ScrapYard Armory

A New Home

Historicon has a new home at Valley Forge, Pa.  The venue has more modern accommodations while providing much needed breathing room for the growing convention.

The one major problem was the long and twisted walk to the BattleTech area.  There were around 50 or so gaming tables tucked away on the Radisson side of the convention while the main tables were near registration at the Scanticon.  I felt that I spent too much time traveling between the two locations to get to one game or another.

While the convention site grew, the BattleTech specific gaming room did not.  The regular crew never seemed to mind.  BattleTech folk are a hearty breed after all.  The room almost always looked full especially when we ended up filling tables all the way around for the more popular games.

BattleTech Games

For the first time since I started attending HMGS events, I ended up hosting games rather than just participating.  My partner in crime minion, “Saxywolf” built terrain for one of the events and assisted preparing minis.  The first was a multi-battle big game using a unique system of synchronized battles that involved Aerospace Fighters and off-map Artillery to compliment the regular assortment of ‘Mechs and Vehicles.

Our second game was a BattleTroops skirmish using the Time of War combat system as our framework.  While not as well attended, I had a great time watching players discover this great system.  I will admit that the forces were not as balanced as they should have been.  I should have put more effort into playtesting but the effect of the terrain we used, which was not completed until the 11th hour, had a huge effect on weapon balance that I did not have the foresight to account for.

“Speck” and crew put on another great show with lots of games ranging from 2821 to 3074.  I’ll have no less than three full battle reports from the convention in the near future.  Check back for more!

Grinder and Demos

While the Grinder table always seemed full the demo table was rarely used.  The normal influx of passers-by interested in a quick 10 minute demo were far and few between, no doubt due to the location of the BattleTech room.  Demo Agent “Speck” and his crew of minions did their best to bring in visitors and put up their own signs to direct people to the demo location.  No venue is perfect and this one certainly had it’s flaws.  I find it curious during my many  long walks between the Scanticon and Radisson that there were many conference rooms available or being used by other parties.  If HMGS attends Valley Forge again, I think it would be better to use these spaces to keep the game rooms closer together.

Painting Contest

BattleTech regulars took no less than three prizes in the painting contest!  Mark’s brother Dave took home honors for his Wolf’s Dragoons and TotalWar BattleMaster while Scott “Wemic9” was awarded for his museum scale Vulture. Congrats to both on their entries!

Iron Wind Metals and the Vendor Hall

Iron Wind was in attendance with Ral Partha banners on display.  Sadly, they still have not gotten their BattleArmor sorted into new bins so they were absent.  The regular assortment was on hand though and I picked up a Limited Edition TDR-10M Thunderbolt which I plan to add to my Marik roster.

I noticed a few more painted miniatures in the display case that I had not seen before.

The rest of the vendor hall was spacious and well stocked with all manner of miniatures, terrain, tools, and random wargaming goodness.  I saw many old favorites and some new faces too.

Other Games

There are always a lot of great games at Historicon.  BattleTech will always be my bread and butter, but I love showcasing some pictures of the best I saw while walking around.  Historicon is always a huge event and a great time for any wargamer.