Charlie In The Wire - Go Find The Roach.

 Continuing with the concept of going right back to my gaming roots to rediscover my hobby, and being aware that the cut off date of 31st October is nigh (see my last post), I made the decision to go 'up country' again, but to do so in an organised way which, true to my mantra, avoids years of painting.

As many of you will know, I was gaming the Vietnam War way back before it was ever 'a thing', trekking all over the place to get my collection together, which back then, could fit in a medium fishing tackle box.

For my Platoon 20 fix, I was going up to Games Of Liverpool at the tender age of 15, when Liverpool was a bloody dangerous city to navigate. It was Sheffield - Manchester - Liverpool by National Express coach, which was a great way to see some stunning scenery as you climbed over the Pennines, watching the architecture of the industrial North of England change as you passed through the smoky towns and cities along the route.

 

 

    Sheffield Bus & Coach Station in the 19080s. Image copyright and courttesy of, Nigel Thompson.

 

Were it not for wargaming and the fact that my parents sort of understood that it was more than a passing craze I'd have been mooching around my own city, probably getting into teenage scrapes. But, I was learning to navigate the wargaming map of the U.K, making a mental list of what could be found where, and developing my own set of mental street maop of the places which could feed and enhance my gaming experience.

It was in Liverpool after my first big painting payment, that I bought a brilliant coat, with the batwing design fashionable at the time, which had two massive cargo pockets which could take 2 kilos of lead each.

This meant that I would go on shopping trips taking shopping lists of figures for friends at the numerous clubs I belonged to, filling those cevernous pockets with lead goodness. Many a vist would end with me not even going home, but going straight to a wargames or roleplaying club as soon as I hit the tarmac at Sheffield bus station, to deliver the day's booty.

It was a hell of a way to spend my early teen years.

But, I digress...

I developed a real love of the Vietnam War, and it wasn't as accepted as it is now, because it was still not that long since it ended, with the fall of Saigon. It was considered to be one of the shunned periods, along with the very recent Falklands War. Today we don't seem to have those moral blocks, but rather a company just rolls out a range to make a fast buck... Remember those 28mm suicide bomber figures from iirc, The Assault Group? 

We seem to have reduced the decency bar for recreating the deaths of thousands, but that is a gripe for another time.

Anyway, yesterday, I bagged a load of good looking Vietnam stuff in the true and proper scale of 20mm (1/72) as is right and proper.

I don't care what you say, 15mm and 28mm are heretical and should be shunned and scourged when it comes to Vietnam gaming. I don't give a toss, I'm right and the rest of you 28mm junkies are wrong - period.

I love 28mm, but certain periods have accepted norms for scale, and these are holy writ. Now, get off my lawn...

I grabbed a pretty good selection of stuff, including a complete US infantry company :






A troop of helos including a Medevac ship:


 



A nice chunk of Local V.C:



 

 

Main Force V.C:


NVA (Including casualties):



Collateral Damage:



And a rather nice plantation complex:

All in all, a respectable start...

I'll be adding more helos, infantry transport and armour, along with some more scenery during 2024. I could do it now, but I find that it's more enjoyable and indeed sensible, to step back a little and plan things a little more precisely.

I'd love to be able to play a few games with Roger, but he's gone native and is somewhere in the boondocks out of radio contact, these days. He's become a sort of wargaming Colonel Kurtz.

Oh the horror...

If anyone finds him, send up a flare and stick a stabo rig on him...

An old friend popped in on Friday at short notice, which was great, but I had to be a poor host as I was having a hellish day in my studio. We had a coffee and a chat about life, gaming and middle age, and it was really strange to think that here we were, two oldies, chatting about games and lauging about our youth. Both respectable and both in the creative fields... Anyway, we were both looking forward to the game her at Fackham Hall this Christmas, where we can spend time, rolling dice, talking shit and having fun with a group of like-minded gamers. The down side was that I ended up doing an 11 hour day in the studio.

Well, if you will excuse me, I've been here at my Mac since 06:30, so I ought to go and take a shower and start unpacking the big box of starships which arrived on Saturday morning, just as we were leaving the house.


TTFN


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