Bitbox 2026 – Tabletop Flea Market and Haul

After a pause that was far too long for my taste, last Sunday, September 20th, it was finally time again – time for the Bitbox! Franz invited us to Mülheim an der Ruhr, to the children's and youth center St. Barbara, or "der springende Punkt" as it is now called. It has been the same trusted location for a good 10 years, and there were plenty of familiar faces, too.

Over the years the time window has been tightened a bit, since a few hours are plenty for both visitors and sellers. These days it runs from 10 am to 1 pm. Right at 10, Franz opened the autumn Bitbox 2026 and the rooms filled up quickly. As always, the long table of Franz and Werner stood at the head of the hall in front of the stage, and once again there was plenty of pewter and plastic with a lot of history to be had.

The other sellers had a broad selection as well. There was everything from historical to fantasy and sci-fi miniatures, used to mint in box, from single figures and bits to entire army projects, something for every taste. Prices have gone up a little, but are still far from eBay levels, and haggling is much more pleasant than on trading sites or in Facebook groups.

Admission was free. Sellers paid a table fee of 15 EUR per table, which went to the youth center.

At the various tables, plenty caught my eye, from Oldhammer treasures and rare curiosities to numerous rulebooks, and I did find a few things to take home.

And after a good 2.5 hours, this was my haul.

• A few Forge World barricades and a small fortification
• Skaven Ikit Claw Chief Warlock and Verminlord with Halberd
• Chaos Dwarf Astragoth
• Keeper of Secrets
• Chaos Marauder / Bearman of Uslo (damaged, but I wanted to convert those anyway)
• Dieter Helsnicht (without the Manticore, which is "not exactly pretty" anyway)
• Dwarf Queen Helga (I now have her twice, but the price was fair)
• Dark Elf Black Guard and Corsair
• The head of a Black Dragon (Rakarth's mount)
• 2 blisters of Black Legion Chaos Space Marine shoulder pads
• Space Orks pin badge
• Necromunda Wyrd / Beastmaster
• Space Marine Librarian
• Imperial Panther Knights
• Imperial Outrider and Hero with Lance
• Imperial Great Cannon
• Imperial Herald

I am very happy with my haul, and the trip (in our case a good hour and a half each way) was more than worth it. Since the St. Barbara youth center also has a small café, Holger and I were able to make up for a late breakfast, go through our loot and swap stories with others about what they had picked up.

Franz would like to host the Bitbox more regularly again in the future; in the past there was one in March and one in September. It would be great if that could be made to work.

We will report on new dates here. There are other tabletop flea markets around Germany, too, but the Bitbox benefits from its location in the heart of the Ruhr area, with a high density not only of hobbyists and game stores, but also of many (former) Games Workshop employees and veterans who bring corresponding treasures to events like this.

So, many thanks to the organizers and to everyone who took part! I'm looking forward to the next one.