Misc., Wargame Shows, Kirriemuir

This Saturday I jumped into the car and headed up to Kirriemuir, for the annual Targe show. “Kirrie” is a place dear to my heart – my grandparents lived there, and much of my childhood was spent playing in the woods there, or exploring the little town. It’s also in the county of Angus, and every time I drive up the road and pass the sign saying “Welcome to Angus” I always say Thank you Very Much. A few hundred times and the joke still hasn’t worn thin… Anyway, the show is run by the Kirriemuir Wargames Club, and is always a fun event to go to. This year was extra special, as the club awarded me a trophy for Services to Wargaming. I’m not sure what that means, or why I deserved it, but it was nice to receive nonetheless. So, thanks to Dale Smith and the Kirrie gang, both for the award and for the show. I scurried around buying things – scenery from Andy at Last Valley, a mule train from Graham at Crann Tara,  grass tufts from Martin at Warbases, and cork chippings from the Dave Thomas emporium. Then it was time to wander around and look at some of the cool games on show. Best demo game went to Dave Imrie and the League of Complete Bastards, a name I always imagine is what the Augsburg crowd should be called. That’s it at the top – a skirmish set in Spain during the Carlist Wars. Best participation went to my own South-east Scotland Club, and Colin Jack’s madcap Nazi Moonbase (above). The other games are ones that caught my eye.A really top notch one was this Back of Beyond offering from Kevin Calder of the Iron Brigade. It even had Tin Tin in it, and a rocket base inside a mountain somewhere in Outer Mongolia. How cool is that?! Here’s a battle of Barra (or Inverurie), in 1308, with some lovely figures, including a nice Robert the Brice command stand. Another one next to it I meant to photo was a 15mm Battle of Falkirk game, by the Falkirk Wargames Club. Every time though, it had so many people around it I swore I’d come back for a proper photo, but in the end I forgot. Sorry guys. Next up was a game set in Iraq in 1941, with the British taking on local insurgents. Next up is a colonial game, set in the North-West Frontier using 20mm figures. it was laid on by Glasgow Phoenix Club, and it proved so fast moving they played it through twice, with one side winning a game apiece. Here’s a 28mm game set in the Ruhr in 1945. I’m not sure who staged it, but it looked fairly interesting. There were other games – quite a lot of them – but I didn’t take pictures of the pure fantasy ones (apart from our own club’s one), or ones where I didn’t stop to chat to the guys staging it. All in all though, it was a  great little show, and well worth the 90 minute each way drive.  Finally, here’s another picture of Dave Imrie’s Carlist Wars game – probably the prettiest game of the show.