Bobe's Hobby House
5719 North "W" Street, Pensacola, FL 32505
Heat of Battle IV - August 2010
National World War II Museum - New Orleans, LA
August 2010 saw the fourth installment of "Heat of Battle", the wargame convention
at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. This is one of my favorite conventions, mostly for
the great venue. It is held right on the main floor of the museum, under the aircraft displays and
next to the tanks, artillery, and landing craft! As has been the case every year, the museum had
some great new additions to show off. The temporary exhibits are always interesting, and this one
was no exception. It was on "Loyal Forces: The Animals of WWII". I had no idea of the different
jobs a variety of animals were used for during the war. The exhibit even carried over to the main
floor where the Willy's Jeep is now towing a Carrier Pigeon trailer! Another great addition to the
main floor is the Stuart tank! It looks really great, and I understand it runs well too!
The big new attraction at the museum this time though is the new expansion. The new building has
opened since last year's convention. Featured in the new building are the Stage Door Canteen, where
they perform USO style shows, have swing dance lessons, concerts, and more. This year's show coincided
with the 65th anniversary of VJ Day! The Stage Door Canteen had a "Kissing" contest to recreate the
famous image of a sailor kissing a woman during the VJ Day celebration. I missed this contest however,
because I was in the main building where the convention was held. The "Victory Belles" a Capella singing trio
did perform briefly during the Ceremony held on the main floor to commemorate VJ Day. And they definitely
sounded worth going to see!
Also in the new building is the Victory Cafe, a John Besh restaurant. This is another great addition
to the museum, and a definite benefit to those of us staying in the museum long hours during the show.
I highly recommend the Happy Hour from 3-6PM each day. They serve their "Sliders" during this time. They
are pulled pork BBQ Sandwiches with crispy onion straws, and are only 75 cents each!
But the MAIN attraction in the new building has got to be the new "4D" Theatre experience.
"Beyond All Boundaries" takes you through all of WWII in about 45 minutes. It is a real experience! It is
a large theatre with a huge IMAX style screen, but there's much more! There is an orchestra pit below the screen
where 3D objects come up! For instance, during the D-Day invasion, tank traps come up. In the Pacific, AA Guns
come up and appear on the side of the Aircraft Carrier on screen. While you watch a B-17 coming down a factory
assembly line, a 75% of full size B-17 nose lowers from the ceiling to match up with the fuselage on screen.
Then a flash and you are now flying through the skies over Europe! The chairs vibrate to the Tiger tanks
coming over the hill in Tunisia. When you are in Guadalcanal, the room gets steamy! And during the Battle
of the Bulge, it snows in the theatre! This is an awesome experience you really must take advantage of. The
show is every hour on the hour, and is $10.00 separately, or there are package deals and membership deals as
well.
On Saturday afternoon, a number of volunteers from the restoration area came in to check out the ceremony
and the games. They let me follow them back and gave me a tour of the restoration area! What a lot of neat
stuff is hidden away in there! And I have been inside the PT Boat! From what I was told it could be 3-5
years before this project is finished. In the meantime, one of the next expansions for the museum is a new
restoration facility that will include a giant window to allow the public to watch during restoration!
Oh yes, did I mention there was a game convention? There was another Flames of War tournament and a
number of great games going on as well. I did not get as many pictures this time as I was tied up in my
booth with sales (And of course seeing all these new additions!). There was also some great gaming in
the host hotel after hours. Overall another great convention, and one that I HIGHLY recommend!
Links to Heat of Battle IV 2010 Picture Pages
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