A Near Run Thing

The update

2006-09-11T21:39:00.000Z

Ok, after the huge demand for an update (1 comment) I finally have put fingers to keyboard to explain what is going on in my wargaming life.

Basically from a very large collection of books, figures and reference material I am now down to 7 figures and 1 rule book. This has been a huge change in my life selling everything on eBay but has netted me over £1000 since November.

It has also meant I can now truly focus on my project in hand. Even when I tried this before I ended up with 3 projects (see below) with one not even being finalized. Now however, I only have one set of figures and the rules to go with them.

This bit requires a bit of background: I first started gaming at the tender age of around 7 with a short lived series of starter games produced by Games Workshop (Ultra Marines, Kerrunch etc.) and then moved on to Epic, Rogue Trader, Warhammer Fantasy etc. This sci-fi and fantasy gaming took me to about 17 when I discovered historicals.

Quickly abandoning my early games as "immature" (I am talking about toy soldiers for gods sake!) I flung myself completely into them and scoffed at the fools marching goblins around a table. For a good few years including my whole uni career I built up various armies of various eras in various scales.

However two major factors have now stopped me: firstly opponents. This is such an intrinsic part of my wargaming I am amazed it took me so long to realise nobody wanted to play me. If they did want to play it was something I wasn't building/had no interest in and was inevitably WW2. This leads me into my next problem...

A while ago I posted a semi-rant thing about the morals of a wargamer and how I was finding it harder and harder to play "realistic" games. It has finally come to the point that the idea of playing a game which is trying to represent what real people lived and died through really does not appeal. It fact it puts me right of my dinner some days.

Now I am NOT saying that every wargamer is evil and wants to kill people wantantly. I am just saying that I find it hard to see a knocked out Sherman in FoW and not picture the crew inside burning to death in a foreign field.

On that morbid note I shall re-iterate: for me, historicals are no more.

So what is left? Why the realms of fantasy and sci-fi of course! Back to where I started 15 years ago as a wide eyed and fresh faced youngster. I am still shying away from Games Workshop as I don't really have the time or resources to create a whole army for either major system really. Instead I am looking for a skirmish games which requires few figures to play.

(Yes I know GW's Lotr fits the bill but I think I have played that one to death in various guises!)
Instead I am going to focus on Confrontation from Rackham. I already have a small warband almost ready to go (the 7 figures) and the lovely new 3rd edition rulebook (my solitary book). Other than a set of counters this is all I need to get playing!

I really hope this is going to be a turning point in my gaming life and I can feel proud and focused on my projects and what I can produce. Sorry for the lack of pictures, I was hoping to take a few once the warband is fully painted but I have one left to do!

Thoughts? Questions? Ideas?

Wish me luck and I hope to update again soon.

Advance Warning

2006-08-09T11:47:00.000Z

This blog WILL be updated soon (even with pictures!).

My wargaming life has had a bit of an upheavel recently and all shall be explained

(with pictures).

Cheers,
Rob

2006-07-05T12:58:00.000Z

Notice a lack of updates?

This is mainly due to my laziness, combined with finding excuses in having to move house and watching thr World Cup (Forza Italia!)

My wargaming activites of recent weeks has mostly been confined to the web and has consisted on browsing the message boards of the Miniatures Page, becoming a supporting member of said site and corresponding with a chap from Italy who has provided wonderful information on uniforms for the Italian War of 1859.

Again my projects seem to change. My 15m Nappys are now in storage in Manchester and so this leaves My 6mm Crimean Figures and my 2mm figures. While the Crimean project is "sorted" it is the 2mm ones that are causing me problems. Perhaps they are a little too generic? At the moment they are heading to the Seven Years War as mentioned below but my thoughts do stray...

I think I suffer from looking ahead too much. Even before opening my bags of Crimean figures I had images in my mind of supplementing them with Austrians so I could refight the battles of Magenta et al. Focus Rob! Focus!

Hopefully I can get some work done on my figures in the next few weeks but who knows really? Perhaps I am too lazy for this hobby after all?

2006-06-08T14:30:00.000Z

Just to add a couple more links:

Firstly El Brazo De Nelson which is a blog featuring fantastic Russian Civil War and Spanish Civil War figures. I find both of these conflicts fascinating and indeed my first ever home brewed rules were for the RCW! Excellent Work.

Secondly is Mike Siggin's website. I'm sure this actually needs no introduction but is packed with his (in)famous Wargamers Notebooks which, for myself, was one of the reasond I carried on buying Wargames Illustrated for so long! Thankfully they are all archived on this site as well as some beautiful figures.

2006-06-08T11:19:00.000Z

I promised myself at the beginning of this year that my wargaming habits would be a lot more focused, one project at a time, painting before buying etc. Well that seems to have almost fallen through.
I am still selling the vast majority of my figures and have cut down to three projects:

1) 6mm Crimean War, I haven't had a chance to paint anymore since the first division (who I am going to repaint) but this project is "done" in terms of figure buying and rules. I may get some more in the distant future but for now I have more than enough to keep me going!

2) 2mm Seven Years War. I have had some 2mm figures from Irregular for quite a while and have finally struck on what to do with them. With this year being the 250th anniversery of the start of this conflict it seems fitting. My plan is to have the figures, rules and terrain sorted by the 1st October and to refight the battle of Lobositz exactly 250 years to the day.

3) 15mm Napoleonics. This project is probably the biggest, both in terms of figures and it's scale. I am going to rebase my already completed French figures onto 2"x2" squares for use in Grand Armee. This is however on hold for the moment until I move back to Manchester.

So thats it. Everything else, including my two sets of Battle of Five Armies is going up on Ebay. Please keep checking for items under Arcangeli1983 and wish me luck!

2006-05-28T19:27:00.000Z

A quick update.

Hello everyone, this entry is basically a chance to show you two new links:

Firstly The White General, an excellent blog with some lovely looking figures, also from Irregular miniatures.

Secondly is this excellent list of Wargaming Blogs kindly put together by Derek Hodge. I'm sure everyone will find something of interest in it!

A new start

2006-05-22T20:33:00.000Z

Well this post is mainly an update, both to the blog and also on my wargaming activities. I have got a division of my Crimean War figures done (Although I am not entirley happy with the flags and basing, need a bit more research I think). I decided to paint up the Light Division first who played an invaluable if not enviable role at the battle of the Alma.

Edit: PLease excuse the poor photo, believe it or not there are some commanders in that brown blobby bit at the back!

This weekend I was also able to get three games of War of the Ring in with my earstwhile opponent Ben who has just started his own blog (Damn the Torpedoes in the links section). We played with the excellent new supplement and all the games were very close and enjoyable.

Other than that I hope to get another division painted this week (probably the Guards and Highlanders) and then start on the Russians. My aim is to have two playable forces by the first week of June!

Maybe...

2006-05-10T23:54:00.000Z

Morals of a wargamer...

Well it is difficult isn't it? War can never be a game and yet that idea is intrinsic to the hobby. When pushing around the little metal figures are we really keeping in mind what it is we represent?
I find it very hard to come to terms with the morality of playing games based on humanity destroying each other. It seems especially acute when playing a game from "modern" history such as WW2 and yet surely it is no different for a Roman killing a Gaul? Yet I don't know of anybody opposed to Ancient gaming on moralistic ground.
I think it is very unfair for all wargamers to be glorying war, I have found that since coming into the hobby it is harder and harder to watch war films or read memoirs and yet I feel I have to do it. You cannot simply ignore what war is about. I watched Brotherhood today and was nearly in tears at some sequences and almost left the room but I knew that it would be a cowardly thing to do. If people lived it I should learn about it, otherwise they will be forgotten.

This topic is certainly one that is haunting me recently and probably explains my shift towards eyeing up Sci-Fi figures and the like. But there is still the matter of the Crimea and the moral anxieties that causes....

Or is it just a game? Please leave thoughts.
Cheers,Rob

2006-05-03T18:06:00.000Z

Still excited...

So far this week I have been playing with my new Crimean War figures, cleaning them up etc. and lining them all up smart. I am actually still awaiting the delivery of the rest of the Russians, the British and the released itself...but that doesn't stop me having fun setting out the rest:

That incredibly bad picture is actually two French Battalions in column flanked by two guns and covered by Skirmishers. I really am impressed by these figures and am completely unable to take a good photograph of the buggers!

Other than the waiting not much has taken place however, although I made a list of paint "needs" at work today and also I need to get around to replacing many of my tools which are old school ones and getting a bit rusty!

The only other news is that I am still ebaying under Arcangeli1983 so please keep looking!

2006-04-29T23:16:00.000Z

An apology to Irregular...

Things that I learnt today for visiting a miniatures company:
(1) Phone in advance if you are looking to pick up certain figures/rules.
(2) Check to see if they are actually open when you want to go and see them
(3) Do NOT drag your girlfriend all the way across York then promptly mug one of the employees of the company on the door step and get them to let you in and sell you models that you simply ASSUMED would be cast up and available...

Once again I am sorry....

In good news my boarishness was met with good manners and service and I was able to leave with a bag of Crimean War Russians and a bag of Frenchies with the rest of the Alma lot arriving in the post soon!

So far I have simply had a look through these figures and my favourites are definitely the civilian "spectactors" including a lady with parasol! I will probably get photos of these figures tomorrow and stick them on here for everyone to see. Both of you.

Cheers,
Rob

2006-04-27T20:34:00.000Z

Oh no! Zulus!

Well yes I watched Zulu Dawn this evening and that has me fired up for a bit of Colonial gaming...curses! Too many periods and nowhere near enough time!
Again no activity today due to work although I may finish off my last 3 French men in a while. Speaking of French:

Do you think they look good? Any horrible mistakes I have made? Comments to the usual place please!

cheers,
Rob

2006-04-25T22:37:00.000Z

Second time around...

Well I am tempting fate as my computer has already eaten one entry but here goes...

Well today I was going to talk about Free Wargames Rules but it seems George of Wargamer on Deck has already covered it in his post so please check that out!

Well instead I will talk about The Miniatures Page, which is quite simply the kind of site the internet was built for. It allows allsorts to come together and discuss nearly every topic under the sun and what little blobs of lead they should spend their hard earned money on!

My only real "wargaming" activity of the day was picking up a copy of W.Baring Pemberton's Battles of the Crimean War for a princely sum of 99p from Amazon. This should give some background reading before my trip to Irregular Miniatures...

Finally a big thanks to my girlfriend who showed me how to make my links all groovy. See above : )

2006-04-24T18:57:00.000Z

Attack of the blogs...

It is my pleasure to introduce you to three other gamers blogs starting with, and in no particular order:

http://wargamerondeckca.blogspot.com/ A fellow gamer who just happened to start his blog the same day as me!
http://chonk34.blogspot.com/ which seems to mainly concern painting Sisters of Battle for the moment!
http://pewterpixelwars.blogspot.com/ which has some lovely Tau Stealth Suits on!

Well another day at work so nothing to be done in the wargaming area, except, well, I MAY have decided what I want from Irregular Miniatures. Their Crimean War 6mm Range looks excellent and I have had my eye on them for a while...so it's not a new period...honest....

On a bright note as well I may have found an opponent for my Revolutionary French, which is excellent news all round! I can't wait to get them in the field and smash up those silly whitecoats!

2006-04-23T21:29:00.000Z

Blatant Plug!

Well yes it is a blatant plug but hell it is my blog!

I am currently selling wargame books, RPGs, OOP Games Workshop books etc. on ebay. Please have a look for the username Arcangeli1983. All funds go to bills and a brigade of Frenchies!

Not much miniature activity this weekend. I took a look at the new white dwarf but nothing really stood out. Oh except the new White Council models, they are lovely!

Hopefully I can get a bit more done this week. I need to paint 3 more command figures for my French Revolutionary Army (pics soon hopefully!) and then order some guns and horses for them. The only sticky point is that I may be visiting Irregular Miniatures (www.irregularminiatures.co.uk} next saturday and must NOT start a new project....

2006-04-22T17:54:00.000Z

New School vs. Old School

It is quite obvious that there has been a recent resurge in “old school” gaming. Groups such as Old School Wargaming (http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/old_school_wargaming) and the publication of Battlegames magazine (http://www.battlegames.co.uk) are obvious examples of this trend.

Now I have tried to jump on this band wagon, purchasing Little Wars and searching charity shops for old Featherstone, Grant et al publications as well as admiring toy soldiers that I would have turned my nose up to barely two years ago! However even with this enthusiasm I just can’t seem to “crack it”. And I think I know why: Simply put, I was not there. I am 22 and so never in contact with the gaming community and obviously not born in the 60s and 70s!

Without these experiences and games of my own the appeal of these games fall a little flat. It is certainly not the visual spectacle that these games create, the front cover of Battlegames is certainly very inspiring but the games and style just fail a little to inspire. Please do not take this as an attack on “old school” gaming as it looks great fun and I certainly envy the patience and skill that seems to radiate from the community!

What I believe would most appeal would be a mix of the “old school” games and the “new school”. (By “new school” I am mostly referring to more abstract fast play games such as DBA and FOW). Simply put: games that are fast playing and maybe a little abstract but that have “big battalions” and a great visual splendour.

Game such as In The Name Of Glory seem to be the perfect fusion of this. A fast play system with lots of period flavour but uses large units of 32 figures. Indeed this is to be my next project; forces for 1805-7 using Elite miniatures (http://www.eliteminiatures.co.uk). Hopefully with this I will be able to find the fusion I want!

This may be large undertaking however…

Well thank you for listening and please feel free to rubbish my ideas or just plain contribute!

Cheers,
Rob

2006-04-22T09:52:00.000Z

An introduction:

This blog is my outlet into the world of wargaming. I have very little time to paint and game at the moment but am still fascinated in the hobby, thus, this blog was created! Please feel free to comment, question, discuss to make this quite a lively area!

Cheers,
Rob