Well, Hal printed the ramblings of this 38-year old newcomer the first time, why not Part II?
The last four months have been spent raising my first Colonial armies (Boer and British for the Great Boer Way), doing the research on what units to represent, possible scenarios for the table top, and the weapons, tactics and organization of the forces involved. I have also spent a great deal of time collecting information on other colonial area campaigns and ways, and in this I have had a great deal of help from many people.
If all the help, advice, letters, phone calls and copies of organization and uniform information sent my way in the last four months are any indication of how people help a newcomer, then this hobby will grow very quickly. In my first article I expressed a concern that basic information on getting started in miniature wargaming was hard to come by, Well, a few letters and phone calls, not to mention innumerable dumb questions, have resulted in picking up valuable information on getting started out.
If you are looking for information on getting going in the hobby, write that letter or order that catalog and request help concerning your specific needs for your area of interest. In many cases I have received personal letters from figure manufacturers or store owners offering advice and directing me to rival figure makers to help fill my wargaming needs. If someone cannot help you in your request for information or supply needs, they usually will send you in the right direction. A good idea is to send to Modeler's Mart or the Black Watch hobby shops (Editor's Note, most advertisers in MWAN are large enough to provide an interested party in a general type of catalog providing information on many figure companies) and request their catalogs as they carry many lines of figures and wargaming equipment. Also, send away to at least two to six of the bigger figure makers and get their direct listing. Many times the cost of the catalog will be discounted on your first order.
I did attend Gen-Con in August and historical miniature wargaming has a way to go to make itself heard at this convention. I played in two games Saturday and really enjoyed myself playing my first miniature wargames in 20 years. Greg Principato's Battle of El-Kabir was enjoyable and a great lesson in attacking entrenched troops across open terrain. Word has it that at least four of the British units were routed in face of the Egyptian defense (a first, according to Wally, the Egyptian leader), only the Naval Brigade and Marines made it over the wall. During this terrible British defeat, Tony Adam's French Foreign Legion game and beautiful fort lay empty, despite the fact that at least four to eight tickets had been sold. lie did get enough players for the second game in which I played one of the Arab tribe leaders, a very fun game (Tony, I still say the Arabs cannot win).
Zulu was the magic word, it seemed that everybody asked about or wanted to know when Greg's Zulu Fury started. I do feel that Greg's Egyptian game and Tony's game could have been supported better by the gaming public. Also, the lack of historical miniatures and game equipment manufacturers was a little disappointing. I did see a demo setup of Geo-Hex and when I get my set will send a write to MWAN, The best part of the convention was seeing so many different miniature games going and meting HMGS-MIDWEST members, Tony, Greg, and Todd Fisher.
For all the help, information and kindness, I would like to thank Hal Thinglum NW), Greg Principato (Of Dice and Men), Tony Adams (HELIOGRAPH), Robert Bowling (Painting Services), and Lynn Bodin (SAVAGE AND SOLDIER).
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© Copyright 1986 Hal Thinglum
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