Show Report: Partizan, 2019.

I went to this year's Partizan with my pal Paul. As usual books are a primary draw. This year I knew I didn't really want to buy any model kits, as I've already accumulated so many. Nor any (or perhaps many is better?) wargames figures, as I have my fairly vast Napoleonic armies already. They just need painting and basing. Just!? Such a small word, such a large task...

I did think about buying scenery and basing stuff. But I still don't know how I'll be going about all that. So nothing doing there either. Most of the traders are in larger scales than those I'm currently into, and there weren't as many selling WWII 20mm stuff as there sometimes are. But it was in this latter category that I did wind up making a few small purchases.

One thing I ought to note is that I didn't take any means of photographing anything, so I can't, as I normally would, illustrate this with the eye-candy of the better looking games (compare this with my previous visit/report, to Partizan, 2017). As ever, it was fun to wander around marvelling at all the creativity and work people have put into some pretty stunning tables. That said, I wasn't quite as blown away as I have been on some other occasions. Indeed, I'd say - and no offence intended - that this year most of the games were simply at the better end of 'run of the mill'.

WWII German Panzer crew purchases.

I'm a bit old fashioned as well, when it comes to what interests me most, which is WWII (quite well represented, mostly in larger scales), and Napoleonics (less well represented than I'd like). My favourite Napoleonics game, in terms of beautiful figures and well realised scenery, depicted action in my least favourite of Napoleonic theatres, in what appeared to be North Africa, so probably Egypt (I didn't check what the battle was; could've been the 'Holy Land'!?).

Perhaps one of the best looking games was a WWI trench warfare jobbie. That looked amazing. There was a pretty steaming verdant tropical game as well. I'm less keen on the myriad obscurer eras, and even less so the fantasy or sci-fi stuff, including steampunk, which seems to merge those two previously separate genres. I can admire the creativity and imagination involved, but it just doesn't connect to the 'real history' buzz that is possibly the chief dynamo of my interest in all things mini-military.

Starting the clean-up prep at home, inc. removing bases from Orions.

In the end I did buy a few 20mm figures, pictured above, as I need crews for various vehicles. The Caesar German Panzer crews I bought (dark grey) are wearing winter gear, but many of them might well pass in other theatres/climates, once painted. They're made from a nice harder plastic, very much like that used for a set of Preiser figures I acquired some while ago. The Orions (in an unusual brick red!) - which I first saw as expensive resin products - are made from that horrible soft bendy plastic that so many 1/72 figures are available as. Hard to clean up, and tricky to paint.

What I love about the Caesar and Orion figures is the realism of pose and uniform rendering. Many of the standard 'for kids' style plastic toy soldiers I grew up wth, from makers like Airfix and Revell, etc, favoured 'action' poses that are both unrealistic in themselves, and then doubly so in how they are constrained by the moulding processes. These more recent makers seem to take the trouble to create figures in naturalistic poses such as you see in wartime photographs, making them infinitely better and more usable.

Some of Adler's 20mm Jeep crew, from Adler's own publicity images.

Also very well posed and sculpted, I bought my first Adler 20mm WWII figures; German tankers and US Jeep drivers/passengers. I'm looking forward to painting all of these figures and populating some of my vehicles. The Adler German tankers are actually DAK. But I'll be using them for Europe, from Italy and Russia, where their apparel should fit anyway, to the Western Front, where I'll be using a little licence.

Chausseurs a Cheval of the Guard, by Rousselot.

Book wise, I bought a large and very nice hardback called Napoleon's Elite Cavalry, which celebrates the Cavalry of the Imperial Guard, 1804-1815, as depicted in the paintings of Lucien Rousselot, with an accompanying text in English by Edward Ryan. I also got Military Uniforms in Colour, an old Blandford title written and illustrated by Preben Kannik, which is a book I used to get out of my village library as a kid. A real hit of nostalgia!

Ah, the memories this evokes!

Although I'm not currently reading as much as I once was on the subject, I'm still deeply into the Russia 1812 campaign, and hoping to start making inroads into painting my mountains of 6mm and 10mm figures for these campaigns. And in relation to this I still seek out books on the subject. On this occasion I bought With Napoleon In Russia, 1812, by Lt. Vossler, a Würtemberger. (I have so many books on Russia 1812 I'm a little worried I might already have it!)

As mentioned above, usually I'd have my iPhone or iPad on me, and take a bunch of pics. But this time I had neither, as both are suffering with recharging issues. On the one hand I wasn't as impressed with the games this year as in some previous years, but on the other, a show report with no pictures of the many games seems like a failure on my part! Never mind. I enjoyed the show and came home with some fab swag.

Chausseurs a Cheval of the Guard...

the kind of stuff that got me so excited about this era...

I mean, come on... talk about martial splendour epitomised!

Perusing the Rousselot paintings once home in the evening - and I only managed the Chausseurs a Cheval before exhaustion did for me - I realised that this purchase alone made the whole trip worthwhile!

Show Report: Partizan, 2017

Not having posted in bloomin' ages... In fact, not having done anything mini-military in ages (other than watch films or read books), I figured I had to go to Partizan, 2017, and get a fix of wargaming and whatnot.

This is what I needed to see!

Yes... oh yes!

Luvverly!

I managed to persuade Teresa to accompany me, for aulde thymes sake. It seems her days of humouring me thus are on the way out. And, to be honest, I can't really complain: she's been to enough shows with me. She's done her penance! She pretty much always ends up sitting down amidst the slightly odd crowd that is the wargaming fraternity, reading or watching something on her tablet., whilst I go round acquiring more stuff I probably ought not to.

I always like baggage train stuff. Plus this has a sign pointing to Cambridge, my local/home town.

This and the above are from a very nice 28mm AWI game.

I don't know if it's just me. Perhaps any other attendees who feel similarly, or differently, for that matter, could chip in? Although I won't argue that The George Stephenson Pavilion has some  things going for it - it's far better lit, for example - nevertheless, I don't like it as a venue. 

It seems airless. Very airless. And when you have hordes of wargamers, not all of whom have discovered the concept of personal hygiene, you need lots of air! I always end up feeling very out of sorts whenever I'm in these hangar like spaces. Even to the extent of dizzy spells. Mind you, it could be I'm just rather unfit. That's certainly very obviously true of many of us wargaming types!

The jungle scenery of Like A Stonewall's New Guinea hilltop scenario was stunning.

I think I may have more, and poss a little better pics... will post if I can find 'em!

One of the reasons I like to go to Partizan, other than it being amongst the more 'local' shows for me (i.e only an hour or twos drive either way), is the eye-candy type games. And this year didn't disappoint in that respect, with many great looking games, and a few real corkers. My favourite was the 28mm WWI demo game put on by Great War Miniatures.

For me, this is how wargames should: a moveable diorama.

Getting down to eye-level revealed some stunning views.

My mate Paul is a WWI nut. He says he'll get me into it one day...

... stuff like this sells it to me big time. Fab!

I adore this gun and crew. A work of art!

From the visual beauty point of view, Great War Miniatures' Cambrai game (I think that's what it was? I didn't take any notes, or chat to many people this time!), was, quite frankly, simply stunning. I want to take a leaf from their book in both how they paint figures, and their attention to scenic detail (albeit I'm currently working in smaller scales). Their figure painting seems, to me, perfectly judged; neither too detailed nor too basic. And the colours - how close they are to 'authentic', I don't know - please the eye, and are easy to 'read', if you know what I mean.

Lots of great scenery...

Call the glazier...

Och, it's fine dae to get kilt...

Another funky German gun.

Two Mona Lisas!?

HQ-cum-dunny...

They also included some wonderful incidental detail, such as German soldiers looting artwork, champagne, and so on. And there was even a micturating Bosch, in a very nicely rendered bathroom. He'd obviously been imbibing, as he's missing the bath. Still, that room, along with most in this model model village, will need a complete refurb anyway!

My only book purchase.

What with all the expenses of our new home (nearly been here a year now!), I should’ve restrained myself after my first purchase, R. F. Delderfield’s The retreat From Moscow, which - despite its title - is the novelist and Napoleonic buff’s account of the whole 1812 campaign, which I got for £5. But, like the fool I am - and despite having forgotten to bring cash (as I did on the previous Partizan*) - I popped out to a garage for some lolly, and ended up overspending.

More WWII Jerry gear in 1/72.

Maybe it’s just me, but I was a bit shocked at the prices of all the figures and models. A pal commented on this as well, when I showed him my show swag. In the end, apart from the book, I just got some more 1/72 WWII German stuff: an Italieri Opel Blitz ambulance, and two sets from Plastic Soldier Co: RSOs with Pak 40s, and Medium Trucks. I’m in a kind of rear-echelon reverie, I guess.

It’s nice to finally see a mainstream brand suppling the RSO to those of us who, like me, love these strange little tracked tractors. But £17 for the two vehicles and two guns (plus crews, etc) did kind of hurt. On the plus side, PSC are generous in a supplying sufficient variety of parts to allow one to build 3 variants of the RSO (round cab, square cab, and mounted Pak 40), and either Opel Blitz or Mercedes trucks.

A smaller scale WWI game. Not sure who put this one on.

I always like being able to take serial shots such as this.

Another WWI game I didn't find out the name of.

More WWI: Lenton Gamers' 'Oppy Wood', in - I think? - 54mm.

I noted that there were quite a few WWI games. more than I'm used to seeing. I guess its the centenary of that conflict, which has no doubt focussed interest on it.

The brass.

Nice pink facings on these dragoons!

I like this panoramic eye-level shot.

The Perrys had a beautiful Egyptian Napoleonic game, which might've been the Battle of Alexandria (is this historical, or fictional?), pictured above and below.

Beautiful figures, beautiful scenery... fab!

Mmm... beige facings.

As a major fan of the work of Tony Barton, it was nice to see the 15mm Battle of Dresden, which featured hordes of beautiful figures from Barton's capable hands. I meant to ask if these were Battle Honours era figures, or the later/larger AB range. But I was in a taciturn mood this show, so just looked and snapped these pics. Was this the Too-Fat-Lardies game?

Beautiful lancers.

Nice scenery too.

Dem guns, dem guns... 

More fab cavalry.

I was sorely tempted to start buying figures for a new era; English Civil War, American Civil War, even WWI, perhaps. But I managed to restrain myself. This meant not even looking too hard at some stalls. Adler, who do the 6mm ranges that are the backbone of one of my Russia 1812 collections, aren't at that many shows. And normally Id make a bee line for them when they are. This time a furtive glance was all I dared! In case I suddenly bought a new army in a new era.

So, all in all, fun was certainly had. By me at any rate. I think Teresa's highlight was eating chips and beans in the caff! Actually, thats another thing I don't like about these sorts of modern venues: crap overpriced catering. Still, I enjoyed the show. And it gave y my fix of mini-military delights. So... mustn't grumble!

*Unbelievably, there are no cash machines on the site.

Partizan, 2016

I don't know why, but I felt I had to go to Partizan today. Teresa didn't come with me this time, alas. And it was such a nice day for a spin up the A1 with the top down! The sun shining brightly, it felt like a proper little holiday jaunt.

The former Partizan venue, Kelham Hall.

The new venue, the George Stephenson Exhibition Hall, Newark Showground. Outside view.

The George Stephenson Exhibition Hall. Inside view.

I was intrigued to see what the change from Kelham Hall would feel like (I never went to the show when they had it in tents!), and was unsurprised to find that - despite the worthy invocation of a Victorian giant - the George Stephenson Exhibition Hall was just another characterless marketing shed. But, on t'other hand, it is a more practical and better lit space. What a pity we can't have both character and adequate lighting! Surely it must be possible?

I got there early enough to enjoy queuing for about 15 mins, and to bag the commemorative figure - a miniature steampunk (that theme again!) Stephenson. Frankly I'd have preferred him without the steampunk overlay. 

The show seemed well attended, and there were plenty of traders and games. I must confess I didn't think the games were all up to the old aesthetic standards of some previous Partizans. 

And there weren't enough Napoleonic games for this old grognard. I think I saw just three: one naval, one very small skirmish game (Sharp - or is it Sharpe? - Practice), and one in which Austrians troops were, rather unusually, fighting their old allies, the Rooshians. 

Austrians vs. Russians on the teddy-bear-fur Steppes.

It was nice to see these two reliably recurrent antagonists of the French slugging it out with each other for a change, in what I assumed must be a Russia 1812 scenario. 

I assumed this for two reasons: the only time this happened, I believe, was when Schwarzenberg's Austrians formed the Grand Armée's southern flank, and had some run-ins with the Russians in their sector; oh, and there was one of those onion-domed Russian Orthodox churches.

Exquisite miniature fleets - Dutch foreground, English background - afloat on what looks like a blue faux-leather sea!

There were some other interesting looking games, but I didn't get as snap-happy at this show as I usually do. One of my favourite tables, from a purely visual point of view, was probably the 1666 Anglo-Dutch naval battle. The 'scenery' element was perhaps a little too basic for my tastes, but the sheer quantity of miniature fighting ships was a delightful sight.

As an aside, with reference to the above six pics: By and large I try and avoid getting sucked into new areas of wargaming interest. Potentially every book or film or whatever it might be can spark a desire to buy another army in another era. 

At present I'm confining myself to Napoleonics and WWII (with the ACW lurking in the background!). But I have to say that when I recently listened to an audiobook of extracts from Samuel Pepys' diaries I found it hard to resist the idea of getting all marine and 17th Century. Nautical but nice, as I like to say!

Above and below, SS cavalry, 1/72 by Britannia Miniatures [1]. I love these guys!

Due to limited funds figure purchases were severely restricted. There's another figure in this set, toting a panzerschreck. But they didn't have any (unpainted), alas.

I had second thoughts about going along to Partizan all, both 'cause I'd be on me lonesome, and 'cause our attempts to buy a home mean funds are severely limited.

In the end I only bought two 1/72 WWII German tank kits (an Italeri Hetzer and a Fujimi Tiger I), a nice little group of mounted SS WWII German Cavalry (both these lots from Grubby Tanks/Britannia Miniatures), a magnifying-visor for painting (Barwell Bodyworks), and a biography of Baron Larrey from David Lanchester.

The Baron bandages a biffed bonce, in a detail from Lejeune's fab Borodino painting.

Despite only stopping at the show for a measly two hours, I had fun - except for the moment when I nearly fainted! [2] - and came away with stuff that's both useful and enjoyable.

I had wondered if any bloggers might meet up at the show, as they do at Salute, but I only got wind of such a meeting when I got home afterwards and googled the subject... Doh!

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NOTES:

[1] I realise now that some of the WWII Germans of unknown manufacturer origin in my recent previous posts - the rather dynamically posed if somewhat chunky and oddly proportioned white metal nebelwerfer crew, to be precise - are Britannia figures.

[2] It was the price of ... no, I can't lie... it was purely and simply that I'm apparently inexorably evolving into the archetypical overweight unfit wargamer! The fare they served up at the Bistro didn't exactly help me wage war on my waistline. Oh no, it was more like reinforcements!