SELWG 15 Report

It was a nice sunny but crisp autumn day as I got ready to go to this year’s SELWG at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

The car journey was a pleasant one with hardly any traffic on the roads, but there was a bit of a parking problem when we reached the car parking area. Still I managed to find somewhere to park and with a little walk to the centre we arrived just after 11 am.

There was no queue at all at the doors and the same price for a ticket as last year.

I usually first take a look around all the trade stands to see what’s new for this year but there did not seem much on offer. First I went to the Harfield stand and although lots of plastic figures here for sale, there was nothing I really wanted but I did by the Conflix-Guild Master’s House to build up my village/town. Great start to the show.

The Bring & Buy stall was not that bad and so a quick look at what’s on offer here before moving on. The concourse seemed then to be busy but when I looked at the main hall below, where were all the visitor’s gone? It now seems that each year there is less trade stands, less wargaming tables and less people and I think that SELWG could be in trouble here with future shows.

Still I had a look at the trade stands in the hall with ease and once again there were lots of 28 mm figures and laser buildings on sale. Here I brought some more laser bases from Products for Wargamers.

We had an early lunch before going around the wargaming tables for the second half of our visit.

Once again the tables were fantastic and it seems that each year the layouts are getting better and better.

The best participation game was by the Crawley Wargamers WWI game with their “Stretcher Bearer”. This had players from all different ages and it looked a very fun game to play. Each of the players had a pair of stretcher bearers and they had to get back to their lines across No-Mans-Land with their casualty. First one back to the Aid Station wins.

The best wargaming action was from a “Waterloo Game” but I forgot to get the clubs name. The layout consisted of the La Haye Sainte farm and lots of teddy bear fields.

This 28 mm game really did look the part and I give this game the best of the day.

Sorry about the pictures as my camera gave up on me and I had to use a mobile phone for these. Still the time at SELWG went really quick and we left about 2 pm.