Oldhammer Weekend 2015

This weekend gone was the third Bring Out Your Lead event, otherwise known as the Oldhammer weekend, Amy and myself have been looking forward to this one for some time and we weren't disappointed.  We drove down on a fine Friday morning and managed to check in early at the Deincourt at around 11am which meant we could leave all our bags in the room and then grabbed a taxi down to Stoke Hall.

Bag packed and old hammer in hand, ready for the journey down to Newark

Amy outside the Deincourt

The first thing we did upon arriving at Foundry was take in the new displays, there are now many more miniatures out than on our previous visit so we took some time to look over them all while the first games were being set up.

 The new cases in the main room and below some of my favourite miniatures on display, top of the list has the be the genestealer army

Amy then partook in a little bit of shopping and picking up an Earth Elemental, some Water Nymphs and another couple of packs or Mer-Folk for here nature army.  We decided to head outside and bask in the glorious weather while as the games were still being set up.

We then went to mingle with the growing number of people who were now turning up and bumped into Drew who was over from the states and had brought some Troll sculpts for some people as well as a Rogue Trader Space Marine force which you'll see later.

I then got chatting to Curtis from Ramshackle Games (a top bloke) who asked what we were here to play, which was nothing (at least planned), as being in the process of a house move meant almost everything was packed away.  However he had brought along plenty of miniatures and wanted to know if we wanted a game of 3rd Edition Warhammer to which the answer was absolutely yes though it would be our first game of 3rd Ed!
I can't remember how many points were were playing but I took his old Chaos army while he played is own Ramshackle Orc army (which was very impressive looking).

Here's me cheering on my Giant who easily deserved man (or monster) of the match by either flattening or scaring off most of the Orc line.

We then spent the rest of the day taking in the various games which were being played including Warhammer Ahoy!, Chainsaw Warrior and Judge Dredd/Necromunda.

My favourite ship on show though they were all very impressive

Also in residence during the event were Tony Ackland and Kev Adams, Tony had brought some of his work with him which he was happy to discuss while Kev was working on some new greens during Friday.

Friday night then saw a trip the the Organ Grinder (otherwise known as the Monkey Pub) where they served a mighty fine pint, Gorilla being the choice for Amy and myself, and we had a game of Skull with Stew, João and Garth.

Picture from João

After recovering from a slight headache on Saturday morning we grabbed a taxi with Drew and rolled up at Foundry for day two.
Kev Adams was doing something a bit different today and was sculpting faces on miniatures for a donation to a charity of his choice.  Amy took advantage of this and had a little customisation added to a treeman she'd picked through trading.

I didn't get many more pictures for today as I was involved in an epic game of 3rd Ed Warhammer which Garth had organised where I was playing an incredible Slann army who were allied with a Wizard and halfling/Dwarf army against an army of Chaos.  Though we lost it was a pleasure playing with such fantastic miniatures (the Chaos army really was something else).

During a break in the game I did mange to run over to the Fallout game a grab a few shots and take in some of the action as well as taking a snap of Drew's Space Marine force.

Tony Yates was also present on the Saturday with some of his artwork and miniatures on show and was a pleasure to speak to.  He also had a 'what do you want me to draw' list so Amy put down a Water Spirit riding a Sea Serpent and she is so happy with her sketch she's thinking of getting an actual miniature made for her Nature army!

After having an excellent Chilli tea (and a doughnut) we decided to crash at the hotel on Saturday night and regain some vigour for the following days activities.

On Sunday we managed to catch a glimpse of the Warhammer Ahoy! game in action and it looked like a everyone was having plenty of fun.

I also managed to take some pictures of a Rogue Trader game between the forces of the Imperium and the Eldar, a real treat to see for me, along with another game of Rogue Trader which was going on in one of the smaller rooms.

There was also a painting competition taking place, which we didn't get to see the end of though these were the entrants just before we had to leave.

However the highlight of the day and quite possible the weekend was the game of Deathrace 40,000.  It was an absolute barrel of laughs to watch and the vehicles that had been put together for this were fantastic. Here are some of the highlights which we caught.

 The race course above and then below some of my favourite vehicles (though the nurgling car didn't take part)

 Cheating Orks going the wrong way to pick up the powerups

Ramming time from the Squats 

 Carnage in the first proper corner

 More cheating Orks! However this was followed by the first lava jump

Curtis' Ramshackle vehicle a little worse for wear being pushed by it's crew 

At this point we had to head home however we've had a superb weekend in great company and I'd just like to thank everyone who was involved in the organising and running of the event and the games, the Ansell's for having us all, and everyone we had a game or shared a pint with over the weekend including Curtis, Garth, Stew and João.

The next post will probably be the last for a while as we prep for the aforementioned house move but hopefully that won't take too long and I can get back to it as my hobby zeal has been well and truly been topped up after this weekend.