What came first, wargaming or wargaming?

[Moggy]

Martin, If you are desperate for a bag of plastic soldiers they can still be found in Poundland.

Derek

[sukhe_bator (Neil)]

There seems to be a general trend towards accepting someone else's 'vision' over your own world-building for wargaming. This is partly in response I think to the on-line gaming market where game production values often rival and indeed supersede that of a major block-buster film. It is hard for any hobby to compete with that.
I have seen the same trend in the Model Railway hobby. The hobby is now saturated with pre-packaged and often finished items that only require minimal assembly. The days of scratch-building an entire scene or making parts from scraps because there were no models at all is very similar to those early days of wargaming in the 70's where kit-bashing, conversions and headswaps were the norm to recreate armies not represented at all.
In a way, the success of the hobby has led to a divergence of paths. The easy way or the 'wide path' is the quick battle for those lacking time or patience to invest using pre-painted figures or all-in-one boxed sets. Being put off by glossy high-end results can also be a factor and the major problem is that despite all the marketing to the contrary the figures will still require painting. The narrow path is for the hobbyist who likes to dig deep into a period and recreate the whole entity to their own liking. The results may not necessarily match expectation but it is the journey that counts as much as the finished result... 

[Panzer21]

While the range and depth of currently available wargaming ranges, terrain etc. are to be applauded (who would have thought something as obscure as the Chaco war would have TWO 15mm figure ranges?) and I have no wish to return to the days when your choice was 25mm Hinchliffe or Minifigs, 15mm Peter Laing (if you were lucky Minifigs strips), I also think we have lost something.....
Partly it's a consequence of modern life; these days I can click on a website, order figures and have them within a week or two at most (often within days). This is a long way from ordering a paper catalogue, choosing figures, writing a letter, getting a Postal Order from the PO, sending off the order, waiting a month and then painting your figures (assuming they supplied all what you ordered). Army planning and construction was over an extended period and there was little risk of temptation....
Now it's all too easy to buy the latest shiney thing......

Manufacturers have adapted to this; some market their toys knowing full well the initial enthusiasm won't last and will be replaced by the next new thing.....
Or you market games that require very few figures, so can keep on top of the butterfly demand...

Older gamers increasingly embark on nostalgia projects, using stuff from the past; some of us still have the stuff from the past in our lead hordes of shame...
I'm no different. A long while ago I embarked on Arab-Israeli for 1967. This was way before it was available in 15mm. I realised I could use my Roco Minitanks for most of what was required, although would need to convert or scratch build most of the IDF.....
Que long forgotten skills of making and converting plastic models......

Sure, I could have just bought it (although that wasn't an option when I started) which would have been much quicker, but I would not have created something that's uniquely mine.....
I think this is what categorized the earliest wargaming; the sense of individuality and investment in a particular facet over keeping up with the latest trends and releases.

While we have gained much materially, I think we have probably lost much too...
Neil