Historicon 2009 Part 2-Scale and Scope

When I arrived at Historicon I wasn't sure exactly what to expect as I'd never attended a wargaming convention before. I pre-registered via mail so a "goodie bag" was awaiting me with the following inside: a 112-page program, a free Armchair General magazine, a guide to next year's Historicon(2010), a tape measure with the Historicon 2009 logo on it, and sample plastic minis from Warlord Games. As far as the program goes, it detailed scheduled games(day and hour), other special events, had a map of the convention and detailed the exhibitors who would be selling their wares. They also had a nametag ready for me and quickly made one for my son who was accompanying me.

The mere scale and scope of the convention was mind-boggling to a newbie like me. There were three large convention halls, and three additional convention rooms, all dedicated to games! One giant hall was dedicated entirely to Ancients gaming...

Another room had naval battles, aerial battles and World War II themed games(such as Flames of War). Pictured below is a multi-table, single naval battle(Trafalgar) of staggering size...

In other rooms there were scores of Civil War Games, Napoleonic Games(the theme of the convention- "Ride to the Sound of the Guns"), flintlock-era games and Medieval battles. Below is a large scale Middle Ages seige scenario with oversized, 4" tall knights...

One really neat event(well not an event, it was going on perpetually during the convention), was the "paint 'n take". Basically you go to the tent, choose a miniature, paint it, and take it. This was also where the painting and modelling classes were held. I was impressed that for the paint 'n take they had Vallejo paints and The Army Painter brushed- top notch stuff! Below is my son painting an Orc for fun...

In future posts I will show more of the actual convention gaming, focusing on miniatures and the "weird and wild" of the convention.

In addition to gaming, there are painting seminars, history lectures from authors and veterans, and war movies shown. For a nominal $35 registration charge for four days, that's an amazing deal in my opinion(and I probably made back the $35 alone on the discounts on the hobby products).