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8For the first time in nine years, HISTORICON returned to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for its 2018 iteration. Presented by the HMGS team at the home of their other shows (Cold Wars and Fall In!) - the Lancaster Host - this year’s event could be best referred to as “transitional”.

The Lancaster Host is still undergoing renovations that have disrupted the flow of the smaller events for a few years now, but it was certainly stretched very thin when it came to the “big show”. Despite the cramped quarters and brimming vendor hall, the attendees made the best of the situation; bringing many great games and their “carry on” attitude.

The HMGS ran several trips to downtown Lancaster over the weekend to the site of future HISTORICONs - the Lancaster Convention Center. It is expected that the vendor hall will have ample space to house all the vendors that wish to attend, including the dozens who were unable to fit into the Host’s Expo Center this year. We wish the HISTORICON crew the best in 2019 with their new location.

For more info, visit:www.historicon.org

For more of our photos from the show:wargamesillustrated.net

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The Siege of St. ElmoMalta was envisioned by the Sultan Suleiman as the key to controlling the Mediterranean. As part of his grand strategy for the conquest of Europe in 1565, Suleiman sent 38,000 well-equipped troops to conquer the island. Turkish strategy first called for the taking of Fort St. Elmo - they expected it to take three days. Thanks to the spirit of the tenacious defenders, it would take more than five weeks.We have showed off Doug Fisher’s siege games before, but none has been as large as this spectacle. He used the Siege Swein Forkbeard’s Castle ruleset that he wrote a number of years ago.

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Naval Action in the Age of Sail An epic battle on the high seas between the British Jolly Jack Tars and the French Sans Culottes (left), presented by Eric Boyle, using the Kiss Me Hardy ruleset from Too Fat Lardies. This game was part of a larger “Lard America” presentation of a number of the TFL games.

Pantheon: The Fall of Olympus Kalissa Skibicki presented this 3D version of the popular miniatures boardgame Mythic Battles: Pantheon (below). The sculpted terrain board showed off the wonderfully painted miniatures really well, providing a very immersive experience for gamers.

The Battle of Warburg - 1760 The French have plans to outflank the Allies in Hanover by seizing bridgeheads near the town of Warburg. A British/Hanoverian/Hessian force has marched to push the French back over the Diemel River. Can the French hold on? Bruce Taylor ran this Seven Years War game using the Lace Wars ruleset.

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isandlwanaDavid Burton ran this excellent game in 15mm, using the Bayonets and Spearpoints ruleset, over a lovely table sculpted by Dennis Kalember. We asked David about the figure scale and he replied “It’s 1:5 and there are about 1200 Zulu minis on the table. That means we’d have to recycle the Zulus roughly three times to reach the number of warriors that were actually there.”

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Cane Hill - 28 November, 1862Each year Kaleb Dissinger digs deeper and deeper into the history of the American Civil War, shunning the more popular battles that can be found on other tables at the convention in favor of the smaller conflicts that nevertheless had an impact on the war.

In this battle, Confederate cavalry attempts to push into Missouri while following a Federal scouting party. Historically they were pushed back.

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Legion of Honor inductees and the Jack Scruby AwardEach year a number of luminaries of the wargaming world are inducted into the Legion of Honor (LoH), a group of people who have had a major impact on the wider wargaming community be it through their contributions to miniatures, rules, game mastering, or organization. This year Alan and Michael Perry, Richard Clark, Howard Whitehouse, and Richard Borg were inducted into the LoH. The Perrys were also presented with the Jack Scruby Award, honoring their lifetime achievements in wargaming. The following LoH members are pictured above.

Back Row (L to R): Bob Giglio, Richard Clarke, Pete Panzeri, Richard Borg, Dave Waxtel.

Front Row (L to R): Alan and Michael Perry, Howard Whitehouse, Buck Surdu.

Clash in the Pines: Battle of Olustee, FL General Truman Seymour wants his own Sherman-like glory by marching his troops from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. His goal is to cripple the Confederate supply lines to the armies fighting to the north, but there are Confederates waiting in ambush to strike the Federal columns.

David Skibicki (using a modified This Hallowed Ground ruleset) presented another spectacular game this year, and while everything on the table looked wonderful, it was the height of the trees that first caught our eye.

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Dunsterforce 100th Anniversary Battle -

Menjil Bridge, 12 June, 1918

The first action involving Dunsterforce in the Caucasus was against supporters of the Jangal Movement under Mirza Kuchak Khan, who led an Islamic rebellion against the Persian government. A force of 2,000 Jangalis with several machine guns defended the approach to the Menjil Bridge against a largely Cossack force supported by British armored cars, hussars, and a plane, to stop Dunsterforce from reaching the port of Enzeli and then going on to Baku.

This WI Showcase Game was run by Bob Giglio using his modified version of the Soldier’s Companion rules. The scenario is from Bob’s forthcoming Dunsterforce book, available from Partizan Press this Winter.

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The Vendor HallThere were dozens of vendors who brought their wares to HISTORICON this year, but due to the smaller size of the Host’s Expo Center, many more were unable to be squeezed in. We really hope that they’ll be back to the show next year at the new, larger venue.

Our illustrious editor, Dan, pointed out that there were so many terrain vendors at the show, in a much higher ratio than at most UK-based shows. We’re not sure why that is, but thought you might like to see the offerings of a handful of them. Ben & Cad Jeal from 4Ground were at the show, along with the spectacular pieces from Paper Terrain, and the extensive range carried by Battlefield Terrain Concepts. The Miniature Building Authority even took a moment to be digitally scanned for a 3D-print in miniature form from Minuteman Miniatures.

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FOR MORE ON THE VENDORS AT H’CON SEE PAGE 8

The Greyhounds’ Counterattack

30 July, 1944 - a half-kilometer east of Villebaudon, France. As the German resistance stiffened in the face of the 2nd Armored Division’s breakout during Operation COBRA, the 116th Panzer Division (known as the Greyhounds) were ordered to halt the American advance at all costs.

This spectacular game used a modified version of the NUTS! ruleset.

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The Hobby UniversityThe classes presented by the team of The Hobby University are at the core of what so many of us do every week - painting up our soldiers and creating scenery to put them on.

Over the course of the four days of HISTORICON, The Hobby U runs hundreds of wargamers through dozens of classes that cover all manner of topics. From the broad, like Tools of the Trade and Army Painting Eyes, to the focused, such as Painting 28mm Zebras and Painting Gems, there is always something for everyone.

This year, special guests Alan & Michael Perry even presented a couple of sculpting demonstrations where attendees were able to quiz the veteran sculptors on everything from their choice of putty to their schedule of upcoming releases.

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