From idea to army

Started by fsn, 18 July 2021, 08:43:55 PM

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steve_holmes_11

Quote from: fsn on 19 July 2021, 06:49:47 PM
Part of the reason I started this thread is 'cos I have been watching the YouTube channel "Napoleonic Wargaming", particularly his "Start Collecting" series.

I like the chap but it's just so many no, please don't do thats for me. 



How does that saying go "Friends, don't let friends start in 28mm".

steve_holmes_11

Came here to start a new thread, but this one's close enough.
My title was going to be "How do you get started with something new".

That new project or new campaign, where none of the group has any prior investment.

As an example, I'm part of that generation that grew up close to WW2.
* Grandparents, Uncles / Aunts and Dad's workmates who'd been involved.
* WW2 films on the box almost every Sunday afternoon.
* Commando and Warlord comics.
* Toyshops brimming with Airfix kits and figures.

I played with WW2 stuff as a child, but never got back into it for various reasons.
* Available "Serious" rules were a nightmare (1980s-2000), or massive lists of kit, or excessively generic.
* Challenge of picking the theatre of operations, and years of conflict.
* Decision of playing with a Platoon, Company, Battalion, Brigade, Corps or Army.
* All the complexities of the many arms of service at higher levels of command (I can just about cope with Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery).
* And the experience of a few invitations to game with armies and rules that just didn't feel right. (Germans can't lose / Last tank standing is the winner / Hours spent spotting / Vehicles everywhere, and hardly anything else).

I'm mentally prepared for another look now, though many of the above challenges remain.
I have a few rulesets that look suitable, each addressing a different level of command and generally offering a game with realistic demands on terrain, figures and time.
However add in the new factor - Indecision..

This may be a sensible reaction considering the size of my lead pile.
I wonder how the rest of you take those first steps.

1. This looks interesting.
2. I could get the models I need.
3. There are sensible rules.
4. OK Let's do this.


steve_holmes_11

Quote from: John Cook on 20 July 2021, 12:01:39 AM
I can't do that, I really can't.  I have to stick to the OB I've chosen, exactly.  It might even be a form of OCD :( 

Don't feel bad.
There are so many histories to choose from.

paulr

Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 09 September 2021, 02:34:56 PM
...
* Decision of playing with a Platoon, Company, Battalion, Brigade, Corps or Army.
...

Hi Steve,

deciding how to get into a new period is always difficult.

I would suggest the above is the key decision you need to make as it drives just about everything else.
Lord Lensman of Wellington
2018 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2022 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2023 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

fsn

I have a few basic concepts which help me.

Post 1918, everything is 1 figure equals 1 person. 1 vehicle equals vehicle.

I go for a platoon or company sized infantry force, with a troop or squadron of armour plus support - AT, AA, artillery, recce. I try and stick to historic OOBs. Not every unit makes it onto the table, but I can have a change - the late war Brit may be supported by Churchills, Shermans or Cromwells. The early war Germans may find their armour is Pz I, Pz II, Pz III, Pz IV or Pz35t's. All adds to the fun. I've never been persuaded by WWII where one vehicle represents a troop or a squadron or a regiment. One of the reason I chose 10mm is that you can give your vehicles "reasonable" ranges and they can duel it out without their gun barrels clinking together.

1700-1914 I stick to Brigade/Division at about 1:10 ratios.
Pre 1700 I'll stick to 1:10 where it's sensible to do so (e.g. a Roman Legion.) OK, I have some Medieval skirmish figures, but that's because of an article in the Military Modelling Annual 2 (I think). 
1914-1918 I have no idea.

1. This looks interesting.
I am notoriously butterfly in my interests. I pulled together a Spanish-American war set after buying a book about it in a sale. I stumbled upon an OoB for the Japanese air fleet at Midway and found I had to recreate the Akagi air force. Pendraken brought out giraffes and I had to emulate the exploits of Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck.  This is probably why I have 41 different periods/conflicts.

2. I could get the models I need.
I try and stay with Pendraken. If it hasn't been blessed by the Dark Lord, it isn't going on my table!  All praise the Dark Lord and his munificence! This is why I don't have chariots, for example.

3. There are sensible rules.
As for rules, I write my own. As a solo gamers this means they're probably not as complex as others, as I tend to be able to say "hmmm... 5 or 6 and it's good."

4. OK Let's do this.
Research, purchase plan, purchase, paint, play!
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!

steve_holmes_11

Quote from: fsn on 09 September 2021, 09:44:01 PM

(Excellent content clipped for brevity - available above).

1. This looks interesting.
I am notoriously butterfly in my interests. I pulled together a Spanish-American war set after buying a book about it in a sale. I stumbled upon an OoB for the Japanese air fleet at Midway and found I had to recreate the Akagi air force. Pendraken brought out giraffes and I had to emulate the exploits of Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck.  This is probably why I have 41 different periods/conflicts.
This is the dangerous "corridor of uncertainty".
I've several boxes filled with figures for projects that never saw the light of day (Various reasons).
I've now learned to exercise great caution, and ensure all elements are present before committing.
If not, It gets whacked to the cover boundary with a "stick o' rhubarb".

Quote from: fsn on 09 September 2021, 09:44:01 PM
2. I could get the models I need.
I try and stay with Pendraken. If it hasn't been blessed by the Dark Lord, it isn't going on my table!  All praise the Dark Lord and his munificence! This is why I don't have chariots, for example.
The key piece of due diligence.
If you can't buy the models, you can't do the game.
Sometimes proxies help, especially at the smaller scales, but if it's genuinely unavailable, the project is off.

Quote from: fsn on 09 September 2021, 09:44:01 PM
3. There are sensible rules.
As for rules, I write my own. As a solo gamers this means they're probably not as complex as others, as I tend to be able to say "hmmm... 5 or 6 and it's good."
This is a tough one.
Some rules read and are presented beautifully.
They may even enjoy support of an enthusiastic social media crowd.
Occasionally this crowd are "the club" shilling for the commercialised set of their house rules.
More often, the rules simply incorporate mechanisms that we have grown to hate, or perhaps they play with all the grace of a punctured spacehopper.
It doesn't help that so many blog reviews are written on the basis of a single read through the rules.

I've concluded that I am a poor judge of which rules will play well, and which won't.

Quote from: fsn on 09 September 2021, 09:44:01 PM
4. OK Let's do this.
Research, purchase plan, purchase, paint, play!

Once you've mentally greenlit the job, it's time to commit.
Place an order, and get painting before the next big thing erases it form your "to do" list.

paulr

Quote from: fsn on 09 September 2021, 09:44:01 PM
3. There are sensible rules.
Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 10 September 2021, 09:57:42 AM
This is a tough one.
Some rules read and are presented beautifully.
They may even enjoy support of an enthusiastic social media crowd.
Occasionally this crowd are "the club" shilling for the commercialised set of their house rules.
More often, the rules simply incorporate mechanisms that we have grown to hate, or perhaps they play with all the grace of a punctured spacehopper.
It doesn't help that so many blog reviews are written on the basis of a single read through the rules.

I've concluded that I am a poor judge of which rules will play well, and which won't.

This is indeed the tough one, hence my steps 3-5

Quote from: paulr on 19 July 2021, 09:00:20 AM
3. Look at current rules we use, can any be used or adapted

If no, think really hard about the desire to do the period/conflict and see if there are any great rules available for the period (e.g FK&P)

4. Do some test games using cardboard cut outs and Junior General top down views

5. If test games are successful run a test game or two for regular gaming group

If popular enough (or I'm extra keen on the period e.g. Sail age naval) continue

There is no substitute for getting some bases of some sort on the table and giving the rules a try or three...
Lord Lensman of Wellington
2018 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2022 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2023 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!