I promised myself
never to do this but put a
simple bit of temptation my way and after twenty years of resisting the fatal lure I go bonkers and get a 15mm WWII army. Three in fact, US, German and Russian (the Brits had all gone otherwise it would have been four)! All from a local hobby store(?) called Boyes (rather a department store with local managers discretion to add esoteric collections here and there) selling off a large part of their 'toy line' as 'dead lines' (boo hoo). I guess it must have been a bit like the Hobbycraft experimentation with FoW and GW stuff (now dead). Well at a third of the RRP price or less the PSC 15mm (£5 a box) was too good a 'steal' and I even succumbed to their half price (£10) Perry's WWII 28mm Plastics lure, again put a hole in my wallet (blown the toy budget for the first six months of the year). That means I have the insane "biggies" of 28mm too (just two packs, one DAK and one 8th Army, for a skirmish in the desert).
Once started you cannot stop (see below for some pocket money Zvezda Russian tanks that appeared in my shopping trolley!):
Why?
I have a perfectly good unpainted hoard [and then some] in 20mm (1/72 or 1/76 if you like), in fact I also have micro scale 1/300 (or 1/285 if again you like) plus a 1/200 (Skytrex Action Force) vehicles and infantry and 10mm Pendrakon infantry.
Madness .. how can I defend the indefensible? I claim "hobby insanity"!
The Defence's case rests on "being sociable" as I have wargamer friends who collect in the respectable 15mm range and model in the 28mm for skirmish (Chain of Command) games. 20m WWII gaming seems to be a rather niche area, accessible to all but people seem to move on from it (though not grow-up). Well there's another two (or should that be five) 30 Day Challenges ahead of me for this year ;)
PS Fear not Paul I will get round to finishing off the Fairey Battle in time for the hundredth anniversary ;)
8 comments:
Oh, how we've all succumbed to this fatal flaw in our wargaming characters. The three great links in the chains of our collective madness are in us all 1) To be sociable and have something to 'contribute' or join in with 2) The wow factor. It ambushes us at a vulnerable moment and we say we've just gotta get it! And 3) The bargain! Put it all together and you've the perfect storm we call scale/mission/period creep. Don't worry, we'll all be standing with you at Wargamers Anonymous.
I wish you were joking mate...I wish you were.
Bring on the 15mm!
Thanks SRD and Paul,
I already have the wide eyed "saving my pocket money up" (between £5.50 and £3.00)itchy finger feeling. I'll be buying Opel Blitzes next, or even better T-26 (normal and chemical tank variant). The Panzer II is a must .. bizarrely some 1/35 and 1/48 Tamiya tanks are the same price as the more detailed 1/72 kits, it's a line I vow not to cross, but the likes of Tim Gow have already "gone before me"!
I have a few 15mm M5 Stuarts if you are keen...
I share your pain. Every week or so I try and think if I have a use for some more 15mm WW2
Those Stuarts will would be on the "small and cute" edge of the wargaming spectrum
Renko my friend .. t'is your fault I find myself in this "scale mess". I just need some "Hobby Time" to get things started off now ;)
Ooops .. Pocket Money Kits should have read from £2.50 to £3.00
ahh the T-35 we all succumb sooner or later.. ;)
Post a Comment