencer Smith ACW figures. The latter will dovetail nicely with the small selection I have and so, aside for the bases and a couple of figures I will need to order the ACW Kurtz and Allison project is now on the runway.

It has been a quite superb day.





9 comments:

Robert (Bob) Cordery said...

David,

It was great to see you and to have a discussion about my future PW plans.

All the best,

Bob

Ray Rousell said...

A pleasure as always Dave! I'll let you know when the next game is!

David Crook said...

Hi Bob,

It was great to catch up and discuss the Portable Wargame and its evolution going forward. You have certainly given me plenty of things to think about!

All the best,

DC

David Crook said...

Hi Ray,

It was good meeting up with the rejects once again and assuming all is well from my side I will look forward to entering Postie's shed of war in due course.

Just make sure I am near the door....

All the best,

DC

BigLee said...

Good to see you yesterday. Thanks again for spotting that copy of the Richard Tory Zulu rules. A bargain for such a well researched set. Look forward to seeing you in the shed-o-war sometime soon.

David Crook said...

Hi Lee,

It is always good meeting up with the rejects - even if one of them was wearing shorts...

Glad to help with the rules and believe it or not I have actually used them a long time ago. As I recall they are quite detailed but as you rightly point out are very well researched.

I will look forward to the Shed at some point - I mentioned to Ray that my weekends can be challenging but I am sure we will get to the same space-time continuum at some point!

All the best,

DC

The Angry Lurker said...

Make sure your booster is up to date mate for the shed visit!

David Crook said...

Hi Fran,

I shall be having a full battery of shots beforehand - will I need a full NBC suit?

All the best,

DC

Geordie an Exiled FoG said...

:)