Search Glorious Little Soldiers

Friday 15 March 2013

21 years in the business.

Now it may , indeed almost certainly has, escaped your notice , gentle reader, that Old Glory UK is 21 years of Age this year- and at that a tad yuonger than its proprietor. Nevertheless its 21 years as of March 2013 that OGUK first began trading.
There have been, as you might expect, many changes in such a time. Some good some bad mostly it has to be said indifferent. Back in those misty days of Yore there was no internet and all business was done by letter or telephone or at shows. In the 1990s I was doing 26 shows a year and we had far far less competition than we do now. I've seen companies come and go . Who remembers Corvus? Nice minis where did they go? Gladiator? Tabletop? There are others devil a doubt, who have gone the way of all flesh. Looking back I find in those early days - before the untimely death of Dave Allsop- we had what seems now to be a tiny range- Some 30mm ACW- sold in regiental boxed sets- a new idea then. Some 15mm ACW - sold in bags of 100 at a tenner a go- another new idea from across the pond. I sold thousands of 'em, a few 30mm Napoleonics - also in boxed sets and just the beginning of 15mm Napoleonics.- Of course in those days 28mm didn't exist- so we called the 30mm 25mm to save confusion.That was it chaps
We were then and still are a soldier company rahter than a games commpany. The core business is little metal men and from the mid 1990s little tanks. We have dabbled in rules but its not my metier since games for and of themselves are of little direct interest. Its always been the soldiers that count
We didn't then tend to think in terms of games but rather of periods so you played Ancients or Napoleonics rather than FOG or Black powder. You might mention the ruleset subsquently but it was a given that period came first- or perhaps size- you might say 15mm Napoleonic or 15mm Ancient. You would not say 28mm anything as Bryan Ansell was yet to increase himself by 3mm overnight as a marketing ploy - that in 1992 was a few years ahead. 20mm was almost entirly the province of WW2 and Moderns-15mm had yet to make its appearence in the UK for those periods- though it did exist in the USA and would with Command Decision -shortly exist over here too. Plastics- except in 20mm were not really considered quite the thing really which probably explains my mild antipathy to them today. I can't. try as I might get rid of the feeling that plastic is for kiddies.
I have before me a sel;ection of magazines covering the 21 years I've been in the Biz. WI MW PW BG and WSS. All have their points but what is intriguing is the sterady lessinening of actual information in these magsand the increase of either infomercials for a specific product or scenarios for a specific ruleset. In 1992 the flavour of the month was DBA- there were lots of DBA variants published- all by individuals rather than companies so we had Napoleonic DBA and Crimean DBA to name but 2 . There were far more homgrown rules out there back then. Indeed this trend struiggled on until the present century.There were also a good few informative articles back then- they tended to be why I kept those particular magazines. A 2002 WI has 2 distinct sets of rules within its pages but there is also an artcle on Dutch Cavalry uniforms and another on Naval warfare. - so a good mix . Nevertheless 28mm is now the dominant size- even from those compaines whose figures were 25mm in the previous century and indeed were the same figures. This to me was the silliest developement of all, the most outrageous case of bandwaggon jumping and indeed fear and loathing I can remember. Its also funny and really rather odd if not a tad pathetic . These days if a chap is under 40 you'll hear "28mm" spoken in hushed tones of reverance as if it was some ancient litany - if only they knew that is was 1997-8 or thereabouts when that nonsense began. So many changes but overall the more things change the more they stay the same. Well heres to the next 21 years- aterall Dave and HIS Rich Mates have made sure I can't retire.

8 comments:

  1. Congratulations Andy. May you have another 21 years.

    So we can blame Bryan Ansell for this 28mm craziness - I did not know that.

    The Internet has sure changed the way the miniatures biz is run, probably for the better, but I'm not so sure that the instant gratification is worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fritz Yes I can find no evidence - other than guernsey foundry the Wargames Foundry for 28mm a Feb1998 has the Foundry seling 28mm everyone else is still 25mm even outfits that now have 28mm were 25mm then- Earlier Wargames Foundry were 25mm - May 1993 for instance. .
    On the whole the net has been a good thing for the hobby and certainly for purveyors...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy Birthday Andy,
    I did like the Corvus range of figures. But then I also liked Vulcan,can you remember them, god their Gendarmes were enormous.
    My favourites,that have long gone were Campaign, which had a cracking range of renaissance/late renaissance figures. What happened to those.
    I am terrible for re reading old magazines, and it is interesting to see the way the contents have changed over the years.
    Anyway, we will see you next weekend, weather permitting.
    Robbie.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congratulations, Andy. It's quite an achievement when, as you say, so many have gone under or or are now being sold by other people (other than their founders and original designers, I mean). Whatever you thought of them at the time, it was inconceivable when I started that Minifigs would not dominate the market.........now we are spoilt for choice in the major periods (and who would have thought that SAW/SYW would become one too)and people seem to be struggling to find new openings. At least the drive for quality is positive, and I am personally glad that the internet means no longer having to tour the country just to look at figures.
    Anyway, here's to you and another good few years!

    John

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congratulations Andy. Here's to the next 21 years!

    All the best,
    Steve

    ReplyDelete
  6. Many thanks chaps- its apprecaited
    Robbie Yes I remebr Vulcan- I had a fiar few at one time. Campaign too- though I preferred Vulcan.
    FYI - re 25mm vs 28mm I found a December 1997 WI- Only Geurnsey Foundry are calling their figs 28mm- all the others are still saying 25mm Battle Honours, Britannia OG Redoubt Elite 1st Corps, Warrior, Ellerburn, The Light Horseman,GZG Trent and Valiant. How many of these are
    A/. still about.
    b/. Now call the same stuff 28mm- (guilty m'lud) - but only recently and under protest.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ah yes, twenty one years and I still bear the mental scars of those bloody waistcoats!

    :O(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know you make one little mistake and some gits make you pay and pay and pay.....
      .
      Seriously those things were a "break-in" tactic- worked didn't they- or chaps wouldn't keep reminding me- and it was only for the first rwo or 3 years... all in the bin years ago..

      Delete