I recently made a trip back home to Upper Michigan to see my parents. While I was there, my Mom gave me a box of my old 54mm plastic toy soldiers, which I thought were all gone. It was fun looking through them and I was glad to see them again! Besides the usual 60mm policeman and other figures of which I have no idea as to where they came from, there were the twenty Mexicans from the Alamo playset (always my favorite figures!), Marx French Foreign Legion and American Civil War, other assorted Marx figures.
There were even three MARX 1920's figures wonder where and why I picked those up! At one point in my childhood, I decided to paint my figures the Mexicans have a very shiny purple jacket, and white trousers with a yellow shako - I imagine they looked very good to me when I was twelve years old! Some have splotches of blood - to think that I painted them as many as forty-three years ago! I remember I had a Fort Apache set as well as the WWII Pacific set. My parents used to let me take sawdust from my Dad's saw in the basement and spread it across the basement in the shape of an island with a river running straight through the middle. I would then set up the Japanese on the island with the Americans on a large cargo ship ready to invade! I still have pictures of this sure brings back memories!
These memories, I am sure, are pretty much the same for many MWANers in my age range (fiftyfive). We can count ourselves as extremely fortunate individuals to have found a hobby (wargaming) which allows us to continue to pursue our childhood interests!
I have been using BARTERTOWN quite often lately to sell off unwanted hobby items and have to admit that I am shocked as to how quickly this process works. Five minutes after posting an ad, I was getting e-mails from people who wanted what I had to sell. Simply amazing! I find it interesting from time to time to take a look through what is listed on BARTERTOWN. A very helpful service to the wargamer!
I would encourage MWANers to send me an email (halmwan@hotmail.com) for use in the LETTERS column. It occurred to me while putting the Letters column together that it would be a good place for manufacturers to mention updates in what they have available. Easy thing to do - send an email to me with new releases!
I started basing and terraining my 15mm Sudan project. I've got about five units (24 foot or 18 mounted) of Egyptian and Indian foot and one of Dragoons as well as two batteries of Indian mountain guns and twenty-some Dervish camelmen. The Egyptian, British and Indian foot will be mounted six to a stand in two ranks while the horse/camels will have half that many on a stand (three). Dervish and Fuzzies, at least the way I am thinking now, will have double that amount of figures on a single stand to make it faster to move the native forces as they will be controlled by the dice. I mounted the Dervish camelmen six to a stand to see how they would look and they turned out fine. I terrained them with real sand and am now going to use some Elmer's White Glue and Woodland Scenics scrubs to "spice up" the stands.
Avalanche Press Ltd., PO Box 4775, Virginia Beach, VA 23454 reports they have put out a new edition of John Prados' THIRD REICH ($59.95) as well as two other historical boardgames: Second World War at Sea: Midway ($49.94), and Great War at Sea: White Fleet ($14.95).
Belle & Blade, 124 Penn Ave., Dover, NJ 07801 has lots of "War" movies (which serve to further inspire us to start new periods!).
Steven Lum tells me that the ECW books (excellent fictional works; I have two of them!) by Nicolas Carter #3 AND THE KING'S MEN CROW" and #5 STAND BY THE COLORS are available from Amazon.com.uk Outstanding books!
ON MILITARY MATTERS (phone: 609-4662329; www.onmilitarymatters.com) has great lists of historical books of interest to the wargamer.
OLD GLORY, Box 20, Calumet, PA 15621 apparently has released a 25mm line of WWI - "No Man's Land - The War in the Trenches 1916-18; thus far they consist of British, American, German, and French infantry with command, heavy machine guns/crews, and casualties.
RENEGADE MINIATURES, 15 Treesale Close, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 3QB (e-mail: info@renegademiniatures.co.uk) , whom I've never heard of before, has released a 28mm line of English Civil War. Thus far, they have musketeers, pikemen, and foot command (6.50 pounds per pack of 8 figures with variants).
REDOUBT ENTERPRISES, 49 Channel View Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN22 7LN (phone: 01323738022) has released more figures for their Victorian range consisting of horse artillery, a seated officer for their tanks, and a 9 pound field piece.
NAVIGATOR MINIATURES (now advertising with MWAN!), Beech Cottage, Main Street, Stillington, North Yorkshire, Y061 ILA, UK (phone: 1347811283; www.naviciatorminiatures.com, email: info@navigatorminiatures.com) has a line of 25/28mm Crusaders that looks very interesting. Available in the USA from David Clayton (e-mail: dacelan@gateway.net).
WHITECROSS GAMES, Corner Lodge, Whitecross Lane, Banwell, North Somerset, BS29 6DP UK (e-mail: barry@whitecrossgarnes.co.uk) has a line of 25mm Early Byzantines.
The Perry twins have started up their own figure business (Perry Miniatures, PO Box 6512, Nottingham, NG7 1UJ, UK (website: www.perryminiatures.com) and have released a 28mm ECW line (foot command, pikes, musketeers and dragoons thus far) as well as Napoleonic Brunswick Army of 1815. Looking forward to seeing these figures!
The North Hull Wargames Club (GB & SD Hobbies, 69 Newland Ave., Hull, East Yorkshire, HU5 2AL, UK; www.dspace.dial.pil)ex.com/sfd/pm/; email: panzer.marsch@worgaimz.fsnet.co.uk) has released a set of WWII wargames rules for ten pounds. It would appear as though they are also offering army lists.
GLADIATOR GAMES, 11 Derwent Ave., Biggleswade, Beds SG18 8LY, UK (e-mail: sales@gladiatorgames.co.uk; www.gladiatorgames.co.uk) has a new line of "The Three Musketeers".
Mark Copplestone, former of the FOUNDRY, has also started up his own figure company (Copplestone Castings, PO Box 9298, Birmingham, B14 7PN, UK; www.geocities.com/gisbv.geo/dda.htm) and has started with more Darkest Africa figures. Available in the US from Bob Bowling of RLBPS (see Bob's ad for address in this issue).
Richard Brooks' latest issue of THE HELIOGRAPH has a guide to figures and scale which is very helpful (#127); contact Richard at 207 Ivory Key Road, Saluda, SC 29138 (phone: 8644453030; e-mail: rbrooks@srarp.org or brooks@emeraldis.com). By the way, if you are a colonial wargamer, you'll want to subscribe to this interesting and welldone publication on colonial wargaming!
Received a copy of DADI&PIOMBO (#7; August, 2001), an Italian wargaming publication. It consists of 42 glossy pages with color cover. Check out the letters section in this issue for information on subscription.
I have a four-day weekend coming up for Thanksgiving and I am hoping to finish the JanuaryFebruary issue of MWAN so I can do some hobby stuff in the basement. My wife, Barbara, and daughter, Katie, are taking the train to St. Paul, Minnesota to visit so I could sit in the basement to my heart's content! She is even going to make me a Thanksgiving ham for when they are gone - how about that! I still have those 25mm SYW Prussian musketeers from Saber & Sash, Old Glory, and Foundry sitting on my painting table. They are the last of my 25mm SYW figures and I'd love to finish them off. I've painted twelve of them but haven't touched them for several months there are 25 more including a mounted officer. My painting is so much slower with the magnifying glass which I believe will take time to adjust to as far as my depth perception is concerned.
With all of the quality 25/28mm ECW figures available - REDOUBT ENTERPRISES, ESSEX, OLD GLORY, and the new companies coming out with this line in 25/28mm - PERRY MINIATURES and RENEGADE MINIATURES - what a period this would be! I have the latest REDOUBT ECW release - a small gun with three-man crew - a real beauty of a set!
I am curious - what do other MWANers feel their primary interest in the hobby is? Is it the actual "gaming", "collecting" (meaning that you like to buy figures, read, plan, and think - or dream - about the period and how it will look on your tabletop, "painting", a "love for toy soldiers" or a combination of the above. I might also add another category; those who are highly interested in taking what we know about an historical period and attempting to recreate it, to one degree or another, on the tabletop in a complete fashion. We should also add the individuals whose main interest is that of rules writing, though they could fit into the last group I just mentioned. Personally, I have evolved from painting and a love of toy soldiers being my primary interests to collecting while maintaining the love of toy soldiers.
I have also had a huge interest in attempting to recreate a period of history on the tabletop writing my own rules, though my rules writing interest has waned considerably over the years. I keep telling myself that when I retire, I will do some gaming probably solo gaming for the most part - and my "collecting" efforts are channeled in this direction. Whether or not I actually will accomplish this goal is to be determined, however, it seems enjoyable to think of having a lot of time to set up troops on the table and move them around a bit!
Sighting Collectors
Having been in this hobby for probably twentyeight years or so, I can always identify the "gamers" as they will play anything, don't own any troops, don't subscribe to any wargaming publications (and are not interested in reading about it), read a lot of military history, and are good "gamers." They also are very interested and concerned as to wargame rules in so far as how "historical" they are. In addition, they will play a game on a table devoid of terrain and not mind it one single bit. They are as happy with a board game as they are with miniatures.
The "collectors", in my opinion, will play a game though one can tell quickly this is not their primary interest as they will lift up stands of figures and admire them and ask things like, "Where did you get these from?" and "How did you make this piece of terrain?" In addition, they are up to date on every new manufacturer. The "painter" is always examining someone else's painted troops and looking for new techniques either to improve his speed of painting or abilities. Collectors and painters view wargaming rules in a different manner than gamers, I think, as they seem more concerned as to how "playable" a set of rules is. They want a "platform" to allow them to put their toys on the table and admire them. Along the same lines, they both prefer a tabletop filled with outstanding terrain to match their figure collection.
Painters, collectors, and those with a love of toy soldiers, are heavily influenced by new figure releases as to new periods they go into. They are prone to "impulse" buying and have lots of lead taking up room in their hobby area. Collectors and those with a love of toy soldiers love the wargaming press in addition to historical works and can be highly motivated by seeing an historical movie or reading an interesting book about a new period they don't presently have.
I think the most "fun" I've ever had with a "project" was when I did the Battle of Islandhwana in 25mm. The challenge of getting enough figures (some 3,000 plus), painting them, and studying the battle and period well enough so as to be able to write a set of rules allowing for a reasonable recreation on the tabletop was exciting! Every game I ever hosted for
Islandhwana turned out within "historical limits" and I always found it fascinating to watch the battle unwind before me! The six companies of British infantry slowly failing back on the camp because of steadily increasing Zulu pressure and decreasing ammunition availability; the Natal Native Contingent routing leaving the center (or corner) of the British line open; and the fallback of the Natal Native horse thus opening up the British right flank. Even though the result of the battle was always predictable, I felt that the players enjoyed watching it happen before their eyes. I must admit that once in awhile, I get the urge to redo this battle in 10mm, however, the painting - ohhhhh!
Given my interests in the hobby, which I've outlined above, I must admit that there are times when I wonder just how much of my writings about my "collecting" and "love of toy soldiers" MWANers can take! After all, I rarely play a game; I just write "endlessly" about my many periods, scales, and plans for organization, and never about gaming. It seems possible to me that this type of thing could become quite tiresome to people who don't share my particular interest(s) and approaches to the hobby.
I'd love to hear from you as to your feelings where do you see yourself standing in the hobby? Send me an e-mail (halmwan(@hotmail.com) and I'll put together everyone's thoughts on the subject in one article!
A reminder - if you move, your MWAN gets eaten by the post office as it is not forwarded to your new address as it falls under the category of Bulk mail. Even though you aren't charged for me sending out another issue to replace the "lost" one, it saves me a little time and money if you let me know your new address as soon as you can. Thank you very much!
I'd like to remind everyone that I can still use good, clear, color pictures for the covers. Also, I find myself running quite low on articles so if you feel like putting something together, please do so. Thanks!
From my vantage point, it seems as though we, as a hobby, are continuing to expand figure availability within each of the scales. Perhaps ten or so years ago, there was a lot of talk about how 15mm would replace 25mm. That hasn't happened, at least in my opinion. 25mm is doing well, probably growing if the increasing number of new 25/28mm figure manufacturers is any indication of that. 15mm is doing very well, thank you, again, lots of growth. The 6mm scale has new manufacturers; used to be you could only find Heroics & ROS in this interesting scale.
Well, you can still find them, and they are surprising good after all of these years, but you can also find lots more IRREGULAR MINIATURES and BACCUS SIX, just to mention two that come immediately to mind. The 10mm scale has crept back in - being originated by lack Scruby many years ago - and 20mm is making a comeback. I've heard it said that 20mm has a good future as we grow older because we will not see well enough to paint 15mm and 25mm will become too expensive. I can vouch for the sight viewpoint, but I am not sure that 25mm figures have, for the most part, increased that significantly in cost. I can't explain my fascination with 20mm - they are probably as time-consuming to paint as are 25mm's and if you have them painted professionally, the cost is not that much than 25mm. 30mm seems to be "dead", however, they have probably been replaced by the "larger" 25mm or 28mm - as more companies are beginning to refer to their figures.
When THE FOUNDRY initiated what I refer to as "The Great Foundry Experiment", namely, will wargamers pay a figure manufacturer what the manufacturer really thinks his figures are worth, I thought with the major increase in their prices, wargamers are still going to keep purchasing their figures - because they are very good figures however, I felt they would not purchase "armies", but rather perhaps one of each type offered for use in either "skirmish-type" games or just to paint and display. I am not sure whether or not this has happened as I am not in a position to know that information. I think we are not at the point yet when we will know the answer to "The Great Foundry Experiment."
A second interesting point, at least to me, is what Russ Dunaway did with OLD GLORY as regards offering quality 25mm (and 15mm for that matter) at what were at that time far below the market price and still are. This event, I believe, had a tremendous effect on the wargames industry in that it would seem very difficult for figure manufacturers to raise their prices when OLD GLORY is out there in the marketplace at extremely reasonable prices. In contrast to "The Great Foundry Experiment" not having its final chapter written, I think we know the answer to "The Old Glory Experiment" it was a highly successful, at least for OLD GLORY, effort. Wargamers bought thousands of pounds of OLD GLORY lead and OLD GLORY expanded rapidly. Success for both sides, not a bad thing to have happen.
I wonder how OLD GLORY's pricing affected the rest of the market aside from it being considered "unwise" to significantly raise your prices. After all, THE FOUNDRY raised their prices quite awhile after OLD GLORY's entry into the market. If you look around, there are quite a few 25mm manufacturers (are they primarily English with much of the price increase being due to the high cost of importing figures from the UK to the US?) whose prices for 25mm figures are at $1.60 or more.
I've always felt that any manufacturer or wargames accessories producer can do whatever they please as far as setting their prices. The marketplace is what decides whether or not they were justified in doing so. The consumer is the one who settles the issue ultimately.
The consumer or marketplace, thus far at least, has decided that OLD GLORY was correct in their decision. Let's wait and see what they have to say about THE FOUNDRY.
I recently was looking through some "old" COURIERS produced by Dick Bryant prior to the "current" COURIER. It was in a "digest" type format similar to MWAN. Very good stuff and ahead of it's time in format and content. Still some very interesting pieces in there. Brings to mind that Dick has been doing this for many, many, years and deserves to be recognized, as he has been via the National HMGS group, for his sizeable contributions! Good work, Dick!
Back to MWAN #115 Table of Contents
Back to MWAN List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Magazine List
© Copyright 2002 Hal Thinglum
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com