The Oldhammer Weekend 2015: Overview

Warhammer Ahoy! A massive naval battle with converted fighting ships.

Please post pictures! Its a demand made with increasing frequency on social media as we approach a Bring Out Your Lead (BOYL) event - and this year was no different. Armed with the wife's iPad (I have somehow mislaid my phone somewhere in my house) I set about photographing as much of the goings on as I could. As with last year, this first post in my Oldhammer Weekend coverage acts as a simple overview of some of the things that went on. Later in the week, I shall post about some of these things in more detail, including a look at what Bryan Ansell displayed in his miniature cabinets, a flip through Tony Ackland's art portfolio as well as more details about many of the games on offer - not to mention the toy soldiers that went with them! 

I shall use this moment to thank Diane and Bryan Ansell, and their family, for the incredible amount of hard work that went in to making it such a brilliant weekend. So fantastic was the atmosphere on the Sunday, that things were even getting a little emotional! It was also very pleasing to see so many international attendees - with Oldhammer fans from as far a field as Australia, the USA, France and Germany. 

What follows is just a selection of photographs that will give you a taste of what the event was like if you had the misfortune not to be there, as well as reminding those of us who were of the astonishing range of games and figures available for our enjoyment. 

Kev Adams was in residence on the Friday and Saturday. He spent a long time raising money to a charity close to his heart by sculpting people's faces onto existing miniatures. It was a real privilege to watch him work and Kevin was kind enough to sculpt my children's faces onto two orklings. 

A personal highlight for the author of this blog was spending time in the company of Tony Ackland. He had brought along a large collection of his artworks and was more than happy to discuss each piece (in considerable depth) with fans, as well as share a few amusing anecdotes of the Golden Age. 

Tony's artwork was very impressive. There was a very large number of illustrations including several that we think have never been published before. Look out for more coverage about this in a forthcoming blog post!

There were plenty of games on offer from fantasy to Judge Dredd. 

The Oldbowl competition saw numerable Bloodbowl matches played in the open air - until the inevitable English rain cancelled play! Chico prepares to streak across Richard Legg's and Matthew Dunn's game. 

Retro classic, Chainsaw Warrior, saw an outing with beautifully painted miniatures. 

Tony Yates was about on the Saturday - sharing his artwork and providing sketches for enthusiasts. It is always nice to see Tony and his bright, original models were fantastic to see in more detail. 

Necromunda being played in the open air.

There were a number of Warhammer Fantasy Battle games going on - including this one with some card buildings. I have a new found (or should that be re-discovered) passion for putting these models together. 

These battles saw lots of interesting engagements using a wide variety of different miniature types. 

Steve, the Citadel Collector, fielded his first fully painted army and crushed all that lay before him (Warlord Paul) with it on the Saturday. 

Rick Priestley visited during the Saturday...

Along with Nigel Stillman. I found him to be a fascinating man full of passion for miniature wargames. We had a long (and very informative) discussion about the writing of Warhammer Armies back in the 1980s. 

Tim Prow, ex-'Eavy Metal and now Diehard Miniatures guru, popped in to see us. Expect to see much more of his sculpting work (along with Drew's, also pictured) in the coming days. 

Stuart Klatcheff, the professor of pre-slotta, playing McDeath with Drew as Tony Ackland looks on. 

A later shot from our first McDeath game. Winwood Harbour saw quite a bit of action over the two days, but things did not go to plan at all for Julia McEwman!

Massed ranks of old school dwarfs.

A well painted Orc and Goblin army faced the resilient dwarf-folk. 

Classic White Dwarf RT/Paranoia scenario, Vulture Warriors, being played out by Warlord Paul and others on custom made scenery. 

Just some of the entries from the painting competition. There were another two cases of figures by Sunday afternoon!

Erny's battleship from Warhammer Ahoy!

Advanced Heroquest being played out among the walls of blistered miniatures. 

Space Hulk saw the terminators being overrun by a great number of genestealers. 

Forenrond's Last Stand, WFB3 scenario, played with the paper counters. Proper old school!

Death-Race 40,000 saw lots of bizarre vehicles race to the death in an action packed game on the Sunday. 

A different game of Advanced Heroquest played out in one of the quieter alcoves. 

Steve Beales' (Thantsants) incredible pirate ship. The different decks were modelled in great detail to allow for boarding actions. A real achievement. 

Gamers were crammed into every space to throw dice! Oldhammer stallwart, Chico, was involved a large number of games over the three days despite a self-inflicted hangover. 

Warlord Paul visited our second McDeath game. Steve Casey, Stuart and myself really enjoyed the scenario and were constantly surprised by the dice rolling skills on display. This picture was taken just before Julia McEwman took a shotput to the face. 

Bryan's bargains! There was a huge amount of models available to buy, including all kinds of strange odds and ends. 

Painting competition winners were awarded with more unreleased Citadel wizards and £30 gift tokens. 

Oldhammer veterans Norse, Chico and the famous Harry pause for a break during the sunny Sunday afternoon. The warm weather really brought out the beauty of the venue. A lovely place indeed with a fully licensed bar open everyday, along with breakfast, lunch and a proper dinner (curry, what else?) on Saturday night. 

As always, Bryan had a display of miniatures - though this year's effort dwarfed the previous ones. There were thousands of painted figures on show and you could spend hours admiring them across the stablehouse rooms. 

More soon... I am tired now!

Orlygg