Tactica 2019 – Part 1

As teasered last week, I went to Tactica in Hamburg! As this was a prolonged weekend in the pearl of the north, my - better said our - trip started on friday late noon.

Of course, no event coverage would be complete with the obligatory parking lot picture. And onto that parking lot the queue was backing up. A long queue, with a lot (really a lot) of people looking forward to get into the town house. The Tactica is held in one of the southern suburbs of Hamburg, in Wilhelmsburg.

Once inside, you see multiple levels and wings of the building. It takes a bit of time to orientate yourself, as the show is spread all over the place.

And of course, I met known faces, among them Wraith, a very dedicated Saga player with his own youtube channel and Mr. Sickhase himself, known from various painting communities, lending a helping hand to Mirco from Stronghold Terrain. The main hall is used as the check-in and flanked by the first trader booths.

From the main hall multiple stairwells lead to the other rooms and wings. I stayed on the ground floor at first and spotted Gerard Boom, the foam bending, cutting and molding mastermind behind Shiftinglands. Keep an eye out on his schedule, as he's offering workshops as well, and most of them in Western Europe.

Another company going strong in the terrain area, is Najewitz Modellbau. They are currently expanding in the 3d printing area and offering multiple themed buildings and building sets in different scales. Najewitz is a regular at the Crisis as well.

A regular guest at german conventions is Thomarillion. They do offer various fantasy and historic terrain pieces, some smaller pieces from resin and larger, partly prepainted pieces from foam and wood. As they casually team up with Ziterdes, it is worth taking a look at the novelties.

Elmar from Elladan previewed the large hall and new animal furs ahead of the show on social media, so I was looking forward to see them in person. The large hall is a magnificent terrain kit and a great center piece for many dark age tables.

One of the first booth I saw at the show was the one by Wargames Illustrated, with their Giants in Miniature range. I already own a couple of these, but might stock up on some of them the next time, as you get a decent discount on the range if you're a subscriber.

But Tactica is not just about buying, it is heavy focused on gaming. A very broad selection of gaming tables and participation rounds were offered over all floors.

One table that really caught my eye was this Asterix & Obelix set up, with the gallian village, some Romans and even the pirates, with their - as usual - wrecked ship.

Stronghold Terrain is expanding their current distribution for Dead Man's Hand and Saga in Germany and expanding towards Warbanner with Gangs of Rome. The third picture shows about one third of the side hall and covers a total of the table shown above by the THS Dortmund.

A lot of german wargaming clubs were present and hosting tables. Some travelled quite far as the Asgard Aschaffenburg. Be sure to keep an eye on the convention Table Topia in Northern Bavaria on July 6th to 7th. They covered Crooking Dice's 7tv with a Ghostbusters table.

And the rooms continued with multiple gaming tables, historical and fictional, in different scales as well.

Around 11 am there was still an incredibly long queue outside, waiting to get in. This show attracts huge crowds of wargamers.

Continuing the coverage in of the Hamburg Tactica in Part II.

Link: Hamburger Tactica