Tuesday 12 June 2018

Durham Wargames Club open day.

Well I said I would report back on the effects of some of the bigger and favourite traders cutting the number of shows that they attend. On Saturday John and I took the short trip to the Durham Open Day, The friendliest Club in the north?
 Durham wargames club have been around a  longtime now a bit like yours truly. I can certainly remember letters from one of the founder members Derek Sharman in the Wargamers Newsletters dating to about 1968/69. I think they have held wargames shows since the late 1970's although that might be doing them a disservice, anyway I digress. Basically the show has been around a long time.
 Gone are the days when the group staged very large events at the castle, university buildings and the like. Derek Sharman who has long gone from the area attempted to make the event a family day out with re enactment societies, competitions and the like, he took great personal financial risks and sadly failed somewhat. Still he gave it a go.
 When John and I used to put games on at the show there would be four rooms of games and traders and one room which held  bring and buy event. Like other shows it grew steadily and used to get a few hundred through its doors.The last few years the number of games shrank and the number of traders increased. The event held at their HQ in the old DLI barracks is a great setting but not ideal for  large numbers of punters. When they introduced the 'policy' of more traders than games it became very very crowded. This year Dave Thomas has started his wind down and no longer attended carrying his range of Perry, Victrix and the like. He was a popular go to trader. Similarly Pendraken have pulled the plug. A  shame really because this company has grown a great deal and provides a lot of great figures and the other great stuff. Ian from Eagle Miniatures a former Durham member also couldnt attend. I dont know if this will be permanent but his expanding 28mm ranges were top quality. So of the old faithfuls Ian Kay and his dad were holding the fort with their lovely Irregular miniatures.
So did the changes affect the open day?
 Well I thought things were quiet the short time I was there but I understand the club claim numbers remained steady. I can confirm that the bring and buy was very very quiet which I normally tend to use as an indicator of footfall. John and I sold a minimal amount of stuff and it wasn't because of the price.
 The games on show were pretty decent and I particularly liked the group's Star Wars set up which had some great terrain and models. Conrad another member of the group staged a lovely 54mm Turk/ Russian renaissance game which was up to his usual high standards.God knows where he stores the figures and terrain but it was a nice looking game with some lovely personalised figures.
  As for the trade, it was okay with a new trader, Lasercut Architect  selling some first class and very clever mdf pieces. I really like the steam punkish? turn counter and causality markers they were really eye catching. Alan from Hokka Hey had expanded his terrain stock which is a great value range.
 Amongst my purchases, yes I know, I bought three books and when I got home discovered that I already owned two of them...! This is becoming more common when I attend shows, and probably explains why I have two draws full of paint I thought I didnt own and a large box of books that I need to sell. I did manage to get my grubby hands on the new musketeer vignette and a couple of samples of the SYW musketeer range from Graham of Crann Tara who was attending as a punter. I cannot recommend these enough. Graham has somehow  linked up with the son of Charles Stadden who is a brilliant sculptor. The horses in particular show all the Stadden brilliance. I cant wait to finally buy the two regiments. Needless to say the stock was sold out before it was even advertised.
 It was good to chat with Graham and blag a tea off him.
 So did the non attendance of the bigger trade names affect the footfall. Personally I thought it did but then I didn't hang around after 12.30 so there could have been a rush later in the day. Will it impact on the survival of the Durham show, somehow I doubt it simply because the event has been low key for a number of years and doesnt seem to rely on numbers as much as other events. Given that the club will need to consider which traders to encourage to attend to fill the empty spaces if they want to sustain the open day as a wargaming event and not just a club day.

14 comments:

  1. Interesting nd honest viewpoint Robbie. The club's been doing shows since 1974 (Durham Castle) and was founded by Derek in his parents house in Belmont in around 1968. I joined in '71 and Shaun and Rod were already members so it's been going a very very long time.

    My own view is that the show needs a reboot and some investment of it wants to be anything other than the extended coffee morning for old wargamers. That's up to them of course.

    Hope you are keeping well.

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    1. Andy Copestake made a good point re the fact there were no children/ families at the open day. Effectively the event is a chance to meet up with old friends, grab a bit of retail therapy and a nice bacon sandwich. It works and is easy to get to and if that's what the club want then fine. The days of awards for the best game,re enactment societies, the 68th doing guard duty and a painting competition have long gone. I was surprised by the bring and buy because there was some nice stuff for sale.

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    2. Unlike me Andy wasn't on the door for a lot of the day and actually there were a few families that came in. We don't make them pay and we don't count them but at least the kids get a flag or a toy airplane from the SSAFA stall. But I can't see that any number of bored wives and bemused children makes a ha'p'orth of difference.
      Yes Robbie, your description is spot-on, that's what Durham Open Day has become and I for one don't think that's a bad thing at all.

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    3. Again, where's my flag...........

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  2. Interesting report, surprised Pendraken were not at a local show. I note that Kallistra are not at Phalanx this year, though their site says this is for family reasons, so hopefully they will be back next year.

    Also really surprised that the bring and buy was so quiet, though I have noticed a real trend in blog land over the last 18 months for bloggers to be claiming that they are 'down-sizing'. Are we running out of draw / cupboard space!

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    1. Downsizing I wish. Every time I look at the stuff I have I could cry. I have over 100 2' square terrain boards sat in my garage and I dont know what to do with them. Like a lot of veteran wargamers [ I like that description} I keep putting off the inevitable which is to make what one has collected more manageable. But if anyone wants to donate/sell me the early issues of Wargamers Newsletters then bugger downsizing.

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  3. Thanks for the review Robbie, fair as always.
    After last years' show we did consider whether we should expand and host it at a large Durham venue and I made enquires into whether that would be feasible. Leon from Pendraken was very helpful with data and advice. Shocked by the narrowness of the margins (your comments about Derek Sharman and the financial risks he took are particularly pertinent) we decided that as a vanity project (which is all it would be) it was a risk we did not need to take.
    The "identity" question; Are we a show/event? Are we a club day? Why do we do it? Do we even need to bother with it? has been going on for as long as I can remember and rears it's head at almost every AGM. Unsurprisingly, while we contemplated our own navels, there has been a constant stream of advice from off-stage about what we should do in order to be what we should be and how we should satisfy everybody else.
    Ultimately DWG Open Day is what it is; a small show run at small cost. We have a smaller footfall and the smaller number of traders can expect smaller takings than at larger shows. This isn't rocket science and we don't try to be something we're not. Our attempt a few years back to increase the number of traders failed but it was an experiment that need to be made if only to prove a point.
    I am no longer running the show but I understand we have no trouble filling trade stands and some traders were very happy that Dave Thomas wasn't here this year as their takings were significantly up. Swings and roundabouts.
    My own hope is that we can increase the quality of the games and continue to enjoy our little anachronism until the building finally crumbles around us.
    Colin, if you want to come along one morning for a coffee then you're always welcome.

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  4. Although I know nothing of the scene in Durham it is always interesting to read what you have to say Robbie and to see the comments too. Doing the maths, young Colin must have been 13 years old when he joined; same age as me when we "founded" the original Cheltenham Wargames Club in 1965. I have a batch of early Wargamers Newsletters with your name on and instructions for the family to get in touch when I shuffle off - see who lasts the longest mate!

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    1. Chris,
      Dont tempt me to collect them prematurely.

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    2. ha ha! Nice of you to want me to stay alive then :-)

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