Sunday Morning Musings

 A very good morning to you, dear reader.

After a rather bad night's sleep I am throwing myself into another day of gaming related life. I am truly blessed to not actually give a crap about the world since 1989, seeking retreat into the world imaginary at all opportunities.

On Saturday the Memsahib and I popped into Derbyshire to make the monthly farmer's market run for exotic mushrooms, porcini powder and a spot of lunch, taking with us Canine Unit 6, also known as Maggie 'Mo-Mo' McFuzzle who, 3 weeks after surgery was getting serious cabin fever.

The Memsahib took it upon herself to buy a dedicated dog buggy, and as many of the eateries out there are dog friendly, she was able to sit to the table with us an snaffle the odd morsel:

Once CU6 got the hang of what the buggy was for, and adjusted her somewhat substantial centre of gravity, I was transported back 34 years to struggling with 12 shopping bags and a child in a pram, with the same curses and oaths, despite the baggage being 300g of fungi and a jar of powder.

I almost committed murder most 'orrid when a hipster beat me to the last artisan sourdough loaf. However the Memsahib soothed my angst by pointing out that we were ten minutes from the Chatsworth farm shop, where I got a cracking sourdough loaf and some excellent cured bacon. 

The cold, clear weather was exactly what we needed as an antidote to what has been a hectic month - I hate February with a passion as I have to find two days of working time out of thin air to meet my commitments to my valued clients, but what with vet visits and a total of 6 hours on the phone to British Gas, after I transferred my electricity over to them as a dual fuel customer, and they moved both accounts to a different platform and in doing so generated two bills for the same month's gas (go figure that one).

By the way, buttonhole me at a show, if you want to hear a story of how you can set off every alarm bell in a call centre and narrowly avoid the emergency services being directed to your property, whilst getting back at the call centre staffer who is giving you the run around.

Anyway, when we got home, I touched base with my painter and we worked out that he has all the painting he can handle for 2023 - and then some - so I've booked him into 2024 for another 2 projects totalling about 1200 more models, but possibly more.

I'm going to commission a couple of Feudal or Crusade era armies which of course in traditional old school style will do double duty in fantasy games as 'Men of *insert location*' as well as having him add more to the fantasy stuff I bought this last week.  I will need 30 Orc command groups for a start and, when my sculptor gets them finished in the next couple of weeks, a couple of hundred Orc warg riders and a dozen bolt throwers, as well as about 60 arrchers. Possibly even a few chariots.

Public interest in the Warg Riders I commissioned means that I may expand that into a full range and put them out to the masses.

And yesterday evening I got the shipping notification that I am to expect 26 kilos of painted Orcs from the supplier. Those are big Orcs at 52g each! I have not broken it to the Memsahib about the 100 empty boxes we'll have to break down into the recycling bins, yet.

Speaking of She Who Always Be Obeyed, the Memsahib did a little renovation work on one of 100 Japanese Peasants I picked up pretty much gratis the other week, and the results have been amazing. Not only will they add 6 more units to my Feudal Japanese armies, taking them over the 1000 piece mark, but they will also do as himan slave troops for Hobgoblins, Orcs or Steppe Dwarves. She has been given the commission, subject to contract.

I'm being seriously inspired by those early fantasy games put on by the likes of the late Joe Dever and the Players Guild, where dedicated fantasy models were used alongside historical models to have great fun, which at the end of the day is what this hobby is all about.

I am set on the course of playing great games, with people who enjoy the hobby as much as I do, and screw the rest...

One of the current plans is to have a standardised campaign map of 45x15 feet in real terms, gridded into 9 different wargames tables (which can be set up with any era or genre of terrain whilst still being essentially the same map) and having at it with some simple campaign rules, with games taking as long as need be, being mindful of the two Christmas games, here at the Dark Tower.

I've not heard from my seemingly former best mate in nearly a month now, so I don't know what he's doing game-wise, and whilst I'm upset at not hearing from him, I am not letting the grass grow under my feet, and  I'm sure that he will be cracking on in a similar fashion to myself and continuing to build great armies as he always has. A great friend who I am missing interacting with, to be sure.

I'm taking some time away from my desk on Friday to start hosting my coffee mornings again, with gaming friends of yore, from across the entire gaming spectrum. We'll get together, talk games and bitch about each other. It's always been great fun and isn't something we've done regularly for a couple of years now.

Several of us are now realising that we are not getting any younger and so we're having serious discussions about where our collections will be going post-mortem. A bit grim, but when your hobby is such an inrisic and integral part of who you are and who you have been, these things need sorting out.

The Memsahib and I have both come to the conclusion that shows are a bit of a waste of time, unless they coincide with meeting up with friends. They just lack the 'buzz' of the shows of even 25 years ago.  Look at overhead shots of modern shows compared to those of the past and there's less engagement. Display games show less imagination and I would possit, less creativity because they all look very standardised these days as 'stock' materials make it possible for anyone with a tub of PVA to create a passable table. With a few exceptions I can walk 20 feet outside, and set up a table equal to most of those you see at shows. And the games are all about getting as many figures on the table as possible rather than looking to entertain with innovative scenes. That 15mm fantasy game at Triples in the 80s and the wonderful 15mm 7YW game put on by the Late Ian Smith and Mick Rothenburg , with the mountain and castle still capture my imagination almost 40 years later. Let's not forget the Player's Guild too. Boy, those games must have caused a few parental dining rooms to become plaster bandage covered building sites.

Traders you say? Now, let me be quite candid here, with the amount I spend on lead in each transaction, I can get better prices buying directly, and I'm even considering simply having the Feudal figures I will need, sculpted for me as I've been doing with other stuff.

How many times can you pay to travel to a show, and spend 6 hours in what feels like a catle market show ring, looking at the same bland product? If I want big box crap, I can go into a store and get it cheaper. It's bleach for the senses...

Speaking of shows, the Steel Warriors show is a month away and as of yesterday had 13 traders listed. NONE of the big names in the how circuit appears on that list. Now, the Magna Centre is a large venue, but at present the trader list is about 13% of the total the organisers were looking to attract. It may be that the cost of the competitions will pay for the venue, but 13 traders and a bring and buy, could be done in a lot smaller and less costly venue, with a higher return and lower risk (yes, I have looked into this in the last 5 years, and have a few good venues in mind).

At the end of the day, I think that judging from trade comments I've seen, the organisers may be considered as toxic after the failure of the Triples show with which they were originally connected. 

Whether the way that traders were referred to in the day or the failure of those running that previous show (I stress this is not a SWS effort but that the people involved were involved in the organising of the old Triples show) to engage with some serious players in the industry, be it through arrogance or ignorance, has something to do with it, I don't know, but it's possible Sheffield's wargaming legacy has been squandered and sullied irrevocably now, it would seem. That's a genuine shame.

I live 10 minutes from the proposed venue, but do I want to spend money to look at competition games and 13 B-Grade trade stands? No thank you. So what are the chances of people coming a greater distance, only to leave angry and unfulfilled? I'd say at this moment - quite high.

Well, if you will excuse me, I have to have a coffee, shower and crack on with ordering 1200 MDF bases before a civilised breakfast with the Memsahib, thence to an armchair in the games room with 'The Dice Men' which is proving to be a solid gold trip down memory lane.

TTFN

PS: If you have a copy of this (with or without the models) please get in touch