I attended the Renegade Open held in Plymouth, MN on 19 November. I walked through most of the events with friends over about an hour. I saw the 40K Friendly, the Barbicon Front (Horus Heresy) event, and Operation (Bolt Action). Here's some photos and commentary from my visit.

 

• Part One: The GW stuff
• Part Two: The Boards/Hobby stuff
• Part Three: Swag and conclusion

 

Part Two: The Boards/Hobby stuff

 

I love the B&C, but I love mini gaming in general. I think there's an opportunity for inspiration and practical advice from the historical scene. This post focuses on that, but there's still 40k boards for those that disagree.

 

Space Hulk (?) Board

 

I don't know if this was for a space hulk event, but since it was in the 40K Friendly room, assume it was regular 40K with some special rules. It's a nice mix of mat and plastic/resin. The paint job really unifies the board, making it look like it's an actual scene and not just some random terrain on a random mat.

 

 

A Korean War Board

 

Warlord Games was at the Renegade Open, and the author of their Korean War rules was there. He even did this board with a company partner. This really had me flashback to the mid-80s when I got started in historicals, even though I played games set in the middle ages or 19th century. The level of detail and closely placed pieces where what really sold me as a teen.

 

If you look closely, the board is made of MDF pieces. These are cut similar to a puzzle. You can essentially build a modular board with these and easily store them in a very small space via stacking. It is a clever design for people like me without an attic or basement for their hobby.

 

 

A City Board

 

The Bolt Action event was called Operation :cuss:. While I don't know the details of that narrative event, there were some amazing examples of creativity and dedication that I wish I had the talent, time, and storage space to do.

 

 

This board went crazy on the detail. The streetlights were actually lit, the craters went into the table, and several buildings had multiple floors that could be removed. Those rooms were also detailed with different paint jobs or wall papers in each room, complete with the burn marks and debris of a warzone. One touch I liked was the street sidewalks were made from foam rubber. This gave them an innate texture, were at the right height from the scale perspective, and were silent when placing stuff on them.

 

Fighting in the Desert

 

This gent definitely themed his army transport display. I'm sure you know the inspiration. 
 

 

The POW Camp Board

 

I'm not sure what is going on in this narrative game, but there's a camera crew, and a military band running around in the game. There were a lot of little details that I wouldn't have expected to see in a Bolt Action game.
 

 

Misc

 

Cobblestone mats can look good if the terrain pieces are designed for them. MDF buildings look pretty good if they're painted better than what I usually see in 40k events.
 

 

This one has a lot going on.

 

 

More to Come

 

Part Three will be posted later.