Tactica 2019 – Part 2

The coverage of Part 1 continues with the prominent guests of Tactica.

The twin brothers Michael and Alan Perry were at the show, sculpting, having a chat with the guests and even added one of the show miniatures. But they weren't alone, they had Aly Morrison (who sculpted the Great War Miniatures range) and Peter Dennis (artists of multiple box artworks, Osprey and Warlord Games published works, and of Peters Paperboys).

There were further, multiple trade booth to choose from, along with a rather small bring & buy.

Warlord Games was supported by the Berliner Napi Runde and their battle at borodino table with Black Powder rules.

The themed room this year was dedicated to Star Wars.

The hosts themself build up a large Star Wars Legion table on Mustafar, the home planet of Darth Vaders fortress.

But Frank and his crew were supported by other fellow wargamers in that theme, and the brought along their further Star Wars Legion and general Star Wars themed tables as well. Look at that Pod Racing table!

Staying with the sci-fi topic, Mechworld introduced a Space Race and not their Full Thrust favorite. Conflict Rheinland added a little twist and brought a Spectre Operations table, along with Team Würfelkrieg and their Star Trek gaming board.

A series of compact, round tables for the generic wargaming system pbbx.

A well done Fallout table.

And the local Games Workshop was there as well, supported by the community and hosted a table covering multiple Titans. I really like the chrome Adeptus Titanicus kit.

In addition to the gaming tables, the Pigment Pirates offered workshops and tutorials, along with filled show cases. One of their sponsors was PK-Pro.

My haul from the show is quite tractable. I got myself the three show miniatures, as already signaled. I got myself a leaf punch at PK-Pro, I'll cover that one in a hobby article. Picked up the Das Boot special miniature, as it was missing from my Cruel Seas starter kit and at the Games Workshop booth I was able to acquire some random promotional items. I was going to look for the Rubicon kits that are incredibly hard to get your hands on through german traders currently, but stumbled upon a special valentines day bargain at PSC, and got the few things I wanted there and they already arrived last tuesday. Quite the fast transaction.

So what is my impression of the Tactica? Did I enjoy my stay?

Tactica is a very colourful event, with a lot to see. It is very popular, and that might actually be one of the problems, it is a bit overcrowded. The queue is quite long, parking isn't that easy around the area. So if you want to go there, be there early and at best using the public transport. The S3 will get you there every 10 mins, starting at the central station.

With that in mind, Crisis and Salute is - at least for me - less of a logistical hassle and covers the broader range of traders / manufacturers. Never the less, Tactica is a well hosted event, with a lot of participants and things to see. And maybe, if they are able to switch the venue to something a bit larger, more accessible it would enhance the experience even further. As for the german shows, it is certainly the largest. Every german manufacturer or larger trader is there, multiple well known wargames clubs - so this is _the_ wargaming place to be in Germany.

Normally my next trip would be Salute in April, but with the show being held one week after the official brexit date, I won't take the risk of stress at the airport and will take a break this year until the situation clears up and will visit a couple of smaller shows over the summer until I head to Antwerp in Autumn.

Link: Hamburger Tactica