28mm figures for Northern Ireland Conflict?

[Lowtardog]

Much Like Steve,

Remember for us over in the British isles it is recent history and lasted (still going on in Ireland though played down in the press these days and more akin to organised crime) for many years, infact most of my life. Many have lost friends and family to terrorist actions or know someone who was involved in the troubles one way or another. It also affected our lives with it being in the news, for myself being in the forces in the 1980s and 1990s it meant a constant vigil and the fear of attacks or reprisals, bombings etc of friends and family for merely being in the armed forces whether in Ireland, Britain or overseas, try and imagine your US troops stationed in Britain being in fear of their and their dependants families being blown up or gunned down.


It wasnt a stand up fight in a lot of cases, being bombings, knee capping and revenge killings, not really so much of a fight to game there which ever side you would game with.

Dont forget either there were Loyalist organisations, and splinter groups of the IRA. YOu also have strong sectarian groups in Scotland too such as the Orangemen etc so it runs quite deep.

[Plynkes]

Actions that would most typify the conflict would be a bomb going off in a public place or masked men walking into someone's living room and shooting them in front of their kids. Stand up fights between insurgents and military? Not so much. I'm not offended, and it didn't seem to me that anybody in any of the responses was offended either. I just don't think there is much of a game to be had there.

[benglish]

Then try to imagine how you would feel if someone asked your advice about a game involving flying aeroplanes into New York skyscrapers.

Also, alas, "the American side of things" involved providing the IRA with much of its funding (while Gaddafi's Libya provided some of its training).  Mind you, the Americans aren't unique in this.  For example, the Provisional IRA was founded by an Englishman, John Stephenson, who liked to call himself Sean mac Steofain because his parents were Irish.  Sentimental Irishry has a lot to answer for.

Not exactly sure the 9/11 comparison is fair. And this kind of comment is what I mean.  Who said anything about "gaming" a pub bombing?  If you paint up an SS unit, do you intend to have them "gaming" a concentration camp?  Gimme a break.

You think my blood doesn't get riled when I read about US soldiers being IED'd in Afghanistan? 

To be honest, I find this kind of attitude pretty hypocritical, especially in a wargaming forum.  If you do historical gaming (or in this case, let's call it "current events" gaming), you're going to tick off someone if you look too deep into things. 

I'm not blind to the fact that there was a lot of funding to the terrorists (and I absolutely consider them terrorists) from Americans through organizations like NORAID.  The most absurd version of this was all the "Irish" cops in NYC raising funds for guns that would then end up killing Irish cops in Belfast.  Nuts.  And you're dead right -- the "faith and b'gorah" view of the typical Irish American definitely fueled that nonsense. 

Sure, it runs deep.  But I find it funny on a forum like this that this conflict should be especially offensive.  There are two young men from my neighborhood who went overseas and did not come back ... but I don't go on the forums and post comments to people playing Force on Force saying, "why would you want to game something like that?"  Or, for that matter, criticize British figure manufacturers for creating lines of Taliban troops.

Let's get some perspective.

[benglish]

Actions that would most typify the conflict would be a bomb going off in a public place or masked men walking into someone's living room and shooting them in front of their kids. Stand up fights between insurgents and military? Not so much. I'm not offended, and it didn't seem to me that anybody in any of the responses was offended either. I just don't think there is much of a game to be had there.

I was thinking there might be more "sniper hunt" kind of scenarios.  Fair point, though -- not big on stand-up fights.

[Steve F]

Not exactly sure the 9/11 comparison is fair.

Northern Ireland, like 9/11, was mainly about people with weapons killing people without weapons.  The comparison is entirely fair, though certainly not exact.

And if you posted on a forum with a large Afghan or Iraqi membership, I expect you would get a lot of objections to the tastefulness of games based on current and recent fighting there.

Several of us tried to respond to your initial question in a sensible and measured way.  Your heated response seems to me to indicate that there is little point attempting to engage with you further, so I will not return to this thread.

[Lt. Hazel]

OK fellas, I understand why it´s delicate for some people but please remember the forum rules. Not too much political discussing.
Enough hints for manufacturers are given, I´ll lock this topic now.