What’s the first thing you do straight after Christmas? Do you chill and reap the benefits of those gifts recieved? No, you go to a very busy space, full of people looking at cool miniatures and have table-top skirmishes in a grande hall. My daughter has been getting into the expensive past-time of Warhammer, so I took her to Warhammer World, in Nottingham, on 28th December. I was all set to go, thinking about the £12 or so it would cost to see the exhibit, the refreshments and the shop purchases.
Arriving, you could easily see the effort that has been put into this place. A marine dons the outside, alongside a altered personnel tank. It was quite the sight. Moiving inside, it hits you! There are goods and displays on show, cases of hours spent. the work that went into these dioramas was just astounding. So much intricate details and lighting create a beautiful effect upon the viewer. Aside from toilets and the customer desk, a HUGE Space Marine stands above you, eyes glowing red, yearning to run into battle. (This is a large figure to advertise the game, Space Marines 2.)
Walking up the stairs that wind around above the front door, you reach the top to see the shop spread left, and right. Ahead is the square arch into the games space. Like all of it, it has castle walls and feels like you are standing in one of the dioramas. Through to the back corner, you will find the tavern, called Bugman’s. This place looks amazing, going for a rugged-bar look with huge cart-wheels hanging of the ceiling for the lighting.
Back to the shop, it has the mystical style of sets, including Middle Earth and Age of Sigma. Turning to the left, are the Space Marines, Dreadnoughts and everything in between. Needless to say, there was a crazy amount of money changing hands for the enthusiasts that eventually packed the space like a busy, narrow, street. In one part of teh shop, you could find painting stations with a staff-member supporting individuals with colouring details onto a free miniature. Behind that, was a wall of mini-paint-pots. Such an array of colours.
The exhibit was set from one side of the shop, to the other. Set across four halls, they were full of massive dioramas and separate miniatures. The most dazzling pieces were the large Dreadnaughts. These are hundreds of pounds, and there must have been twenty in the exhibit, all painted to factory standard. I was dumfounded by the painting skills, more akin to them being done by robots. You could see the strength in experience, just from the placement of the figures. Hall 3 had a competition, where looking for, and taking a picture of, one of the four Assassin figurines, would net you that figure from the shelves, for free…this was easier said than done. We didn’t find it on two sweeps as there is a battle going on that mst have ten thousand other minatures to look over. This time, it had been in for three weeks, and not yet found. Maybe they have, now?
Overall, the staff were a delight and super friendly. The afternoon was expecially busy, squeezing through people is not ideal for all. A great point to make, is that it cost £1 to get in. I had a free support ticket issued, and my daughter got in for the event price, making her’s, £4 cheaper! If you like this kind if gaming, you will LOVE this place!
