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:
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| Oh - oh - oh! A Colonial thing! Well done! |
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| More historical things! |
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| Jolly clever with the gunman's shadow telegraphing his fate. Really well done! |
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| So that's it for the painting competition - on to the competition spaces |
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| 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. |
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| 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!
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