I visited this show a few years ago, and remembered that it was very different – wargaming throughout the various halls. It was a big show, but not overwhelming. This year I returned and found that the show had got another hall and was very popular – even Revell visited! If you want to see a tour of it – watch the video below. Otherwise you can read my thoughts in this article.

This show is now one of the bigger shows in the UK. Held in a leisure center – the parking overflows into the surrounding fields which are filled with cars. It’s relatively easy to reach too – as a Northerner I did there and back in a day (though it was a longgggg journey). It feels remote but it’s not that far from Bristol.

Upon entering the venue (paying via card or cash) you enter the main hall. This is split about 2/3 for models and 1/3 for wargaming. Through that hall is another smaller room. At the back right (from the entrance of the first hall) is the ‘new hall’ (to me, it’s been there a few years) which is similar in size to the intiail hall. All the rooms have the displays in the middles and the walls are lined with traders – both modelling and wargaming alike!

The show is big but doable in a day. There’s clubs from Wales that you often don’t see at other shows, and some clubs from further south too. It’s a lovely mix. Additionally the wargaming is probably half Warhammer and half a random mix of historical and fantasy games. It’s great to see such a wide variety of games on display – the WW1 one really caught my eye!

Food at the show was expensive (as is normal at most leisure centers) and the queue was constantly large. I’ve seen other shows get in burger trucks which I think, given the capacity here, should be considered (if allowed by the venue) in the future. This felt more expensive than Bovington Tank Museum and I ended up just eating when I left. On a hot day as well, cold drinks were needed so I bought a few cans of soda from there. I mention this because it’s worth considering for your own visit, so you know what you’re spending.

It was a great show and a lovely day out. I really enjoyed it. I likely won’t visit every year due to distance and I want to visit some other shows out there throughout the years but it’s definitely one of the most unique shows.

There’s a growing trend of Gunpla and Wargaming amongst modellers – both to make things that you can still play with, but also for the different styles of constructing and painting. It’s great as there’s a lot of skills that can be shared and a lot of passion between each of them. It’s wonderful to see a show progress and take advantage of this fact.

What’s even better is a lot of the wargaming is open for people to try. Flames of War is a game I’ve seen models for for ages and it was the first time I saw it being played! Two modellers said they just wanted to try it. There was a laminated instruction sheet and they just sat and learnt it – wonderful! It’s so fantastic and I hope we get more and more of this throughout the years!