47 (not 37 )years a gamer

I’m 60 in a few weeks time so  thought I would start showing what I’ve been up to in the past 47 years (yeah realised had Homer moment in title) gaming. I will digging out some of my old models and putting pictures in this project as I get chance , thing to look forward too,

Battletech models , Hammer Slammers, Pulp Fiction, VBCW, WW2 in 1/200th 15mm and 28mm . Warhamster 40k , 50’s horror moves, Weird War.

For Naval Buffs 1/600th Coastal and ACW and in 1/2400th WW2 from GHQ.

@warzans comments about this being the Golden age of the industry are true as:

at about 13 started  gaming with Charles Grants ‘Charge’ found in a library’ playing with the ltd range of Aifix tanks(odd Hasagawa) and figures with Cheiftains and Centurions appearing as you could get them. I was an Army cadet at time and the Sgt Major Maurice Tildsley the of unit told me about a new Wargames and modelling club he was trying to start up with Wilf Upton, as such joined  Alumwell Wargames Club , Walsall when it was 1st founded in 1972, and discovered 1/300th tanks and WRG rules.

For the next 5 years played micro tanks as they were called at time , the models were initially from Leicester model, who late became Skytrex but we were lucky in that one of the designers lived in Aldridge and use to bring a selection up on club night for 5p & 10p a pop.

At the time if you were and adult you played Napoleonic in 28mm with Hinchcliffe and Minifigs, only the younger members played micro tanks partly because to start a force in Napoleonic’s cost an arm and leg (equivalent) and the airfix range was ltd. The occasional WW2 game was played in 20mm but was frowned on.

That was until Leicester brought out a set of 20mm rules and then all the older crowed started building 20mm Desert armys until Wilf had a paddy about all the Grants the Allied players were using.

This led to 44 games generally with Wilf using a King Tiger whose armour value went up every time the allies found a way to knock it out(until it got beat by 3 M5 Stuarts ,a Piat and some very happy British infantry).

We had a dalliance with Ancient mainly with legions of converted Airfix Romans and Ancient Brits.

Sci-fi was pretty unknown apart from the odd board game and then around 1975 Dungeons and Dragons reared its head and probably saved the club that was dieing at the time. One member has started attending the Chase Wargames club and discovered it there.

Pete who is still a member of my gaming had discovered a copy ( the one with the 3 little books Ben) in an little obscure games shop in Wolverhampton, and brought what was probably the 1st copy in the West Mids.

This probably became the staple game for the club being only joined by another similar role playing game ‘The Empire of the Petal Throne’. (one for Ben to look up) which was the main focus till I went to play war for real and joined the RAF in 1977.

Did pop in club when I got chance during my sojourn for 4 years and found that the focus (apart from a small group of hardened Napoleonic players) had moved to 3rd Edition WRG Ancients with armys in both 25mm (it grew literally to 28 mm over the yeas) and 15mm (now 18mm?)

I did build a Byzantine Army at the time causing consternation in the set room at 399 Signals when the box turned up full of Mikes Models 15mm.

Nothing  painted model wise survives from this and the pre RAF period nor were any photos taken other than some of me Reenacting in the Napoleonic Association.

Strangely enough as an addendum to above, I have some unpainted minifigs Fantasy in a box somewhere, will dig them and get some photos and Beast members can compare them with todays offerings, they were pretty good if I remember and contained at least one of Sams favorites , Lizard men.

Other than WMMMS didnt go to many shows, don’t remember there being that many before joining up, by the time I was discharged a few had become established, most now gone, the big one at the time Northern Militaire is long gone, but attended it for about 5 years , but only paid once as I was putting on demo artillery displays with the Napoleonic Association and a 4pdr that built in a friends backgarden.

A show that was already beginning to get a name Salute at its 1st home at the local Town Hall was an annual club day out as a thank you from the WMMMS organiser at the time Dave Bickley  (Yup that Dave Bickley , famous for numerous articles in Various games Mags). The trips stopped when he retired the post of secretary, though we were on the verge of dropping out of going due to the Rugby scrum nature of the show due and its lack of space, we didnt return till they moved to Olympia.

It was in the early 80′ that our group got a réputation for putting on medieval games at WMMMS, and we gained the name ‘Knights Mercian’ my force bedecked in White Unicorns , a symbol that appears on a lot of my figures, most recently my Raven Guard and Imperial Knights see my other project ‘Calling it a Knight’.

Given the upcoming boot camp found these photos on the old Wargames Mongrels Yahoo group and  and thought they fuel your interest. All were done about 12 years ago.

The bikes were by the old Uk Battle Honours , which I think disapeared when their owner Adrian developed a long term illness. The rest were all by mastered by Ian Crouch of the now defunct Cheiftain and BEF models, some became masters for Warlord Games and De Waffencammer.

The tiles are Hexon, that I flocked myself with a mixtures of sandstone powder from a quarry a friend was consulting on and and orange flock I brough by mistake at Parizan at Kelham Hall, in the the light in main hall it looked sand, but the two worked well together.

Builidng are nearly all Monolith castings I think.