Good and bad

[martin goddard]

Can you name one change in miniatures wargaming during the last 50 years that you think is good. Can you also name one change in miniatures wargames that you think is bad.

Personal opinions please. They do not need to be based on research.

martin

[Stewart 46A]

I think 1 good change is the use of cloths, so easy to Carry and store and variety of colours look great on the table


Stewart

[Colonel Kilgore]

I think the current range of paints and finishes available for our toys is fabulous. And acrylics dry so much more quickly than enamels.

Less good is that the old enamels seemed to be so much tougher than modern paints, which seem to chip quite easily.

Simon

[martin goddard]

The bad.  The loss of local wargames shows. ie there are less now than 20 years ago.
The good. I agree with Stewart's point about table mats. Excellent. Superglue. Got rid of those Bostick, solder and epoxy fixes. Tufts.


martin

[Sean Clark]

Good? The wide choice of periods on offer from companies like Peter Pig. It would have been very difficult ot game the Mexican Revolution 20 years ago...

Bad? Alongside the reduction in the number of shows, the amount of 'resellers' that take up space at the remaining shows. These are the people who sell things like Perry and Warlord plastic figures. There are typically 2 or more companies, all selling the same thing at most shows. The number of original manufacturers selling figures at shows seems to have reduced to at most one or two. 

[Colonel Kilgore]

Very good points, Sean!

Simon

[Panzer21]

Good - the sheer choice of figures in all scales, covering almost every period. When I started it was use what was available, convert or do without! Now such things as Paraguayan war are mainstream....

Bad - the number of companies disappearing as people retire and no-one picks up the ranges. It was always frustrating when a small company producing nice figures disappeared before you had got all you wanted - now it happens much more frequently.

I'll introduce another category - biggest innovation.

I'd put mats under this, along with 3D printing....

Neil

[Colonel Kilgore]

The answer to the retirement question is, of course, to buy all the figures you're ever likely to need (plus a few spare, just in case) as soon as they come out.

That way you get nice crisp figures while the moulds are fresh and help out the manufacturer's pension fund too. Win-win? 

Simon

[Leman (Andy)]

For me it has been the abandonment of complex rules in the search for realism. The return to more straightforward, fun to play rules is all to the good. There was a very unhelpful trend in the 70s and 80s to try and turn wargaming into a hobby for intellectual nerds. This may be why fantasy gaming suddenly took off in the 70s and 80s.

The biggest change in the last 50 years that I have come across is the increase in bad tempered competetiveness in the club I was in, coupled with various attempts at cheating (a lot less with gridded games). It is the reason I am loathe to join a club again.

[Leman (Andy)]

The answer to the retirement question is, of course, to buy all the figures you're ever likely to need (plus a few spare, just in case) as soon as they come out.

You've just explained my 1940 Dutch army. Must get the Germans with my next order.

[martin goddard]

To your point Andy, I only play gridded games and find the games do flow much more nicely.
Playing WRG 4th edition back in the 1970s there was a big chunk of "dodgy play" indeed.

Lots of companies are started by chaps looking to blend hobby and work. I suspect most of those have another income or pension that supports their work.  Many small companies find that creation is great fun but the associated tasks(accounts, postage, moulds, casting, customers) are too onerous. On balance they can have an easier life without it.



martin

[Sean Clark]

I take back my bad comment!

Colours has 17 figure manufacturers not including 3D print companies. That's impressive!

[Sean Clark]

Good - the sheer choice of figures in all scales, covering almost every period. When I started it was use what was available, convert or do without! Now such things as Paraguayan war are mainstream....

Bad - the number of companies disappearing as people retire and no-one picks up the ranges. It was always frustrating when a small company producing nice figures disappeared before you had got all you wanted - now it happens much more frequently.

I'll introduce another category - biggest innovation.

I'd put mats under this, along with 3D printing....

Neil

I hope my favourite 15mm manufacturer hangs on a while yet as there are several armies I still need. And it is need, not want 😀

[John Watson]

Best thing. Peter Pig. Thanks Martin.
Worst thing. The loss of small figure manufacturers like Warrior and Outpost and their associated ranges that are not available in any other form.
John

[Smoking gun]

Good: AK47 Republic in all it's editions. Wide choice of quality figures in a variety of scales. Cloths, laser cut bases, buildings etc. Ebay has it critics but does easy allow access to many new and used products.

Bad: Tariffs and other import duties which have effectively stopped me from buying from outside the UK. Special dice, which are D6's with funny symbols instead of numbers.

Best wishes,
Martin, from a small village near Grimsby