Has a fiction book or film inspired you to start a new period.

Started by grahambeyrout, 23 March 2019, 02:36:29 PM

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grahambeyrout

My very first wargaming in pre Airfix days was using homemade cardboard ships of the Napoleonic era to recreate Hornblowers's battles. His exploits inspired me to choose that period. Later. when I started ancients in the WRG days I started with Assyrian and Early Byzantine armies, not sure why, although I probably decided the rules favoured them. Then by chance, I read "Elephants and Castles" by Alfred Duggan, and immediatly found myself selling off my existing armies  and buying elephants and phalanxes. I did not give a hoot how effective or otherwise they were, I was hooked. Later, it was the films Kagemusha and "Gods and Generals" that nudged me towards Samurai and ACW respectively. Thus it is that 4 of the 6 periods I dabble in were inspired not by tactics, uniforms, playability or history, but by single books or films. I wonder whether there are others like me out there, or is choice governed by reason. I also wonder why some books "click" and others do not. After all Biggles never got me into aerial warfare, or  King Arthur into the Dark Ages. What made your choices for you?

fsn

"Waterloo, a Near Run Thing" by David Howarth got me interested in Napoleonics.

"The Histories" by Herodotus sparked my interest in ancients - though "War Games" by the Blessed Featherstone contributed.

It was the same Featherstone that gave me an interest in the ACW, and I've used that as a basic wargames period ever since. 

The film (and them the book) "Pork Chop Hill" made me aware of the Korean War.

The Films "Battle of Britain", "633 Squadron" and "The Dambusters" - WWII air.

"Battle of the River Plate" and "Hunt the Bismark" - WWII at sea. 

Lord Oik of Runcorn (You may refer to me as Milord Oik)

Oik of the Year 2013, 2014; Prize for originality and 'having a go, bless him', 2015
3 votes in the 2016 Painting Competition!; 2017-2019 The Wilderness years
Oik of the Year 2020; 7 votes in the 2021 Painting Competition
11 votes in the 2022 Painting Competition (Double figures!)
2023 - the year of Gerald:
2024 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

Westmarcher

Strangely, I'm not consciously aware of being inspired by any movie or book to start a new period. When I was a lad, I can recall running excitedly out of the cinema and conducting a running make believe fight with my pals all the way to the bus stop, fencing if it was a swashbuckler, shooting with six-guns if it was a Western or firing burp guns if it was a WW2 movie.  :D

But, when I became a wargamer, by and large, I do believe historical non-fiction books have been the kick-starter for me with figure availability, photos of other wargamers' collections and games and favourable reviews on specific wargaming rules spurring me on (initially in magazines, now it's the internet). If I am interested in a historical period, I am more likely to watch the film, I suppose, rather than the movie inspiring me into the period. Sorry to be boring. Will the next poster please step forward .....
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

d_Guy

No boring, but OK  :)

Many of the following aren't precisely fiction but neither are they documentaries.

John Wayne "The Alamo" + Marx playset.
Errol Flynn "Robin Hood" + airfix
"Cromwell" + Minifigs
C. S. Forester - Hornblower series, Rifleman Dodd, The Gun, The Ship, The General - ALL almost started me off - but no.
The Flashman Papers on each release NEARLY kicked of any number of things, particularly when supported by an Errol Flynn movie.
The scene from "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" wherein Essex (Flynn) meets the Earl of Tyrone (Alan Hale) MAY be the origin of my current, long running obsession.
Sleep with clean hands ...

FierceKitty

Sundry paintings have nudged me a bit (Uccello's San Romano trio come to mind). I suppose Barry Lyndon was in my mind when I began SYW. But I too have been chiefly inspired by non-fiction in these things.
I don't drink coffee to wake up. I wake up to drink coffee.

Ithoriel

I tend to get hooked by figures and then use books and films to inspire scenarios for games with them.
There are 100 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who can work from incomplete data

fsn

That's interesting. I don't think I've ever been tempted solely by a set of figures, or rules.   :-\

I've always gone from books/YouTube/films to interest. Sometimes it has taken a while for the figures to turn up, but figures turning up have switched my butterfly to the period.

I was quite smitten by the Pendraken zoo, but that gave me a pathway for WWI, which was something I've flitted about for a while.


Lord Oik of Runcorn (You may refer to me as Milord Oik)

Oik of the Year 2013, 2014; Prize for originality and 'having a go, bless him', 2015
3 votes in the 2016 Painting Competition!; 2017-2019 The Wilderness years
Oik of the Year 2020; 7 votes in the 2021 Painting Competition
11 votes in the 2022 Painting Competition (Double figures!)
2023 - the year of Gerald:
2024 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

Techno

Lord Of The Rings...and the old Heritage models....But I didn't really do proper wargaming with them.

Just used them in games of D&D.

Cheers - Phil


Raider4

I bought the Avalon Hill game Wooden Ships & Iron Men after reading my first Hornblower book, but other than that . . . can't think of any direct correlation.

SV52

Nah, it's usually an account of an engagement that sets me off. Like Pavia for example.
"The time has come, the walrus said..."

2017 Paint-Off - Winner!

FierceKitty

Quote from: SV52 on 23 March 2019, 11:14:50 PM
Nah, it's usually an account of an engagement that sets me off. Like Pavia for example.

NOW you're talking. :)
I don't drink coffee to wake up. I wake up to drink coffee.

Dr Dave

"Red badge of courage" got me into ACW, plus no one else in my club collected it so there was a hole to be filled.

"A bride too far" pushed me into British airborne - as well as my chosen career!  :D

SV52

Quote from: Dr Dave on 24 March 2019, 09:00:57 AM
"Red badge of courage" got me into ACW, plus no one else in my club collected it so there was a hole to be filled.

"A bride too far" pushed me into British airborne - as well as my chosen career!  :D

Marriage counsellor?  :D
"The time has come, the walrus said..."

2017 Paint-Off - Winner!

lowlylowlycook


Terry37

That's hte problem, I am too easily inspired by a cool movie or book. Being a HOTT player, most of my armies are based on one or the other - or both. But I also enjoy doing  HOTT historically based armies too.

Terry
"My heart has joined the thousand for a friend stopped running today." Mr. Richard Adams