... was, "What's the title of this blog going to be?" Along with agonising over the 'design' and 'look' of it. I just hope I've got it about right, because this is the start of a new adventure for this old wargamer... blogging!
Though, presently, I'm not quite ready to "go public", as I want to get a lot further on with my 'mountain of lead' - painting the figures, animals, transport, and making up the "scenery", ready for photographing and writing the narratives to accompany the 'pics' of my wargames - and only then will I think I'm about ready to make my first 'public' blog.
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I started wargaming 40 years ago, with Airfix WWII plastic soldiers and kit-built tanks and transport. In fact, originally, I'd been going to build a model railway, based on a fictitious town and station on the Kent coast, during WWII (World War Two). I'd hoped to model the railway complete with Southern Railway troop trains trundling through the station, and a platoon of Home Guard, ('Dad's Army' types, like in the BBC TV comedy of the same name), guarding the station and goods yard against the expected German invasion. Hence my interest in WWII, and my awareness of the Airfix model soldiers.
But I didn't have enough space in my (then) home for even a small-ish model railway, so the idea fell flat... until...
Back then, my local toy & model shop had a board displaying local adverts, one of which caught my eye... "Come and Join Our Wargames Club!" proclaimed the notice. "Wargames?" I thought, "What are 'wargames'?" A brief chat with the enthusiastic young shop assistant, who was also a founder member of that wargames club, had me off on a whole new venture. No longer a model railway, set in WWII, instead, a start was made, there and then, with Airfix kits and model soldiers, to build a WWII British Army and join the local wargames club!
However, within a few months, the 'new venture' hit the buffers (railway pun intended!), when the local wargames club turned out to have more than a few weird lads who were hell-bent on winning the games, any way they could. 'Historical accuracy' wasn't a problem for them, like bringing on Tiger tanks for a France 1940 scenario; and 'rules' meant what they wanted, like moving their platoon slightly further than the distance for the move given!
I soon got brassed off with that kind of gamesmanship, and left the club.
Disgruntled, but still keen on my new hobby, I was in my local library when I came across a copy of the book 'Solo Wargaming' (published in 1972) by that prolific wargames author, Donald Featherstone... and the rest is history!
I've never wargamed with a club since, but had the most wonderful time as a Solo Wargamer from then on. Now I had time to read up on my subject / period, unconstrained by club deadlines to get figures painted for "next month's games", and I could write my own rules, scenarios, and even - the best bit - the characters who would move across my table in search of their enemy / their objective / their prey, or whatever my game included!
However, this has resulted in a "lead mountain"; because, with only myself to please, and no time constraints, each new year brought new "toy soldiers" onto the market and new genres that took my fancy, like Pulp Fiction, 18th Century Pirates, and new scenarios like 'Bog-a-Ten' / Land That Time Forgot. My hobby room shelves groan under umpteen box-files of unpainted wargames figures in 15mm, 20mm, and 25/28mm - all bought with a crackin' idea behind the purchase, but years later and still not painted!
I have: 20mm WWII British and German companies, c/w with armour, transport, artillery, (Airfix, Lamming, Hinchcliff, and some who's origin I no longer remember!), 15mm Pirates (Peter Pig figures from the 1990s), with resin pirate ships by, the now defunct, 'SDD'; and 25mm/28mm figures for 'Darkest Africa' campaigns, Pulp Fiction games, and 'Prehistorics' (Cavemen for want of a better term!) together with a multitude of wild animals...
But... over time, all of these will "get an outing", on my wargames table and on this blog.
So that's the end of the beginning... now... where did I put that '000' paintbrush to add the eyes to those Victorian characters!
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