Abwehrschlacht | 19 Nov 2014 5:43 a.m. PST |
I found some pictures of a re-fight of Waterloo that I gamed as a teenager in 1988. There are a whole load more pictures on my blog so you can see my formative years as a wargamer… link Ah, halcyon days!
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Lt Col Pedant | 19 Nov 2014 6:19 a.m. PST |
Ah! They were the days…. cereal packet buildings and unpainted figures … and who cared? |
ochoin | 19 Nov 2014 6:22 a.m. PST |
All the elements are there: movement bases, terrain, formations. Even the dead horse marker. Great photo; thanks. |
Abwehrschlacht | 19 Nov 2014 6:30 a.m. PST |
Absolutely! I cared not a jot that the Imperial army was not in correct uniform, or that the buildings were selotaped together bits of card, it was the game that counted! Thanks guys! |
Marc the plastics fan | 19 Nov 2014 6:52 a.m. PST |
And yet you still had fun – something that we may often forget to have these days with our multicolour shading and reference books… Great to see |
GarrisonMiniatures | 19 Nov 2014 7:12 a.m. PST |
I really regret that I don't have any photos of my wargaming past.So much lost over the years… |
mysteron | 19 Nov 2014 7:12 a.m. PST |
Going further back I was quite happy playing Naps with my big Airfix Set Waterloo and what a set it was at the time. I think its fair to say we had perhaps more fun in those days happily trapped in our own little bubble and no internet. I think today some of the enjoyment has disappeared as figures have got better and better over the years and we have become more demanding and picky. That's why I can fully understand those who have gone back to the glossy retro figures of yesteryear as nobody cared too much if the buttons were silver instead of gold. Yes happier days.:) |
John the Greater | 19 Nov 2014 7:21 a.m. PST |
How I wish I had pictures from when I began (about 1962). We used everything we had on hand for our games. Primarily Airfix and Roco plastic soldiers and vehicles painted according to whatever moved us at the time. Thanks for the memory jog, Abwehrschlacht. |
Abwehrschlacht | 19 Nov 2014 7:58 a.m. PST |
Glad you liked the pictures guys, I fondly remember my early days of gaming, mostly Napoleonics, but also microtanks (they were cheap!), WW2 and I even had a trench system for WW1. I wish I still had photos of that! I was just lucky enough to actually record this game… |
Texas Jack | 19 Nov 2014 8:11 a.m. PST |
Wow, a blast from the past! Very nice pictures capturing the beautiful beginnings of our shared obsession! Despite the shortcomings of the terrain and painted figures, this game is a delight to see, and it brings back to me a lot of great memories. Thanks for posting! And I hope you got A LOT of WWII in exchange! |
Abwehrschlacht | 19 Nov 2014 8:25 a.m. PST |
Cheers TJ, it was great to look through the pictures again, so I am glad you liked them as well! I seem to remember there was a lot of WW2 figures, including many vehicles, which were also put to many hours worth of fighting. |
Doug em4miniatures | 19 Nov 2014 9:18 a.m. PST |
Yes – great stuff – very nostalgic. But I have to say that even in the far off days of 1969 when I started, unpainted figures were definitely a taboo – totally unacceptable. the painting may have been dire (I must take some pics of my first unit – 20mm Brunswickers – to illustrate true direness) but it was insisted upon. Doug |
Brian Smaller | 19 Nov 2014 11:42 a.m. PST |
Now that brought back real memories. Cheers for posting that piece of nostalgia. |
darthfozzywig | 19 Nov 2014 1:15 p.m. PST |
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mashrewba | 19 Nov 2014 1:22 p.m. PST |
wow -I've got one from 1974 set out on a massive piece of cardboard on my bed- mega nostalgia!!! |
Fishbuckle | 19 Nov 2014 2:06 p.m. PST |
That, sir, is just awesome! It really makes me want to buy a few boxes of airfix figures for a period I don't yet play, tape some card buildings together and just have at it! |
zaevor2000 | 19 Nov 2014 6:45 p.m. PST |
Brought back some great memories of Airfix figures and using War and Peace to make the battles and using 5 Airfix figures for each strength point… Lots of fun. Thanks for the reminders! I painted mine to match the box covers, but always hated how the paint always flaked off over time! I remember how we used the same figs, but painted them green for Russians and White for Austrians and Dark Blue for the Prussians (using the French Infantry figs for those). Ah, the days of blissful ignorance! Nowadays if you don't have the color of the buttons right (and the right number of buttons) you will be vilified. We were all a LOT more forgiving in our younger days. Frank |
Abwehrschlacht | 20 Nov 2014 3:14 a.m. PST |
Thanks guys, I didn't realise this would generate such interest! I used to get all my painting guides from the local library, I think I was the only person in the town that ever took these books out! The ESCI figures were excellent, I not only had British and French, but also the Prussians (including 20 Austrians) and Russians. There was even a few sets that you could buy that came with vac-formed battlefields. |
Guy Barlow | 20 Nov 2014 4:10 a.m. PST |
Brilliant. We similarly fought Waterloo on my table tennis table circa 1975 with huge amounts of airfix soldiers. I can distinctively recall on one occasion going into a local Co-op store which had a toy department and between us buying 20-30 boxes of soldiers. The sales assistant lady thought we were bonkers. They were based on bits of card cut out from cereal boxes. They were painted to a degree – only red jackets and black hats for the British etc, green for rifleman. The ridge was a cut out slab of polystyrene painted bright green. Regretfully I have no photos. |
Abwehrschlacht | 20 Nov 2014 7:20 a.m. PST |
Guy, that's a great memory, I'm sure both of our Waterloo tables looked exactly the same! |
Clays Russians | 20 Nov 2014 10:40 a.m. PST |
I remember strip minifigs at 40 cents each (5 foot 3 horse) we would build battalions of 12. Not worried about such things as regiments, brigades divisions corps, just flood the ping pong table with battalions batteries and 12 figure cavalry regs. |
Ivan DBA | 20 Nov 2014 11:50 a.m. PST |
Cool photo. I used to play similar games with Airfix and Esci figures, using Charles Grant's rules. |
Dark Fable | 23 Nov 2014 7:47 a.m. PST |
I remember my introduction to wargaming was in 1974 – using a book of wargames rules by Donald Featherstone and Airfix Napoleonics . . . wow that was a while ago! |
bigdennis | 23 Nov 2014 12:13 p.m. PST |
When I started in the '60s I was thrilled to find Jack Scruby's miniatures and rules books. I still have them and treasure them although they are very plain compared to todays miniatures. Thanks for sharing. |