Here's the schedule: Fri, 17 Apr 1:55pm - opening ceremony 2pm-8pm, dealer tables open 2pm - 6pm, Session 1 8pm - midnight, Session 2 Sat, 18 Apr 8am - noon, Session 3 10am - 8pm, dealer tables open 2pm - 6pm, Session 4 6pm - ?, Flea Market 8pm midnight, Session 5 Sun 19 Apr 9am - 1pm, Session 6 & dealer tables open 1:15pm, Awards Ceremony - closing remarks There will be a number of significant events at this year's Hurricon. Jeff Lista, Howard Swanson, Hal Goff, and Hugh Downing will be running the Armati Tournament in 15mm! Bring your own lead for this Medieval/Ancients competition. The winner of the tournament will be rewarded appropriately. A number of games will have prizes awarded! A $10 Editions Brokaw/Historical Products Company gift certificate will be awarded to the game MVP of each game run by EB/HPC! Regimental Colours will donate flag sheets for SYW, AWI, & ACW game prizes. For Recon's painting competition, we'll be giving some gift certificates to Modeler's Mart & The Tactical Edge. Categories are: Under 25mm individiual figure 25mm and larger individual figure Army (all sizes) Best of Show (above may be considered in this category) Games, games, and more games! We already have commitments for both 15mm and 20mm WWII, both 15mm & 25mm ACW, AWI, Seven Years' War, Ancients, Medieval, Spanish American War (both ground & naval contests, Spanish Civil War, Microarmour, Age of Sail Naval, and more. Expect us to get firm commitments for maybe French-Indian War, Axis & Allies (boardgame), and Warhammer 40K (alternative). Needless to say, Recon is shaping up nicely. We also have dealer commitments for 30 tables and flea market requests for another 10. I don't think there will be any problems for the discriminating shopper to find what he (or she) wants. There's room for only another 10 dealer tables, so get your requests to me soon in order to guarantee that you'll get tables. We have a few special guests this year - Hal Thinglum, creator and editor of MWAN. Hal won't be giving any lectures, but will be playing in games and just walking around throughout the show. Look for him, he may be on the other side of the table - looking to roll up your flank with his cavalry! Another special guest this year is John Hill, author of Squad Leader, Johnny Reb, and most recently, Johnny Reb III. He'll be running ACW games throughout the convention to introduce players to his rules and make them aware of the intricacies of combat during that era. Thanks in advance to John for coming! And there's more! Bob Jones, creator of Piquet, will be in attendance and will be giving a couple of talks. At 10am on Saturday morning, Bob will answer your questions regarding Piquet (any era). And at a yet to be determined time, Bob will give a short talk followed by discussion on publishing your own rules for sale. Finally, let me give a special thanks to the Gainesville Garrison for their commitment to Recon! These historical fanatics will run no less than 10 games during the show! Finally, we're looking for some additional help at Recon! Our stellar volunteer from Hurricon will be unable to run the front desk as she is due to have her baby that week. We need someone to run the front desk and we need an extra set of hands on each day. As the Convention Director, I am authorized to offer appropriate bribes for the individual(s) that volunteer to assist. Of course the front desk volunteers' convention dues will be free as well as possibly a one year HMGS South renewal, as well as possibly a couple of meals. I'm paying to get into the convention because I will be in the game room (mostly). The poor front desk people will get only limited time playing (possibly one session each day). The front desk is the most visible position and is the most important in getting the gamers into the con, collecting monies owed, and acting as the Sergeant at Arms (and head salesperson). If you can assist us in this most demanding billet (this won't take any of your time before the convention - you show up at the con and assume your duties) please call. Look for a good convention come April 17th - the weather will be just superb (it's Florida, for Pete's sake), the games are here, and the gamers are here. For the family, Busch Gardens is only ten minutes away (and the hotel runs a shuttle) and Adventure Island is eleven minutes. Whether you like high-speed rides, the Wild Africa animal park, or the water park, there's plenty to do and it's all right here! Welcome to Tampa... RECON 98 - Painting Competition Guidelines Entrants must have painted all displayed items. Professional Figure Painters are not allowed into the competition. 1. Figures may not be placed on any terrain or special cloth, as the competition is based on painting and not terrain or display. 2. A double-blind judging system will be used. Each entry is given a number code, so that the painters name is unknown to the judges. 3. Entry forms will be available at the convention registration desk. Painters will be required to list their name, name of the entry, period, & year represented. 4. Judging Categories - judges will rate each displayed item in the five categories depicted with 5 points being the best and 0 the worst. The five categories are Figure Selection & Preparation, Painting, Shading, Detailing, and Basing. Top figures will be well-sculpted, historically accurate in colors, definition highlighted by shading, details painted on (buttons, eyes, etc.), and appropriately based depending on the size of the figure. Professional figure painting volunteers will conduct the judging. Back to Rebel Yell No. 8 Table of Contents Back to Rebel Yell List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by HMGS South 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