Random thoughts and a couple of lists.

The image of these wonderfully painted Spencer Smith Bavarians actually has only a loose connection to the actual post but they are beautiful figures. Anyway I thought I should create a post before I take a weeks much needed break.
 It can be very stressful being retired honestly.
 Anyway on the Amateur Military Gentleman's forum there is a good couple of topic's that I think deserve a slightly wider audience.
 One was created by Graham Cummings of Crann Tara fame and is a bucket list for wargamers.
 Now like all nerdy types I do like a good list;
 So in no particular order, I would like to refight the Battle of Minden,
the Battle of Dettingen and the Battle of Fontenoy, all contain interesting tactical problems and I have never fought any of them.
 Another biggie is a refight of Leipzig using 6mm I actually have all the brigades for all the armies, but due to adopting Blucher, there is a need to rebase a lot of units, but if I could bestir myself that would be a real achievement.
 I have fought the battle in 28mm, but although it was a great weekend, I think using 6mm would make it a more intense affair and a sight worth savouring.
 I would also love to tackle Antietam again,this time using the Glory Hallelujah rules, it is a hard battle for the Confederates but would be a great test to try.
 I would also love a crack at Flodden, as this has been an interest of mine for years but I have never painted any units for the campaign, and probably never will.
 As regards the ancient period, I would love a crack at the Battle of Phillippi, which although a slogfest, would still be a test, and finally I would love to take a command at a refight of Cannae. So if there is any kind wargamer thinking about refighting any of these battles, then, yes I would be interested. I dont bite, honest.
 
   With the demise of the Battlegames aspect of Miniature Wargames, I got to thinking about the disappearence of Old School Wargaming from the wargamers radar. Now before everyone jumps in, I know that we are all Old School wargamers, but I am talking about the actual ethos behind the interest that was around about seven years ago. Is it really that long?
 The creation of this blog was motivated by my interest in returning to my original wargaming ideas, and the start of collecting 30mm RSM figures.
 So is the fad over and has everyone moved on to newer and shinier wargames projects, was the concept just a few old wargamers wanting to immerse themselves in  nostalgia, hankering after an age that never actually existed, well maybe for a privileged few.
 I think it was a cornacopia of a few things, nostalgia, wargamers wanting to have fun with some simple rule concepts, and an aversion to the way wargaming was heading, or more accurately has gone.
 I personally blame the release of Charles Grants excellent SYW war books, Harry Pearson's brilliant Achtung Schwienhund and of course Battlegames, which to start with was a great magazine.
 I think its a great shame that Old School wargaming has retreated into the background because for me it was a wonderful experience in so many ways and a great way to introduce would be historical wargamers to the hobby.

My final observation is again courtesy of the AMG site where one of the topics was, the best and worst decision you made as regards wargaming.
 For me it was a no brainer, my best was taking from the library for the first time, Charles Grants, The Wargame which fired my imagination and enthusiasm about what wargaming could be, whenever I feel a bit down I still reach for this well thumbed book and immerse myself in the pages.
 As regards the worst decision, I have made a few false starts in various periods and scales and have ended up wasting time and money on projects that I didnt really fire me up, but the worst was probably attempting to change scales to 15mm and buying massive painted Napoleonic armies. I was never able to find the heart to paint more of the 15mm ranges and eventually sold the lot for a large loss.
 I just could never find a love for 15mm, its very strange because I am happy to use Johns wonderful armies. So a bit of a mish mash, but hopefully something that you might find worth thinking about. See you in a week.