Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Deedles on June 18, 2016, 09:33:06 PM
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I am in the very last stages of long term project (Sudan) , and will be looking to start something new. I am just really not sure what to go with at the moment
So what drives your choice of a major new project?
General interest?
Cost?
Figure range?
Terrain?
Rules available?
Something "on trend" ?
Or anything else you might like to mention?
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Something catches my eye, a movie, a new mini line, or, all too often, a great thread here on.LAF. And I'm off!
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If highly recommended Sharp Practice 2, so I'm guessing rules are a big factor in this instance. I'd also say an interest in the period is another big thing. It also helps if friends have a buy in.
I always try and get the most out of existing terrain too so I tend to justify new periods with the 'well I already have the terrain ' excuse!
I'd heartily recommend ECW, Napoleonics or ACW. Great War could also have some good opportunities, particularly early war. What about a Victorian setting? Doing what you've done with your superb Old West setting but in Victorian London?
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I'm a classic wargaming magpie and usually have loads of projects kn the go, many destined never to be finished.
Quite often it's the release of a new game that sets me off (SP2 recently got me painting up some Peninsula war forces) or just inspiration from the net.
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Stress, sleepless nights, endless pacing, coffee.
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I try to combine my new projects with my completed projects.
For example: start with SYW India, move to Colonial NWF, finish in Modern Afghanistan.
So the terrain boards, buildings, civilians etc are utilized throughout, while the main forces and rules change.
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So what drives your choice of a major new project?
The whisperings of my evil compatriots ::)
Especially at shows where the purchases are instant lol
cheers
James
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I haven't started a Major new project in years, but all of those were based on a particular concept I liked that I thought I could acquire for relatively affordable.
Now I have several Major Projects that I come back to from time to time based mostly on my whims but no plans to start anything big for a long time. Most are complete enough to be used, but not nearly as complete as my imagination desires. Sci-Fi Urban Terrain, Sci-Fi Train, Mech Attack in 28mm, Void Junkers, KoW Chaos army, Squat army, etc...
For minor projects (many of which get in some way rolled into my larger projects), it's almost always a cheap find that sparks my interest.
-3 Cheap Copies of Sedition wars lead to an almost free platoon of Sci-Fi troopers (after selling the other figs and components) for my Mech battles and other games.
-Most of my terrain pieces, even big ones- come from a toy I find at a resale shop such as Geo Trax elevated Train Station, Hot Wheels style parking structure, Fisher Price Parking Garage, Pokemon Building, etc....
-A great deal on a necromunda gang, led to more necromunda gangs, etc...
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To be honest it's always the figure range availability with me.
Aeons ago I started out with some 'interests' and surprisingly enough these stayed - in some sort of 'evolved ' way ever since.
As a kid I was always enormously drawn to anything Roman. Of course in my imagination those were all Hollywood Romans :)
Along the way I simply fell in love with Late Romans/ Dark Ages and the rest- several armies later- is history. Enormous choice of -compatible-figures by now by several top notch companies ( Gripping Beast, Saxon Miniatures, Footsore, Curteys, West Wind, Black Tree and many, many others.)
Still remember that as a 12 or 13 year old I read some 'Martini' -yes, the company that makes that awful vermouth- magazines at the barbershop. There was nearly always something of a military interest in it and this time it was an article about the French Army in Egypt. Complete with coloured- in line drawings of some of the more colourful and exotic Kleber uniforms, I was hooked from the start.
Alas, I only had part 2 and the poor barber did everything he could to get me the missing magazine with part 1 in it. After obtaining it I made up several A3 sheets and drew dozens of uniforms with a fine Indian ink drawing pen. Later I coloured them in with water-paint. Some were shown but others you had to deduce from the text. I must have been one of the few 13 year olds to uses names like jonquille, cramoisi, puce and ecarlate. Remember, copying machines were largely unheard of in those days. I still had those A3s when I married in 1976, but they went AWOL after my divorce. Together with the rest of my belongings lol
This interest never translated into a miniature army as I felt there were just not enough good quality figures available. Recently that has changed with some superb offerings by Paul Hicks, Eureka and Alan and Michael Perry. Thanks to Sharp Practice 2 I'm now able to scratch that particular itch without feeling too guilty. Or breaking the bank.
Franco Prussian War. A sad story. Always fascinated by the contrast between what I feel are the most beautiful uniforms ever (French) and the somewhat rugged, simplistic style of the Prussian , Bavarian, Saxon and Wurtemberg ones. When Foundry came out with their excellent range I started buying, painting, buying more, converting and painting frantically. And the armies grew. And then it stopped. Not a single figure came out any-more and essential parts of the armies were simply never made. I looked to other manufacturers to fill in the gaps (Falcon for example if someone still remembers that one) but to no avail. In the end I sold the armies, for a fraction of the cost, disgusted that after several years I wasn't able to complete them.. 1400+ figures, all painted. It's the only painted army ( well armies in fact) I ever sold. At one time I considered doing them again in a smaller scale but it turned out that I am a life -long 28mm addict.
It still hurts but.... recently at least two manufacturers have brought out new superbly sculpted FPW figures.
And whilst Sharp Practice 2 isn't really meant for that period I still bought them and haven't regretted it a single moment. It's a back- burner project but it's there.
French Indian War. Well, it started out as a skirmish project. But it spun out of control. Redoubt, a company you can rely on to make complete ranges, is obviously at fault here. And then Galloping Major delivered the coup de grace. Thank you Trevor, Susan and Lance!
Mycenaeans and Trojans. Again, not exactly my fault. Our club wanted a Troy demo game and I volunteered to do the figures. Oh, Willie we only need about 40 or 50 or so. Or let's make that just a few more. And some vignettes. And just one or two more of these perhaps?
Now, combine this with a fellow wargamer and compulsive hoarder who -JUST AT THIS EXACT TIME- decides to do away with his -literally- tens of thousands of unpainted figures. For next to nothing! He had found a new interest after collecting figures for abut 30 years.
Some of these we gave to our youngsters to practice on and others we sold at scrap prices to any club member interested. Ever seen a flock of vultures next to a fresh cadaver?
I kept the Redoubt and Foundry Mycenaeans, and Trojans (and the Foundry Bronze Age figures) and painted up some more. Still have about 500+ unpainted ones...
Spanish Civil War. My only 'modern' interest. Colourful uniforms, troops ranging from raw recruits to uber- elites. Idealogical opposites, foreign volunteers on both sides, inter- rivalry and so on. But again the well dried up. We have nearly all the 'specials' but hardly any basic infantry from either side. And since most of the battles were fought by say 70-75% of basic infantry with some others. (those specials) I gave up. Still live in hope but on the back- burner as well. Again I considered doing the whole thing in another , slightly smaller scale, because of the availability of an almost complete range. but the 28mm demon (or guardian angel?) pulled me back.
Great Northern War. Life is good. My yellow/blue and green/red regiments are growing steadily. I had been thinking about this for 25+ years but didn't want to start with another half complete range. Enter Warfare Miniatures. Resolve not to start another period down the drain. Life is good.
And then there's the Indian Mutiny. I don't know how many times I resisted buying those Foundry figures. But my earlier experience with the Franco Prussian War still haunted me. No, I wouldn't do it! And that was final!
Still, all those beautiful varied uniforms, ragged infantry and even more ragged cavalry, greater than life characters on both sides, exotic places and buildings, epic sieges with the few against the many and sometimes the few actually winning. What's not to like?
How Habbakuk, God of Crazed Wargamers, must have laughed.
And it was a man I consider a good friend that led to my downfall. Yes , you Mr Paul Hicks. You just had to go sculpting that magnificent Iron Duke range didn't you?
With a true- hearted wargamer at the helm like Col. Mike Snook you really don't stand a chance do you? 25 different figures for a 24- man unit? 80+ different rebel sepoys in just the first batch? Each and every figure a joy to behold? A website where you can find almost all the information you need? I rest my case.
Willie
A doomed soul.
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To be honest it's always the figure range availability with me.
Likewise.
I keep track of available minis in my head (and lately on pinterest), and when I see enough related ones out there, an idea begins to form in my head about a potential project or setting. The Yetis from Reaper, Copplestone cavemen, GW Lizardmen and Otherworld neanderthals got me thinking about a Prehistoric skirmish setting with a resource collection/basebuilding element to the campaign (and then Frostgrave came along and did a lot of what I was planning to do :) saves me trouble), advancing your species domination over the land.
A bunch of gasmasked redcoats, Bronze Age Tharks and Hydra Minis retro spacemen got me thinking about gaming a VSF war on Mars.
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Thanks all, some useful insights .
For me I think this will be about the overall game, so some good rules .. And some cracking figures ..
So it will be 28mm.
I think it will be something 19th century.
Hmmm Foreign Legion maybe ... Goes off to consult various websites...
But please keep your thoughts coming.
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My only suggestion is to wait for your own Eureka moment. That internal buzz you get when you see a line of miniatures, or see a similar project. Anything less than a full geek-on for a project means it'll dwindle and will never be finished - or you'll abandon halfway through.
It can be an aesthetic kick, a nostalgia kick, a coolness kick, a retro kick...but it has to get your geek meter going good n' proper.
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I have five current projects, all 28mm, though I think of them as armies. I only do one side of a period. Having a friend keen on fielding the opposition, or already having it, is a main factor in me starting in the first place.
My Dark Ages force was inspired by a friend who liked the WAB rules and was raving about the Sheildwall supplement that came out subsequently. I took some convincing but once I had checked out the Foundry Viking range I was sold.
WW1 was inspired by The Great War rules. They were well produced with much eye candy. Again GWM had a superb range in place already. It was just something different.
The AWI Americans were started after getting to know a new gaming friend who had a small British army he had painted up. I guess it was mutual encouragement to develop the period as we now both have large armies to game with.
My Greek hoplites were a strange one. One holiday I finished the book I had so went to the local Newsagent and got the current WI magazine which was themed on the Peloponnesian War. I always liked the look of Greek hoplites but never thought I would start an army. Perusing the Foundry range again won me over.
My latest project are my Byzantines. I just got really hooked by the history. It is a colourful army with a variety of troop types and I really like the GB range.
For me the aesthetic is the most important so a good range of figures is a big driver once I get an interest in a period.
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For me, it normally starts with an episode from history... but sometimes it's also a set of rules or a game I see on a forum or somewhere that inspires me. Lately, my mates are also responsible for 'inspirations' lol
I normally plan my projects carefully and don't have too many running at one time; at the moment, I only have one big 'main' project, and that is ACW - it was never intended to be a big project and I don't know how and why I got hooked, I'd never imagined that the period would fascinate me that much. I've realised most of the time it comes down to reading: as long as there are good books on the subject, I keep reading, and as long as I keep reading, I stay interested and continue collecting, painting and playing.
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I don't know if I choose "new" projects or just go back to revise old ones on a cyclical basis.
On my paintbench at present are 25mm Greek figures that went out of production in 1976 (so I will never complete the army), but I have only just dusted off and started painting with acrylics. (I gave up on painting them in the mid 1970s because thick gloss enamels just wouldn't do it)
But I often buy an attractive piece of terrain and drift from there.
So we have Fort Zinderneuf and a complete (Hudson & Allen) Alamo, despite having no FFL or Texas-Mexican figures.
But the fort has been used for Boxer Rebellion, and the Alamo for Indian Mutiny (and bizarrely, for LoTR Gondor vs Southrons).
We have the complete Walls of Troy in 28mm.... now just need to finish those 1970s Greeks....
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Deedles, you must like desert if you're just finishing up Sudan and are thinking of doing a French Foreign Legion project next. Perhaps you live in a cold wet place and are dreaming of a dry place where the sun always shines. And you don't even have to stop with deserts on earth, as some of those fine VSF Mars threads show. I comment on that because a project that leads to imagining things we want to imagine is important.
I'm often influenced by what other's in my group of friends are doing because I like to work on projects as a team. Miniatures is a social thing for me. That got me deep into War of Spanish Succession and some other topics.
But when I'm working on my own thing I'm inspired by jungle and by the pulp literature that I read as a teen. So pulp scenarios set in the Congo, the Amazon, Central America, New Guinea, and French Indochina appeal to me. Darkest Africa is major for me. Too much Tarzan & Sheena when I was a kid I think. And the tropics impressed when I was a young sailor in the US Navy. Jungle is much harder to do in terms of terrain than desert. Fortunately I've got a friend who already has three boxes of jungle trees. And pulp as a topic means that I'm always on the lookout for airplanes, boats, and vehicles from the 1910's, 20's, and 30's. Those things are fun to collect.
Movies matter. The Sand Pebbles is a particular inspiration. Want to work on some Yangtze gunboat scenarios. Pulp Figures Chinese, US sailors and Marines, Foundry Chinese from the pirate range, Copplestone Chinese warlord troops, and ship guns and fittings from Reviresco make the Yangtze gunboat topic a very doable project.
On the other hand, one can get interested in a topic and then lose interest, as I did with pirates from the 1640's through the 1720's. Hopefully Black Sails and another friend who is interested in pirates will get me back into it.
Good luck with your next project!