Saturday was "Lead and Steel 2026", a small Oldhammer focused convention in Sheffield. It's held in the hall of a social club, and had a good mix of vendors, participation games, demos, and people playing their own games. The event was free and came with a pretty substantial goodie bag.
I've split out the painting competition, the bits and bobs I picked up and a demo game I had for separate posts so this doesn't run too long.
As I walked through the door, I was immediately directed to the "Oldhammer Pick N Mix" - a fund-raiser for Cancer Research UK. You could pick up five models for £5. I had failed to bring any cash, but a friend who will stay anonymous so other people don't hit them up for money chipped in for the bits I was after. I've since been told this effort raised £741 for charity, which is excellent going.
I went around early on and took a few photographs of some of the games going on. This is Far Corfe, a huge participation game which uses original Necromunda rules as the basis for its rules. You could make a gang and turn up on the day. It was a big, chaotic event with loads of random things happening. It looked like everyone involved was having a blast.
The Warmachine demo table that was at Chillcon also made a return appearance. It's not quite Oldhammer, but its rules haven't changed much since it started, so it gets an honorary mention. I meant to get a demo of this and failed to manage my time properly. I really must not mess this up a third time if I see this demo table again!
One of the games where some folk were just playing each other was a game of Warhammer 40,000 3rd edition. Seeing the old models, books and cards gave me a major shot of nostalgia.
Also being played was a game of Warhammer Fantasy. I'm pretty sure it was somewhere between fourth and sixth edition, but I didn't want to interrupt to ask.
Meanwhile, on the participation side of things, someone had brought along Man O' War along with a few squadrons that people could play with. I'd absolutely intended to give this a go, as I hadn't played since my childhood, but time got away from me. I did walk past someone trying to explain the wind direction rules at one point.
Also available for participation was this game of the original Adeptus Titanicus. This is way before my time, but it looked really nice.
All in all, this was probably my favourite wargaming event I've been to in years. It was very relaxed, with a good mix of playing and shopping. There was a nice goodie bag, the charity pick n mix was amazing, the vendors were all small indie folk who are great, and there were several games I'd be up for trying next year now I know what to expect. I believe it's happening again in 2027, and its probably my top priority for planning events next year.
