Since we have a few similar threads running I thought I'd start this one to see if my experience was unique ... I'm guessing not!

Walking home late at night ... OK early in the morning ... from a game that finished so late I've missed the last bus home.

It's cold, it's dark, it's a long walk home. The little lead men get heavier with every step.

Then a police car pulls up just ahead and two policemen get out, obviously suspicious of a twenty-something out on the streets at 1am ... with a tool box.

"Evening Sir!"

"Evening Officers."

"So ... what's in the toolbox Sir?"

<nervous laugh> "You won't believe me ... it's a Roman Army."

"Of course it is Sir. Put the toolbox on the ground and step back please Sir."

So, one policeman steps forward, obviously ready to grab me if I make a run for it and the other bends down behind him and opens the toolbox.

Guy by the open box,"Oh!"

Policeman in front of me obviously sees an arrest in the immediate future,"What is it, then?"

"It's a teeny-tiny Roman Army!"

"What?"

"It's brilliant, have a look!"

He pushes the toolbox further into the pool of street-light.

"It's heavy, what are they made of?

"Lead alloy"

Questions about how big they are, if I paint them myself, where you get them from, aren't they hard to paint, etc. follow.

Then, who am I? Where am I going? I wonder if they're back to being suspicious.

"They're heavy ... sling them in the back of the car and we'll give you a run home."

So, run-ins with the law, encounters with celebrities, problems at customs ... any stories to tell?

I've had that a couple of times too!

Miniature Roman Army? Reminds me of that night at the museum.

Wait. No. That was a film. 

Yep, I had exactly the self same experience after a marathon painting session at a mate's house until two in the morning. Holdall full of paints and little chaps. Like you they were good about it and gave me a lift home.

Being told to 'Scale the Noise' by wargamers at the next table at the Model Engineering Exhibition in the '70's. (No names, no pack drill as they say).

Being harassed and heckled by anti-war campaigners as we tried to get into a wargames show somewhere in London. This was in the time of protesters at various airfields, (Greenham Common springs to mind), again in the '70's.

Walking into the cavernous, badly lit aircraft hanger that is Saute for the first and only time.

A bit different from the above...

Being told I was doing something wrong (which it turned out that I wasn't - no apology received) by a policeman, who was also a 'sometimes' member of a wargames club I was a member of. Said policeman had also, previous to the above event, taken home, to paint, a large quantity of the club's terrain and I believe the club (well, at the time of the club being dissolved) didn't receive it back.
Yes, upon recognition of me, the said constable did look like he wished the patrol hadn't stopped me at 2am at a tesco's fuel station forecourt on Catterick Garrison.

Subedai and Ithoriel get to meet the boys in blue (and in a good way - although, perhaps not you Roy*). Only thing that springs to my mind is finding my car broken into after a long night wargaming. 

Wonder how many ex-policemen / current ones are wargamers / bloggers? Only one I can think of is Peeler's Wargaming & Wittering but I don't think that's been updated for some time now. I think he lives / lived in the Scarborough area(?). Bound to have some members in the forum.

Also recall reading about the Greenham Common types getting it all wrong.    Whilst I didn't encounter any of that sort of daftness myself, I recall wondering about one guy who was asking a lot of strange questions when I ran a demo one year. I wasn't sure if he was totally new to wargaming or a protester coming to check out what 'these warmongers' were up to.  

*Roy. When are you going to get a real name? Like, Yorkie (or something). 

Going through Customs at Leeds Bradford Airport on my way to Aldergrove with a 1/200th Vietnam Wars Collection in my second suitcase. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had heeded my plea to have my bag emptied out of public gaze.

I wasn't so worried about revealing the collection as I had declared it before it was scanned. I was more worried about being 'dicked' as my uniform was in the same suitcase. 

Well I've also had the "What's in the bag boys?" Question some time in the late 60ies.., followed by a lift home. Thanks rather belatedly. At a similar time we played a big 6mm Arnhem game over several weekends. We had several uniformed bobbies playing, while ostensibly on duty so we all had to stop talking and giggling while they reported entirely fictitious patrolling to their Sergeant.

As a much younger teacher I had a letter from a parent saying her son would not be joining the games club I was running and she was writing to the governors to tell them I was promoting devil worship.

Needless to say nothing came of it and the club went ahead

Quote from: getagrip on 26 February 2015, 01:59:31 PM
promoting devil worship.

The Colburn Fantasy Wargames Club (Richmondshire) used to meet in the Church Hall when it was in existence. I'm not sure but, I think my explanation of what it was we were all doing 'on Church property' to the old, female caretaker-cum-prominent member of the congregation, may have had something to do with the club having to close (due to being banned from the premises). If it is correct, and the old dear did object, it's a pity she wasn't aware that the vicar knew what we were doing as his son also played.

However, by the time of closure the club was down to only a handful of players and it was about ready to give up.

Quote from: Westmarcher on 26 February 2015, 01:12:17 PM
*Roy. When are you going to get a real name? Like, Yorkie (or something)

I did used to have one - gingerbh0y. But I dropped it when the crazy woman who wanted naked pictures of me was hounding me on google+. Hence why I changed it / got knew email accounts / won't write g1ngerbhoy using the correct spelling.

Not wargaming but as there seems to be a 'Long Arm of the Law' theme emerging, I did get pulled over by a traffic copper in the middle of the Suffolk countryside in the wee small hours when conveying someone recently deceased in an unmarked coroners ambulance....

The traffic cop nearly had an aneuryism when my reply to his question about "What have you got in the back sir?" was "A dead body Officer..." 

Playing Target Games' equivalent of Combat Cards in Eindhoven, (?) against a lad from Germany.
He was using a deck written in German...I was using my own, rigged English/USA deck.

"What does that say ?" we both kept asking as the cards went down.
At least HE could speak English..(Even if he struggled to read the cards)....My German is (as near as dammit) non existent.
At least we could both see the numbers on the cards, which was all that really mattered.

Cheers - Phil

Just had a quick thunk.

Back at school in 1970 there were a group of us who wanted to start up a wargames club. The powers that be decided that forming a club was allowed but using the word wargames in the name could be a bit inflammatory to some of the less knowledgeable parents -which at the time was most of them- so we had to be 'The Military History Section of the History Society'.  

Not directly related to Wargames, but when going to Airsoft games, we usually carry our gun toys concealed in the trunk (as prescribed by the law).

When we got a police control, there is a stranger moment when we say what we have in the car, followed by :

"Wow, these are really good, really similar to a real gun ! Can I try it ?"

With police officers trying to shoot with fake AK-47 on a public road...

You should see the faces of the drivers.

I was running a FIW game at Exeter a couple of years ago

An old chap walked up to the table and we started talking. I asked him if he played this period. He replied that he had AWI armies. I then enquired as to what rules he used. He looked at me and said "Well ours of course". I was about to ask he meant when someone approached him and said "Excuse me Mr Barker, can I talk to you about DBA".