As I had to take son and heir into town today I decided to pick up some paints from Cut and Thrust Wargaming, my FLGS. I say "my" very loosely as I've been there only twice and I suppose it was not a great surprise to find it was closed, shutters up and a 'To Let' sign up.Why had I only been there twice? Well the main reason was the sucky parking, although today I found a useful free parking area nearby, and the limited ranges of wargames material they carried. Aside from the paints there was little of immediate interest to me and to be frank that which was there could be bought cheaper on the internet (I know I should support the FLGS but when you add on parking the difference in cost was starting to get silly and I haven't won the lottery yet).
They did have some excellent gaming facilities but with their no children rule precluding a sixteen year old six footer who is more mature than many gamers I've met it restricted any desire to go there more often for anything beyond shopping.
We then swung by the local model shop to pick up the paints to find they had one lonely bottle of red left in the Game Color rack - doesn't anyone at Antics understand the principles of restocking? Grrr...
Anyway whilst Cut and Thrust is no more it appears a new wargames shop (Vanguard Wargaming) is opening in Bristol in a couple of weeks in Hotwells. It will be interesting to check this out though given its location I suspect parking may be an issue again.
The location is a tad bitter sweet as it is the site of the old Spring Gardens Tavern which had been a great little venue for new bands and musicians before it closed.
It's not surprising that wargames shops can't make a go of it at present. I never even got to the one in Brighton before it closed. We still have Gamer's Guild in Redhill but that is mostly board games, GW and a few metal WW1 and WW2 figures.
ReplyDeleteHowever, a wargames shop that doesn't permit children in beggars belief!
I'm amazed there are any FLGS around these days. The last UK wargaming shop I went in to was The Keep (it was a regular stop when I was heading back from Portsmouth to Trowbridge)**. thought about going to visit Cut & Thrust a few times but as you said the location wasn't great and if I was in brizzle it was never in that part of town. (**Actually it might have been Triple Helix - astounded they are still going, but glad for my Wiltshire friends that they are)
ReplyDeleteDo you know how Vallejo send stock to Antics though? They will only send you packs of 12 colours...
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I do think they should order a colour when there is one left...
Ahh well, my local antics don't even bother with Vallejo, too much trouble...
No Under 16s, that's a silly rule. Perhaps it is to do with CRB checks or something...
Cheers!
Rob
FLGS suffer from being run by gamers and all the warts that come with them.
ReplyDeleteA successful FLGS needs to have at least one employee who is there for the business of it or who can at least focus on it. No children is just silly and smacks more of a gaming club that wants to run a little retail to its regulars.
I know one of our most successful FLGS does not disallow children but does try to discourage their lingering unless they are well mannered and can keep their hands to themselves. As the shop focuses on miniatures and cards games, I can see their point as small items have a tendency to slip away with unattended children about.
-Eli