Mistakes(?) and Moving On....

I like to think that is true of me although some may question the 'Honourable' tag!

They say it takes a big man to own up and admit his mistakes and to then hold himself up to scorn or ridicule even. They also say that there is no fool like an old fool. Assuming that both of these are true then I am guilty as charged on both counts but it is alright and I can take the blows that will come. I have gained a reputation over the years of perhaps being a victim of my own mercurial imagination; of flitting from period to period in an extreme case of 'oooh shiny'. The usual Modus Operandi is for me to hit on a period as being the next best thing, spend a lot of time, effort, energy and cold ahrd cash in pursuit of the same and then I hit the wall. The wall being either a newer distraction or me just going cold on the idea altogether or even going cold on how I am planned to execute the idea, which is more usually the case.

 

This has happened with the 54mm NW Frontier collection. I am now not going to do anything with this and so the entire collection has gone to a new home with the proceeds being used for that which is more immediately achievable. I want to tackle the events in the Roghan Valley, of that there is no doubt and so the idea is firmly established - it is merely a case of the execution. The blocks will feature initially and in time, should I feel the need, figures of one type or another may appear.

 

The same has also applied to the various plastic 1/1200th warship kits I have - and with the same result as the 54mms. It is perhaps a mistake to try and rekindle the exploits of wargames past because it is never the same experience the second time around. I suppose the analogy of not revisiting the scene of the crime applies to an extent and so I doubt that I will ever be able to replicate those dramatic naval battles of 30 odd years ago - at least not in the same way. Perhaps it is a mistake to even try but it is a mistake we could all be guilty of.

 

I should have learned from both C and C Ancients and Napoleonics - these are periods that I have played in the past in a 'conventional' fashion using figures. Now I playing them in an 'unconventional' fashion using blocks so the experience will be the same but the execution will be different. My block based games are probably a good example of how I have 'moved on' from my model based adventures and whilst they will never replace figures they give me that critical ability to be able to indulge my far reaching military fantasies at the drop of a hat. Perhaps the same could also be true of naval games and so why not go the full distance and merely board game? I don't want to go down that path despite all the advantages it presents me with - I want to use models in some capacity after all - because despite my aversion to figure painting I still think using models is visually the best way to fight a battle.

 

Is this a cop out from spending ages carefully painting models to use on the table top? Perhaps, but then for me it is a solution to what has been a problem of many years standing. The ancients sets will enable me to fight anything from 500 BC to 500 AD whilst the Napoleonic sets will, in time, enable me to game just about anything mainstream from the Napoleonic wars. To contemplate doing this using models of any scale would be a substantial undertaking and too large for my limited attention span! My own home made blocks will fill in the rest. By using my generic blocks I have managed to play more solo games in a year than I had managed in the preceding decade so clearly I must be doing something right!

 

For the foreseeable future then, my only painting then will be of ships, aircraft and vehicles - with the occasional foray into science fiction.

 

I would not say I have given up on figures per se; it is more a case of the fact that for my immediate requirements I actually do not need any, which is not the same thing at all.

"The show must go on!"

Again.