Pendraken 20th Birthday Bash Report & Pics!!!!!

Started by Leon, 15 July 2012, 10:37:40 PM

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Leon

15 July 2012, 10:37:40 PM Last Edit: 18 July 2012, 02:25:22 AM by Leon
It was Saturday 14th July, and after 6 months of planning, the day was finally here, as we hopped into the van and headed along to our very own 20th Birthday Bash celebration!  Before we get into the report, me and Dave want to thank everyone who came along, so in no particular order:

- AndyMac for coming all the way from Wales for the event, and showing off his stunning painting skills to everyone!
- Goat Major and GavinP for putting on their AWI game!
- Dave Fairlamb, Jim Ando, and Rob from Section 8 Gamers for the Morocco 1908 game!
- Robert and Russ for bringing the Ratshire game along!
- Bob 'Rubicon' for his excellent Pacific participation game, which kept Dave busy for a chunk of the day!
- Rob and the Reiver lads for bringing their new SCW game along, and Peter in particular for jumping into 10mm!
- Alan and Leigh, 'Hoka Hey Wargaming', for their Rorke's Drift participation game!
- Peter Rushton, Mark 'sultanbev' and Marcus for coming up from Burnley to put on their SCW game!
- And everyone who came along on the day!

Without you guys, the show would have certainly lacked a little something, and we can't express enough how grateful we are for you taking the time and effort to come along.  We hope you all enjoyed the day as thoroughly as we did.

So, on to the show itself, and the prep for this one had continued right through until 3am on the night before, as we furiously packed goodie bags to make sure there were enough there for everyone!

The night before the Bash we were joined by a huge group of both local and visiting gamers, and 19 of us in total headed out to the Indian.  This was a cracking night out, great food, great company, and we left several guys in the hotel bar as we headed back to the unit to finish off some odds and ends.  Rumour has it they were still there at 3am!  Around that same time, I was dropping the van at Dave's house and rushing home with the missus to grab a couple of hours sleep before heading back to the venue at 6am!

The hotel had set up all the tables for us in advance, so we tweaked them a bit for maximum space, and started setting up the stand.  AndyMac soon appeared as well, and started setting up his painting area, and then the Burnley lads also came down started setting up.  The other gamers soon arrived and there was a load of people rushing about the room before the doors even opened.  




I don't know if it happens to other people who organise events, but there was an element of panic which started to set in the last few days before the Bash, as I began worrying that no-one would turn up, that it would just be me and Dave in an empty room, all those kinds of things.  I should never have worried though, within half an hour of us opening, the hall was full of people, and there was a fantastic buzz about the place.  

The atmosphere throughout the entire day was amazing, and everyone was so friendly, it was excellent.  Again, the games have to be mentioned here, as there are so many display games I see at shows, where the people sat around them are so embroiled in the game that they don't take the time out to chat to visitors.  This certainly wasn't the case at the Bash, as the guys spent more time chatting than actually playing!  There were so many people who came up to me and complimented the games that I lost count, so everyone involved should take a bow.

Dave had been let off the leash for the day, and he was straight off at 10am and into one of the participation games!  For me personally, this was such a nice thing, as he spends all his time working now, that he doesn't get the chance to actually do the thing which he formed Pendraken for in the first place!  He was even more chuffed that he didn't lose as well!  He didn't win either, but we don't mention that bit...  :D  Before the day was out, he also got in a bit of Zulu action on the Rorke's Drift game, and I think he also managed a turn on Goat Major/GavinP's AWI game!

Just after lunch it was time for the cake!  Jenna 'MaximumJpeg' had been busy working on it for a couple of days, and it looked awesome.  With the candles lit, Dave summoned up the energy to blow them out, ably assisted by my eldest, and gave a little speech to thank everyone for coming.  I don't know if the webcam caught that bit unfortunately.  

We then had the draw for the Roman helmet!  The winner was Russ, one of the gamers down on the Ratshire game, who was thoroughly thrilled with his prize!  It was then time for the cake, which must have given everyone some kind of sugar rush, as the stand was packed before I got back to it, and the sales came pouring in as people took advantage of the 10% off.








As we got towards the end of the day, I did a quick tally up and we'd had nearly 60 people in total at the event.  This was way more than I ever hoped, and the comments from everybody were so positive, that it really made all the stress worthwhile for me.  There were quite a few 'Are you doing this again next year then?' type questions, but we'll have to wait and see on that front.  I think next year may be a little too soon, but you never know!

With the clock ticking towards 4pm, the show began closing down, and the games started to get packed away.  The day had been an absolute success, and we'd loved every minute of it.  We can only hope that you guys enjoyed it as much.

I know Dave covered quite a bit with his speech, but I wanted to take a quick moment to thank a few more people, as there are so many people who have helped us get to this 20-year milestone, and they deserve a mention here.  First up is Cliff, a long-time friend of Dave's, who had a helping hand in the original transfer of the Wild Geese ranges over to the newly formed Pendraken Miniatures.  As well as that, he's allowed us to crash at his house for every southern show since then, as well as helping out on the stand, offering business advice where needed, so much stuff that thank you simply doesn't cover it.  In a similar vein, we'd also like to thank Bill, a veritable vault of information on almost any period, who has also helped us on the stand, advice with ranges and general queries.

Next up are all the designers, Tony, Clib, Brian, Mark K, Phil, Richard, Martin, Ray, Tony A, Mark N, John, and any others I've missed from the last 20 years.  Without you guys and your exceptional talents, we simply wouldn't have the fantastic ranges we do, and wouldn't be where we are today.

Thanks also to the show organisers, from Skelp down to Salute, and all the ones in between.  You've given us the shop front to bring our products to a much wider audience, and in the early days before 10mm became an established scale, this was a godsend.  Thanks as well to the guys who've helped us out at the shows, unloading or keeping an eye on things.  The other traders as well who we've built great friendships with over the years.

We'd also like to thank the people who have helped out with things behind the scenes, people like Matt for keeping the website and Forum ticking along, Brian and Germy for helping out with previous websites and newsletters, anyone who has hosted an online gallery of our pics somewhere.  Nik Harwood for his neverending support with anything we need, and for keeping the Totty coming...  :D  On a personal note, my missus Adele deserves a special mention for her eternal support with whatever crazy scheme I think up, and for constantly being there to do the rubbish jobs, like packaging stock, or running to the Post Office at 4:55pm on a Friday afternoon!

There are undoubtedly people who I have missed there, and I sincerely apologise to them for doing so, but there are so many people who've contributed something to the Pendraken machine, I think we'd be here for days if we listed them all.

But now, to the most important contributor to Pendraken's success:  You, the customers.  As corny and cliched as that may be, it's literally you guys who have built this company to where it is today, from those who bought into 10mm when no-one else dared, those who've continued buying from us for years, right up to those of you just recently dipping your toes into this scale.  Your purchases allow us to keep getting more and more ranges produced, help to bring more people into the scale, but more importantly allow us to do a job we enjoy, and create a product we can take pride in.  Every single one of you should take a minute to pat yourselves on the back, and take some satisfaction in what you've helped create.  

All that might sound a bit gushy, but the fact is that Pendraken has been built literally from nothing, no investment, no debts, no piles of money to get us started, and we've grown into what is now a proper company, with premises, multiple members of staff and the widest range of 10mm miniatures in the world.  To do that, especially in the wargaming market, takes a ton of hard work, and a solid, loyal customer base.  We can only bring half of that equation, you guys have brought the rest.

:-bd
www.pendraken.co.uk - Now home to over 7000 products, including 4500 items for 10mm wargaming, plus MDF bases, Battlescale buildings, I-94 decals, Litko Gaming Aids, Militia Miniatures, Raiden Miniatures 1/285th aircraft, Red Vectors MDF products, Vallejo paints and much, much more!

Leon

15 July 2012, 10:38:02 PM #1 Last Edit: 15 July 2012, 11:38:22 PM by Leon
So, without any further ado, it's time for the pics of all the games!  I'll run round these in the order they were laid out in the room:

First up is the AWI game, put on by Goat Major and GavinP, which looked great:
















Section 8 Gamers brought along their Morocco 1908 display game, a period I don't think I've seen at a show before, which was great:
















Brompton Bankers brought the fantastic 'Rastshire' game, which is something to behold with all it's little details and mini-scenes dotted about:




























'Rubicon's Pacific participation game which kept Dave busy for a while:













The Border Reiver's had been busy building this for a while, so it was great to see their SCW game make it's debut!



















Alan and Leigh brought their Rorke's Drift participation game, which looked busy when I went past:



















Mark, Peter and Marcus from the Burnley Club brought a great looking SCW game along:






















As well as these fantastic 10mm games, AndyMac also came along and brought a selection of his awesome collection.  Some of these are destined for the tables of our Forum members, that even they haven't seen yet!










Andy also brought along some more painted AWI figures for us to photo for the website, so these will be going straight to Jenna for photo'ing:










ANd finally, Andy had done up some of the new George Washington sculpts, in various stages of painted-ness!  Unfortunately my pic didn't come out too well:



Andy has put together a fantastic painting guide for this figure, which you can see here: http://www.pendraken.co.uk/FileBin/washington paintguide.pdf

And that's everything!  Thanks again to everyone who was there, and here's to the next 20 years!!!

:-bd



There are also pics taken by other folk to be found on these links:

Count Belisarius' blog: http://blog.belisarius.org.uk/pendrakenbash
Sultanbev's pic album: https://picasaweb.google.com/106592630440979980158/10mmPENDRAKENBASH?authuser=0&feat=directlink
Goat Major's pic album: http://s615.photobucket.com/albums/tt239/goatmajor/Pendraken%20Birthday%20Bash%202012/

8)
www.pendraken.co.uk - Now home to over 7000 products, including 4500 items for 10mm wargaming, plus MDF bases, Battlescale buildings, I-94 decals, Litko Gaming Aids, Militia Miniatures, Raiden Miniatures 1/285th aircraft, Red Vectors MDF products, Vallejo paints and much, much more!

Duke Speedy of Leighton

You may refer to me as: Your Grace, Duke Speedy of Leighton.
2016 Pendraken Painting Competion Participation Prize  (Lucky Dip Catagory) Winner

nikharwood

Superb, mate, superb  8)

You guys deserve so much credit, you really do.

  :D

And I think that 21 is a special birthday, isn't it? You'll get the key to the door  ;)

Squirrel

Well Leon, it Really does sound like it was a brilliant day, I'm gutted I couldn't attend. Great to hear you had such a good turnout and from the other posts it sounds like everyone had great day.

From events I've organised in the past, no you're not the only one who fears no-one will turn up!

Too mark to everyone involved with organising the bash, it takes a lot of work and you guys certainly pit in the hours! Give yourselves a hearty pat on the back too though, without your dedication and hard work, the rest of us wouldn't have got into 10mm.

Congrats to all the guys who put on the games too, they all looked great and the miniatures painting was awesome. A true showcase of what can be done in10mm.

Cheers,

Kev

Syr Hobbs

Wonderful looking games, congratulations for a successful Games Day and for 20 years of dedication to this hobby.  I maybe new around here but I can still tell that you give 110% to Pendraken Miniatures and especially to your customer base.  I don't think you can go wrong with another Pendraken Birthday Bash next year, I am certain if you ask, there will be many who will be willing to support such an endeavor.  You never know, it might catch on! 

I ditto what has already been mentioned,

QuoteA true showcase of what can be done in10mm.


take care and get some rest
Duane

Arsenus

The shadow of a man can never stand up and walk on its own.

https://arsenus.blogspot.fr/

Bill Braham

Leon

Excellent pix, all the games were of a very high standard and provided a first class showcase for Pendraken figures and indeed for 10mm as a gaming scale. It good to chat to a few people and partake of the odd libation (it was closer to 4 than 3 am by my watch!). Everyone seemed to have a good time, certainly one of the better shows that I have been to in the last few years, might even be tempted to put a game on at a future event!

Cheers

Bill

robert

Hi - the Ratshire game was HOTT - rules played 'as is' they told me.

Inspirational doesn't cover it - superb demonstration with full back story and many ingenious and funny minni dioramas.

The work put in by all the games at the show was clear to see and gave real pleasure to all that attended - the work put in by Pendraken is even more clear to see - THANK YOU Pendraken!

I've sorted by new 10 mm toys into units and got the first lot cleaned up and lollipop sticked last night...........so it starts.
That is the sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put - Winston Churchill

Steve J

It looks like you guys had a great day on so many levels. Congratulations to all involved, you really deserve it :).

Techno

Brilliant stuff !
So pleased the day was such a success for everyone. :)
Cheers - Phil.

Hertsblue

Great looking event. Glad it all went well. And after all that curry it's probably just as well there's no 'Borough equivalent of Dehli Belly!  :D
When you realise we're all mad, life makes a lot more sense.

www.rulesdepot.net

Ben Waterhouse


Arsenus

The shadow of a man can never stand up and walk on its own.

https://arsenus.blogspot.fr/

ronan