05.09.2007

I have been very,very busy the last couple of weeks,what with attempting to sort out the trades for my new house,work in general with people merrily being horrible to each other, my up and coming retirement and the arrangements for my new job.
 Anyway I was checking my wargames book [everyone needs one] and saw that 5th September 2007 was the date that I started building my Seven Years War armies.
 God its been slow, certainly slower than I anticipated, mind I did have the deviation of a Flames of War Italian army followed by a small Eighth army interlude. Still I am back on track, well at least I'm painting again.
 I seem to remember that in September 2007 I had hit what could only be described as Wargamers Block, that is when you ask the question, 'what are you doing? why are you painting toy soldiers?  and the answer comes back, I dont know!
 I think in the last 40 years or so its happened three times.
 Luckily I recovered my senses and I realise what would I do without my soldiers, the answer is my life would  have a big massive void in it, and what could fill that void, football, golf, drinking, music, Cheryl Cole, possibly but I dont think so some how. [ her loss].
 Anyway to counter the block, I took up painting 30mm figures, in colourful uniforms, what can you say.
 What a lovely feeling to lose yourself in the uniform of the Royal Escosse
 or the English Gendarmes. I defy anyone not to be impressed by the skill of the wargames designers who produce the toys we collect.
 Going back to mention of my new home, the roof is now on , which allowed me to peruse my potential wargames room.  The table I can comfortably have will be an Old School wargaming 12' by 6', god do I feel a very lucky and privilaged person, still I have to build the table yet. Mind there are a few walls and toilets to put in first.
 Anyway, any gamer who hits that 'Wargmers Block' feeling, just ask themselves, what could fill that void if there were no more toy soldiers to paint and push around a table.

 All answers on a postcard please.

A minor diversion.

I think anyone who knows or has met me, realises quite quickly that I have the attention span of a knat.
 As evidenced by this group of Foundry figures that I painted,whilst painting Hanoverian Grenadiers and a half regiment of Perry hussars that I picked up cheap at Durhams show.
 A couple of the figures suffer from the 'orc' disease but mainly they are nice figures. Just what happened to Foundry? answers please.

 The last few weeks saw me able to attend two shows in reletively quick sucession, Triples and Durham.
 Triples as has been well documented changed venues. Personally I dont mind it,as I only got momentarily lost as opposed to my usually hopelessly lost at the university venue [even though John and I go every year] The show has lost something,but I cant really say what it is, I think the best description is BUZZ. Perhaps its down to my age, but somehow I dont think so as I really enjoyed York. I still managed to part with a fair amount of cash,but obtained some fine old school books to add to my library.
 Durham was well, Durham. I dont think it professes to be a show,more of a friendly open day,and a place to meet old friends and wargaming enemies.
 Again I managed to part with cash which was needed on other things [ like gas and electricity]

 

Both shows got me thinking about what I actually want from a show. I think most gamers go for the trade first, followed by a trawl around games that may interest them,and them some bait [ food] and then home, to peruse their purchases.

 Should we not be striving for more from these events?

How can they be improved? Do they need improving?

 Am I talking out my bottom...............

Personally I do think things need a bit of a shake up if we are to progress,otherwise we might as well call them trade fairs and kick out the games,which unless they are jaw droppingly beautiful are just by passed by the public anyway.

 I know as I have staged many games, and the effort rarely was worth the attention we didnt recive.

Mind I think a lot of it was down to the 'prejuidice against 6mm.

 Over 20 years ago Durham group staged what was tabled as a Napoleonic weekend, with living history, a battle, and wargames only from the Napoleonic era. There was an Imperial Garde band, and a book fair.

That seemed to draw big crowds of folk, and certainly the majority were not gamers.

 

 I have also been to a show where wargamers linked up with train groups, it was certainly different, but I dont think it was a sucess, Too much of a gulf was between the two groups, although the terrain used by the train people was inspirational.

 So whats the answer, a themed weekend or just a big trade fair like Salute.

 Now I have also attended Salute and was totally overawed by the event, and probably missed the best bits. I was too busy entering the painting competition and didnt get to see most of the games.

 I do think prizes should be returned to encourage gamers to put on top class displays.  You cant beat a nice cup to adorn the wargames room for a year.

 I also think guest speakers could be a consideration, and it wouldnt need to be an author, just a person that has something to say about wargaming and its many facets.

 Anyway back to the paining desk, to undercoat my latest diversion, a partly clad female Willie hussar! 

 What a bloke.

What is a wargamer 2

I have given a bit more thought to what Andy wrote about wargamers,and what we are about.
 I also would like to thank him for giving me an excuse to consider just what it is about wargamers.I think my original post was a tad simplistic re FUN and wargaming.

 One of the reasons why I chose wargaming [mind some days I think wargaming chose me] was my love of military history. As I have touched on before I had an excellent history master, a no nonsense controversial intelligent history master who questioned our thinking. I remember him conducting a lesson where he put forward that eventually someone would reason that Hitler had been a great man, and then allowing us to knock holes through his entire reasoning, quite brilliant.
 Looking back it was a logical progression to start showing an interest in wargaming.

My awakening came when I read Charles Grant's, The Wargame,after that I was hooked.
 I wanted well researched armies of toy soldiers, but I also wanted the thrill of tense games where I felt that I had re created history. Thinking about it now, I still do.
 Hence my quite considerable library of uniform guides. If they were only toys for fun,why do I feel the need to research the uniforms,flags and tactics?
 Additionally if I just wanted a fun game, why do I collect biographies of soldiers, the answer is to try and understand the periods I am interested in.

 In the 1980's John and I used Bruce Quarrie's Napoleonic rules. I loved the book,with its brief accounts of each nation and national characeristics, but I never was comfortable with the actual rules. Were the rules an attempt to far,to capture the accuracy! of the period, I dont think so,they just werent fun to play.

 I still think wargamers were attempting to justify their use of toy soldiers, and wanted to show the skeptical public that we were more than a bunch of freaks [geeks came later]

 Question,how many wargamers actually tell their workmates and friends that they wargame? 
 I certainly didnt,and I still am very reticent about letting people know what I am about,why? 
 I justify this by acknowledging that I work in a very macho enviroment,and always have, and I dont think I could handle the piss take that would inevitably follow. Is that wrong,probably.

So on deep reflection,I think being a wargamer is,
1] someone who loves history.
2] someone who enjoys playing games [ per se]
3] someone who probably enjoys their own company.
4] someone who also enjoys the company of likeminded people.
5] In my case a person who likes painting models.
6] and the most difficult to explain,someone who likes to escape by using their imagination.
The list is not complete,and no doubt will change.
 But thanks again to Andy for getting me thinking and giving me a bad head.

 Oh well back to my Hanoverians. 

What is a Wargamer.

Fresh from recovering from a cyber attack on my e mail system [ thanks T**t] I have been catching up on other peoples blogs.

Having just read Andy Copestake's blog [ glorious little soldiers ]about what is a wargamer, I think I would like to attempt to put my spin [horrible word that] on Andy's question.

 Wargamers come in many guises,which is great really,otherwise it would be a very boring hobby.

 The best ones in my opinion,enjoy the hobby for what it is. It is Enjoying military history,reading copious amounts of books which are either directly linked to ones interest, or indirectly linked through fictional accounts of people in history. 

 It is about painting [ and now to a lesser degree modelling] toy soldiers. You dont have to be a Kevin Dallimore but you must give the figure your best shot. Its about enthusiasm and encouraging people who would like to be a part of the hobby, dont turn them away,communicate with them.

 Most importantly its about enjoying the hobby for what it is and just having a bit of fun,without taking it too seriously.

  In the 80's and early 90's the fun was taken out of the hobby. I think to a certain extent it was an attempt to be taken very seriously, [no we are not playing with soldiers,we are re enacting history with actual scale models and terrain,coupled to piles of rules, blah,blah.] 

It was a ridiculous concept which still permeates through the hobby. Lets be truthful we enjoy collecting beautiful toy soldiers,the brighter the uniform or costume the better.

 I used to love looking at pictures in the Blandford book of world uniforms and getting strangely excited at the sight of Simon Bolivars bodyguard [ its probably an offence now] or the 7th Neopolitan line regiment [ Africa]  Just enjoy the hobby for what it is. I cannot think what I would have done if I hadn't trod the wargaming path, I certainly would have been a lot richer,monetarywise, but I would have been a lot poorer knowledge and ability wise.

 When things  got too much in my life,I could always switch problems and focus on my latest purchase,or figure that needed finishing off.

 I still think there is a lot of people who simply collect figures and have no desire to move them around a table,or throw dice near them. It doesnt make them wargamers in my eyes,but they still contribute to the hobby through their research.

 What doesn't make a wargamer in my eyes is a person, who criticises other peoples painting,game, rules or view of how certain battles were fought. History was always written by the victor, witness Tony Blairs view of the Iraq war [ war criminal or visionary?  answers on a postcard to the Hague] so really we cant give a definitive answer to any battle in history,the daftest view might actually be right. 

 Saying that I can remember being pulled at a show where we were exhibiting a lovely reconstruction of the Battle of Austerlitz and being criticised for having swans on the frozen lake!!! They couldnt have been there, [oh yeah,were you at the battle mate,my game my swans] It still rankles [ probably because they were right]

 Getting away from my rant, there are a couple of things that I disagree with on Andys blog. Fantasy does have a place in the wargaming world, it certainly is an oppourtunity to capture younger gamers, and Lord of the Rings is a great piece of literature, [discuss]

 The last thing to being a wargamer is bathing regularly, enjoy.

  

A Look at Vintage Wargaming Figures.

 This spiel is just to point would be SYW/Vintage type gamers in the right [ my opinion] direction.

  There doesn't seem to be a week goes by where some brave enterprising soul isn't releasing a new range of wargames figures, vehicles or buildings for the enthusiast to swoon over. Every period, every nation, real or otherwise is catered for. There has never been a better time to be a wargamer.

 However I sometimes wonder who the figures are actually aimed at. Just how many ranges of French Napoleonic figures does a person actually need? How many times do you need to update you're units, just because the latest figures are even better than the last? To me it all smacks of a Games Workshop type of mentality, and I do collect Warhammer figures so I'm not bashing that company. 

All are good, some are truly wonderful, however replacing your old units with the new improved ones are not only expensive but it is very time consuming.

 It should be noted that I have been wargaming for over forty years and like virtually every other gamer of that experience I progressed from Airfix figures to 25mm metal figures and then onwards ,ad infintum.

Three years ago I set out on a journey of re discovery and returned to my wargaming roots.

I decided that I wanted to fight with a simple set of rules, pushing around large wargaming units, and I wanted it to be fun with a capital 'F'.

I identified my aims as;

1] Simple but accurate rules.

2] Colourful armies.

3] Large units.

I also wanted to fight a period that I hadn't done before.

I opted for the Seven Years War, a period of beautiful uniforms and numerous battles.

There are several very good ranges of figures on the market, but I wanted my armies to contain figures from a by gone age. I opted for the ranges produced , by the late Peter Gilder ie. Hinchliffe and Steve Hezzlewood,ie .Pax Brittanica/RSM.

 Hinchliffe are now owned by Ian Hinds of Hinds Figures. Pax Brittanica or RSM are now produced solely in America by the Dayton Painting Consortium, [ www.dpcltdcom.org/] when searching on the internet.

 Steve Hezzlewood was a wayward genius who produced anatomically correct 30mm figures, in practical poses from a wargamers point of view, they are elegant and in my opinion capture the 'look' for the period.

Peter Gilder in turn adopted a different approach, and created wonderful ranges of action packed characterful figures. Both had their detractors, both in my opinion were gifted designers.

 Gilder opted for a broad stroke approach which if then painted in that style look brilliant,research any wargames magazine from the 70's and 80's.

 Ian Hinds when he purchased the Hinchliffe ranges took the wise move of dropping the prices of the figures. There's not many wargaming companies doing that is there. His infantry retail at 75p per figure, his cavalry are £1.65p.They are extremely good value. Interestingly from my point of view, Hinchliffe sell an old Steve Hezzlewood range of figures under the name of the X range. These are really fine AWI figures, probably the best AWI on the market. Discuss.

The Dayton Painting Consortium sell the Steve Hezzlewood ranges for $29.00 per bag of 36 infantry, the cavalry retail at $25.80 per bag of 12 figures. That equates to £18.54 for a bag of 36 figures at current exchange rates.
Both companies do decent mail order, and both are readily available via the internet.

When buying from America you always run the risk of HM Customs, so I would recommend that you place smallish orders and come to some arrangement with the owner Richard Masse regarding how the orders are recorded on the parcels. It may help save the purchaser getting a bill for actually opening the parcel to see whats inside. The usual cost for this service from HM Customs is £8.00! plus tax.

I thoroughly recommend the service provided by Ian Hinds and would liken it to a by gone more naive era where trust was a given.

Finally what I would suggest is that before the reader goes reaching for the latest range of figures. They pause and consider what are now classed as vintage figures, they will be pleasantly surprised at what is out there and just how good they are.More importantly just how good value they can be. 

                       Hinchliffe Austrian Dragoons.

           RSM French Heavy Cavalry.

 

More Ducal Troops.

Finally I have completed two more units for my Ducal [ I must create a name] project. These are Pandours decked out in a more sedate green colour,for the odd skirmish.
The figures are Foundry that I had laid about in my mountain of metal. Definately one of their better models.The unit is a half batallion,of 12 figures,which fits in nicely with our rules, 'A Nostalgic Whim'.
 Light troops fire in twos,but tend not to be a battle winner.

Next up are my Ducal Lancers who are more for show than for effect. Light cavalry in our rules dont fight very well against line types, although they are effective against the odd wagon train.

Still they are really just eye candy and will probably just line up at the end of a table looking pretty.

 I have been very busy the last two weeks with work etc,but I now finally hope to paint some red on my Hanoverians,who have been sat in their black undercoat for a little while.

 Next weekend is Sheffield Triples,which used to be John and mine's favourite show. I felt the last few years it was showing signs of failing,but with a new venue,I hope it can re invent itself. Still, something to really look forward to.

 Bookwise,I have managed to but Donald Fetaherstones' Battle of Poitiers, which is a fine little book. Featherstone writes a good description of battles,which does inspire folk.[ well at least me]  

In my spare time [ !] I have been watching Game of Thrones on Sky,and I must admit that from a slow start,it is getting pretty interesting,and would make a great background story for a campaign based on a Tony Bath type of setup.
 The large number of Ducal [that word again] houses is perfect for a setup.
 Anyway there has been further progress on my house, and a nice suggestion from 'Alte Fritz'  re my wargames room.
Unfortunately his suggestion to have one massive room on the top floor of my new home,had already met with stony silence from my wife last year.I am just grateful that I am getting an indoor room after all my years of gaming.



My New Wargames Room.

I thought it would be nice to show a bit of the plans of my new home,now that it is finally out of the ground and up to first floor level. This is the plan of the top floor with my 'games' room and guest bedroom across the landing.
 I didnt want to record the actual purpose on the original plan to the council,just in case, they thought I was some sort of risk to the neighbours. God knows I have had enough runs in with them. Dont be fooled by Grand Designs, unless you have shit loads of money, the planners will come after you,especially when you intend to live next door to one of the planning department.
 Anyway, enough of the bitterness. Why I wanted to publish this was I am trying to get the biggest use from the room, with the best shape for the actual table. The roof is a dormer shape,and will slope in from the windows,so there is a bit of an issue with height at the sides. Ideally the table will need to be an even size of two foot sections,to accomadate my boards. Please dont think I am being flash,because this dream has cost me dear,in both sanity levels,savings and the fact I am having to work on. But I cant complain and just feel lucky to have this oppourtunity.
 My aim has always been to leave the table set up over night,and allow any wargame guest to have the use of the room across from the table.
 So any innovative suggestions re table shape etc,please let me know. The key thing it will be used by 30mm figures,and 6mm figures.