Historicon 2007
“The biggest geek convention ever.” That’s what my daughter called it!
My son and I recently attended Historicon in Lancaster PA. It is put on by HMGS East—the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society- East, and was held at the huge Lancaster Host Resort and Conference Center, from July 26-29, 2007.
The show was bigger than any model contest I’ve ever attended -- much larger than the local shows, and significantly bigger than the only regional I’ve ever been to, NorEastCon. (Based on what I’ve read, I’d guess that it is as big or bigger than the IPMS Nationals.)
There is a lot at a convention like this of interest to modelers. Most modelers have an interest in military history, and will readily recognize a number of the game pieces. (Builders of small scale armor will be especially pleased!) And there is something neat about seeing your favorite subjects in action!
The convention featured hundreds (700+) of wargames, all played with miniatures. The variety in subject matter was huge—everything from ancients to sci-fi. In the smallest games, you were one person/pilot/tank commander, while the biggest game I saw was the Civil War First Battle of Manassas, with 15 players on each side, each commanding a unit of troops. Scales used ranged from Naval battles using ships in 1/1200 scale, up to tactical WW2 games using 1/35 scale troops and vehicles.
As a modeler and a casual gamer, I was amazed at the level of effort put into these games. The typical game was played on 2-4 standard hotel folding tables. On this table would go landscaping, including trees, hedges, villages, towns, hills, etc.
The typical game runs 2-4 hours, and is played by 6-8 people, plus a gamemaster. The gamemasters do all the work—they provide all the equipment and pieces to play. Gamers can pre-register for certain games, or just walk up at the scheduled start time and hope for an open seat. With a few exceptions, most games are open to beginners—the gamemaster will teach the rules as needed.
The convention ran for 3 days- from noon on Thursday to noon on Sunday. Friday and Saturday, it started at 8 am, and ran to midnight or later. Admission was $35 for the full weekend, or $15 for a one day pass. Admission gave you the ability to play in as many games as you want, plus the ability to pre-register for a game each day to reserve a spot.
The vendors weren’t in a separate room-- they were in a separate building! They were in a large hall next to hotel, connected by a covered walkway. There were so many vendors, some of them were in the overflow room- in a building next to the main vendor hall.
As a modeler, I found lots to interest me in the vendor hall. There was a lot more than just little metal soldier figures! One vendor had a nice line of 1/600 scale Civil War ships in cast metal or resin. A number of dealers had plastic models as part of their offerings. Another dealer had a nice line of 1/144 and 1/300 scale WW1 and WW2 aircraft. (I’ve seen posts on the modeling discussion boards about the lack of aftermarket decals for 1/144 WW2 aircraft—clearly we’re looking in the wrong place. The wargame hobby has tons of them!) A lot of vendors had what modelers would call diorama supplies- buildings, trees, etc. There were also a lot of reference books and other materials.
The flea market was a whole ‘nother part of the building, in an area the size of the main room at most model contests. I found it interesting that they had two sessions each day. One started at 10, and ran until 1. At 1pm, the area was closed, while the second set of sellers came in and set up. The area was then open again from 2 to 5. It was obviously popular—there was a big line of folks waiting to get in at the start of each session.
The flea market offered all sorts of stuff, mostly gaming related. Basically, it was a smaller version of the vendor hall, for used stuff. I found a couple of plastic kits I couldn’t resist.
The Host had a nice variety of food available, at reasonable prices. There were several different food stations set up throughout the venue, each with different items. At lunch and dinner time, special hot meal stations were set up—you could a nice lunch for under $5, and dinner for less than $8. The Lancaster Host is also in the heart of the Lancaster tourist area, so reasonably priced restaurants were all around. I also found it interesting that adult beverages were allowed—you could buy a beer to go with your pizza, or a glass of wine at the lobby bar, and take it back to your game table. (A pleasant surprise, I must admit!)
Historicon also strives to be kid-friendly. There were a number of games run for kids, including one based on Lego pirates! Many other games would allow kids 10-14 to play with a parent helper. Also available were make and take figure painting sessions—kids could get a free figure, and then paint it with the provided supplies, with experienced helpers standing by.
If you’ve never attended a miniatures wargames convention, it is worth checking out if you get the chance. As a person who participates in a number of model-related hobbies, I am always a little surprised at how insular each group is. Wargamers are into military subjects (and models) in a big way, and have lots of vendors and products your typical plastic model shop will know nothing about.
One last item of note-- a convention is held twice a year! In late July, it is Historicon. In early March, it is Cold Wars.
Here’s the Historicon 2007 website: www.historicon.org
If you’re interested in Cold Wars 2008: www.coldwars.org
August, 2007