Pushing Plastic

I got back this afternoon from two days at Historicon, which is the premier historical miniature wargaming convention (say that ten times) if not in the whole country, then at least on the eastern seaboard.  Several thousand people (mostly white, male, older, and overweight) descend on a convention center for a weekend in July every year to recreate battles, real and otherwise, on terrain tables that vary from simple cardboard to painstakingly recreated terrain boards that match the geographic features of the real battle.  Most of the games are historical, as the title of the convention would suggest; everything from ancient Persians and Greeks to Christians and Muslims fighting the Crusades to naval warfare in the Napoleonic era to American soldiers battling through the streets of Mogadishu.  There are also plenty of fantasy- and science fiction-themed games, from Star Trek to Star Wars to Battlestar Galactica to Warhammer 40,000.

Of course, I attended this convention alone--couldn't have paid B to go with me. :)


There were sea battles:

...and desert battles:

The Light Brigade charged:

...and Sevastopol was defended:

There were city battles:

...and battles in space:

...and even battles on Mars:

Beaches were stormed:

...and hills were defended:

There were battlestars:

...and war elephants:

...and it wouldn't be miniature wargaming without tanks, tanks, and more tanks:

One of the neat things about this hobby is the passion that the players/game organizers have.  I know the guys who put together the games and terrain tables to recreate the Light Brigade's charge and the siege of Sevastopol from the Crimean War; they know all the history behind the events and could talk to you about it for hours.  There are guys at the convention that know everything about Napoleanic-era infantry regiments, and have carefully painted their 15 millimeter infantry formations to match the exact uniform colors that specific units wore in the early 1800's (a 15-millimeter infantry model is about a half an inch tall).  The attention to detail is amazing.

This was my third time attending Historicon, and will be my last due to our upcoming move.  So I tried to make the most of my time there, playing in 3 different Battlestar Galactica-themed games and assisting with some Dystopian Wars demonstration games.

Here's a shot of the inside of the convention hall, at the height of the activity on Friday afternoon:

A good time was had by all, and now I'm home again, with a little less money (thanks to the flea market and the vendors' hall), but with some good stuff and some good memories.

Farewell Historicon!