Cool Shop(pes) in London?

[ErikB]

I will be in London in a few weeks for a wedding.  Never been there.  I hear there's a lot of history....

Can anyone recommend some interesting game shoppes?  That's how they spell "shop" over there, right? 

Most interesting would be places that carry Hasslefree, Anvil Industries, World of Twilight, Mierce, and LAF minis (I've been itching to get some of those modern German KSK guys.) 

Stores with big displays would be nice, too, as I'd probably have the wife and kids in tow.  If I can dazzle the kids then my wife will probably be more forgiving of me going on a shopping trip.   

Thanks!

[Momotaro]

London's a funny ole' one... the gaming shop(pe)s are not what they once were.  None of them are really as stunning as Warhammer World and Foundry up Nottingham way.  Foundry are a way out of Nottingham these days.

Around Covent Garden, there's Orc's Nest, Forbidden Planet (I know you have these in the States), a Games Workshop and a big art shop called the London Graphics Centre.  To be honest, there's nothing in the LGC that you won't get in the States.  

Leisure Games is the big RPG shop in London, out Finchley way so about an hour's tube ride from the centre.  They do have minis too - could be your best bet?

There's an architectural model shop called 4dModelShop out near Tower Bridge, which is supposed to be great.

There's really nothing that fits your bill - all the companies you mention are small indies and may not always be stocked in actual shops.  Your best bet may be to look for a show?

Thought - Anvil and Fenris Games are both in/near London - phone and ask if they'll have a visitor round?

My best "Wargaming Day Out" would be a trip to Warhammer World if you like GW at all and can spare the time, maybe fit in Foundry if you like their stuff (will involve a trip out of Nottingham).  or find a show.

Here's the Events calendar for 2017 http://www.partizan.org.uk/events.php    Maybe the London Toy Soldier Show, although it's not really for wargaming minis.

[Momotaro]

Another thought is to arrange deliveries in advance to your hotel, if you want to avoid costly shipping.

London is great for actual history.  Why see the models when you can see original suits of armour?  Imperial War Museum, Tower of London... lots of places

[Overrevdsquat]

Dark Sphere are in the centre, and stock Anvil industry according to their website ...

https://www.darksphere.co.uk/shop.php

[Momotaro]

Forgot about Dark Sphere    They're good.  South of the river, close to Waterloo station

[ErikB]

Cool!  Great ideas, guys!

We have some actual cultural trips planned as well as a chance to see some dear old friends from when we were all exchange students in Austria together.  I really miss those guys... and the girl who got away.  She won't be there, though. 

The girl who, along with her lovable little sister, teased me into learning German when we were teenagers, ought to be there, though.  Thanks to that family I have lived in several countries, speak a couple languages (not all of them well), went to university and became an engineer. 

And my sweet, beloved babiest baby sister lives in London, so we'll be tied in with her community.  Gosh darn it, she left in her early 20s and met some guy we call Earl Grey.  The wedding is in a few weeks.  Good guy but, dang it, she's my babiest baby sister.

What I'm most looking for is to see what our hobby is like in the UK and to try to show my wife that it's not just her dorky, formerly cool, husband who is into this hobby... even those highly cultured Brits are into it.     And it ought to thrill the kids who like making stuff with me here in California.  That will be fun.

This looks really cool: http://www.toysoldiershow.co.uk/

I'm impressed y'all have a community that is organized enough to track all these events.  Distances in the US are so far that we just don't go travel like in Europe, or at least as we did in Austria and Germany.  Not sure how it is in the UK.  I think I'll get to learn.  Cool!

[Kamandi]

Dark Sphere is 304 blocks from the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth.
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Imperial+War+Museum/@51.4962224,-0.1073165,14.44z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xfed51d88d007b387!8m2!3d51.4958308!4d-0.1086615