I used to look forward to March as the beginning of my convention season, as for many years my friends and I would make the long trip east and go to Cold Wars. Not having the time (or the inclination) to take four days off work, I now look forward to May, and the well-run HMGS Great Lakes convention that takes place in Toledo every spring. Those of you who might remember my last AAR from Drums (MWAN ) will note that Drums Along the Maumee is the work of the Colby Street Irregulars, agroup closely affiliated with Great Lakes. I have been waiting impatiently forthis edition of Drums since last May, and I wasn't disappointed.
Heading north in a car packed with gaming needs and suitcases with my two good friends Matt Davidson and Ray Garbee, we made it to Toledo and the site for this year's convention by mid-afternoon. The hotel used this year, the Holiday Inn on Reynolds Road, was a nice improvement over the Clarion. With much more space available, and with the gaining and dealer area in the same room, and with room to grow, the Holiday Inn should be the home for Drums for many years to come.
Now, I can only comment on my own experiences at Drums, but it seems to me that the attendance was up over last year. I only saw two games that didn't have enough players to "go off', most of the other games being quite full. The group I am a part of, the Wayne's Legion Historical Gamers,hosted a total of eight events, with nine of us present. We ran a variety of events, which seemed to be needed, because if I have one concern about Drums, it's the amount of World War II gaming that goes on. I think close to a thirdof the events were WWII, but the attendees didn't seem to mind, so maybe my concern is a minor one. Anyway, Jack Shaw hosted an Ancients naval event pitting Greeks vs. Persians Friday night and again Saturday, Ray hosted a Smoke on the Water ACW naval game Friday night, and then ran a Volley and Bayonet Sikh War game Saturday afternoon. Matt ran WWI naval using Fear God and Dread Naught, Bud Hunter hosted his Kadesh scenario using Warhammer Ancient Battles, Jamie Williamson ran a 6mm Naps game using Piquet, and yours truly ran an ACW engagement (Mill Springs) using regimental Fire and Fury, all on Saturday. I think I can speak for allof us when I say we had some wonderful players in our events, and we look forward to hosting more events next year.
In hopes that I don't offend anyone by not mentioning their game, I want to point out some of the highlights. Chuck Scholti hosted an absolutely gorgeous 25mm Pirate game set in the Caribbean, Mike Hill had his large Fireteam event going several times, Robert Bowling of RLBPS had an awesome western town setup wherehe gunned down hapless passersby using Desperado (I think he won four and lost zero last I had heard ... must be a deadeye!), and Saturday night Steve Straub and Ted Bender hosted Leipzig using a Fire and Fury variant that had over 4,000 figures on a U shaped layout. And of course, Doug Johnson hosted the third annual Toledo War, and Ohio is now 2-1 against Michigan. There were many other events, but these are the ones that stick out in my aging mind.
As for dealers, a good selection this year, but all my money went to one place (as I get older, I find I buy less and less figures). However, had I brought morecash, I would have picked up some Miniature Terrain World Maker from Miniature Wargames Dot Com (good stuff). Besides these fine folks, there was RI,BPS (who got all my hobby cash at Drums), Vatican Enterprises (lots of terrain items), Glass City Games, my friend George Nafziger and his Nafziger Collection, and The Soldiery, manned by Eric Adamaszek and Chong Chin, folks I have known for several years now. Most of the major (and some minor) manufacturers were covered by these dealers (OldGlory, The Foundry, Hudson and Allen buildings, Battle Honors, Renaissance Ink,Vallejo Paints, London War Room and many others). so most attendees probably had an easy time parting with their cash.
Personally, I was on a mission to pick up some figures from RLBPS. Actually, I had takenthe time to make a "wish list" in advance, and wound up getting very little from the list (blame it on impulse buying)! I did buy some excellent 36mm Vietnam figures from DZ Miniatures ... these maybe the best figures I haveever seen period! I also picked up some Zanzibar Regulars by Copplestone, nicely done. Add to that a couple of packs of Gripping Beast Vikings for a project using Howard Whitehouse's Battle Troll rules, and I was set. The Bowlings are also good people to deal with, so they can be sure I will continue buying from them.
I think that the atmosphere at Drums (along with Great Lakes' other convention Advance the Colors) is the best I have experienced in all my years of gaming. Most of the attendees I have met previously, and so going to Drums is like seeing old friends. And each year I come away with new friends as well. It's not about the winning and losing ('cause if it is for you, get out of the hobby now before you ruin it for the rest of us), it's about the good-natured fun we have with each other while participating and the memories we walk away with.
As you can tell, I highly recommend spending a weekend in May in Toledo, Ohio. Check out www.hmgsgl.org for more information on Drums Along the Maumee. See you next year!
Back to MWAN #118 Table of Contents
Back to MWAN List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Magazine List
© Copyright 2002 Hal Thinglum
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com