Fiasco Show Report

[Leon]

The Fiasco show was the first since the start of September which didn't involve any overnight stays, and it made a refreshing change to be able to hop in to the van and come back the same day!  This time around, we took my eldest along as well, so three generations of Pendraken hopped into the van at 6am, and set off on the hour-long journey to Leeds.  The sun was just creeping up, so it was a good time to test the settings on the camera:




We got the Royal Armouries at around 7:15, got straight into a parking spot and began unloading.  With the 3 of us (well 2 and 1/2 really!) we got everything out quickly and were set up shortly before 10.  While I set up the separate Minibits stand, Dave disappeared off for the usual bacon butties.  Unfortunately, there weren't any on offer at this one, just a variety of sandwiches and a few flapjack/shortcake-y type things.  

A rather strange coincidence at this show, was the passing away of Jimmy Saville, after whom the venue is named.  There was a Book of Remembrance situated in the front foyer area, and I later heard that there was a film crew there at some point of the day filming a piece for the news.

The show is held in a large and airy hall, housing both traders and games:




The show opened promptly at 10am, with a small queue outside.  It took folk a while to work their way around the hall before any business picked up.  Luckily the eldest one kept me busy, pestering for things to do, so we had a quick walk about.

Business took quite a while to get going, but we spent a lot of time chatting with some familiar faces, many of them Forum folk.  The eldest one found the participation game nearby being run by the Leeds Wargames Club, and very quickly declared it 'The Most Awesome Game Ever' and was there for quite some time.

At lunchtime, Dave headed to the handy Pizza Express next door and picked up some lunch, while I went for the on-site sandwich options.  The food and service was good, as was the pizza from next door, and it's handy having several options in the vicinity.  There's also a Tesco not too far away if people needed it.

By early afternoon, the eldest had disappeared onto a modelling stand instead, coming back first with a small scale model ship, and then later with a paper plane.  I've not noticed the chap doing this previously, but it must be a godsend for parents needing to occupy the kids while they look at the shiny goodies on offer!

Unfortunately, sales never really picked up for us during the day.  It's a shame when it happens, but sometimes it's just not your day, and the 10mm buyers weren't out in force at Fiasco.  We'd had quite the opposite experience last year, with a great debut in the new hall, so it's swings and roundabouts I suppose.  Speaking with various other traders, there appeared to be a very wide range of opinions, some having a poor days trade like us, while some had done very well indeed.

Before the end of the day, I wandered off to grab my game photo's.  There were a couple of great looking tables on show, including a 10mm game.  The best one for me was probably the Gettysburg game, which looked fantastic.

Frother's modern game







Pulteney's 13th Regt of Foot - Battle of Culloden 1746







Leeds Night Owls - The Battle of Delphinium









Scarab - Battle of Amphipolis 422BC









James Thomson - Battle of North Vale (VBCW)







Headingley Games Club - Hellfire (FOW)







Bert Fegg's Club for Naughty Boys and Girls - Gettysburg What If











Crooked Dice - World of TV





Wakefield and Ossett - Bump in the Night





Barnsley Wargamers - WWII BKC in 10mm!













Burnley - Warmachine and Hordes







Ilkley Lads - Harran 1104











Leeds Wargames Club - Gotterdammerung











So, all in all, not the best day out business wise, but it's only down the road for us, and it's an enjoyable day out.  I'd like to say thanks to the Leeds Wargames Club for looking after the eldest, as his beginner's luck with the dice slowly destroyed everything they threw at him!  He was thoroughly bitten by the gaming bug, and will be joining us on the road a lot more in the future!