Well dearest gentle reader, I've been meaning to do an update on 'stuff' for quite sometime now, but just haven't had the time or the inclination until now. So with storm Bert battering the UK and as a result stuck indoors, I thought I'd pull my finger out and actually write something. Whether you appreciate my musings remains to be seen!
A word of warning though, the following text contains the word "downsizing", so those of a nervous disposition may want to stop reading now or have a bottle or two of smelling salts to hand. So without further ado and in no particular order I present the following 'themes':
The 5 Year Plan
One of the topics of dicussion that cropped up quite a lot at the recent CWD was one of "how long do we think we can continue to paint to a level we would be happy with?" As many of us were now into our 60's, with all the eyesight and other issues associated with age, the broad consensus was probably about 65, possibly pushing towards 70 if we maybe moved up a scale or two. Whilst this might seem a negative, we felt it helped us focus our minds on what we need to concentrate on over the intervening years. Having just turned 61, this gives me 4 years or so to get my act together! I know my shaky arm/hand will only get worse, so as time waits for no man, I have been putting much thought to what I really want to get finished by this nominal deadline.
How Did I Ever Find Time For Work?
Another oft talked about theme was that since retirement, how did we ever actually find time to fit in our hobby related activities?! I know from my perspective that I thought I would have more time to wargaming 'stuff' since our son moved out, but in fact I think I'm much busier than ever before. Whilst I might have more time to myself, the mental pressure have increased exponentially, resulting in finding myself too pooped at the end of the day to do any painting etc. Hopefully this will improve if I can get a few things ironed out, but speed and efficacy are in short supply in local government.
Getting More Bang For Your Bucks
Storage and collection size was yet another topic to chew the cud over and has been for sometime. Quite a few people had already started to use the 'D' word with regards to their collections, to create space and to try and make the most of those collections that they had painted over the years. From my point of view this something I had been mulling over for a good few years now, with my approach being to try and get the maximum use from my forces as possible over as wide a period and sets of rules as possible.
So for example my Imagi-Nations mid-19thC forces can be used for the 1848 Revolutions through to the late 19thC and the 'Invasion Scare' literature that was prevalent at the time. Then for a bit of fun they could feature in a sort of 'War of the Worlds' milieu too. So one force as they are currently based can be used from skirmish level games all the way up to Division sized ones, giving them plenty of opportunity to get onto the games table.
Maintaining Focus
I am as gulity as the next man of being afflicted by the flap of the butterfly wings, but of late I have been trying, mostly with some success, to maintain focus on some core periods but with the added flexibility as outlined above. Currently they are the 18thC, 19thC and WWII, but with some others waiting in the wings so to speak, but more on that anon. So what I am trying to do is actually finish the core forces for these periods, which once completed, will allow me to get in some good sized games and then flesh them at as and when the mood takes me. Once these are done, then other projects can come to the fore on the painting front, with the same aim of getting two small core forces together which I can build upon.
Variety Is The Spice Of Life
Somewhat linked to the above, was the topic of having too many projects and/or forces that were very similar from a games point of view, which many of us touched upon at the CWD. Whilst I love the idea of being able to game Poland '39, France 1940 and Russia 1941 (and I have all the figures to do this), when actually playing a game using BKCII, there isn't much of a difference in terms of the gaming 'challenge' dare I say. Now of course it all comes down to scenarios, the forces involved etc, but from my point of view I feel they are too similar when I need to maintain focus. so that is not to say that I will not re-visit them in the future, but currently I have decided to try and finish my Germans and British for France 1940 before looking at the other campaigns or forces.
Books
Whilst I'm desperately trying to maintain a modicum of focus on the gaming and painting front, with regards to books my interests have more freedom to wander, but still generally around the periods I have always found to be of interest, plus some others that are pretty new to me and may lead to new porjects in the future.
I had planned to limit buying new books, but this year I have received lots of book vouchers and some Amazon ones too, so what is a man to do? Well buy, baby buy of course! The following cmae about via a mix of browsing in Waterstones, Blog posts and searching for books by the same author.
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| A period that has always fascinated me, but one that I felt needed a bit of a re-fresh, so when I saw this book in Waterstones, it was an easy purchase. An excellent author who has a great eye for detail, but doesn't allow it to overshadow the broader picture. He also succinctly weaves together the multiple story lines in a way that makes them easy to follow. |
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| As a result of reading the above and loving it so much, this book was bought to again flesh out and re-fresh my frankly limited knowledge of 1066 and all that. I'm really looking forward to reading this as I'm sure it will provide plenty of wargaming inspiration. |
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| One of those Kings that one hears so much about but one that I have very limited knowledge of, ditto the period itself. It will be an enjoyable and enlightening read I'm sure. |
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| The result of a Blog post, as were the following two books. I have the figures to make some forces up, so wanted some good background reading before I make a start. |
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| An essential I suppose as I want to use Lion Rampant II for these games. |
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| This is a real gem of a book and thanks to Geoff for recommending it. A perfect primer for the main book above. |
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| Now this is our daughter's favourite period bar none, but yet another one I know only the barest bones of. I'm at the early stages of reading this but it is set at the perfect level, with again nice amounts of detail which do not get in the way of the main narrative. Highly recommended. |
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| I saw this in Watertones and it ticks many boxes for my interest in 1848 onwards. When I first started my 19thC gaming, it was to be the 1st Schleswig-Holstein War, but then morphed into a mix of ImagiNations and/or the Hungarian War of Independence. So I am currently torn between buggering about in The Baltic of The Balkans, with both having plenty to recommend them, but the latter will allow some Ottoman troops... |
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| Having read plenty of the ACW these past few years and knowing there was some British involvement on the peripherary, this book should be perfect to really fill my knowledge out more on this conflcit, but also some 'what if?' actions as well as the Fenian raids. I have all the figures required, so something for the future no doubt. |
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| A favourite author and a follow on from his Sicily book. I know a fair bit about the Italian campaign already, but it won't harm me to learn some more. |
What Next?
I have been painting some of my 19thC imagiNations forces, but real life has seen that gring to a halt these past few weeks. Alongside these I've been working on some BUA bases to go with my 6mm buildings and hope to continue them soon, but back problems have been getting in the way. Real life is always busy in the run up to Xmas, so time may be more limited than normal, or I may need that painting distraction to avoid all the hype!
I've bought some more toys, mainly a small force that will become 19thC Russians at some point, which will work equallt well in the Baltic or the Balkans. Some buildings have been bought for the Crusades, but will most likely remain in their bag for sometime yet. I also added a tank or two to my late war Germans, but will keep that as a surprise for another post.
I have a WWII game in mind based upon a magazine article, but tweaked for BKCII. I might get it set up and played over the weekend, but I'm not rushing into it and will wait until the muse is upon me.
Thanks for reading and getting this far and if you can, a comment or two is always welcome!
TTFN.
Hi Steve, it is good to stand back and review hobby direction every now and then. My most recent reflection has me satisfied, for now, with what I already have and acknowledges that the painting queue is already too long.
ReplyDeleteWe all have different hobby motivations and I imagine that yours, like mine, is primarily to play and that all the fluff that surrounds that can sometimes get in the way of simply playing. Perhaps suspending all painting and just concentrating on play until the end of the year might have merit.
I am wondering whether, based on some of your comments over the past year, that a small, easy, non-onerous campaign might be the most direct route to helping your enthusiasm ‘for the next game’, as results and situations from one battle lead into the next, encouraging one to get to playing the next action.
With a permanent set-up now available, even just doing 1 turn a day might set a pace that helps balance all current competing demands.
Thanks for the comment Norm and wise words indeed! I want to play a simple campaign etc, but haven't had the mental headspace to do so for many reasons these past few months. I am reducing my volunteering hours after Xmas to give me more 'me time' again which should help. Maybe I should explore some small Dan Mersey type games-cum-campaigns to kick things off. I know OB's recent Blog posts using 'The Men Who Would Be Kings' has got the old grey cells into action:).
DeleteAnd a comment you will get sir! We are the same age as it turns out and my own thoughts have also turned to “how long can I continue to paint these diddly little miniatures”. Coming from the confines of a small modern house I’d focused on 10mm and below for years and have a lead pile of same that I’ve been working through recently. It’s getting harder to turn out decent results so I’ve bitten the expensive bullet and consciously moved back to 28mm. I’ll get less painted in the same time (all that ruddy detail) and it’ll certainly show up poor brushwork but sometimes you have to bow to the inevitable. I’ve sold off my collections for years now, when the interest has waned, but I’m going to stop that because now I’m in France the postage costs make it a zero sum game unfortunately. Anywhoo keep your pecker up and don’t stress about posting frequency or gaming direction - it’s meant to be a hobby not a full time occupation! lol. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark! It was interesting that we had all been having similar thoughts, so it wasn't just me who felt that way. You have obviously been on the same journey too. For me actually I've found a style that works quite easily for 10mm, even with all the related age issues. I think if I tried to paint 28mm now, I would be frustrated by my efforts, but as I have a few figures I want to paint, it remains to be seen if that is the case.
DeleteI have some collections to sell that are still in their bags, but I simply can't summon up the energy to sort them out, as as you say, postage costs can not make it worth the effort.
Too true on it being a hobby and not an occupation, which I must try an remember more often!
Very interesting post, especially your reflections on retirement! It is still a little way off for me. But I want to be more or less done with painting and collecting well before that. Good luck maintaining your focus - it is really good to get those troops on the table!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean about the similarity of the tactical situations of the 1939-41 period. I have Poles, French, Soviets and British too, and although there are a couple of differences in the exact equipment, there are many many more similarities. If one's appetite for proxying is quite generous, then it wouldn't generally take much to convert a scenario for one army into something suitable for the others.