Well David Stones’ challenge finally got this piece of scenery done. Credit really goes to john@justneedsvarnish who alerted me to this challenge plus Frank tank rants who suggested that posting about fabulous pro-cycling scenery ought to translate into building some stuff!
Either way I finally completed this 2021 model. Better late than never as the saying goes.
Final touches were a ochre (rowney acrylic tube) whitened (MP Paints) dry brush to suggest some sun bleaching plus a bit of black (MP Paints) in the mix to dry brush the base area suggesting dirt.
Then some gamers grass (2mm summer green tufts) and an ancient pot of games workshop grit to finish the base.
Of course the unbelievably extravagant archway and door are round the back!
Thanks to John, Frank and Dave, I now have a new piece of terrain to use and enjoy.
out of the archive for john just needs varnish, looks like knife work and maybe not cutting before stripping outer card layers.
For those who made it this far…………….
Leaning tower of Parma! For scale here are some 1/72 miniatures – new kids on the block 1848 German Confederacy no less……….which can also double as Rifleman from Duchy of Parma 1851.
You can guess whats next on the Painting Table.
Finally, the question is, whether this will now lead to some more scenery making on my part?
A combination of Frank tank rats and john just add varnish have propelled me finally to do some scenery.
A 2021 lockdown tower knocked up in a day and then nothing…….
This subject was started back in April 2021 – I was motivated by john just add varnish and his excellent scratch builds.
It’s all card/plain and corrugated, uhu and some judicious glue gun work finished with some fine silver sand and pva. The ubiquitous laser cut bases came in useful
And just for the hell of it I registered this week to join scenery season challenge……
It’s still a work in progress…….
Just need some more dry brush on walls and maybe roof. Then some groundwork oh and door – it’s endless work in progress 😀
What are 28mm figures good for? Well if your a 1/72 figure follower then they are fantastic to paint!
Or rather in my case to experiment with. Recently Wargames Illustrated ran a contrast paints article while Wargames Soldiers and Strategy dealt with slap chop.
I have been edging towards these products simply because I bought a load on impulse. This is normal behaviour for an Erratic: A solution looking for a problem.
The problem has been I could not bring myself to use them in anger on my 1/72, 20-25mm figures without knowing their possibilities for me including my failures. Clearly they have been a great success for others.
And then there was the Wargames Illustrated article on “what a cowboy”, next minute I dug out some Dixon and Blue Moon figures from the dim and distant past, gathering dust in the great figure vault.
And then “ping” what if I experimented with these new paints and methods (new for me) on these figures?
They were definitely bought at Triples in Sheffield but around 2011!!! I think that means they were on the back burner……..
Anyway this is as far as I got and maybe I might not get much further – back on the painting table……
Big turf out and a surprising number of figures – they were already based and undercoated white. I sloshed cheap burnt sienna over them….I realised some were prohibition era gangsters while I also found a couple of freebies – Rasputin and Karl Marx. I primed these black. I then did some slap chop white dusting – at least I used a stolen make up brush on the gangsters……it worked quite nicely. Need to buy some.And then I simply ignored all the video and magazine advice I had gathered recently and got paint on the figures! Which was very pleasing. Note the appalling slap chop white work on Mr red hats arm – never mind.
Well this Tangent may develop or simply become another Icarus episode in the world of the wargaming erratic.
Wargames in Print has been on a rocky road – I was a subscriber to Battlegames (BG) not long after I found it by chance on a WHSmith railway station stall back in 2008. I abandoned that journey when it really disappeared into Miniature Wargames (MW). MW had always been a mixed blessing for me while Wargames Illustrated (WI) had been a favorite before leaving the hobby.
Henry Hyde and BG brought me back into the hobby. And I returned to the Wargames Publication world transformed by the Internet with Blogging/Being online all the rage.
I started reading blogs about 2011 and the print market now seemed terminal although BG helped sustain my interest. WSS I luckily discovered at another WHSmith when that shops footfall was in serious decline.
Today I am fully erratic! If I buy at all, it is mainly WSS but occasionally WI and MW.
The WSS focus was Hundred Years War and although at the wrong end of the war for my latest interest I decided to take a punt. I enjoyed it and I liked the range of scenarios/actions.
The Slap Chop/Grisaille method painting article was a bonus. I have read quite a few online articles on this subject yet some printed paper words and pictures were still enticing. That is the “print preference” still in me. I could contrast it (sorry) with the Speedpaint article in WI425, but I won’t, it was another very effective print article on a subject I have read round on the internet.
Now MW484. The last word was by Brenden Wheatley who talked about the importance of the Solo Wargamers Association and solo wargaming that sustained his hobby which he now pursues in both Budapest (see some hussars and music at the end of this post in Budapest) and Brecon!
Mid 19th Century warfare was a topic in WI425 – Perry French Franco Prussian War (FPW) plastics painting class while MW484 led with the Schlieswig Holstein Question.
Dave Tuck gave an excellent taster for the two wars – 1st and 2nd (1848 and 1864 respectively). Given MW style and content he did the subject justice and I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a clear straighforward way into the subject.
FREE RULES – Dave Tuck offers his ruleset via a link on the MW web page. FREE WARGAME RULES
Interestingly Dave Tuck started his journey before the FPW range from Perrys appeared and after the Helion range had ceased production. He had also used the North Star range. For coverage of the second war (1864) the one he opted to develop, he also resorted to conversions.
And I do think you should not be put off by the lack of a “go to” range. in 28mm 1864 can draw on Perrys FPW and any number of ACW ranges as well as other mid century wars in the Americas as well as the Crimean war of 1854.
If you are a uniform purist then that lack of exact replicas will probably drive you mad!
For the 1st war in 28mm, if you want to literally start at the beginning you can steal lots of Napoleonic era forces. 1815 to 1848 saw new uniform ideas but a lot of conservatism while weapons technology appeared to have stalled. A few months into the 1849/50 war and its all changing with kepis and pickelhaubes gathering pace alongside frockcoats, breechloaders, rifling and even the very early machine gun. Given quartermasters stores and regulations were never up to the minute, you can have lots of leeway in my view. You can borrow both back, forward and sideways for these wars!
I have grown to like the 1st Schlieswig Holstein war period simply because I get the best of both worlds – with the early versions of FPW uniforms and weapons still mixed up with Napoleonics. You have tailcoats, frockcoats, all types of shako, kepis, pickelhaubes, flat caps, smoothbores and rifled weapons in the mix plus of course emerging railways and telegraph.
If I was doing 28mm I would follow Dave Tucks approach and start with 1864 (the 2nd War) using FPW/ACW resources.
If your more Napoleonic in outlook opt for the 1848 or slightly earlier uniforms – the Danes are clearly still Napoleonic as are many German Confederation troops which just leaves the Prussians and Bavarians in their iconic pickelhaubes and combed helmets to be sourced from ACW/FPW era. And you don’t need fancy rifled/breechloading artillery yet – smooth bores will still work. You can also consider Crimea War for 1850’s era uniforms.
I would look at Ed M’s Wargames Meanderings for further inspiration if Dave Tuck’s article does not convince you.
I wanted as, with many of my projects, a low cost option. 1/72 plastics used to be low cost. Now they are no longer so cheap. Yet you can still pick up around 50 figures for £10. The key issue is sculpting quality, figure poses and paintability. You have to love the sculpts, I have grown to like their roughness in an age of 3D marketed perfection. To get the repetitous poses you may want you have to buy multiple boxes. My advice then is that if multiple poses is a problem go with 25/28mm sector metals. Finally paintability – the internet provides an astonishing window into the art of those who wash, prime and then successfully paint bendy plastics. My favorite site for inspiration is Pauls Bods – he can even make venerable airfix ranges look compelling. Also Philotep is worth a look. And you can always look at weather like Crimea, being winter wars there is a greatcoats crossover which can hide a multitude of things. Tumbling Dice Miniatures do ranges of 1/72 sculpts which are excellent – cast in pewter. I prefer the figures in summer gear with greatcoats packed away and blankets rolled. So Crimea ranges might also help here for those who want correct season clothing. Also Jacklex relaunched a few years ago in 20mm.
I opted for 20/25mm and have accepted a complete mash up of ranges both plastic and metal and the inevitable conversions.
20/25mm or 1/72 is small enough to hide the imperfections at 3 feet yet not so small that you can’t enjoy each figure in its own right. The scale remains my perfect compromise for the “table top” game.
WW1 Austrians repainted to 1850’s Danish in transition (Irregular Miniatures Metals)
Hat – Prussians from Zulu War British and ACW mash ups while WW1 Germans just get a repaint to become German Confederation troops. Nassau troops become well Nassauers for 1848 and offer also another take on Danish Bell Shako infantry.
Strelets – 1877 Russian dragoons become Danish Sharpshooters, 1806 Prussian Hussars become 1848 Prussian Hussars with a repaint
Airfix – WW1 British flat caps join ACW frock coats from strelets/hat to become Danish Riflemen in 1848
My latest addition is B&B Miniatures SH Rebel Dragoons and SH Rebel Artillery (in Prussian gear)
All this 20/25mm focus spun out of my Italian Wars of Independence 1848/1859 project (Italian wars of independence) when again I baulked at 28mm metal costs as the project was only meant to be a minor detour…….
Danish Line Infantry 1849 (Irregular Metals from their Colonial Range)
Alas the sheer variety of infantry types has overun my imagination and SHQ remains a questionable (sorry again) project with slow yet very enjoyable progress! Most units and figures are stuck on the paint table because I keep being distracted by mechanised warfare, medievals, Sci-Fi and yes even some FPW french figures daliance – Emhar – You can’t keep a good kepi down.
Which brings me back to WSS125 again and the 100YW. I have succumbed to yet more diversity in my painting – digging out my various unpainted medieval figures. My aim had always been Italy for this period, but it seems alighting on the battle of Shrewsbury 1403 while reading a biography of Henry IV caused me to re-examine an english force.
Who can avoid Hotspur…..thin end of a new wedge?
It remains to be seen what progress I make. And of course the next butterfly moment armed with a chance magazine purchase is probably just round the corner………
The Second battle using my “Buildings Blast” set up saw a mid 19th century action with Austrians and Piedmontese in play. It was a solo play this time.
I used the rules published by John Curry and the “history of wargaming project” with some adaption for solo play.
Using Neil Thomas grading of troops I adjusted the firing and melee rules.
I also used the Roster system unaltered. Infantry got 4 circles and a cross while Artillery got just 2 circles in this game. Essentially in the basic game a hit meant a unit (= 1 base) was destroyed. Roster rules gave units/bases lives in the form of circles and crosses on the roster which you ticked off as they were lost.
The Scenario was that the Austrians were retreating and the force here was ordered to hold the bridge in the town. The crossing was one of only a few that allowed artillery and logistics easy crossing of the river. The Piedmontese advancing from the north west had orders to seize the bridge as quickly as possible.
Forces were randomly assigned using playing card allocations along with a portion of blank entriesUnits deployed in contact and units were recognised as such at about 6 inches – the card only turned on a 2-6 D6. Here the right hand Piedmontese were certain nothing was in front of them – a heart was a dummy card while the left hand unit was not so sure so hesitated (on a d1) with no card turn. The right hand units poured forward towards the “old millhouse” spotting some real Austrian defendersThe lefthand Piedmontese units were suddenly exposed to Austrian infantry fire from a slightly sunken roadon the east side of the main road two piedmontese artillery batteries dropped into action again to be surprised by enemy troops in a slightly sunken and walled road. These were riflemen and on good form – one battery was quickly silencedHowever infantry units (white coated British Legion 1860) quickly drove them awayfierce fire was exchanged between the Bersaglieri and Austrians in the sunken road while Garibaldeans stormed the defended houses at the entrance to the townOn the east side 1859 Piedmontese infantry stormed the defended housesElsewhere Piedmontese forces had pushed on meeting little resistance (= dummy cards) to their front. A lone Austrian Artillery battery on the west side of town faces artillery and some more Bersaglieri Stubborn resistance at the Old Millhouse Finally the sunken road defenders are driven offAnd the west side Austrian defenders give up rather too quicklyexchange of fire results in another Austrian lossEven as west side Austrian defenders gather but………The Piedmontese quickly move towards their target – the river crossing. Another Artillery Battery blocks their wayOn the west side the Austrian defenders put up a good defence and with support nearby………The defended houses at the north end of town finally are overrunThe mill house and its defenders are abandoned by the Austrians who can retreatAustrian artillerists put up a stern defenceCrunch time at the town square as the Austrians are hemmed inThe Bersaglieri try to rush the ArtilleryThe Town centre defence collapses The Bersaglieri inexplicably turned tail on the west side while Lancers arrive to their rear. The British Legion finish off the town centre defenders on the left pictureThe Artillery of Piedmont watch as the last Austrian defenders in the town square are defeatedThe defended westside town square buildings are assaultedin a last desparate throw Austrian Hussars ride up the main street to halt the Piedmontese tide.The Hussars beat off the Lancers but to their rear the Artillerists are finally beaten while the East side is alive with Piedmontese. Everywhere Austrian defenders have melted away into the fields or across the bridge.The Hussars beat a retreat across the bridge bringing to an end the defence of the bridgePiedmontese Lancers cautiously follow.
The defended buildings were randomly determined and contained one unit each – no other benefits were given the building defenders. So they simply were a delaying factor assisting the mobile defenders fighting outside.
The scenario I played used a 25 step countdown and 1xd6 reduction per turn. The Austrians had to retire at countdown 16 from the edge of town, 7 – the town square and at 0 abandon the north river bank. Victory to Piedmont required they took the bridge before the countdown reached 0.
The game turns 1 to 3 were spent on the edge of town, then turns 4, 5 and 6 fighting over the town square. Turn 7 forced the Austrians back to the north bank but here ended the action as the Austrians actually ran out of defenders.
So the victorious Piedmontese captured the bridge intact and within the timescale set. There were no Austrian Engineers with a lit fuse to spoil their day! Anyway the Austrians would be back soon enough they thought…. Do I hear a Radetzky March in the distance?
For a very old ruleset Joe Morschauser’s rules played easy as I guess you would expect. With the tweaks to aid solo play they actually played very well.
I had bought the rule book for the Grid rules both the originals and Bob Cordery’s modernised version – Bob co edited the book with John Curry.
So this was a pleasant surprise to find a very playable set of “measurement based” rules into the bargain.
A constant theme of my interest in art is the variety of techniques on show.
My Weekend Open Studios visits prompted me to dig out some wooden offcuts I had minded to fashion into buildings.
The idea for “woodtown” was to provide my grid gaming with appropriately sized buildings. And they would be in keeping with the abstract nature of grid boards. In terms of the art they are definitely inclined towards Paul Nash. Ferens Art Gallery can be found in Kingston Upon Hull and an interesting painting by Paul Nash can be seen there.
Paul Nash – East Coast Portsome old bits of 2×1 with 45 degree cuts to create the roofline – at various heights to emphasise the randomness of old italian hill towns. The wood grain helps deflect thoughts that these are just bits of wood.The two clusters – the rough wood finish works on the red roof while the uneven whitewash fits the style
They make their first contribution in my recent Neil Thomas 1864 Minigame. Ironic that the game did not use grids…………
Having played out Neil Thomas’s minigame scenario I was left wondering if the unlikely Danish victory was just that.
In the first battle with this scenario the Austrians attacked straight up the road that was to be cleared yet they simply ran out of time.
This second battle was again run exactly as per the basic scenario suggestion by Neil Thomas.
same board size
same terrain
same units
units deployed at the start in the same way as the first battle except as below
At least the Danish Artillery put in an appearance.
The Austrian units arrived at the same point on the road but moved differently.
The Hussars charged up the road as before……..
The Hussars take a critical 4 hits from musketry and fail the required morale test – losing 2 bases at a stroke while the Austrian Artillery can’t seem to get the range right.The Danish Artillery push up the roadThe Elite Jaegar Infantry square up to the Danish Infantry (1866 style on the left and 1850 on the right!) Or Irregular Metals versus Hat Plastics – both are welcome in 20-25mm scaleThe 1866 dark blue caps drew their first melee with the Elite Jaegar (forcing their retreat) so had to advance in column to regain position in their own turn, meanwhile the artillery deploy. The 1850 Sky Blue caps decide to advance having suffered little damage from the austrian artilleryMove 5 and the 1866 Dark Blue caps have been driven off while a devastating artillery barrage has all but destroyed the 1850 sky blue caps. The Danish artillery made little impression on the remaining Elite Jaegar. Things are going wrong for the Danish With low morale to start with the Danish artillery fleeThe 1848 Danish Redcoats square up to the next assault by the Austrian Infantry. The Austrian Artillery fire blanks again but the 1850 Sky blue caps can only watch the austrian infantry charge past – they cannot attack unless they have more bases than the defender whereas the Austrians in this scenario get to attack anything anytime for the loss of their firing line capability. In the bottom right the Austrian skirmishers have sneaked round through the wood.Move 7 and the Austrians have been pummelled. Both Austrian Infantry columns have been shot away by the Danish defenders. The Austrian Artillery are still firing blanks while the Austrian Skirmishers are getting some hits on the Danish rear. Another assault and the 1848 Red coats have gone while the last danish infantry unit is taking hits from the skirmishers on their flankFinally the Austrian artillery are getting going – they blast away the last danish infantry alongside the skirmishers and remaining Austrain Infantry unit.Move 10 arrives and the Austrians have achieved their objective – time for some Radetsky Marching music………
A close run to the end but this time the expected outcome.
The Skirmishers had more effect by circling the eastern flank of the Danish. The dice throwing favoured the Austrians at critical moments – triggering morale collapse amongst the danish. As the danes were mainly levy this was to be expected and again its was more a case of their saving morale throws that meant the action went to 9 of the 10 permitted moves.
Published by Chatham Publishing in association with the National Maritime Museum this hard back book of 250 plus pages takes a highly selective trip through the Royal Naval presence in land war.
13 chapters – 3 about the Napoleonic era, 4 from mid 19th Century then 3 concerning the period 1896 – 1919 . Finally two from World War Two and one from 1999.
My interest was caught by two chapters. One about the 1840 Syrian campaign and then one about the 1855 action at Sweaborg in the Baltic. The Chapter on Walcheren 1944 then popped up.
£2 paid so worth a look.
A well produced well illustrated hardback complete with relevant mapsOne theme is the technology used in land actions by the Royal Navy – image National Maritime Museum
Each chapter covers a specific event so this is not a history as such.
Also there is a limited bibliography – but clear use of archive documents instead.
And the episodes provide some political context as well. Not least why the Navy did not have this or that when set a task. Also you get some perspective in government “interference”.
In a way this book has served two purposes.
providing insight on land oriented coastal naval actions.
giving ideas about potential for “counterfactual” events – something that interests me for my mid 19th century wargaming.
The book has a decent selection of images most of which are new to me.
But none quite like this one from my copy of a Times Illustrated commemoration of the coronation of King Edward VII in August 1902.
Neil Thomas offered this battle as an example of a small action using his mini battle setting. His rules assumed a 2’x 2′ or 600mm square. So thats board game sized.
His rules say you do not need to rebase. Always a positive these days.
I have a mixture of units – a result of my lock down era painting activity tending to paint what I fancied than worrying about actual armies!
The action is straightforward – the Danes are retreating and use a bottleneck on the key route north towards Jutland. The Danish rearguard are buying time for their main forces to retreat to their last defence line in Schlieswig – the Duppel fortifications.
suggested set up from book – copyright Neil Thomas.
Their opponent was the geographic “Empire” effectively still the Holy Roman Empire but now really the German Confederation post Waterloo with Austrian and Prussian interference/support.
In this case the Austrians were attacking the rearguard.
The Danish Rearguard
Infantry Unit A
Infantry Unit B
Infantry Unit C
Infantry Unit D
Artillery Battery E
The Artillery was Bronze Rifled while the Infantry were all Levy in loose order armed with rifled muskets.
The Danish troops are all deployed in the bottleneck.
The Austrians Attack starting at the river line comprise
9th Hussars – Average
Artillery – 2 batteries both with bronze rifled cannon
Their main forces arrive from move 1 on the main road
Jaeger Infantry unit – elite, rifled musket, loose order
Skirmishers – elite, rifled musket
On moves 2 & 3 the following units arrive via the same southern road access
Infantry Unit 6 – move 2 – average, rifled musket, loose order
Infantry Unit 7 – move 3 – average, rifled musket, loose order
Infantry Unit 8 – move 3 – average, rifled musket, loose order
Battle Narrative
With the objective to clear all danish forces from the road (at least 12cm from the road) essentially the Austrians simply went through the Front Door.
They had 10 moves to do it in with a win lose outcome and no draw.
Special Rules as suggested by Neil Thomas were used
Colonel Muller personal leadership of the Danes means any one unit at the start of any turn can be elite.
The Danish Artillery were quite ineffectual so get half the nortmal values in defence and attack
The Austrians fresh from rough handling by the French in 1859 adopt bayonet charges in preference to distance firefights. They stay in column the whole game and can charge without restriction (no unit base quantity advantage required)
Some shots of the action
Danish defence face the Austrian advance guard
The stream has no effect on movement except Artillery must use the bridge. The town can be accessed only by Infantry. The lake is impassable to all troops while infantry can move through the wood.
The Austrian battery drops into action as the 9th Hussars begin their fateful attack
The Danish front line are in line and not moving, supported by more mobile Column units behind. If infantry want to move in Neil Thomas’ rules they must be in column.
The 9th Hussars much reduced by musket fire charge home. The Austrian Skirmishers have made little impact but the Artillery have seriously depleted the Danish infantry to their front.The Danish front line has been blown away by the Austrian Artillery and the Elite Jaeger unit
Note in this game I chose not to field the woeful Danish Artillery ( i.e. I forgot to place them on the board!)
The second line of Danish infantry eventually destroy the Elite JaegerBut at the cost of another Danish unit when more Austrians charge homeIts the end of move 10 and the final Danish defence was about to be overrun by the Austrians
An Austrian victory seemed to confirm Neil Thomas’ view that history repeats itself with his suggested set up. In his notes he offers several options to up the defence capability of the Danes.
In this case a very narrow Danish Victory suggests a well thought out scenario by Neil Thomas. Generally I have found Neil Thomas scenarios are fun to play because they tend to lead to a lot of action and no quick outcomes. So although asymmetrical in set up they seem to be well balanced games.
Footnote:
The Figures are Irregular Miniatures and Hat for the Danish
In this picture top right clockwise – 1848 Danish Infantry, 1849 Danish Infantry then 1864 Danish and finally some rogue 1860 Piedmontese.The Austrians are top left clockwise Hat Grenzers – being Skirmishers then Minifigs (1970’s) French Hussars posing as the 9th, Waterloo1815 1859 Austrian Artillery and finally the elite Jaeger are WW1 Belgians painted as Neapolitan 1859 Cracciatori Light Infantry
Elsewhere in the photographs the regular Austrian Infantry on show are Waterloo1815 1859 Austrians in their white coats – in 1864 it was bitter winter weather so soldiers actually fought in their greatcoats.
Neil Thomas offers the mini game as a quick affair and it certainly was. Lots of enjoyment from a two foot square, scenery, dice and some figures.
If you strip it down making a car or a piece of art is the same thing. I am stretching a point here regarding quantity.
It is a creative process that ends in something tangible which may also be useful. And “use” can result in different things.
The piece of art that is still in use 200 years later because its action is to be seen. Or that car which was mercilessly driven in all weathers every day with every component exercised till its early demise on a scrap heap a few years later.
Wargamers are often gamers but as opposed to say Board gamers they are often model makers and nearly always painters.
And some Wargamers are collectors as well.
Add to this that some wargamers are what one would call artists – their work is exemplary, out of the ordinary, admired and copied.
And you can visit thousands of sites on the net to learn how they did this or that.
In a world that has rapidly replaced the physical world with the online world (both are real but different), it is interesting to meet real humans, who are artists and be able to connect their creations with their working area, their tools and discuss their processes right there – one to one.
No rewind – you have to listen and concentrate. It is an experience.
So York Open Studios offers you a hundred artists and makers to chose from. A useful booklet shows you where each artist/maker is located and a thumbnail picture and a few words provide the introduction.
My experience is that I select on image – it is disconcerting. I force myself to read the useful words – collage, etching, printing, digital, sculpture, carving…..
This time we wanted to walk between sites within a specific time frame – we chose an area with many locations and it meant we visited some locations where the brochure image was not compelling and the words uncertain.
At least one artist whose work I like had used an unfamiliar image and I could never remember their name. it was a surprise to find them in my list of maybe/so so sites to visit in the area we had chosen.
And the lesson about “reinforcing what you like means you might miss out” continued as I found my less preferred visits yielded very interesting discussions on process – how, why, what, where, when etc.
What is overwhelming?
Individuality – they may use fairly common materials, and even processes yet what they add is crucial. That is the most important ingredient
Commitment – despite the throngs of people in kitchens, conservatories, the garden shed, part of a living room – these people must spend a lot of time on their own to achieve what they do.
Enjoyment – to open your “studio/space” to strangers and be cross examined (politely of course) on how you did that or why did you do this – is an act of bravery – most of all I think it reflects their enjoyment of their work and the pleasure it gives them.
In a way wargame shows are those open studios when artists and makers show their work on the wargames table – the difference tending to be that you don’t buy (except at the nearest trader), you just look and maybe discuss. You might go home and copy their work – inspired by their enthusiasm – which includes the game as well – rules, scenery and figures.
Then there are the traders – many of whom are still small businesses in effect our hobbies most obvious artists and makers.
There is also a place for all those useful internet sources*.
And there is the irreplaceable act of human contact discussing a shared interest.
So whether it is a local arts and crafts show or that wargames show – “go see” – I am betting that seeing what others do will inspire you to paint more, make more and be more creative.
*That includes the American Railroad Modeller preoccupied with homemade Italian Cypress Trees which I might need one day!
The Wargaming Erratic 