You can even play some music by Old Fritz while fighting.

Hi Paul and welcome,

You sound very similar to me when I started "ahem" years ago. I started by buying some airfix Brits and French Napoleonics, then looked for wargame rules, then played some games with some mates, then painted them when I realised what a good hobby it was, then bought some "proper" 25mm figures when the paint started to peel off the plastic, then when I had British and French armies decided to try ECW in 25mm, then discovered 15mm and bought some ancients (many actually), also built two Napoleonic corps of French and Bavarians in 15mm, then discovered 6mm WW2 ......... 

Although that journey is no where near finished (I every time I speak to Dave or Leon I feel the need to "encourage"  them to make a new model) every step has been an enjoyable one. The hobby for me is not just about collecting; it's more about the research and turning that research into a sort of living history on the table-top. It also is quite a cheap one because I paint so slowly the cost gets nicely spread.

Leon has said Pendraken will be producing both peninsular and Waterloo period British (feel free to jump in with a when Leon), so you are probably advised to wait for them. In the meantime there are plenty of French available to be getting on with.

For the other matters you asked about:
Figures to base and sizes should be covered in any rules you look at, look in wargame magazines.
Buy a book or two with titles such as "Armies of the Napoleonic Wars" to find out troop types and organisation.
Look at this web site as a starting point http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/index.html
Play a number of periods. In your case Vietnam sounds quite a good idea.
Enjoy yourself.

As a final warning I am now collecting, painting, and writing the rules for 10mm Napoleonics (my fourth Napoleonic army and third scale). It all seems very reasonable and logical to me  (or am I just sad, mad or both?).   

Cheers Rob 

I'm not so sure about Viet Nam. It's a difficult war to get the right feel of. Jungles and stealthy movement. Never had a satisfying Viet Nam game - except oddly enough when playing solo.

Ancients may be another way to go. A lot of ancients battles were fought on flat featureless ground and there are no real "long range" weapons to spoil the aesthetics.

Something slightly more up to date would be the Western Desert 1941. Lots of odd looking vehicles, plenty of background materials and iconic Generals.     

So i think from all that has been said above i feel that the best way to go is to pick something you like the look of and have an good interest in....

I am not just doing this to play but also am looking forward to having a go at painting again so this therefore again points me in the direction of what i think i will like best.

In addition after reading all the posts and looking at the website i could easily afford two small armies so i can organise a game with someone if none of my friends have the figures i have.

Finally as regards rules.... well i see there are many sets out there and all appear to be adaptable in some way so yet again this issue appears to fit in with my idea of "buy what appeals"....

So now thanks to everyone above i now think its a toss up between naps or SYW? Hummm???

Quote from: brummie76 on 06 December 2013, 01:21:21 PM
So now thanks to everyone above i now think its a toss up between naps or SYW? Hummm???

My method of decision in such cases is to work out what I can afford, work out what I could get for each option given the limiited funds, decide which gives the best balance of usable forces and interesting stuff to paint ... then I spend twice what I can afford on each of the options

My choice would be...
Buy SYW until the Napoleonic British come out

SYW or Napoleonic?

Defintely ACW.

Quote from: brummie76 on 05 December 2013, 11:52:46 PM
(...)....SYW could be an option (...)

yes it is ! 
I started SYW only a few months ago, caught by the lovely minis...
I also had to paint two armies ( http://smolensk.homelinux.org/?tag=syw ) but now my friends are joining me.
They had some armies ( Napo,  and we also had some ACW ), but as everybody here  is beginning this era :
- we're all using 10mm ( Pendraken ! "what else ?!" )
- we're all newbie about SYW
- we're all equals
This not-so-common era is very interesting.

Big advantage of SYW is Tricornes.

I have a tricorne

Tricornes are cool.

I thought that was fezzes, Doctor.

Fezes are, and always will be, cool.

another question which comes to light........ are there any good online painting guides?

Malburian or Spanish War of Succession is good to

When you say online painting guide do you mean in general of for a specific period?


If you want a general guide you cant go far wrong with this

http://nikharwood.pbworks.com/w/page/7825400/10mm%20Painting%20

Quote from: Rob on 06 December 2013, 11:27:53 AM
Leon has said Pendraken will be producing both peninsular and Waterloo period British (feel free to jump in with a when Leon)...

The sculptor is starting on them this month, I just need to finalise the lists before sending them over to him.

A fez can't be all that cool; no hatbrim! But they do look nifty on the table, and it's always fun to field a Khedival army.

Another route: find a set of rules you are interested in. http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/ is a good start.  Pop over to Junior General http://www.juniorgeneral.org/ and grab some paper troops.  I like topdowns because you can print them to fix your rules base size. Play some games  with paper terrain and see what periods and mechanics work for you.  Then come back here and order your figures.

Therein lies the road to madness. There are a number of very god painters around - just look at some of the posts on this forum and you will see some excellent examples. By all means read the guides and see what other people do, but have a go and define your own style.

Quote from: brummie76 on 05 December 2013, 03:31:35 PM
Thanks SEBIGBOSS79 for getting this topic back on track....i got lost there for a bit!

You will get used to it

I did napoleonic infantry then cavalry, but funnily enough never ever got any figures... I game dinosaur hunting, pulp and fantasy. A whole lot easier to paint as I don't have to worry about the correct colour for the facings of the different regiments. There are however some amazing painters on here. I have lately started on the. Nik style and am pleased with the results. It certainly gets figures on the table. If I hadn't have discovered minecraft I reckon I would have finished everything.
I echo what a number have said. Do what you fancy even if that means a skirmish type battle s that you don't get overwhelmed by hundreds of figures at one go.
On and to go back off subject... yeah was Wagner for me too.

Purcell. Dido and Aeneas.

Thanks again all!

I think i fancy buying an army pack of naps to begin with, paint them then see about rules and gaming as i can then see what things i may need to look at getting next.....but i think a pack may be a good base to start with (the French naps look really good! )