This year I've continued to collect and paint lots of neat new 54mm stuff, but have done most of my miniature gaming away from home at conventions (and in 25mm at that). So here's what I've been up to lately, along with the related information that might be of interest to gamers in general. Thanks to those of you who have contacted me based on this column. Interested parties can continue to do so at celsden@aol.com.
Media Tie Ins
The Four Feathers of Fifty-Four!
There's nothing like a nice movie about a current gaming project. Although it left a lot to be desired as a drama, the film did bring alive a minor action of Abu Klea in the Soudan of 1884, with fine songs, uniforms, and battle scenes of a part of this one action. At last year's Valley Forge Toy Soldier Show I had picked up some nice metal Dervish command figures (officers and standard bearers) in anticipation of the upcoming Armies In Plastic sets, as Tony said he was making up three new sets. True to his word, and due in late November are two different sets (two each of 10 poses) of mellee weapons tribesmen, and a third of those with firearms (that's 30 new poses total--wow). Having previously provided Colonial era British, Scots, and regular Egyptians, AIP continues to forge ahead in this period where no plastic 54mm maker has gone before. Included in staging such a game will be my camel pack train (Charbens) and camel mounted Arabls (Reamsa, Timpo).
Recently at the last HMGS Historicon I visited John Stengel )'The Marksman") whose booth I never pass up. I scored several foam sections of "cobblestone street" and dipped into his individual AIP figure box. I had my eye on alternative colors for creating auxiliary British units (Royal Army Service Corps types, weapons crews, etc.) and came up with sections of WWI Scots in sand (light tan), Victorian Highlanders in light blue/gray, and Colonial infantry in sand (rather than khaki). Excellent. Along with the old plastic Desert Outpost (Airfix) and new foam Desert Villa (Hobby Bunker), the new foam village buildings in the upcoming Barzo "War With Mexico/Churubusco" playset buildings should be useful as well.
One correspondent made reference to how in the film the enemy camel corps wore British uniform to get close to the square and charge it. He noted that I have rules to cover this. My Restricted Recognition rules, originally made for the ACW, simply set a die roll for confusingly clothed columns approaching each other for the first time. In the ACW its Southerners generally wearing blue or Northerners wearing gray ("cross color units"), but of course it can apply to any period--especially when one side is dressing up specifically as the other side. If the unknown approaching unit is actually an enemy one, you must roll to see if you are allowed to fire upon them. If they are actually friendly, you must roll to see if you fail to recognize them as frieendlies and then MUST fire upon them! Of course, in certain Colonial games such as the Indian Mutiny, you might set a scenario roll to see who actually decides to change sides (!!!) I have plans to do this with Chinese Imperial troops in the Boxer rebellion as well.
Kutuzov On PBS!
Pete Panzeri's JodieCon Borodino 2002 was huge and hugely successful. Held in September down in Ft. Monroe, Virginia, it featured about 25 players per side doing the entire battle in 25mm on 8 big tables in a hotel ballroom, using the computerized rules Carnage & Glory. After Action Reports are still being collected--see Jodiecon.org for the remarks and analyses of this complex and amazing 3 1/2 day event. Related information is available in about 100 pages of free reading in the site newsletter The Great Redoubt, edited by yours truly. Side games and presentations by well known hobby figures like Frank Chadwick, uniformed reenactors, dealers like George Nafziger with his new book on the Russo-Turkish War, films, meals, official polo shirts and souvenirs, etc. enhanced this great convention. With two pals I had spent the four previous days touring the Historic Triangle on the Peninsula--Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown, so it was truly a fine trip for us.
Tours were also conducted at the convention site to old Fortress Monroe, now an artillery museum. This included the building where Robert E. Lee was quartered, photos of Artillery Artificer Edgar Allen Poe (!), artillery captured in the Spanish-American War, and the casement where Jefferson Davis was incarcerated for two years after the Civil War, and other neat displays. From the Chamberlin Hotel, our room overlooked Hampton Roads, the site of the ironclad battle between the Monitor and Merrimac (that's CSS Viginia, suh). Thanks to the other administrative directors like Jodie Panzeri, Fred Hubig, Dr. Jim Birdseye, Nigel Marsh and the many other contributors and players who made it possible. A PBS film crew was there to cover the proceedings and ask some of us about the wargaming experience, Borodino, and so forth. So watch for me and my former full Napoleonic sideburns as Kutuzov along with Norbert Brunehuber as Napoleon and the rest of the JodieCon gang around April of next year on TV! Talk about publicizing the hobby...
The Carnage & The Glory
In preparation for my role as Kutuzov, I played my brains out on the C&G system this year. This included games on The Poles and Utitsa (Cold Wars 02), The Battle of New Orleans (Historicon 02), and alternate Salamanca (Connecticut Gamers). I won two and a half out of three games as Side Commander--hey, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Detailed accounts of these games are available at the jodiecon.org site or the CGC site. Playing C&G and discussing it witht the Game Master afterward gives you much insight, which can be used to learn about the period, even if you're just looking to tweak your own rules. I highly recommend the experience, especially talking to designer Nigel Marsh or Frank Luberti. There is also much additional information being prepared on how to play the system from the umpires and players invloved at Borodino on the original French and Russian Command Nets.
Special Tour Service Unit #1
The totally unique Wargamers Battlefield Tour of Europe next April may still have a few vacancies by the time you read this. To get further information, an open spot, or on the with pleasure, has stuff living on two entire warehouse floors, not to mention at home! My pals at Metropolitan Wargamers of Brooklyn store their stuff on standing shelf units at our new clubhouse in Park Slope, paying extra for the privilege. Your own solution to storage will depend upon your own requirements, resources, and restrictions. Here's what I do.
Catalogue:
The Big Red Book is a looseleaf binder that contains an annotated printout of my period unit lists, plus equipment/ vehicle lists. Categories include Medieval/Fantasy, ECW, ARW, Napoleonic/ 1 812/MAW, ACW, Colonial, WWI, WWII, SF. Terrain is broken down into small diaramic stage dressing items (camp equipment, extra weapons, barrels, boxes) small terrain pieces (bunkers, bridges, barricades, trees), and LARGE major terrain pieces (Foam Tech WWI trench system, Vauban Fort, doll houses, ships, medieval siege equipment).
Storage Units:
In three levels--plastic ziploc gallon storage bags/shoe boxes for 25-50 figure units, cartons (groupings of bags, vehicles, etc. such as national armies) and LARGE items, which must be stored individuall or just one or two a carton. All containers MUST be labeled.
Area Storage:
By period generally, although they will slop over on to each other. Seperate areas for naval hulls, buildings, and other stuff general to all periods.
Replacement Upgrades:
Once you are out of room (I don't do the newly available Ancients) you have to get rid of stuff to take in the new. I do this with various types of upgrades. Nicer figures replace cheaper ones without their own bases. Newly available correctly scaled historical vehicles replace generic 25mm ones. Fragile terrain pieces are replaced with more robust ones.
Period Storage Organization:
This varies by size of the period collection. ECW is the smallest (perhaps 500 figures) , ACW and WWII the largest (about 5,000 figures each). Each period is divided by physical storage thus:
Medieval: Seperate cartons for European knights, Vikings, Fantasy figures, Castles, siege equipment, Viking ships (see Colonial for non-Europeans).
ECW: Cartons for HQ-Infantry-Artillery, and one for Cavalry.
ARW: Cartons for British, Americans, Allies (Hessians-French-Indians). Shoe boxes for various 18th/19th Century sailors and pirates.
Napoleonic/1812/MAW: Just organized! Shoeboxes for individual infantry and cavalry units and side HQ units, one for artillery. Shelves for Sail Squadron ships. ACW: Shoe boxes fo many, many individual regiments, several for dismounted cavalry, cartons by side for HQ, Mounted Cavalry, and Artillery.
Colonial: Shoe boxes for European units. Cartons for all Chinese, Africans, and Muslims. it Boxes for Steam Squadron ships.
WWI: Cartons for Allies and Germans. Tupperware containers for plastic AFV models.
WWII: Carton for each national army, and one for each national army vehicles. Bags within by unit. These include British Commonwealth, French, German, Russian/Italian, USA, Japanese, and Chinese. Small boxes for downscaled air and naval forces. Shelves for amphibious invasion vehicles.
SF: Carton for bagged figures, which include post WWII military units, alien units, spaceman units, and various character adventure figures. Carton for vehicles from Warthog ground attack aircraft to futureistic artillery and even spaceships.
Summary
All of this is not to say that at first sight you, walking into the room (which also houses my desk and computer set up, history books, off season clothes, etc.) would necessarily notice any type of organization at all. But I can find most of my stuff pretty quickly. Then again, if I get lazy and just chuck a loose figure into the first box I see, I may NEVER find it again! And while figures are pretty easy, terrain is more difficult, because only some of it is period specific. How ti list it, then? If not listed somehow, how to find it. Some catalogue lists lie in individual cartons, I musst confess. More work for the future... someday!
Rules:
All of which is not to include my seven original rules systems, and trying to remember which rule is for which period when I run a game. Jumping between periods is confusing. And everyone expects you to be an instant expert on your own rules, of course.
And... Well, I'm off to figure out which paint colors I need to resupply at the local art store. Or maybe I should just take a relaxing walk in the park, and try to forget it all. As I pass into the living room, I see eight shelves of board games, and four more of hobby/wargame related literature. What board game rules to I need to bone up on for the weekend? And if I want to take that book on WWI artillery with me to the park, did I leve it in History, Wargaming, or just lying around somewhere...?
If Only I could retire now, and just play games every night. But I'd have to charge to have people come over, and that would, according to the current ethos of The Hobby, be evil. Instead I have to figure out how to find the time to make my rules avaialble, find opponents for games, and so forth. So I have to waste more years working at a regular job, when I could be setting up a good battle. Oh well, such is life.
The Charley Challenge
So if you're passing through New York some time, drop by and mention any military plastic figure ever made, except for really junky cheap-o's (okay, or Ancients). And if I can't come up with it in 10 minutes or less, dinner will be on me! If I do come up with it, you'll have to buy. But then, you'd get to see a pretty interesting figure, maybe one you haven't seen before, or not since you were a kid.
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© Copyright 2003 Hal Thinglum
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