Well, it was that time in a man's life when his thoughts turn to lead... Oldhammer style. Yes, having missed last year's event due to dog sitting probs I finally set off towards (very) sunny Newark on Trent. A lot of people had turned up for a Thursday social but that not to be for me! I arrived around 12:30 on the Friday and, as usual, booked into the Beaumond Cross Inn... views from the window are not the most picturesque however I seen worse!
The rooms are very cosy.
Always time for a quick feet up before venturing out of the new front door...
I decided against going straight to BOYL and walked over to one of the first sites for Citadel Miniatures... Newark Folk Museum, 48 Millgate. The (almost) birth of legends... Rick Priestley said that the first studio was on Millgate - the house on the corner of what is now Huddlestone Warf (then derelict ground). I meant to go and check it out but forgot... Rick also said that he had a flat in a house opposite. It was a short commute. 🙂. Shaun Mclaughlin said that the the workshop became a replica printers shop for the Millgate folk museum Dave. "I found a lovely pair of Demon wings amongst the printers texts!" The power of a Facebook post.
On the other side was the canal and therein lies a conundrum. Tim Prow mentioned that they used to throw miscasts out in the canal however Tony Ackland told me the factory wasn't on that side of the building... awaiting volunteer divers please :)
Very nice views!
And The Navigation bar... (
https://thenavnewark.co.uk/). This, of course, is where I went wrong. One pint led to another etc etc They share the same address so it was only fitting...
Got a nice reply off Mike White;
'This may seem a strange photo but, in my shed my nails, screws and other sundries are still kept in Linka bins that I was given when Citadel moved out of their premises on Albert St! I was living just off Parliament Street between Albert Street and Millgate. This was over 40 years ago. These photos have stirred the murky depths of my memory.'
I did end up back at the hotel after 5 hours walking around Newark, visiting many dens of iniquity but finding little in the way of hobby bits in charity stores. I did find a great model shop though; 'Access Models' on Castle Gate. Well worth a visit if you're in the area or visit them on the web;
www.accessmodels.co.uk - do tell them I sent you! I slept for an hour before meeting up with the usual cast of reprobates at the Prince Rupert Inn. Bit crowded for my liking but that's me.
And on to BOYL... the grounds are set next to the medieval site of the battle of Stoke Field. The car park was rammed so I ended up a short distance away and thought I'd grabbed some pics. I'd never seen the sign before so silver linings and all that.
Up the driveway and passed the church...
Breakfast time! It has to be said that Diane and the crew do fantastic food and breakfast baps/barms/sandwiches/rolls ( have I missed any other name?) are second to none.
Photos are in no particular order at the moment but I will revisit them tomorrow.
Tim Pollard, Tony Yates and yours truly.
Ketil Trout (also known as Andrew Macdonald) is an incredibly talented painted and now sculptor (see the Fimir greens below) who has many pics here... nice chat and great bloke.
Painting competition pics...
The show mini (see below for more details)
The joys of the Foundry cabinets... all full of classic old pieces that graced the pages of White Dwarf (and other magazines) over the years. Here's the Midland Troll - a Tom Meier tribute to Bryan Ansell!
Kev Adams painted Slann - he was a painter before becoming a sculptor!
Chaz Elliott sculpted a bunch of Discworld minis for Clarecraft, long out of production but they really are nice minis and you can occasionally pick the up off eBay etc
Classic Broo and others...
Perry twin designed 40mm ACW - I once left a load on a bring & buy and have regretted it ever since.
A wonderful dreadnought type model being dwarfed by Tim Prow.
As above, another piece form Curtiss Fell's Hellsreach game - a regular at BOYL and well worth turning up for.
Nice chat to the guy that runs Warfactory on Patreon (
https://www.patreon.com/WarfactoryMiniatures/posts). I didn't catch his name however the pics speak for themselves - interesting in that they show the evolution of a computer designed figure as he printed them off in stages.
He gave me a free sample (greater love hath no man!) so here it is with a couple of my old 40K painted pieces for comparison...
The old Marauder giant breaching the walls... available again from GW of course.
More of the painting competition...
A mystery that belongs Tim Pollard - the question is whether the head on the left was a cast mini / a swap from somewhere or an original sculpt. The answer hasn't been found across the forums (although it's similar to a Citadel Chaos Fighter cyborg warrior) - he is passing it to a dental friend to be x-rayed!
An unreleased Space Skaven... can't remember the history of this one.
More of the cabinets... top pic are some of Tony Yates old sci-fi sculpts he did. They were bagged in Citadel baggies at some point - Steve Casey gave me a bunch that I passed on to Bryan but they seen to have disappeared.
Ketil Trout's wonderful conversion of an old Black Baron dragon. I totally love this. Wish I could find more Black Baron minis. Just picked up their sarcophagus but some detail had been cut off...grrrr.
Drew Day Williams in deep conversation...
Tom Riley (@gnoll_brush on Instagram) brought a great army to game with. Apparently largely his dad's from back in the day with some touch up by himself. I you do Instagram then check him out, a most excellent painter and all round good bloke.
Ketil Trout's upcoming Fimir types... along with a gazillion shields. Looking forward to these!
Good old Tony Yates doing his stuff...
A bunch of Tony Ackland's Oldhammer artwork from back in the day.
Tony Yates' artwork.
The late Wayne England's incredible piece for Street Violence.
Saturday day gaming plan
The old dragon's from the boxed set artwork.
No introduction needed...
Gnomes sir! Thousands of them!
The joyous entrance to wonderland...
My good friend Tony Yates. He's still sculpting occasionally but mostly it's artwork these days... I live to find his old minis!
He gave me these 3 of his barbarian minis. An old Nick Lund Chroncile sculpt, a original sculpt of his own (not cast, this is the actual sculpt painted up) and a great barbarian that he used a lot in gaming with a wonderful history. Good old Harry Faversham took one look and his eyes went wide so I did pass this one on to him as he will be loved and gamed with for a long time to come. Tony entertained people throughout the day with artwork and stories. Great to listen to as always.
Harry and his unrestrained look of joy! (pic borrowed off Tony's blog)
The one blister I did buy was The Vineyard' set that I've been meaning to pick up for years. Not sure if this was double packed but the others on the only had half the amount in.
A few more classic packs that you should all buy!
Excellent work on a jousting game from White Dwarf 215. Good old days!
Pulled my copy out for a read. Absolute classic.
First beer of the day... it was on the menu so I'd be daft not to!
Marcus photobombed my 'first beer of the day' shot, Top bloke. Check out his TikTok channel over on
https://www.tiktok.com/@tinnedfishreviews it really is quite addictive. He said that Sean Bean is now a fan and has sent him samples!
The casting machines are still here of course!
More old classics of the 40K variety...
Another example of a spun mold casting.
I did get these a couple of years back, old Citadel minis reissued.
A few 'wants' caught my eye but I no budget unfortunately. The two demons by John Pickford who sculpted my own Bar Room Brawl series and is working on additions as we speak!
Part of the courtyards rooms have been closed off, I presume since the sale of the main house.
Tony Ackland was in fine form when I chatted to him. He really comes alive when telling stories of the old days. His artwork is there to peruse. Pure Oldhammer goodness.
Finally Garth gave out the painting competition result. with Tim Pollard, Tony A, Diane and Tony Y backing him all the way.
The free event miniature this year was (very fitting) tribute to the late Bryan Ansell. Sculpted by Gary Morley.
The 4 images below are copyright AJ Firth who molded the figure and gave me permission for me to post them here. A talented chap and a great bloke.
And my own casting!
I did end up with a few freebies off Drew Day Williams... I'd brought a bunch of Oldhammer goodness to trade and he filled his boots... he'd given out all other samples throughout the day but will be sending me more once he's home! They really are lovely sculpts.
Back at the hotel for a feet up moment... switched the TV on for background noise and there was a Harry Potter movie on... always a great escape moment...
My dinner for Saturday night actually consisted of the freebie biscuits... totally forgot to eat later!
I left Sunday morning as I (as always) missed the hound (and family of course!). All in all another cracking get together courtesy of Wargames Foundry and Diane and the team. Great people and a pleasure to know them. Thank you!
Any thoughts etc please comment below - do join the blog (towards top left) as it makes me feel wanted. Until next time.
As always you can email me at enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk
