Nostalgia v today

[Westmarcher]

Isn't this one of those topics that come up every two months or so?

Has anyone noticed that as we all get older, we start to repeat ourselves? Some of us are also hoping the rest don't remember what was talked about a couple of months ago.

Has anyone noticed that as we all get older, we start to repeat ourselves? Some of us are also hoping the rest don't remember what was talked about a couple of months ago.

Has anyone .....

[Ithoriel]

"Accept certain inalienable truths
prices will rise
politicians will philander
you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young
prices were reasonable
politicians were noble
and children respected their elders" - Sunscreen Baz Luhrmann (lyrics by Mary Schmich)

[d_Guy]

Isn't this one of those topics that come up every two months or so?

Yes, because our short term memory is shot. Let's face it we all grew up in the same closet.
For me it was Tactics II which led to (when I was in college) - Young and Lawford's, which I kept perpetually checked out from the library (no one else wanted to read it)

Terry, were we ever that young! 

[fsn]

I agree with a lot of what you say, but If I was washed up on a desert Island for 2 weeks I can think of companions I would rather have than another forum member!! and consequently other games I would rather be playing. 

Karen Gillan
Anne Hathaway (You will definitely approve of that one)
Rose Leslie
Etc Etc.

And what would you do with the other 13 days 23 hours and 57 minutes? 

[fsn]

... and yes, I agree about Anne Hathaway and Karen Gillan.

[Leman]

Just back from a very snowy walking holiday in the Cheviots, so not sure what is being said about Anne Hathaway and Karen Gillan, but AH is very attractive (and that Tarbuck woman seems a right good laugh too), but sometimes Karen Gillan comes across as being a tad naggy, in some of the Dr. Who episodes but most especially in Guardians of the Galaxy.

[Subedai]

Like most here I go back to the very early 70's -and have pictures in Miniature Wargames to prove it- but it wasn't books that got me hooked, it was a small diorama of Airfix Highlanders in square facing off against their Cuirassier counterparts set up in the History Room at school. Painted by a chap two years above me, it was inspirational. I found him, got chatting and that was it. We became close friends until I married and moved away. Sadly, he is no longer with us, but his legacy lives on. I was invited to the local club in a pub in Southend and that was it.  Home grown rules, Airfix buldings, Rico Minitanks/Airfix models and three choices of metal figures, Mini Figs, Hinchcliffe or Hinton Hunt...none of which were really compatible with each other or affordable to a pre-pubescant 14 year old even at 5p per Mini Fig infantryman. But ingenuity was the order of the day and Airfix WW I French infantry became Napoleonic Prussians in greatcoats overnight with the addition of a small piece of plastic straw filled with plasticine set with Humbrol Banana Oil while Wagon Train outriders became Prussian uhlans in shako by the same method. 

Yes, the music was much better, Radio Caroline in it's earlier, more piratical format, used to balnket out Radio One so I was weaned on Sabbath, Zeppelin, Free, BJH et al and still like all those bands nearly 50 years on. I'm still here rocking away to their tunes even if a lot of them aren't. Unfortunately, music has not advanced much over the intervening years, it has become very formulaic, and not a very good formulae at that.

Do I miss it? In some ways I suppose I do. The pace of life has got almost exponentially quicker for youngsters who now don't seem to have the time to do all the things we did but instead would rather have everything served on a plate, almost an army in a box, with rules and research done by somebody else because they can't seem to find the time to do theirown. People nowadays bemoan the fact that they have demanding jobs and thus don't have much free time. Spoiler alert people, we had jobs -some of us still do but present company excluded- and yet we managed to find the time.Although, maybe as a generalisation, everyday life was simpler back then.

Scouring through the wargaming periodicals to work out figure requirements to buy at the next big show you were going to, checking the Inter Library Loan Service for a copy of a book only held by the Bodlean Library in Oxford etc. All were exciting things and gave you something to look forward to over the coming weeks or even months. Nowadays, not so much. A wargamer can develop a minor itch for a new period, check Wikipedia for background information, possibly Amazon or even online for some research material; order figures online and then when they arrive, let them languish in the postal packaging because you've lost interest as suddenly as you began.   

However, it is not all doom and gloom.Wargaming, as a global hobby has advanced by several orders of magnitude much to the beneift  of everybody. Fora such as this means you can now bounce ideas off someone living the other side of the world in minutes -if the time zones are compatible of course- rather than days or even weeks back in the day. Remember postal campaigns anybody?

[Orcs]

And what would you do with the other 13 days 23 hours and 57 minutes? 

I'll have you know I have far better stamina than that, so its only so its only 13 days 23 hours and 51 minutes

[Techno]

I'll have you know I have far better stamina than that, so its only so its only 13 days 23 hours and 51 minutes

Eh ?

So it's only so its only ?

Wossatmean ?

Cheers - Phil 

[Orcs]

Eh ?

So it's only so its only ?

Wossatmean ?

Cheers - Phil 

Dear Mr Pedantic

I just typed the words "so its only twice" 


Mr  I really ought to get on with my work and stop looking at the forum

[Terry37]

This is a topic I always enjoy, even if it has been discussed and cussed before many times. I like hearing about how others got into the hobby, and hoe different folks perceive the hobby then as compared to today. I also enjoy hearing about others ideas and especially those who share my periods of interest.

Terry

[Steve J]

Hi Norm,
another great read that gets the old grey cells going! My first foray into wargaming was a mix of fantasy (Thane Tostig and D&D) and the Airfix WWII rules. To be honest I'm not sure which came first as it's so long ago. Looking back there was certainly less choice, but in one sense that helped focus our gaming, which was pretty crude compared to today's games. Back in the '70's we could only afford the Airfix figures which, with their range of plastic kits, pushed us towards WWII. This was of course more than aided by an addiction to the war films that we devoured with regular glee. Also of note is that books were damned expensive, compared to todays prices, and there were far fewer of them. Living in a village we simply could not easily get into town to access the library and the few toy stores that stocked wargames stuff. When we could we could only marvel at what was on offer, most way out of our price range. Again I think that is why fantasy gaming caught our attention; a few figures, so very basic scenery for the dungeon, and away we went. We could only dream of having tables and armies that we saw in Military Modelling and Airfix magazine. This did not stop us dreaming however and regularly looking at the H&R lists etc.

Fast forward to today and we are positively spoilt for choice. More rulesets than you can shake a stick at, every obscure army or nationality catered for (no more converting Airfix ACW figures) and many, many more superb military history books to devour. Then of course there is the internet and access to pretty much anything you need in a few clicks.

Is it better now than then? Most probably yes, but sometimes I do yearn for the simplicity of those formative years. But then maybe I'm looking back through rose tinted spectacles as they say.

[fsn]

The other thing I would add is that the figures of today are of such a better quality than of yesteryear.

Looking at the old magazines makes me realise how wooden some of the poses were.

[Subedai]

The other thing I would add is that the figures of today are of such a better quality than of yesteryear.

Looking at the old magazines makes me realise how wooden some of the poses were.

Anyone remember Peter Laing 15mm? Talk about basic, but painted up they looked the dogs, at least if you applied the three foot rule.

[fsn]

I had lots of Peter Laing.

They were definitely mass effect sculpts. To be fair the WWII figures weren't that bad.