In 1981 when I began gaming, it was a very different world, obviously. Historical wargaming tended to have a few periods which were considered to be the core of the hobby; Ancients (encompassing the Dark Age and Medieval eras) , ACW, AWI Napoleonic, WW2 and Moderns, generally in 25mm with the exception of WW2 in 20mm and Moderns in 1/300. You also saw naval in 1/1200 and 1/3000. To be fair, I also saw my first 15mm game at that time and it was ACW. Quite a lot you might think, and you'd be right when compared to what is available these days, but these were the 'staples', the meat and two veg of the hobby, and a neophyte would do well to take an interest in at least one of them because it pretty much automatically opened doors at a club and allowed you, unless your elders and betters were complete arseholes (much rarer than these days, I assure you) you'd be able to bring a few figures to the table for a big game, whilst you built your own collection, and also learn ...

It's 1982, a crisp November day; a Saturday which means that I am off into town with Alan Staniforth (after cadging some of his patchouli oil for my oh-so-new looking C&A jacket)  to visit the latest shop to attract us, the recently opened Games Workshop on The Moor, that pedestrianised shopping area at the far end of the city centre at the end of which is the Manpower Services Commission building, a red brick ziggurat in that 'fuck you all' style of architecture so beloved of those raving lunatics put into power by the type of people who would stick a red rosette on a milk bottle and vote for it, back then. But politics are not on my agenda as I am 14 and about 12 months into this new hobby I've found called roleplaying games, and the close relative wargaming. They were yet to become 'gaming' and were at that time two completely separate worlds which you had to negotiate very carefully indeed. So, let's hop on the number 4 bus from Tyler Street and ...

Well, in less than 30 hours, I've painted 120 Essex 28mm horses representing the current cavalry strength for my New Model Army. I'm pleased with the finish given the speed, and they will look rather dandy with the riders on them. Given that I paint for a living, I really don't enjoy using my weekends for painting my own stuff, so to get these done has been quite an achievement. Ignore the shine on the front row. I'd just given them the second matte coat over the anti-UV gloss layer and they were going to be another 30 minutes drying.

It's a curious year for me. I'm making massive inroads on several projects such as my 28mm ECW project, which was sent to the painter and is going to be completed and with me by October, which itself is just around the corner. I decided that I'd paint 90% of the horses because they are Essex Miniatures and despite the fact that I generally don't paint for myself, the Essex castings are a real joy to paint. After 20 hours, I have 81 horses done: My painter sent back the first units of ECW, a couple of weeks ago, as 'test pieces' before throwing himself into twelve regiments of foot, 12 of horse and two of dragoons: Although I insist that the models are returned with a a high gloss acrylic anti-UV varnish, used by graffiti artists, I matte them down myself using a professional grade art varnish. I am really happy with the test pieces and so I am looking forward to the first 200 pieces arriving at the end of the month. As you can see, the...