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Britcon '22, in our new home in the Nottingham Trent Uni Conference Centre in the very heart of Nottingham is now so close you can almost taste its paintwater (is that a thing?) - and we're delighted to be able to report that the entire event is absolutely flying, in terms of both players and traders who have signed up already too!
As of today we have;
- More than 40 traders and demo games confirmed for the FREE TO ENTER Britcon Trade Show (https://www.bhgs.org.uk/britcon-trade-show.html)
- Over 340 gamers taking part ths year - double most of our recent showings in Manchester!
- That turnout includes 80 who will make up the first ever, and now sold-out, TFL Lard Workshop Games Day.
- Onsite accomodation has sold out, meaning almost 120 gamers will be staying in Uni accommodation within staggering distance of our venue, delivering that "convention" vibe at full effect!
- We have announced a new partnership with Forged in Battle, who will be both sponsoring the Britcon Trade Show and providing prize support for all of the 15mm Ancients historical periods as well
- The Bring & Buy will be run by The Nottingham Board and Wargames Club who are providing facilities that will allow you to pay - and be paid out - electronically as well as in cash for the first time ever too.
If you are considering attending the Britcon Trade Show, here's a heads-up on just some of the special offers and show deals from some of our traders who'll be at the show this year in Nottingham.
First up, our overall show sponsors those lovely people at Forged in Battle will be bringing their comprehensive range of War & Empire 15mm Ancients to the show this year. The War & Empire range of traditional miniatures have been making all the running in the 15mm Ancients world since their succesful Kickstarter campaigns a few years back. Cast in high quality pewter these great miniatures will be available at Britcon on a special show-only offer of Buy 5 blisters and get a 6th pack FREE (lowest priced pack is the free pack)
Nick from North Star will be attending the show with Dave Thomas, and will be majoring on showing off the Stargrave and Frostgrave ranges next to Dave's traditional stand full of Perry metals and all of the plastic ranges you can name as well - they are next to the bar (in case you were wondering...)
The Assault Group are first-timers at Britcon, and Pete is running a 10% discount offer on any pre-orders through their website for 'post-free' collection at the show – a great chance to get your hands on some of their really highly regarded 28mm figures for Medieval, Renaissance, WW2 and many other eras as well – just mark your web order for show collection at Britcon when ordering.
Warpaint Figures will be launching their all-new Naval Terrain System to Britcon, which is especially good for games like Black Seas and Mantic's Armada. The full range will be available to see and buy on their stand, and can also be pre-ordered post-free using Warpaint's Britcon shipping code 'COLLECT BRITCON'.
They will also have limited number of Jungle Terrain, Desert Terrain and Naval Terrain combo packs available on the day too, all at around a 20% discount, first come first served.
Sheppey Models are a first-time Britcon exhibitor, and just in time for the show Shaun has started stocking the FireForge range of 28mm plastic kit and resin-cast historical figures - he's also working on adding Flames of War to his roster as well, so fingers crossed he'll have some WW2 goodies ready and waiting for you by the time Britcon comes around as well.
Britcon regulars The Pit will be running their now-traditional show offer of 20% off the RRP of any item they carry with a starting price of £10 and up.
Matt and his team of eager minions are also now the official Mantic "show reps" for pretty much all of the UK expo circuit, and so will be demo'ing Mantic's Kings of War Armada at the show as well as bringing loads of Mantic goodies to Britcon this year. They can even take orders onsite for anything they don't have with them and ship it to you after the show post-free. Mantic Points collectors can even pick up some special points-only miniatures on site at the show.
We also have a number of brand-new traders this year, including many doing their first ever shows - so do make sure to go over and show them some love (and money!) and play your part in supporting the future of our hobby if you can. The new companies include :
Voidscar Miniatures who will be showcasing an all-new 1/100th Sci-Fi ranges at the show.
Disdain Studio will be showing their 3-D printed designs at Britcon, including a positive menagerie-full of animals - Prehistoric, "real" and fantastical.
Maz at Winterdyne Commission Modelling is another Nottingham-based designer who uses his skills to produce a high quality range of 3d printed terrain and accessories. He's done design work for companies like Mantic, Anvil Industries, Spiral Arm Studio's and Modiphus in the past, so getting some of his work on your table could be just what you need to deliver a significant upgrade to your on-table scatter or medieval/fantasy townscape collections.
Tiger Miniatures will be bringing their new range of '' Dragon and Peacock wars'' figures to Britcon this year, along with their other ranges. Dragon and Peacock is the Qing Chinese invasion of Burma in 1765, and the Qing Dynasty also took part in the Opium wars with Britain and the Boxer Rebellions amongst other interesting-to-game conflicts - so we're sure they will have plenty of uses in your collection too.
Colour Forge / The War Hub will be running a "buy 5, get the 6th can for free" offer at Britcon on their new set of "compatible with other ranges" paints - and will be bringing stocks of their latest release, Convict Orange - perfectly colour-matched to GW's Trollslayer Orange.
Christopher Morris Books are a specialist bookseller from Derbyshire who will be stocking around 500 titles on their stand, including an extensive range of Osprey books including all the latest titles as well as a large selection of wargaming books. All titles are discounted by at least 20% and the Osprey Campaign Series, which are usually £14-99 each, will be £12-99 each or £10 each if you buy two or more.
The Wings of War Aerodrome team will be running three parallel participation games on the show floor both days over the weekend, a Napoleonic Naval game, a WW1 aerial game and a WW2 (Battle of Britain) game, so if you have a bit of free time and fancy shoving some aircraft, or ships around, make tracks for their tables and they'll be happy for you to join in
Gripping Beast are sponsoring a couple of events at this years' Britcon, and so are able to offer post-free "click and collect" ordering via their website, allowing you to shop their entire ranges and collect your purchases post-free from Martin at the Swordpoint gaming tables on Saturday and Sunday.
Instant Armies will again be attending Britcon, which they tell us is one of their favourite shows of the year. This year they have 28mm figures both painted and unpainted from various manufacturers, and for the 15mm historical gamers their stand will have literally thousands of 15mm figures again painted and unpainted.
Dave Lanchester is also back this year, and will have 100's of 2nd hand Osprey books on sale, all priced from just £5 and some at 5 for £20.
Kore Gaming will be demo'ing their new 15mm Sci-Fi game at Britcon, as well as showing off their range of suitable vehicles in 15mm (& 28mm). They've also recently picked up the rights to produce the White Dragon range of highly detailed modern-era polyurethane minis and models, and will have them on their stand at the show.
ABC Brushes will be with us for the first time in Nottingham, and if you've not seen them on the circuit before make sure to visit their stand for their fantastically well priced multi-pack brush deals. They specialise in getting hold of stocks of cosmetic-flaw-on-the-handle-type only factory seconds and discontinued lines, giving you incredible value for money for some top-draw brushes.
Finally, if you fancy some post-free Too Fat Lardies goodies, just select "Britcon Collection" on the TFL website and then do your best to somehow find the inconspicuous, shy, quiet and retiring Rich and the rest of the TFL team at some point during Lard Workshop (our first ever collaboration with the Too Fat Lardies team) running in the Old Chemistry Theatre next to the show floor, and they will then be happy to personally and graciously press any advance-purchased TFL goodies directly into your eager and no doubt sweaty hands (on Saturday only).
All in all this year we have nearly 40 traders, demo and participation games, and another 20-or-so eye-candy-tastic games going on at Lard Workshop on Saturday as well. There are more on all our traders (not just those listed here) and links to all of their websites on the BHGS website Britcon Trade Show Page (https://www.bhgs.org.uk/britcon-trade-show.html)