Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Eternal Optimism or Planning 2017

The last 10 years have seen wave after wave of changes and challenges in my life, something inevitably reflected in the turbulent state of my hobby. It feels a little strange then to look back on 2016 as a year of little change in my life, a year which has seen various lengthy internal hobby debates finally reach conclusions which feel  natural and tested rather than arbitrary or dogmatic.

Could this be the year when my plans relate meaningfully to what I actually do? Maybe, where's Lucy with the football?

2017 Fort Belmont Wargaming Plans



1. Gathering of Hosts. 40mm "Shock Era". This is technically my oldest active wargaming collection since it incorporates a few figures that I first played with when I was 5 (an I ain't talkin' replicas). Part of it is essentially duplicated in 25mm including my first 25mm wargame figures but when I was fortunate enough to be offered a  collection of Elastolins that would double what I had, I decided to archive the 25's and base and organize all of the 40's into one compatible unit pool for three overlapping settings: a Prince Valiant inspired Fall of Rome setting, an historical 16thC setting and a medieval-fantasy setting which will incorporate some of the barbarian types and Huns from Prince Valiant, some of the late medieval knights, archers and pikemen from the 16thC and various other medieval and fantasy elements. Look for a series of early Medieval (5thC)  games this winter followed by 16thC ones leading up to a proposed appearance at Huzzah and then, hopefully, a medieval/fantasy campaign over the summer and fall.




2. Not Quite the Seven Years War in America. (NQSYWA).  40mm Semi-flat. This is a sort of extension to the existing Charge! & Prince August Semiflats collection. Making two incompatible collections of Seven Years War semi-flat figures just didn't make sense so I will use the new moulds to paint up some new Charge! compatible units on magnetic movement trays. There might or might not be some small games later this year but the focus this year will be on painting more French troops and then my first British units once those moulds are released.


3. War of 1812-1842.  40mm Square Brigadier. This is a catch all for historical and non-historical early 19thC figures. The goal for this year is to field two opposing War of 1812 armies, all flocked etc and organized as 2 stand for the 6" grid (1 stand units if using the portable board). This may then expand later to revive the earlier Atlantican colonial campaigns.




4.  ACW. 1/72 mostly Airfix. My existing 1/72nd mostly Airfix collection will continue to see some service this year but first there is terrain awaiting paint and a decision to be made on the level of game to be played and a bespoke ACW version of which ever of my existing rules that I decide to use.  The plan is to get some fences etc done before the next game but sometimes these guys seem to just pop out of the box and on to the table when they feel like it.


5. North West Campaign 54mm Toy Soldiers. This is the last home of my 54mm toy soldiers, a mix of vintage Britain's and homecast figures plus a few strays. I'm not sure exactly where its going but I'm sure it will continue to grow and see action on the table.


6. The Great Atlantican War  Shiny 40 mm  toy soldiers. This is the great early 20th Century war waged by toy soldiers in my fictional land of Atlantica. I want to get this on the table more often and maybe even manage some mini-campaigns but first I need to do some work on organization and presentation. This probably won't get far until after Huzzah in May but I'll be very disappointed if I don't get my act together on this in 2017.

18 comments:

  1. Fabulous - I hope it goes according to plan, but I am selfish enough to enjoy the tales of your continuing efforts, either way. Your blog continues to be a great read (and a frequent educator). Always lots of visual delights - lots of stuff to think about.

    Thanks Ross - keep it up and have an excellent year.

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    1. No fears, even without disrupting the framework there are many issues, problems and possibilties to be tackled and discussed. (This will include sieges so I'll be watching developments over there........)

      I wish you an excellent year as well.

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  2. Interesting to see each area of interest set out in one place. I have seen a lot of end of year going into 2017 type posts this past week and a general theme does seem to be that gamers want to have a year of settling down and consolidating, together with getting some more painting and actual gaming done.

    There seems less hunger to be starting new projects of buying much lead. Though of course .... the year is still young! :-)

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    1. Never thought I'd get it down from a score to 1/2 dozen and I am possibly cheating a bit but so much has gone out the door over the ladt 2 years that the hunger for some thing new is unlikely to strike here again until I get at least two of the existing projects properly table ready.

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  3. Seeing your 40mm stuff makes me think i must get my stuff out and play more with it, Tony

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  4. It looks like 2017 is going to have plenty to look forward to.

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  5. Ross Mac,

    It seems as if you have a plan that not only makes a lot of sense but also gives you the opportunity to make the most of your existing collections.

    All the best,

    Bob

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    1. Thanks Bob, in many ways I worked backward from existing figures to find the best way to use them sucessfully.

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  6. Looking forward to another year of inspiration from your blog.

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    1. Thanks. I look forward to seeing more Peter Laing and other figures in action on your blog as well.

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  7. Lovely stuff Ross!

    As ever I admire your enthusiasm for the hobby and your wonderful collection of model soldiers. Picture/project no. 2 is my favourite above, but all are great.

    I look forward to more wargame magic on your most excellent blog in 2017,

    Lee.

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    1. Thanks Lee, I'm looking forward to more of your blog as well.

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  8. Hi Ross.
    I love it when a plan comes together -- especially your plans, as they always provide more battle reports to enjoy. Selfish, I know.
    I do hope you find time to work on the Atlantican continent, just because a fictitious campaign is inherently more interesting than a historical one, when everything is fresh and anything can happen, and you are creating history as you go, not trying to reverse or sustain it.
    Thanks for sharing all of your ideas.
    Regards,
    John

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    1. Fear not John, around here even the superficially historical games are usually part of fictional campaigns. Historical refights are rare and historical campaigns even rarer.

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  9. Have you tried the new line of 40mm 14th/15th century Landsknechts molds from Creartec? That is not my period of interest but they might be more compatible with your interests.

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    1. Thank you for this. I have just had a look at the Berlinner Zinnfiguren site and several of these moulds look quite useful. I will add them to my wishlist.

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