Work has slowed down my painting of late but here are some 40mm Sash and Sabre Highlanders that I actually managed to finish. They will - despite thier Jacobite cockades end up in my 40mm Montrose Scots rebels force that I'm slowly building however they will also go into a nascent Jacobite force that is entirely possible in 40mm with a bit of fiddling about and ingenuity
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| Highlander of "Clan Palatic" uttering their fearsome warcry "Gie us a dram Ya Basta!" |
Their are 8 body variants- with separate heads and a selection of weapons- Lochaber axe broadsword, pistol and Targe. Sash and Saber are promising Archers, Musketeers and a command pack . The idea being that with careful selection you can do highland units from the 1640s through to 1745. Chris has even muttered about some mounted Highland Gentlemen but I've no timetable for these..
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| 28mm Irish Gallowglass from the Old Glory wars of the Roses range. |
Since I'm a modeller nad historian fiorst and foremost and actual "gaming" comes a long way down the list then I don't suppose by today's strange standards I'm a wargamer at all.
IS WARGAMING STILL A VALID TERM FOR OUR "HOBBY" ? .
The miniatures gaming hobby is now so diverse and so fragmented there is no real catch all term that fits any more. This is part of the problem- assuming there is one- everyone has an axe to grind and often can't see past it..The result of the current emphasis upon games to the exclusion of all else by much of the public face has left those who also enjoy the modelling , research, and indeed all the "other stuff" feeling somewhat out in the cold perhaps. Killing demo games at show will of course only make thissituation worse. Show might then get filled with teenagers wanting to play "Kill the space marine" or "Torture the Zombie" or nay other bit of 30minute silliness but they won't spend any cash - so why should I spend a grand to go to the showRiddle me that dudes !
Nice looking Jocks Ancy (especially the plaids, not neing 'uniform')
ReplyDeleteThe subject of the teminlogy of our hobby came up recently with me too and it's always botheres me that all the varios terms are lumped together.
I've nver considered the lastest rash of "games in a box" (what you might call the "boutique" games) as truw waregames.(but maybe I'm just being a 'snobbish' dinosaur)
Wargmes, to me should be games of war with miniature armies ('Armies' being the key word.
Skitmish games with figures representing indibiduals are exactly that imo - Skirmish wargames , a branch of wargames.
Tournament games (aargghh), with points, lists etc are where the line between games with miniatures and wargames becomes blurry and only one step away from boardgames. This has become almost mainstream wargaming in many people's viewfrom what I can tell - I'd include the likes of FoW and SAGA in this (two of the most successful and popular braches of gaming around atm).
"Gaming with miniatures" would be a better collective term for all the many branches of our hobby, to include wargames, skirkimh games, tournament-type games, board-games with figures and so on.
The bottom line I think is that we just have to accept that either the term "Wargames/wargaming" has changed it's meaning and evolved or it has been hijacked by the newer generation of gamers into something completely different from what we understand the term to mean and we'll have to live with it.
Rant over
Joe- Yep agree with that view. However things are unlikly to change- WI calls itself a "tabletop miniatures gamingmagazine" which is actually not bad as a title,
DeleteBut lets face it most Dudes- who actually do any thinkintg will still call themselves Wargamers as a useful shorthand
Leaving names aside, you should check with your US counter parts to see if people still buy minis at a show/con when there are only participation games. Some of them seem to come pretty far, even at minor shows.
DeleteAs for tournaments since the first ever war games convention included one it seems a bit late to decide they aren't part of the hobby.
I'm not actually against 'Tournament games' (they've been around since the earlt 70'sand I've even taken part in one), it's just that they're not for me. They're an accepted part of a lot 'shows' these days which is probably another way to get punters through the doors.
DeleteZabadak, sorry that wasn't intended as a reply to your comment, this @$#$ tablet does what it wants sometimes. I also did a little dabbling in tournament style games last century before deciding they weren't my thing.
DeleteSay it ain't so!! What would a wargaming show be without yourself beaming genially from behind the Old Glory stall?
ReplyDeleteActually the proposal to include knitting and card making stalls at shows must be among the daftest of the decade.
On the other hand these ladies think nothing of dropping £25 entry fee at the NEC plus a similar amount on refreshments. I think they would show us up as tightwads who grumble if we spend more than a fiver for entry AND a bacon buttie.
John - erudite and accurate as ever.
DeleteOh and nice Highlanders! Both sculpting and painting
ReplyDeleteGood work! Nice figures!
ReplyDeleteI play games first and paint figures second. I'll even use cardboard counters if need be. However, that is only my approach to the hobby. There are painters out there whose skill I will never match but who are still inspirational. The same goes for all the other areas of interest in a very diverse hobby.
ReplyDeleteAs for demonstration games, our local convention is almost exclusively participation games. Once you have emptied your pockets into the traders' tills there is nothing to do but game or wander the hall aimlessly until your next game starts. It's wasted time that could be spent drooling over the latest demo masterpiece. Another activity I have seen at SF conventions is the panel. What a great opportunity for the researchers to share knowledge and others to share techniques.
My particular itch scratch may be on the ascendant but I would hate to loose all the other parts of our hobby.
Pat I've seen history panels at shiow very occaisonally- more in the US than here- was even on one once. at Warcon in the early 90s- with Tiodd Fisher of EHQ- attendence was very poor indeed and we packed it up after about 30 minutes of not quite silence.
DeleteFrankly I like the idea but the current fashion against knowing stuff mitigates against it.
BTW chaps see this link
ReplyDeletehttp://slwarlords.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/salute-excel-we-are-not-going-anywhere.html
to scotch the rumours - from Mr Mitchell article inWSS that Salute will have to change venues.
Salute is one show I'll keep doing as long as I can- along with Donnington, Triples Partizan Falkirk Claymore and Border Reiver and most likely Battleground as well.
Also our group T.W.A.T.S. will be doing a demo at the Dutrham show this June.
Not sure what it will be yet- current favourite is 40mm ACW but that may change.
Oh and Vapnartak at York of course- don't want to miss that one.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought occours- Yes I've done US show and yes almost all of the games are what we'd call participation- but the organsiastion - at least at Historicon is radically different. You sign up for games inadvance - once you have done that your are expected to turn up. There was often a note as to the leangth of time on the game in the show programme 2 hours 3 hours etc.Also a a general rule that games themsleves are (or were when lst I was there) longer and more like "proper" wargames of our normal aqiantance rather than the 30 - 1 hour minute mash up you tend to get in the UK./ This of course is because US shows are longer and often- though not always in larger venues of the resort hotel type- something that simply won't happen here due to the staggering cost of venue hiire.
ReplyDelete