Show Report: Colours 2010
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Run by Newbury & Reading Wargames Society, Colours is one of the area’s largest wargaming events with many traders, displays and active games packed into three stories of the Newbury Racecourse Dubai stand. The show runs over two days and there is plenty going on to keep you occupied. As the show is based at Newbury Racecourse, Colours is practically on the doorstep for many of our members, yet despite its proximity this was a show I had not attended previously and I wasn’t sure quite what to expect!
I arrived early on Saturday morning with a car packed full of models, cloths, shelving and other odds and ends. On entering the stand I was greeted by a very busy entrance hall as many people were empting their vehicles and setting up their stalls, displays and games. After a quick chat with the helpful stewards, I headed up to the second floor, the usual location for the scale model area. I was greeted by Ian Sheppard, Daniel Lyford, Ian Lyford and Club Chairman Richard Dawes.
After setting up the cloths and shelves we unpacked the models ready for display. NSMC had a mostly military theme with a selection of Ian Sheppard’s dioramas, Ian Reece’s tanks and softskins, Bill Gregory and Richard Dawes’ aircraft and Ian Shumsky’s APCs and helicopters. Ian Sheppard’s dioramas once again grabbed visitors attentions, though Bill Gregory’s planes generated the most conversation.
NSMC had a nice corner position next to Berkshire Scale Replicas and Earley Risers and opposite Wallingford IPMS. While there were not many model clubs on show, there were still lots of quality builds to look at. A beautifully finished 1/24 scale Mosquito dominated the Earley Risers table and deservedly won its class in Saturday’s competition, though my favourite model of the weekend was an 1/72 scale in-progress build of a Sherman Calliope, with scratch built sandbag armour.
The rest of the second floor was taken up by a large number of participation and demonstration wargames (more on them later!), the hugely popular bring and buy stand and a handful of traders. The traders included Antics Models who’s strategic placement next to the model clubs was good for their bank balance but bad for our wallets! The first and ground floors were mainly filled by various traders with a few game tables dispersed between the stalls.
While the trader stalls were always busy, the gaming tables were also a fantastic attraction. There were many ‘traditional’ themed games based on medieval or world war scenarios running but I have to admit I was drawn to some of the more leftfield games. One of the participation games that really caught my attention was ‘Catch the Pigeon’ based on the old Dastardly and Muttley cartoon. This was a real draw and had a constant line of willing participants. I was also taken by the Star Wars game which utilised Lego Star Wars figures and models as pieces. The massive Ork-a-nora display and the imaginative Battle of the Bulge game were two other displays that really impressed.
Unfortunately I had to leave before midday on Saturday so I did not get to see the competition, but Ian Sheppard had a great result and won a first and second place pair in the over 1/48 scale military vehicles class.
Sunday was to be a longer day and I arrived not long after the doors had opened to the public. Ian Sheppard and Daniel Lyford were already at the Club stand and debating what to enter into Sunday’s competition. Without the need to set up the Club display, there was far more time to explore the show and take in the various games and exhibits. This also meant there was also more time to visit the trade stands and none of us were able to resist! Ian Reece manned the stand for a time while Ian, Daniel and I explored and it was good to catch up with Ian and Alice Bartlett and other friends who attended on Sunday.
After finally deciding what to enter, Ian and Daniel did well in the competitions again, with Ian picking up another first and second place pair in the Diorama class and Daniel collecting a third place in the Junior single figure class.
The show started to wrap up around 4pm and so we packed up and headed home and while this may have been my first Colours, it will not be my last. All the Club members who attended agreed that it had been a great couple of days we are already looking forward to next year’s event!
Have a look at the show photos below or over on the Colours 2010 page in our Gallery section.
