Crisis 2019 Prelude

On Saturday, November 9th, the Tinsoldiers of Antwerp host once again the largest wargaming show on continental europe - the CRISIS!

Crisis stays at its location, two hangars of Waagnatie Expo & Events in the harbour district of Antwerp (Belgium).

The show opens at 10 am and closes at 5 pm. Tickets cost 12 EUR or 20 EUR incl. 8 jetons for drinks. Children under 14 are free of entrance.

As every year the visitors receive a goodie bag incl. in the ticket, that covers the Crisis Gazette along with the show miniature, sculpted once again by the talented hands of Paul Hicks (by whom you'll find plenty of different miniatures at the show).

This year the event miniature is a duo, Henri De Bruyne and Joseph Lippens, kept in 28mm scale.

As brexit is most likely - for the moment - postponed, it is a little bit more certain who will participate at the show. As most of the miniatures companies are located in the United Kingdom, an unclear travel situation creates a certain risk for the smaller companies, as the (temporary) export declarations are quite labour intensive, especially if you have so many product codes as we do have in our miniature hobby.

Of the big three, only Warlord Games participates at Crisis. Games Workshop books booths at wargaming shows very selective (Forge World is at Salute, but beyond that, you'll only find them at toy fairs like SPIEL) and Mantic probably didn't want to risk any Brexit troubles, as they were there the years before. But Warlord Games will show quite a lot of novelties, I expect a deep dive on the new AD2000 Judge Dredd system and Americans and Spaniards for Black Seas.

If you're a fan of oldhammer and fancy some older miniatures from the cunning hands like the Perry twins (And some newer like the Saxons by Matthew Bickley), you should drop by Wargames Foundry. I have my eyes on the old warrior set, originally released by Games Workshop in the 80s.

The Assault Group covers a pre-order bonus, so you can save quite a bit, if you tell them before the show what you want. Just make sure to do so before November 3rd, then the action expires.

A couple of german companies will be there as well. Heer46, covering world war 2 and beyond for 15mm and 28mm, has some new paratroopers and crew for the 15 cm field gun. Freebooter Miniatures just showed their new warband of The Shadows for Freebooter's Fate at SPIEL this week. And if you're looking for tools and paints, you should drop by Felix at PK-Pro.

Bears Head Miniatures has some amazing critters, fantasy and pulp miniatures, that I'll take a closer look upon at the show. Especially the grizzly really speaks to me.

Black Scorpion covers fantasy football and pirates. They have special event miniatures, like their birthday miniature, that will most likely be available at Crisis.

Looking forward to see Karl of Crooked Dice, who just fulfilled their Colony 87 kickstarter (of which you certainly can buy the codes at the show) and just released some nifty pulp and heroic for November.

Dave Thomas is a man of many trades, he takes care of the large Perry Miniatures booth at Crisis, along with a couple of other items, so you'll be able to pre-order with Northstar and pick them up at the show. The booth and range is large, but to be sure, especially if you plan on buying a larger order, to pre-order.

A couple of different companies offering MDF terrain will be there as well. Some traders may stock 4ground, but companies like Charlie Foxtrot or Sarissa Precision have direct sales at the show.

Of course, among the traders are many shops and resellers, mostly from Belgium, the Netherlands and North-Western Germany. I am excited to see what Games-n-Stuff brings with them this year, as they always brought a couple of very strongly reduced items to the show.

The wargaming press will be at Crisis as well. You will have the chance to buy miniatures from the Giants in Miniature range by Wargames Illustrated or have a chat with Guy and Jasper from Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy / Karwansaray Publishers.

My haul this year will be rather reasonable, as my list of wishes (and needs) is much shorter compared to the years before. I have my eyes on a gaming mat, so I'll maybe drop by TinyWargames and see what they offer.

Crisis is a well organized event and the hosts take care of a lot of things during the day, from stewards for the parking lot, for the traders to find their booths, for the visitors in their queue and so on. The venue covers a proper seating area along with catering, that offers a couple of flemish snacks and dishes along with matching beverages.

What's for you to prepare? Take your time and enjoy the city of Antwerp. We usually arrive already on friday and enjoy the late afternoon / evening in the city along with other fellow wargamers in the old town in one of the many pubs and bars. Of course there is a lot of sights to see nearby, especially if you're interested in world war 2 or napoleonics. As for the show itself, the only thing that troubled me - and that is something that the hosts are absolutely not at fault for - is the exchange rate of pound sterling into euro at some booths. But with the option to pre-order (and partially pre-pay) you usually get a bit of discount and if you bring GBP to the show, so the traders don't have to change it back at home, will usually give you a better deal.

If you still have doubts about dropping by, take a look at the past coverage, including trips to the city of Antwerp. Along with my reports on Crisis 2017, Crisis 2015, Crisis 2014, Crisis 2013, Crisis 2012 and Crisis 2011 (in the former location and my first trip to crisis).