06/01/12 - wargamesbob

Started by Leon, 06 January 2012, 02:30:41 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Leon

06 January 2012, 02:30:41 AM Last Edit: 16 May 2012, 02:20:35 AM by Leon
ABOUT YOU

Name:
Bob Bosscher

Location:
Ramsey, Isle of Man

Do you have a pic?




PAYING FOR IT!

Current occupation:
Hygiene maintenance operative (cleaner in old-speak) in a bakery

What’s the best job you've ever had?
Tram driver on the Manx Electric Railway, eight years. Spending the summers trundling though the  Manx countryside in a variety of Victorian trams, simply marvellous.

What would your ideal occupation be?
Entrepreneur, buying people for what they’re really worth and selling them on for what they think they’re worth. It’s a real get rich quick scheme!


GETTING INTO IT!

How did you get involved in wargaming?
My late eldest brother introduced me to ancient wargaming in the late sixties or early seventies, played this and WW2, then briefly Napoleonic all 20mm Airfix plastic before a long pause.

What was your first figure?
Pre-dating my intro to gaming I recall Britain’s swapits knights when I was a kid.. But on the smaller side Airfix WW2 Germans, first gaming figures were Airfix Romans, great poses  

Do you have a favourite period/genre?
Not really, my collection spans from medieval through to WW2, so my gaming is determined more by the size of game I want to fight, where medieval and ECW is small and Napoleonic is big

How big is your figure collection?
Too big. About 50,000 6mm H&R, a couple of hundred 15mm ECW and already several hundred 10mm Pendraken AWI. Oh... and 25mm Sassanids and Late Assyrians (I forgot about them) there’s probably others too...

And how big is your unpainted lead mountain?
Boxes of 25mm ancients mainly Irregular Miniatures I think. A drawer full of 20mm plastic kits bought in the 80's for a long forgotten project. Quite a lot of 15mm ACW, WW2 and SYW for now defunct projects and several drawers full of railway modelling kits and components accumulated over the past forty years! There’s probably more but I daren’t look!

Do you have a favourite model in your collection? And do you have a pic?
No - I luv 'em all equally

What is the most important aspect of wargaming for you?
It has to look good.





PLANNING IT

What project are you currently working on?
10mm AWI to fight the Home and Colonial campaign using Loose Files and American Scramble rules both available at http://howesabout.pbworks.com/w/page/19576499/Rules
I was originally planning on fighting The Perfect Captain’s “Swamp Fox” AWI campaign but it’s still incomplete! I also hope to use these troops for a variation on Crossfire which I wrote some notes on several years ago




And do you have any long-term projects on the go?
I’m still short a late renaissance army for my 6mm collection to fill the gap between medieval and ECW pike and shot. The Great Italian Wars will fit the bill nicely I think and a couple of 384 pike tericos would look pretty spectacular for the Spanish. I also quite fancy a small 10mm  colonial WW1 East African option, and perhaps a 6mm British intervention army for the ACW! I also have a lot of buildings to make for my 6mm and now 10mm terrain. And I’m sure there will be a few more 10mm armies to follow.

Do you have any wargaming influences?
Donald Featherstone and Charles Grant. Grant’s book “The War Game”is one which I browse through often. I’ve always found the photos of the Mollwitz game inspiring and even fielded a pair of  plastic 30mm Spencer Smith armies for several decades ago. Current influences are on this forum, Dazza, Mad Lemmy, Andy Mac, NikH and others I really like the look of their finished units. The stupendous level of detail they get on individual figures inspires me to try and add one more level of detail every time I paint a new regiment.


BUYING IT!

Do you buy scenery, or scratch build it?
I scratch build everything, don’t even look at terrain manufacturers catalogues.

Which figure range is at the top of your request list?
At the moment Pendraken AWI.

Which individual item is at the top of your request list?
We really need some American dragoons I don’t fancy making all those crests in Milliput !

Which wargaming websites do you visit regularly?
Pendraken Forum. Daily,

If someone handed you £100 right now, what would you buy?
Probably some dense foam insulation board, it’s about £80 a pack, some glue and earth brown paint. I need taller hills for my towering 10mm troops, my 6mm hills are all a bit too flat!

What has been your biggest one-off purchase?
Fifty of each main battle tank and ten each of everything else in the Heroics and Ross WW2,  Modern and figures ranges  about £2500 worth at full trade discount - it was a business thing a long time ago - god it was great sorting them all out.


PAINTING AND MODELLING IT!

How many hours a week do you paint?
I try to average two hours an evening on weekdays, weekends vary. So probably 16 hours a week on average.

What kind of technique do you use?
With 10mm and 15mm I paint batches of six to eight figures in two sessions. Session one is block colours, session two  is detailing. Basic technique is white undercoat (I can’t see any detail if I paint the figures black) then colour wash adding a minimum of shading. I never use paint straight from the jar and always fade and muddy all my colours so there is a lot of subtle variation in a completed thirty figure unit. I always finish with a light or medium earth drybrush to highlight and equalise the look of the unit. I finish all my figures with one brushed coat of  Ronseal ultra matt Varnish. Everything gets based on 1/64" KS brass strip - I like my figures on the table surface!

Do you have a preferred brand of paint?
Not really. I mainly use Humberol or Games Workshop acrylics which I buy from my local model shop. Though I sometimes use ink washes when painting horses.

Do you have a painting area?  And do you have a pic?
Yes and I've tidied it up since the last pic I sent in.




Have you had any painting/modelling disasters?
Did I mention the 50,000 or so figures that I’ve already painted...One painting disaster I recall probably about forty years ago was painting a Historex Polish Lancer using Humberol matt enamels, I got the flesh tones wrong and not wanting to put more paint onto the fine detail decided to wash it off with cheap thinners, melting the face off in the process! It took about six weeks to get a replacement head. Best modelling disaster was probably the natural reflex to catch something that you have just knocked off your workspace, unfortunately the item in question was the soldering iron that I had just been using...ouch!

Do you have any painting/modelling top tips?
Don’t paint all your figures with the exact same shade of a colour, it doesn’t look natural. Add minute quantities of lighter or darker tones, or earth to a create subtle variations. Try to avoid using pure blacks or whites, again they are not natural and will draw the eye, add a tiny bit of light grey or buff to white, or earth brown to your blacks to soften them . Reserve using  pure white for crossbelts and webbing.

Finally I feel that it is important to maintain a balance between the quality and presentation of your troops and the quality of the gaming terrain. Good troops on poor terrain or poor troops on good terrain just doesn’t look right to me. It is a two part hobby after all, figure painting  and modelling. Try to keep your skills balanced if you want to create good looking games.


PLAYING WITH IT!

How often do you get to game?
There’s always something on the go as I have a dedicated room (see below) and I try to game for a few hours every weekend or a half move per night if I have a big game on the go.

Do you belong to a local club?
No, they meet at the other end of the island which means a five or six hour return commute by bus!

And have you had any wargaming disasters?
Plenty...tactical errors...bad dice...forgetting to move troops...you name it I’ve probably fluffed it at some time

Do you prefer short games or long campaigns?
I generally play short games as they are easy enough to adapt to solo gaming. Solo campaigns are a different kettle of fish so I’ll have to look for an opponent come the new year..

Do you have a wargames room?
Here's two general views of the room. Kulm if being refought in the out of focus pic and Mockern on the in focus shot ~(I bought a tripod!)






How do you store your figures?
8'00" x 1'00" shelves, lots of them for troops, terrain boards and other gaming gear.

Here's two closer shots of a small part of the shelving, Medievals, ECW and SYW showing on the first. Naps on the second shot:






READING ABOUT IT!

What are you reading at the moment?
“Battles of the American Revolution” by Curt Johnson, to get a better feel of the period before committing my freshly painted lead to the whims of the dice.

Do you have a favourite book?
Caesar “Conquest of Gaul”

Do you buy any wargaming magazines, and if so, which ones?
Miniature Wargames, Wargames Illustrated, Wargames Soldiers and Strategy, but I’m finding them all a little but dull at the moment. It’s a bit like TV too many repeats and precious few new interesting series!

WATCHING IT!

What are your 3 favourite films?
Fifth Element -
A Knights Tale
Amilie - actually there are so many in third place. it’ll probably be different in a couple of hours time.

And your 3 worst?
Dune
Pretty much every sequel ever made

What are your all-time Top 3 TV shows?
Stargate SG1. Got it on DVD so watch again every couple of years
Farscape
Have I Got News For You

And right now?
Death in Paradise.
Have I Got News for You
Big Bang Theory


LISTENING TO IT!

Who is your favourite band?
John Martyn for easy listening,

And favourite album?
Joni Mitchell “Blue”

And your 3 favourite songs?
This would be easier to answer if I were fifteen and not fifty five, or if I were allowed three per decade!. There have been a few goodies over the years...But rather than try any list my favourites, here’s three which I tracked down on youTube and tend to listen to quite often..
.
Larry Carlton - Room 335


Al di Meola - Spendido Sundance - though this live version “Mediterranean Sundance ”is a slightly simpler rendiering


John Martin - Solid Air



NOT RELATED TO IT!

What other hobbies/pastimes do you enjoy?
Computer gaming and computer serious stuff equally

What do you drive?
Shoes

Are you a breast or thigh person...  ;)
Depends on the size of the chicken really

And who are your Top 3 Totty?
Amanda Tapping (Sam Carter in Stargate SG-1)
Lara Croft - the real one, not Angelina
The ex wife

Do you have a favourite quote?
Something I heard recently on an otherwise rubbish  American sitcom was “champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends” which I thought was quite good.

If you could do anything, what would it be?
Erase greed - it’s the root cause of most of our planets problems.

8)
www.pendraken.co.uk - Now home to over 7000 products, including 4500 items for 10mm wargaming, plus MDF bases, Battlescale buildings, I-94 decals, Litko Gaming Aids, Militia Miniatures, Raiden Miniatures 1/285th aircraft, Red Vectors MDF products, Vallejo paints and much, much more!

Techno

Brilliant 'interview'
Wow...What a collection !

Cheers - Phil.

Arsenus

The shadow of a man can never stand up and walk on its own.

https://arsenus.blogspot.fr/

Duke Speedy of Leighton

You may refer to me as: Your Grace, Duke Speedy of Leighton.
2016 Pendraken Painting Competion Participation Prize  (Lucky Dip Catagory) Winner

capthugeca

That is a wargame room and a half. I've visited houses smaller than that.
Brilliant stuff.
Life is too important to be taken seriously.

goat major

great interview and blimey what a well organised collection. The shelves even get grass on them - thats possibly the most organised wargames room i've ever seen!

That AWI army looks really cool.
My blog: https://goatmajor.org.uk/
My twitting: http://twitter.com/goatmajor

2014 Painting Competition - Winner!

SV52

"The time has come, the walrus said..."

2017 Paint-Off - Winner!

lentulus

That ECW game board is especially amazing!

wargamesbob

Thanks for the positive comments about my wargames room, I must admit that I tend to say wow most times I walk in there too!

Goat Major. I’m afraid the organisation has another, possibly sadder depth to it...all elements are labelled in a fashion similar to those below. The Russian T-34 is a standard Spearhead label with all relevant stats for the vehicle in question. The two Napoleonic elements British Dragoons and Austrian line infantry only contain basic identification information for command and control plus a colour coding which corresponds to the storage shelf edges to enable me sort them out and get them back in the correct shelf position after a game.

http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h371/wargamesbob/Line%20of%20Fire%20Pendraken/?action=view&current=Elementbases.jpg

SV52 and lentulus.  I’m glad you like the terrain, I do think it’s important to have a good looking table. In earlier times I’ve happily fought on the floor with wood block hills and chalked roads or on dining room tables with books and paper strip rivers. But what I have now is much more satisfying. There a re a few more photos of tables here.

http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h371/wargamesbob/

Unfortunately most aren’t of the best quality, but I have recently bought a tripod so any future pics should be sharper.

Thanks again
Bob