ShireCon has just finished for 2026 and although it's a smaller affair than MOAB, it's growing bigger each year. This year saw a larger Bring and Buy area and there were a number of demo and competitive games being played.
I wasn't able to get any photos of the games as the space where these were being played was fairly tightly packed. However, apart from the obligatory 40K and AoS / Old World games, there were at least four tables for Warmaster (my favourite), and a couple of excellent 15mm Historical Medieval and Ancient games as well. Upstairs was a Bloodbowl competition with around eight to ten tables. So, a broader affair than just the usual 40k or AoS showing.
Of the demo games, there was a jousting game from around the 80's era of White Dwarf. Very obscure but one that I have heard was well designed though I've never had the chance to play it. If I had more time, I would have given it a shot. Hopefully it will be there again at MOAB. Demo wise, there was a WWII naval warfare game and Ma.K as well, both by their manufacturers.
Slave2Gaming was there, as was the producer of the naval demo game. I spent some time chatting to the owner of Slave2Gaming. Their 15mm sci-fi and Ma.K miniatures are excellent. They also had their 28mm alien and Elvis miniatures there as well as some 28mm WWII stuff that another attendee was grabbing for Konflikt 47.
For my part I was taken by all the 15mm sci-fi stuff including their new line of near-future Australian troops set in an alternative conflict where Oz is divided and in civil war. The premiss is that a tyrannical government has arisen (not so farfetched a concept when we remember COVID and what the State of Victoria's lock-down government did to its poor citizens) and the forces of resistance are fighting back from the inland desert. You can see the 15mm Desert Australia Korps (DAK) below as well as their other 15mm and 28mm goodies. I grabbed the 15mm DAK for a 15mm version of Konflikt 47 that I am working on.
So that's it for ShireCon this year. Can't wait for MOAB.
