Triples The Buys and Bye-bye?

I hark back to when Triples was the show that kicked off the show season and it did it in style. Like many I have fond memories of Triples, we used to go on a Sunday as it was easier to park. First one I went to was at a Hotel before the move to the Octagon so I have a long association to the show. Whilst many really liked the old venue I was not 100% in favour of it and certainly was not sold on keeping the show where it was. I have now been to the new site for the last four years and the numbers seem to have been dropping steadily. We could not make it yesterday so expected a low turn out, especially with the weather. However the Saturday was just as slack as the Sunday and feedback at the show and afterwards on Facebook it's not been the show it needs to be.

Talk was that it costs the same to rent the Institute for two days as it does for one, that may be but having such a thin run of punters means it feels empty and the traders look bored, very bored. The only reason I can say for keeping it as a two day show is the competition games, if they can be condensed to a one day competition I think they should consider it.

I was also told they plan to move the show back to March which moves it from between Salute and Partisan but it does move it close to York's show so it's still not the best solution but one I feel is not a bad move. Triples clashed with a Si-Fi show so maybe lost some visitors to that but I think given the number of shows we now have in the calendar it's just becoming too crowded. The question may be which shows shrink or disappear? The answer could be quite shocking as staple shows may loose out to the odd new kid on the block. One thing is for sure and that is that many of the traders who have to travel long distances are going to find it harder and harder to justify the trip. Watch out for the traders who start to offer a on line discount for purchases made the weekend of shows they no longer attend. THAT could be a very interesting development that could see them make far more money by not attending than if they did.

Most of the money I spent at the show was spent as soon as I walked through the door at the Baccus stand. I picked up the pre-ordered four packs of pike and added to these two packs of companion cavalry, this will make my 6mm Hail Caesar army a viable concern. I also bought NFR35 Animated French infantry and NFR37 the excellent Imperial HQ aka My Little Ogre. So my Napoleonic French finally get a Napoleon for my complex. The only new Baccus French I don't have is the casualty pack which I plan to pick up at Partisan. Last off was a pack of British Light Dragoons that my son needs for his Peninsular army.

Next stop was Magister Militum where I broke the bank on one pack of Persian Command allowing me to have four Hail Caesar divisions. This may be short sided and I should have bought another command pack due to my buying yet more Persian cavalry in the coming month. Last up was one more Kontos armed cavalry (this time Seleucid) for my Macedonian army/s as I am a bit short on cavalry units. I still think I need more but can pick more up at a later date along with yet more pike as I rate their pike above all others. I have the figures for two more pike blocks that are not MM but will do as I already have them.

The Hail Caesar vibe continued with a trip to Warbases to buy a couple of packs of bases. Pill shaped for 20mm skirmishers and 60x40 bases for my 6mm army. It's always good to have a chat with Martin, I have watched his company grow from a small stand at Partisan (first time I came across them) to what they are today and look to expand to. It's a nice guy business but my dealings with all concerned makes me think they are stand outs amongst a crowd of nice guys.

I also bought 60 7mm dice 40 in ivory and 20 in red, again surprise surprise for Hail Caesar, the ivory to show points of damage and the red to show they are shattered. This is going to be especially useful when playing with the 6mm armies as they will really stand out and help keep tabs on divisions that are close to being broken. They will also get use in our Napoleonic's instead of beads for cohesion loss and for trying out the Naps with Command & Color combat system. Only issue is that I need more :-)

I also bought two paints, Crimson and Silver but have managed to loose these somewhere along the way, never mind. My son had a great time, bought a lot of various figures but only got the one game in, the storming of Sword Beach in which they won the day but he returned home tired but happy. That makes two of us :-)