Home Forums General Conventions and Shows Phalanx 2017 wargame show report

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  • #65031
    Avatar photoNorm S
    Participant

    A show report for this years Phalanx 2017, a UK medium sized show.

    Link

    http://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/phalanx-2017-wargame-show.html

     

    #65083
    Avatar photoStewart Johnson
    Participant

    I thought numbers were markedly down on last year – which for me was a relief given the unventilated venue…

    A good time as ever – thought the traders still feel a little ‘samey’, but not as bad as previous years.

     

    #65086
    Avatar photoNorm S
    Participant

    Hi Stewart, early on it felt busy, but I think it emptied out faster than usual with people perhaps just going for an hour or so … perhaps with other plans / commitments due to the exceptionally nice day (read – too hot for me though).  The bloke I normally go with is away on holiday (back tomorrow) and I wonder whether as more people retire, are they forced to take their holidays in June as they have to ‘reserve’ the summer holidays for child minding duties in July / August.

    I did see two traders that I would describe as ‘fed up’ looking and they didn’t have customers at the time – but then you can see that at virtually any show.

    I did speak to a trader who said he had cut the yearly show presence down by about a third and now just attended around a dozen shows a year and that he liked Phalanx (so I assume it must remain viable for him).

    Another trader that I spoke to at around 1 pm said he was trading at a loss compared to last year, which he described as a good year.

    I think the use of participation games (as used extensively at Hammerhead) keeps people at shows for longer – even all day and that must surely encourage spend perhaps that is a model for existing shows to move towards.

    I wonder if the Bring ‘n Buy didn’t exist, what impact that would have on show numbers and money going into the trader hall – I have no idea, but it is certainly the busiest part of the show.

     

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    #65112
    Avatar photoStewart Johnson
    Participant

    For me the Bring and Buy is a waste of space – we do, after all, have eBay these days….

    I was there from half ten and it never seemed crowded… though the car park was, as ever, a total nightmare!

    As I’m driving some distance, participation games are a worthwhile addition. Myself and my mate always play one as it makes the trip worthwhile. Last year it was Ronin Hood (which we bought) and this year ‘Forager’ which was huge fun.

    I do wonder why the NW seems to have so few shows though. OK, if you’re in Manchester I suppose it’s easy to pop over to Leeds, but even so, it’s a major connurbation without an event – unless I’m missing one?

     

    #65119
    Avatar photoOh no….
    Participant

    There used to be more, Northern Militaire at Swinton then Oldham, Ceasefire? at Urmston, for a couple of years there were two in Liverpool. But all disappeared years ago. A lot of northern shows have disappeared or moved to larger premises and faded away in the last 20 years.

    There used to be  small one near Chester in July I think. There is a new one at Rheged near Penrith next weekend, in its second year.

     

    #65128
    Avatar photoOh no….
    Participant

    I don’t think the lack of advertising helped the turn-out at Phalanx either.

    #65249
    Avatar photoNorm S
    Participant

    I noticed that this year they did not appear in the show calendar in Miniature Wargames, I e-mailed them to point it out, but was just told to visit their web-site!

    One trader told me he thought the show was over traded this year …… trader speak for not enough customers no doubt.

    #65254
    Avatar photoOh no….
    Participant

    I never saw any advertising anywhere, not even direction signs on the roads nearby. The traders list this year was bad, very few traders links that worked, traders listed who were never going.

    A bit of a rethink needed for next year I think.

    Having said that, I like the show and have been going since it started.

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