| 11-Aug-07 | What Was In The Main Hall part 1 | ||
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THE BATTLE OF FIVE ARMIES - Voted Best Table |
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Bilbo Baggins the hobbit has journeyed to the Lonely Mountain with Thorin and his band of Dwarves. Setting forth from Esgaroth, the town on the Long Lake, they attempt to do battle with Smaug, the mighty Dragon, to regain the mountain and the hoard of treasure within. But the combined greed of Dwarves, Men, Elves, Wargs and Goblins leads to the mighty clash of five great armies. Can Smaug be defeated by a lucky bow shot from Bard? Which of the five armies will gain the treasure hoard? Using the Lord of the Rings rules, John Shaw showed off his prize winning display to bring these scenes from The Hobbit to life. Figures were from the extensive collections of John Shaw and Jeremy Shannon. This included Jeremy's recent addition of the mighty shape changer Beorn; the man who changes into a giant bear. Amazingly, due to work commitments, John could only start on this year's display two weeks before the open day. Using three existing 2' x 2' terrain modules from last year's Isengard display and a lot of late nights, he put the rest together in record time. We suspect that the paint was still drying on the day! See more Lord of the Rings on the club website at |
 From Laketown, if you follow the winding river, past the waterfall and beyond the pool, you come to the foot of the Lonely Mountain. The entry built by the Dwarfs of old has since been enlarged by the mighty dragon Smaug. He has amassed a great treasure hoard in his many raids on the surrounding areas and all are feared to confront him until Thorin Oakenshield, the Dwarf, comes with his band to claim back the mountain that belonged to his forebears. |
 Thorin and his band were wondering if they said "please" whether Smaug would hand over his treasure hoard. |
 Mark Moncrieff giving Smaug some tips on how to attack Laketown. |
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 Thorin's company deals with Smaug. |
 Gandalf tries to talk Thorin (converted from a Gimli model by Jeremy) into sharing the treasure. |
 Looking like a pack of rats, the Wargs flood forward. |
 Once across the river, the evil minions gather speed. |
 No time for these lads to stop and picnic by the waterfall. |
 The Good side readies itself for the onslaught. |
 Elves ready themselves on the right flank. |
 Beorn at his fearsome best (or was that beast?). |
 Men of Dale and neighbouring towns await the onslaught. |
 A view from the stage of the whole display. |
 Fire arrows are an added mischief by the evil Orcs. |
 The Wargs rush up the valley and charge in to the Elves. |
 An appropriate banner for Smaug the dragon. |
 The Eagles are coming! The Eagles are coming! |
 Some Wargs break through the first line of defence. |
 Beorn carves a swathe through the enemy. |
 A Warg chieftain looks up in surprise. |
 Goblins descend from the mountain to attack from the rear. |
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 If Bard successfully cuts the arrow, he may be lucky enough to set fire to the Orc. |
 The height of the battle. |
 Beorn heading for the Orc banner bearer. |
 The Elves clearing up the last of the Goblins. |
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LEGENDS OF THE OLD WEST |
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Legends of the Old West is a skirmish game based in the late 19th century in the US after the American Civil War. Players take control of small posses such as Lawmen, Outlaws, Cowboys, Indians and Mexicans in an attempt to gain fame and fortune. As the posses become more experienced they may hire new henchmen, gain experience, earn money (or get it in a less than savoury fashion), trade for new equipment, and even enlist the help of legends such as Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid. Using a small number of 28mm miniatures, the set of rules is published by Warhammer Historical. It is heavily based on the Lord of the Rings rule set and this is a good thing as they are an excellent set of skirmish rules. The Legends of the Old West campaign rules are simple but cleverly put together. They allow you to develop your small posse of characters, enhancing their abilities and arming them with better weapons and equipment if they are successful. All of this with only a small amount of book keeping. Miniatures are 28mm old west figures by Artizan Designs, Conquest Miniatures, Eureka Miniatures, Knuckleduster Miniatures, Wargames Foundry and Westwind Productions. Jeremy Shannon and Murray Shaw presented this game with their great figures. Murray displayed his great looking and newly completed teepees. |
 Welcome to Legends of the Old West, pardner. |
 The town of Bad Ass on the edge of the desert country. |
 Mountain men love mountain clothing. But how loco is that in the desert?. |
 Affectionately known as the the rotten donkey by some of the locals. |
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 Shamans give the Indian posse a stealth ability by creating a swirling dust storm. |
 Surely he couldn't miss from this range? |
 The war party prepares to head out from their village. |
 Crates can provide useful cover for your gunslingers. |
 Main street suddenly becomes deserted when the gunfire begins. |
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 Rock pillars dominate the desert landscape. |
 The Plains Indians prepare to defend their village. |
 Mountain men attempt to form a wagon circle without the wagons (they taught Custer everything they know). |
 There is more than one way to win a fight. |
 Getting up close and personal. |
 This posse includes vigilantes and civilians. |
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OPERATION CRUSADER - World War II - 1941 |
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After building up their forces with the new Crusader tanks, on 18th November 1941 the Allies launched a surprise attack against Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps. One of the aims of this offensive was to relieve the siege of Tobruk, where Australian, New Zealand, Indian, British and other Commonwealth troops were grimly hanging on. The battles were hard fought, with the British command not able to take full toll of the German forces due to their habit of splitting their forces into smaller independent formations known as "Jock" columns and not concentrating their forces. This display used Flames of War, a popular set of rules for tactical level simulation of combat in World War II. The rules are published by Battlefront Miniatures of New Zealand. Mike Goldyn and Neil Gerhard put on this display in the blazing heat of the North African desert. |
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FALAISE POCKET - World War II - 1944 |
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World War II. The Allies have invaded Europe after nearly five years of war, with the largest armada that the world had ever seen. The breakout from Normandy had finally occurred. Sealing the Falaise Pocket is a re-creation of a battle around Chambois in France during August 1944. By capturing Chambois the 90th US Infantry Division would hopefully link with the Polish forces moving from the north. Their combined aim was to complete the encirclement of the German troops. The Germans were in a race against time to extricate the remnants of
two army groups from the area known as the Falaise pocket. The display
represent battles fought between units of the 90th US Infantry Division
and those of the German 2nd SS Panzer and 10th Panzer Divisions. Steve White, Chris Bridgland, Paul and Alan fought this interesting scenario in 1/72nd scale. Unfortunately for the Germans, the convoy was all but destroyed as it desperately raced down the road. An interesting diversion during the day was the larger scale radio control Tiger tank. |
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