Popular periods and Ranges.

[Arlequín]

Touché 

[THE CID]

I'm into the Indian Mutiny at the moment, with the great Iron Duke figures. Then I have a break by doing character figures from other ranges, personality  and Generals etc. I'm also getting ready to start the superb  animals from Oathsworn and sailors from Galloping Major. So much lead, not enough time.

[Captain Blood]

Well I don't really see any 'super-periods' in play at the moment (think the hey-day of bandwagon periods like Darkest Africa, Pirates and VBCW... )
Frostgrave certainly seems to be making a splash, although that's not really a period - just a product.
The Saga-driven resurgence of interest in The Dark Ages seems to be on the wane.
The boost given to medieval by Lion Rampant still seems to be rolling.
Several new competing WW2 rule sets appear to be keeping that period as popular as ever.

For me personally, I could get into almost anything that isn't Ancients, Napoleonics, WW2 / moderns, and fantasy.
I think perhaps because when I first started wargaming as a lad, all those years ago, these were pretty much the ONLY wargaming periods, and I got utterly sick to death of them.

So since I 'returned' to wargaming, modelling and painting about 15 years ago (after a 15 year break), the last thing I wanted to do was play big boring battles in these turgid 'mainstream' periods.

The only era I've stuck with through it all is ECW. I still collect and paint the occasional new ECW model to add to my collection. But I never play with them.
But ECW was always something of a minority interest, even back in the day...

My current efforts range across cavemen, Arthurians / early Saxons, Game of Thrones, Wars of The Roses (yes - still!), and a little late C17th.
But in the background I have figure collections (and occasional games) of swashbucklers / border reivers, pirates, pulp, NW Frontier / Zulus, Future Wars, feudals, Napoleonic landing parties, F&IW and so on.
All genres which chime with the 'adventure' gaming / large scale skirmish ethos and approach of LAF... Which I guess is why I like LAF so much

The idea of going back to moving big blocks of ancient or Napoleonic toy soldiers (or tanks for that matter) around the table top using a great fat rule-book makes me want to slit my wrists.

[Atheling]

The idea of going back to moving big blocks of ancient or Napoleonic toy soldiers (or tanks for that matter) around the table top using a great fat rule-book makes me want to slit my wrists.

One man's poison and all that 

Darrell.

[Captain Blood]

Quite

[Norm]

Big hitters seem to be;

Single mounted WWII skirmish (Bolt Action and Chain of Command)
Single mounted Medieval (Lion Rampant)
Big formation Napoleonics, thanks to 200th anniversary of Waterloo and the revolution in 28mm plastics

and smouldering in the background;

Age of Sigmar (Games Workshop) will undoubtedly do well
Osprey rules in general will do well
Commands and Colors WWI (by the Plastic Soldier Company) will do well

[Arlequín]

The idea of going back to moving big blocks of ancient or Napoleonic toy soldiers (or tanks for that matter) around the table top using a great fat rule-book makes me want to slit my wrists.

I've always felt that you could achieve the same ends by using blocks of wood... instead of the figures, not the players obviously. 

I have the same feelings towards WWII in general and indeed Napoleonics and 'Grand Manner' gaming in general. However besides Late Medieval, the periods either side of WWII and the forgotten campaigns of WWII (Syria, Madagascar, the Torch Landings etc) are somewhat untrodden paths and a world away from the usual run of WWII gaming. 

But yes, 'adventure' and 'large skirmish' all the way here, but then again I was drawn to the 'dark side' of RPGs for a while back in the day.

[Harry Faversham]

I've always felt that you could achieve the same ends by using blocks of wood...

It's the blocks of wood wot move the soldiers about in my Emporium!

[Elk101]

You can still have an adventure within the WWII theme. One of the best games we ever played was a Home Guard game where they chased a dastardly Luftwaffe crew about the countryside. There were van thefts, farmers with shotguns, angry dogs,  nervous vicars and ladies on bicycles; you know, all those staples of WWII 

We've also had some good platoon level games and some very entertaining tank skirmishes along the lines of a platoon of shermans vs a panther, etc. WWII need not be Flames of War (which I took a look at and decided it was not for me).

[Axebreaker]

It's hard to say what's popular right now as I don't see any one thing standing out from the crowd in terms of periods. However, I suppose you could say WWII is and always has been very popular and probably the most active period at all times and really does not seem to have major low point.

My personal favourites are always something in the Dark Ages, ACW, and AWI. I do lots of other things, but I'm most always working on one of those three in addition to other periods.

Christopher

[Jiron]

Hi, I have just recently started with historicals. My favourite era is Dark Age - Eearly Medieval. I am building Anglo-Saxon force for Hastings 1066. I really like Gripping Beasts ranges (my buddies do as well, along with Perries and Fireforge games).

[Atheling]

Hi, I have just recently started with historicals. My favourite era is Dark Age - Eearly Medieval. I am building Anglo-Saxon force for Hastings 1066. I really like Gripping Beasts ranges (my buddies do as well, along with Perries and Fireforge games).

Funny you should say that... are you going to be at Salute next year? There will be a very large Hasings game on at the Lance and Longbow stand

See my blog for the early blossoming of the project:

http://justaddwater-bedford.blogspot.co.uk/

Darrell.

[Harry Faversham]

Hoplites and Persians in 15mm, been promising myself a Hoplite Army for over thirty years, finally got round to making it!

[Silent Invader]

I'm not a fan of big battle, regimented unit, simulation games, thus ruling out a lot of ancients, ECW, Napoleonics and the such like. That said, if the aforementioned periods can provide a small unit action than anything is possible!

Current wargaming projects range from Medieval through to SciFi stopping off at many places in between, often influenced by movies, TV, travel and books.  One 'issue' that I have is the desire for terrain that will set the project alive while always affording the opportunity for expansion. I had a F&IW project that died because to my mind the game board wasn't quite right and an Aliens game that I terminated because the terrain (and scenarios) couldn't really grow beyond what I'd completed.

Two things I'm not interested in are moderns (a dislike of playing what is in the news) and fantasy (the unbelievity - not a real word! - of magic kills it for me).

My project website....

www.silentinvader.uk

....has a list of all my current projects though there are a couple more I hanker after: Vikings in the style of Vikings (Brother Vinnis new shield maidens are a plus) and 18thC England in the style of Plunkett & McCleane (highwaymen, duels, etc).

[has.been]

Just about anything, historical/ fantasy/Sci-Fi as long as it is 28mm (eye sight not what it once was) & 'Skirmish' (don't have the time/opponents for 2 to 4 year big projects) If painting is limited to about 20 to 30 figures I can buy & have stuff on table within a few weeks e.g. Pulp Alley/ Chain of Command/ IHMN/ Ronin/ etc.

My big armies (e.g. DBM 25mm Late Romans V Sassanids & 15mm Saitic Egyptians V Early Persians) sit on the shelves as no-one locally wants to play. while some 5 file boxes of Medievals (25mm) await rebasing for things like Lion Rampant &/or Crescent & Cross.

Any-one want DBM armies ?