All This Kit... WHY?

 Over the last 4 and a half decades, I have seen a lot of things in this fine hobby, some have been great and many, many more, pretty pointless.

One particular 'Room 101' subject for me is the sheer amount of 'kit' we supposedly need just to be seen as 'proper' wargamers.

Look, you used to need a few dice, a ruler, a toolbox full of figures and maybe a protractor. Now you need 'battleboards', specialist dice, more supplements than a Venice Beach bodybuilder; and that's before you get to painting the figures. 

Why, do we need 300 page books wherein only 30 pages are actually the rules? Surely all this eye candy and fluff is a waste of time, money and supposedly precious resources?

In my eyes,a set of Gush Renaissance rules are way more eco-friendly than a set of pike and shot, and the minimal approach means that gamers have to get off their increasing lardy arses and do some research themselves.

As to eye candy, there's plenty out here on the web. 

When it comes to painting there are tons of paint ranges and brushes which basically hint that your painting will be much better if you spend a few hundred pounds on them.

Look, the only thing that will make you better is practice, belief in yourself and finding a personal style that you are happy with. But practice is the main thing.

With 22 competition 'wins' (I retired from competition painting in the mid-90s) since 1982 when I first came to the attention of the late and much missed Ian Smith, and got up the nose of the late and inspirational Pete 'Greblord Armstrong', I have developed a style which is attractive, precise and will never, ever, rely on gimmick products.

If you gave me half a dozen pots of Humbrol enamel and a stick, I could paint with it, because, I have practiced, and practiced and practiced. Plus, when your living depends on your ability to apply paint to anything, in any scale, you have to learn and learn fast.

Look, a £90 set of 6 pure sable brushes in a cute (and fucking pointless) wooden case are not going to make you a better painter. Hell, pure sable is stupid with acrylics anyway  Rub a bit of your acrylic of choice in your hair, let it dry and then run a comb through it - You know what a comb is, right? - and imagine that's your expensive brush.

I use Rosemary, sable/nylon blend and given that I paint 8 hours a day, minimum, and 5 days per week, I can tell you that these brushes deliver, day in day out, and hold their points. They average £4 each and are hand made in the UK. They are serious artists brushes and I am a serious artist I guess.

Speaking of artists, just because you went to art college, it does not automatically give you the skills to be a good mini painter. My art tutor despaired that a lot of what he was instilling into me was being wasted as the mini painting skill set is different and back then in the times when dinosaurs walked the hills of Sheffield, I was using materials that he had no experience of. Furthermore, he said I'd amount to nothing, and so, when my daughter went to the same establishment of indoctrination, and we met again, he was somewhat pissed to know I was earning a decent living painting little lumps of lead and had also written a book :)

But, seriously, take a step back, look at your hobby spending and ask yourself what you actually need. I bet that you'll find a simpler approach will give you more money to buy more of the stuff you really love and which more impoantly is actually useful.

I am (and I 'm not the only one in my circle)  now actively contracting my interests, and increasing the volume of specific periods or themes, so that I have large interconnected collections, which allow for gaming at any level, thus meaning less wasted money on niche product lines, piles of rules (don't get me started on people who smugly post pics of shelves full of rule sets that they never use as if it makes them better gamers) never to be played, meaning I can do sk... ski... - hang on a minute whilst I gather myself - 'low level' actions or massed battles. 

It takes a bit of time to break the 'must have the latest thing' cycle, but it is worth it, I assure you. I have rediscovered a love for a couple of periods and scales I've not bothered with since the 80s and it's great, because by limiting what I buy - in terms of pointless tat - I have covered the cost of these, without having to increase overall spending on my hobby, which whilst not a defining factor for me, does give me a sense of satisfaction.

Well, I hope I have given you a few minites of entertainment and food for thought, but another day of stick and enamels awaits...

TTFN