What I Saw at Nova Open 2026

 Number Three and I headed over for a couple of hours yesterday to see what there was to see. Yes, the parking was obnoxious and far away. My preferences are definitely suburban: pull up to the venue, park, walk in. Not drive around, hunt for an open space up one block then down another, finally surrender and find a lot. Pay over 20ish dollars, walk half a mile up/down hill in the heat. Arrive sweaty and uncomfortable. There was a time when city living was all I wanted, but having had plenty of it over the years, my tastes have evolved toward comfort. More importantly, I value my time more than ever and resent having it wasted. I've got plenty to do without having to cushion events for finding parking, let alone dropping that kind of cash for it. 

In any event, the distribution of crowds was a bit different this time around as we entered. For once, we had easy access to the painting contest area, usually a space that's too crowded to approach without patience. That and the crafting area seemed especially quiet. The main GW ballroom was relatively light compared to the independent room that has all the LOTR, Star Wars, Age of Sigmar, and Trench Crusade games and all that.

I mention all that as it determines what I can comfortably shoot without disturbing any particular pair of gamers. The crowds were thick, and it was difficult to navigate the narrow lanes among the tables. My camera roll is significantly smaller than it has been in the past. 

There seemed to be fewer oddball angry trans folks around this time. We also saw fewer YouTube famous people: no Uncle Atom, no Vince Venturella, no Miniac, nor Ninjon. Maybe they didn't go this year? We were only there for a pair of hours, but we did see and talk with Brent of Goobertown Hobbies and Goblin Games. He was busy demonstrating his stampin' kits. I was on the fence and bought new brushes and some new Pro Acryl paints instead. I may still get some of that stuff, but not this month.

Like the HMGS cons, Saturday seems to be a bad day for vending (my principal pursuit at these); a lot of stuff I was looking for was out of stock. There is a guy who carries Krautcover, for example, but he had a skeletal supply left when I got there. No Your Hobby Place this time, nothing really interesting for Number Three either - no whimsical or brightly colored 3D-printed toys that she was hoping for. 

Increasingly common, I had no purchase list at all but still found some impulse buys. 

Overall, I cannot judge the health of this side of the hobby. YouTube is always harping about how GW sucks, and the new rules or miniatures are expensive and /or unavailable. People are quitting left and right. Maybe attendance was down, or I'm there at the wrong times. Seemed solid to me, especially in the non-Warhammer games area. 

On to the pics! And, wow, I did not take many. First up - the Capital Palette, the painting competition:

Oh - oh - oh! A Colonial thing! Well done!

More historical things!

Jolly clever with the gunman's shadow telegraphing his fate. Really well done!

So that's it for the painting competition - on to the competition spaces

This was in the main competition ballroom, kinda neat. Most of the stuff in here is pretty ugly sci-fi industrial-type stuff. Despite the similarities, not really my hobby. 

Some have some crossover appeal - like this cool adobe building- but not much. 

 

... And ... that's it. I didn't find a lot that excited me much this time around. There may have been crowds around some of the other things I would have normally shot. The place was rotten with the younglings and the generational divide between us remains fairly wide. That said, the grognards don't care for my take on fantasy much either, so I have to wear a snowflake badge with some pride, as usual! 

As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments, and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858

25mm Old Glory Medieval - Revolting Peasants - Part 8 - Spouses, Siblings and More

Here we move into using up the duplicates on multi-figure bases.

Many looked like husbands and wives or siblings, from the kids to a pair of bearded fellows. This makes not a whit of difference for any particular game but makes for some unique and interesting pairings, and could help with certain storytelling narratives. It's hard to imagine a game where I'll need all 160ish peasants at once, though now that I think about it ...

First is actually from Reaper Miniatures: Townsfolk XII Pillory & Kids. The kids were mixed in with the OG stone throwers where I had them stored out of the blister. When researching, I saw the man in the stocks went with it and that they were not throwing stones at all but tomatoes. I painted them red before recalling tomatoes didn't show up in Europe until the 1500s, so I threw some magenta contrast on there, making them plums. They were already tagged as revoting peasants in my storage system, so I'm folding them into this Old Glory project: 

The Vallejo Mud effect is till wet on all of these!

Another detour comes from Brite Minis and these 3D printed "Human Corpses." I picked them up at Historicon this year. The print layers are VERY apparent, marring any and all fine detail, and I won't get any more of them, but they were dirt cheap, and from a distance none will be the wiser: 

Finally - on to Old Glory: 

My goodness, how revolting these peasants are!!  Number three is stabbing at some horse droppings. I may need to highlight these a bit more as they blend in with the mud too well. 

These are the old Husbands and Wives

A pair of looters in the center - flanked by pairs of torch bearers. 

The lads on the right struck me as being brothers. 

Group shot!

Here's the whole update - 26 more figures. This brings the count up to a total of 115 rather appalling peasants completed. I'll do some master shots once the project is completed. I'm well past the midway point, but I'm adding bits and bobs here and there that I consider appropriate. 

Some of these would make good witch or monster hunters, and some could be witches themselves. In either case, I'm well set.

Two more updates to go - both comparable but with some peripheral figures from other brands mixed in, a pair of beggars, some revolting royalty, and some carrying holy banners. 

As always, thanks for looking - questions, comments and followers are welcome and encouraged! I'm doing more and more on Facebook so follow my page there too! https://www.facebook.com/One-of-My-Men-Became-Restless-100659928063858