"If you could find someone to do the other side..." Topic

In our group, there are a lot of periods where one guy is enthused about it. He paints up both sides, he puts on the games, etc. I sometimes do not even get to play with my own toys in the periods I love, because it would be unfair of me to design the scenario and play. Not that I mind...

But, there are a lot of periods I would jump into, if only soemone else would help out by being as enthusiastic as me. For instance, I have a huge Renaissance Polish army. I have used it maybe 5 times, once as a Kislev proxy. "I have lots of Landsknecht, Turkish, etc figures, but what's the point of painting them?

So, if you could find someone to do the other side, what projects would you start?

For me:

Great War in Africa. Gotta love von Lettow-Vorbeck. Heck, Mesopotamia, and "The Light Horsemen", also.

Come on, someone do 25mm SYW Austrians. Or Rusians. My Hessians want to masquerade as Prussians. I've got French and British, too!

War of 1812.

Guadalcanal. I don't care which side I paint.

Afrika Korps. Ditto.

I've had to do multiple sides. I wouldn't be able to get my friends to play Warmaster or Napoleonics if I weren't painting both sides. I'm beginning to run into a different problem, though -- in Warmaster, one of my friends likes it enough that he's got a Dwarf army. So now I'm offended if he doesn't use *my* Dwarf army! [sigh]

Given all I'm painting, it prevents me from trying out new games. I keep telling folks that I'll try Warmaster if they'll go out and make an army for me. Don't care which. Since they haven't, I assume the games not quite good enough. ;)

(Truth be told, my friends are just lazy. These are people who'll play Mechwarrior clix and with unpainted lead in various GW games. Philistines.)

Why is it that we meet the non-philistines here, where we can't reach each other ?

Laziness is a big problem; that and RL intrusions. The guys I have gamed with are all too busy doing their own things to want to play what I want to play. They get tired of playing the few games that I like; they are far more diverse than I am, so the problem is most likely ME.

But, if someone would play the other side, I would like to play my crusaders (I have never enjoyed playing the "towel-heads"). I would even enjoy playing the outclassed underdog champions of light and truth in a fantasy campaign: but everybody wants to play the guys who are going to win in the end. I found myself (always) playing the evil forces, and feeling perversely guilty when I won a battle: not a good combination of feelings to entice one to keep gaming: even so, the campaign went on for a decade. But I won't go back there again !

MtM

I do primarily Horse & Musket but I would get into WW2. I'd collect Brits in any campaign you want be it Africa, Burma or France.

Though Afrika Corps is pretty cool too...

Right now, myself and my friends are doing fairly well with opponent armies...I'd say we are missing 25mm WAB Saxons.

John, any chance of posting me a list of your Renaissance Poles? I am in the process of gearing one up, and wouldn't mind seeing a typical List.

I'm at keirof@hotmail.com

I often do both sides of a project. Don't particularly like it and think it would strengthen the local gaming scene if we had more club projects. Nevertheless, it is one of the only ways I am assured that a project I've invested hundreds of dollars in comes to fruition.

If I had an ironclad guarantee of wude participation, I might be persuaded to do Napoleonics in 25mm. If not, they are the black hole of miniature wargaming, and I couldn't be bothered. How about Mexican Revolution, before and after the American intervention.

Hey John, I have 25mm War of 1812 I've done with a friend in Canada. We focused on the 1814 Niagara campaign because the troops are equivalent and the Americans aren't commanded by total dunderheads. I'll end up doing both sides, because my buddy is a bit too far away, but they certainly are spiff.

Kevin

Good topic! I would love to collect either Teaxicans for the Texas War of Independence, or the US for the Mexican American war, but I'm intimidated by the Mexican uniforms. I would love someone to paint up the other side of these conflicts.

I'll do the handful of Brits, if my buddy will do the hordes of Zulus...

Merlin the mad - Did you really saw towel- heads? Do you have an adversion to saying Islamic or Muslim? You might need that Crusader army very soon! :)

"Do you have an adversion to saying Islamic or Muslim?"

Perhaps he was referring to Armenians who, AFAIK, did wear "towels" on their heads but were not Islamic or Muslim.

I think Merlin was looking for a typing shortcut instead of looking for an excuse to be offended.

Yah, I always paint up both sides. But I have found that with determinedly clever scenario design, I can also play a sub-commander on one side or the other, and keep my mouth shut. It does limit planned surprises.

Oh, this isn't a porn discussion . . .

Crimea, as it was intended to be played, with lots and lots of bases full of bigger in both, 6mm and 15mm scales.

Pro'ly I'd take a lot more attention to my beloved Ancients in 15mm and 1/72 scales. I have Persian, Alexandrian Mecedonian, Iberian Celts, Picts, German Tribes, Galatie and the bloddy, effing Romans... But I'd like to have some picking just ONE of these and putting a lot more steam in their painting and acquisition.

Mmmh, I'd say I'd finally get more 28mmm WII goodies and stop playing my skirmishes a la "COMBAT! The TV series". They're fun, but very small and limited.

Finally, I'd be euphoric if someone offered to take the bloody Viridian Interdicts that ocme with the boxes I got. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but the bastards keep distracting me from creating the AMAZING JUNKER JUGGERNAUT I want to build, with lots of conversions and more of a "berserker" feel to certain units.

The gf is sticking to the bloddy, effing Snails--which she keeps finding by the dozen at incredibly low prices--, and told me: "You got your mini-men. Deal with 'em, yerself. I'll keep on beating your Junker behind, as usual."

Now, she can add my "softie-green, Viridian butt" to the Koralon's "Arses we've thouroughly kicked" list.

And I slaved at painting them, darn it!

Such good-looking corpses they made... =(

HAHA!

That was a good one, Blackscribe!

I actually laughed out hard enough to get the dog growling, and he's in the backyard!

=D

Yeah, that's what got me into DBA (very small armies) with 1/72 plastic figures (very cheap). Heck, an early Lybian army cosy me less than $9 and painted up in two nights! I'm the only gamer in my group who does anythnig with miniatures besides play with them (well, one guy collects Heroclix, and yes he'll have to supply both sides).

But it is nice to have DOZENS of armies, which probably still cost me less than I've spent to build a couple of WHFB armies in thr early 90's...

Hmmm... What a great topic!

I'd have to say 15mm Franco-Prussian War, if I had a Prussian opponent. 25mm Maximilian Adventure if I had a Republican opponent. 25mm Marlburian French, if I had an Allied opponent. And/or 25mm ACW if I had a Union opponent to beat up on!

Ahhh... the list is endless. ;-)

I would play Aeronef if I had someone to play with.

WWI air war.

Steve Jacksons Ogre in miniature.

I would play just about anything!

--Merlin the mad - Did you really saw towel- heads? Do you have an adversion to saying Islamic or Muslim? You might need that Crusader army very soon! :)--

Yes, I "saw" a whole case full of 'em, last time I looked ;)

But "towel-heads" over here simply means all Middle-eastern type armies. Lots of "trash" troops with a core of well-armed and trained. (Hmm, still holds true today....) Lots of fun to run against smaller, more-heavily armed troops, such as elite crusaders/military orders and Byzantines. But it pales after awhile: I really like heavy cavalry charges, and the challenge of trying to time one just right :)

I do NOT enjoy painting those towel-head guys; so, with my tax return last year, I expanded my Old Glory towel-heads with a bunch of Pictors Studio's crusader period Saracens: not the cheapest, but definitely one of the smartest things I have ever done. (Saved me tons of time: I do not find the painting end of this hobby the most fun part.)

MtM

I second the business about ACW, but from the other side. If I want to play the Federals, I have to find somebody who'll play the Confederates -- none of my friends can make that crucial disconnection to be able to play the Hated Side.

Interestingly, WWII is easier -- against certain friends, I play the Germans (they're the Hated Side), while others can't identify with the Soviets. With that second batch, I get to play Americans, too, as they've already made that brain shift over the Nazis.

I never consider starting any period without planning to do both (or more) armies.

Ive always wanted to do the Battle of the Little Bighorn, think that would look great on a game table. The rolling hills and vallys, bending river and tree lines. Long lines of mounted troops against determind Indians to kill them all. And with the three Cavalry troops you would get three battles at once.

I dont think the battle was over that large of an area, so maybe in 1/72 would work.

One can dream.

Cheers Neil T

Merlin - If I read you correctly, you seem to like to say Towel-Heads the way southern whites in the 1950's liked to say "nigger." Where is over here? Alabama or Mississippi or England? I grow weary of egocentric thinking that believes that it is acceptable to use a derogartory term, and towel-head is a well known racist term, to discribe a group of people. I don't understand why this web site or any group with critical thinking skills would tolerate such an abuse. I know some on this list will think that this is an over reaction, but at sometime we must begin to look carefully at how we express ourselves as what we allow is what we become.

World War One naval vessels, were my pet peeve. I did the British and a friend did the Germans. Then after I began beating him in almost every game we played - he quit gaming with naval minatures altogether, so now if I wish to play with my fleet, I have to get Central Powers ships as well.

Fortunately, I have a great friend who loves to play Napoleonics and ACW in 15mm, so we each buy up and paint just one box of troops to counter each other and play some great games. But watch out for gamers who bring the army band with them - Talk about being anal retentative.

Alexander Nevsky Russians (not into Teutonic Knights or Mongols), Age of Discovery explorers (I would do them but no opponent) or Republican Romans (don't fancy the enemies until Late Romans).

Generally my club does club projects and as the local contrarian I am usually want to do the other side anyways.

I have always like creating both sides for a conflict, it starts in the planning . Even before purchases. If I don't like the forces of both sides, I generally don't play it. :)

I would like an opponent to do 15mm Tudors to fight my Flodden Scots army. I have a hodgepodge of English but they are not exactly correct.