The "Action 2009" in Rheindahlen
06.05.2009 Deutsche Version bitte hier klicken:
Vampires, Pirates, Zombie-Soldiers
With a wide variety of participation games, the „Action 2009“ proved more diverse, more colourful than ever. We took a look at the Rheindahlen Wargames Club’s annual wargames convention.
Was it the sunshine? Or just the fact that this year’s „Action“ was postponed until May? Whatever the reason, first weekend in may saw more people than usual crowding inside the NATO Joint Headquarters’ (JHQ’s) Rheindahlen Rooms, where nearly 30 tables offered a broad choice of settings for miniature gaming by land, by sea and by air.
This year’s greatest eye catcher was „Nosferatu – A symphony of horror”, a 28 mm vampire-tabletop, whose gaming terrain was modelled after the scenery of Friedrich-Wilhelm Murnau’s Dracula movie – including a stunning depiction of the great director himself. Also worth seeing: The pirate-display of the “Kurpfalz Feldherren” from Heidelberg. On three perfectly modelled terrain tiles they showed Henry Morgans assault on Panama-City in January 1671, also in 28mm scale.
The other gaming tables held something for everyone: from zombie soldiers and combat robots to Napoleonic land- and sea-battles and clashes of the Antique. All kinds of settings and epochs where to be seen, although classic games like Warhammer or Warhammer 40.000 where underrepresented on this year’s show.
Start slideshow by clicking on the thumbnails below (22 pictures).
Hungry gamers were catered for with Grilled Bratwurst and Chipped Potatoes by the ever helpful personnell of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI). But before the „Action“ could take off, its organization team hat to face yet another challenge: Unexpectedly, Europe’s biggest wargames convention, the „Salute“, was held on last weekend in March – the very same weekend „Action 2009“ was planned for. So the „Action“ had to be rescheduled on short notice.
March 2010 will see be another „Action“ at JHQ. Yet another “Action” in 2011 at present seems likely, because the closure of the Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps’ (ARRC) headquarters has been delayed. “JHQ is to stay another two or three years in Rheindahlen” states Adie Russell, Chief Steward of the “Action’s” organization team. “It takes time to get new office rooms for the JHQ’s staff.” So as long as they continue to prove as successful as this year’s event, there will be more “Actions” to come!
The "Action 2009" in Rheindahlen
