Yes, I know I used the same title for my Cold Wars 2025 recap, but as the theme of the convention was The Wild, Wild West I was all but obliged to use it again!
The Good: It appears as if convention attendance was slightly up from just under 900 attendees last year to just over 900 this year based on statements those in the know have posted on Facebook. One of the things I really liked was locating the vendor hall inside. I spoke to a few vendors and they were happy with this change as well. This was especially true with the weather (see the ugly below.) It was nice to be able to just dip in to the vendor hall without having to make a full trip down to the venue outside. I’m sure this helped the vendors quite a bit! Speaking of selling things the daytime flea markets were extended to three hours each which was nice for both the sellers and the buyers. With the vendors inside the tournaments were moved to the “barn” outside. While this meant people were less likely to stop by and check the tournaments out this is offset by the fact that the tournament players generally stay in one place during the day and I feel the benefit to the rest of the convetion by having the vendors inside was a fair trade. I even had one Tournament Organizer tell me he was very happy with the change as the tournament area was a lot quieter due to the reduced traffic! The GM’s really went all in on the theme of Wild, Wild West this show, and even though it was a smaller show than Fall In! or Historicon there were tons of theme games. I easily counted a dozen theme games which is probably more than most previous themes I’ve seen. Even the expansive options of 250 years of the US Navy and Marines at Cold Wars wasn’t as well represented as this years! You’ll notice I snuck in a Star Wars game, because what’s a fight on Tatooine other than the Wild, Wild West in space?
The Bad: Once again the flea market was in the theater upstairs which fell under The Bad as the lighting is atrocious. HMGS attempted to mitigate this problem with the addition of floor lights and I appreciate the effort. Some sellers even provided or sold flashlights to help with the visibility! I do like the openness of the theater as even when the flea market opens you can spread out quickly and not form a giant mob so there are pros and cons. Another potential bad was what appeared to be less vendors than normal. This could just be the result of the change in location but there were some noticeable absences. Still, the ones that were there had great selections and having talked to a few of them they did well so that’s always a win! The convention has gone completely cashless for purchasing badges and membership, however, the flea market is still cash only. I’ve long bemoaned the no cash policy of Wally’s Basement, it is even more ridiculous now that even HMGS isn’t accepting cash! Finally, almost everyone I spoke to had serious complaints about the onsite food. I can’t weigh in on this one as I pack breakfast and lunch, and if you’ve followed my other posts you’ll know I go somewhere nice off site for dinner. Still, if the food was as bad as everyone said it should probably be down in The Ugly, but since I have no first hand experience I’ll keep it up here.
The Ugly: The only real Ugly was the weather. It was absolutely freezing and windy and if you needed or wanted to leave the property for food, or even to wander down to the tournament section you certainly risked frostbite! That isn’t hyperbole either as almost the entire convention there was a frostbite warning in effect! For those of you who weren’t there you can check out the view from The Vistas below. (This is the room where Hobby University was set up.) I know a few people who decided to not make the trip due to the weather as it was supposed to snow on Saturday, and I spoke to a couple people who were in my classes on Friday but said they wouldn’t be returning Saturday. While we can’t control the weather moving the convention to early February from mid-March certainly makes Cold Wars more susceptible to cold and snow changing peoples plans. Next year the convention is February 4-7, 2027, again at the Wyndham. Since COVID Cold Wars has struggled to return having come back in fits and starts. I’m hoping in 2028 we go back to a later time, or even better go back to a later month and head south but I guess that is a discussion for the future!
I would like to thank the convention staff and volunteers for their hard work in making sure this was a great convention. The Good certainly outweighed the Bad and the Ugly by a large margin and I’m looking forward to the next time we all get together for some gaming, painting, and everything in between!
If you are interested in some more pictures and a daily recap of the convention scroll back a few posts, I put something up every day from Thursday through Saturday! Sunday I made a side trip to the vendor hall before hitting breakfast so it didn’t get a full post, but since I took a picture or two I’ll share them here!
Breakfast was at Parlor Doughnuts on the way home.
I was well under budget this year with my purchases but I got a few goodies. I do think I should have picked up the Horus Heresy box that Your Hobby Place had steeply discounted but my wife wasn’t sad I save money!
Oh and one more Good was my friend assembled those StuG’s for me so they are already ready to get painted! They’ll have to wait for my Adepticon Warmaster army to be finished but it’s a step in the right direction!
See you all at Historicon!
-Wachtmeister
The Wachtmeister's Patrol 