Back in 1984 I was heavily into Warhammer... Proper, old style Warhammer where fantasy was the name of the game and crushing your friends beneath your boots was the order of the day.
Back then, whilst we all wanted to paint like Pete Armstrong or Andy Ritson, we also played games every week and as a result were churning out regiment after regiment of tiny men and monsters in a toy cupboard arms race of sorts.
Back then I was heavily into Lizardman miniatures and built a sizeable force from the wonderful sculpts done by Tom Meier and the not not so wonderful sculpts of Aly Morrison whose only saving grace when it came to bipedal reptiles was that they were for the most part depicted as armed with bows, and bows allowed you to rain dice-laden death on your foes.
I wanted a range of figures known as Reptiliads produced in Canada by RAFM Inc, but on £3 or so pocket money each week it was a pipe dream.
After many games and the ban from the store around which my life centred, I finally sold the army at the Sheffield Triples Wargames show for £50, a meagre sum even then for an army of that size, and on which contained small Lizardmen riding on giant tortoises, gather from the family Xmas crackers to serve as somewhat plodding but oh so resilient cavalry.
My regular opponent Ian group of many was Darren Ashmore (now a respected and learned professor of anthropology in the land of the rising sun, no less but back then a spotty geek like the rest of us!) and week after week we tried to best each other on the green wooden table which serves at the field of battle in our imaginary conflicts.
Well, imagine my delight when I found that those self same ficus were still available from RAFM and that now that I have a little more pocket money than I did back then, I could finally build that army as the gaming gods intended. An order was placed and now I have a frisson of the excitement I experienced as a kid, as I wait for the long delivery from Canada by sea, of my new toys.
In the meantime, I am busying meals in tracking down the models of the type that I did manage to buy in my youth and although they are costing me ten time s what they did in the 80s, I am doing quite well so far.
I am looking forward to maybe trying my luck against Darren again after 30 years and giving my old friend another good dusting when he visits the country of his birth.
Back then, whilst we all wanted to paint like Pete Armstrong or Andy Ritson, we also played games every week and as a result were churning out regiment after regiment of tiny men and monsters in a toy cupboard arms race of sorts.
Back then I was heavily into Lizardman miniatures and built a sizeable force from the wonderful sculpts done by Tom Meier and the not not so wonderful sculpts of Aly Morrison whose only saving grace when it came to bipedal reptiles was that they were for the most part depicted as armed with bows, and bows allowed you to rain dice-laden death on your foes.
I wanted a range of figures known as Reptiliads produced in Canada by RAFM Inc, but on £3 or so pocket money each week it was a pipe dream.
After many games and the ban from the store around which my life centred, I finally sold the army at the Sheffield Triples Wargames show for £50, a meagre sum even then for an army of that size, and on which contained small Lizardmen riding on giant tortoises, gather from the family Xmas crackers to serve as somewhat plodding but oh so resilient cavalry.
My regular opponent Ian group of many was Darren Ashmore (now a respected and learned professor of anthropology in the land of the rising sun, no less but back then a spotty geek like the rest of us!) and week after week we tried to best each other on the green wooden table which serves at the field of battle in our imaginary conflicts.
Well, imagine my delight when I found that those self same ficus were still available from RAFM and that now that I have a little more pocket money than I did back then, I could finally build that army as the gaming gods intended. An order was placed and now I have a frisson of the excitement I experienced as a kid, as I wait for the long delivery from Canada by sea, of my new toys.
In the meantime, I am busying meals in tracking down the models of the type that I did manage to buy in my youth and although they are costing me ten time s what they did in the 80s, I am doing quite well so far.
I am looking forward to maybe trying my luck against Darren again after 30 years and giving my old friend another good dusting when he visits the country of his birth.
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