Having mentioned Arthur Harman's contribution to MINIATURE WARGAMES 'The Last Word', I realised that quite a few of my regular blog readers might not have read mine!
Mine was included in the March issue ...
... and looked like this:
The original text read as follows:
SILVER-HAIRED IN A GOLDEN AGE?
By Bob Cordery
I find myself in an unusual position … that of being regarded by many of those in the hobby who know me as being an old wargamer. True, I am now seventy years old, but I do not feel old, and I put a lot of that down to the fact that I am an active wargamer. It keeps my mind alert, even if my body is a little less efficient than it used to be.
I began wargaming (well, playing with toy soldiers) when I was given a fort with a small garrison of Britain’s figures when I was six. Each birthday and Christmas saw a few additional figures added to the collection, but they were bit eclectic, and by the time I went to secondary school in 1961, it included lots of plastic ones from Woolworths and cereal packets.
The arrival of the two-shilling box of Airfix figures changed all that, and each month new figures (as well as aircraft and military vehicles) were bought with my pocket money, and I quickly developed armies of World War II British and Germans as well as Union and Confederate forces. It was the discovery of Donald Featherstone’s WAR GAMES in the local library that turned my ‘pushing the figures around on the carpet’ games into ‘proper’ wargames with rules.
By the time I left school and went to work in 1968, I had acquired copies of both CHARGE! and WAR GAMES, and soon afterwards I visited Marcus Hinton’s shop in Camden Passage, and I bought my first metal figures for the princely sum of one shilling each. From then on wargaming became my main hobby, and I have never looked back.
I am now a silver-haired veteran of well over fifty years of wargaming … and I think that I am incredibly lucky to be living in what I consider to be a golden age for the hobby.
Let me explain why.
I have heard that the hobby is greying, and that it is likely to die in the foreseeable future … and yet I have been hearing the same thing for at least thirty years. It has changed and evolved, but it has done so to meet the needs of the time, and in my opinion, it will continue to do so. It is oldies like me that should be saying ‘things are much better now than they have every been’ … because they are!
For example, when I started out the number on wargame magazines that I could buy in the UK totalled one, the good old Wargamer’s Newsletter. It was published by Donald Featherstone and later by Tradition, and it was our main means of communicating new ideas and products within the hobby. Nowadays, if I want to know the colour of the cuff of the Morschauserland Light Infantry in 1887, I can go on numerous internet forums and get an answer in a matter of minutes, whereas back then I would have to send a letter to the editor, wait for him to publish it, and then wait for an answer to be printed in the next issue … if I was lucky!
Back in 1968 I could buy metal figures from the small number of manufacturers, but nowadays I can buy any number of different figures in a multitude of scales. I am spoilt for choice … and yet I still hear people complaining that they cannot get the exact figure that they are looking for.
The cost of the hobby has also changed, and in my opinion, it is for the better. When I bought my first metal figures from Marcus Hinton, they cost me one shilling each, which was the equivalent of 1/13,000th of my annual salary of £650 … which was more than the average wage for an eighteen-year-old in 1968. The equivalent size of figure nowadays is about 66p each, and if this represented that faction of a modern salary, I would be earning £8,580 per year, which is about half the current average yearly income of a working eighteen-year-old.
Yes, I am silver-haired in a golden age … and I am loving it!
I wrote this after having read a number of online complaints from wargamers about lack of instant, free access to uniform data and historical information and/or that they felt that most manufacturers were overcharging for the figures they produced.
I wonder how many of my regular blog readers feels the same as I do?
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There does seem to be a constant belief that manufacturers overcharge for their figures. The actual truth is that wargaming figures are mostly underpriced for the amount of work that goes into producing them and that although you can make a reasonable living in the industry there is no-one ripping people off with price-gouging (as I see often stated on forums nowadays).
ReplyDeleteEven Games Workshop are reasonably priced, in my opinion, for what you get by buyinginto their "hobby" - which is the ability to walk into a shop on the high street and be shown how to paint and play.
Mike Lewis,
DeleteI think that some wargamers mistake the cost of the material as being the major production cost, whereas I suspect that paying the figure sculptor, making the moulds, paying for the figures to be moulded, and then administration costs, advertising, and salaries are by far the biggest costs involved.
I seem to remember reading recently that the owner of FRONT RANK was retiring and looking to sell his business on. I think that the price was £250.000 plus £30,000 for existing stock. This sounds a lot, but I suspect that it is actually a realistic price for a well-known company that enjoys a reasonable level of sales.
I’ve never seem Games Workshop as a bad thing for wargaming. They provided good High Street coverage for one aspect of the hobby, and I used to buy my paints from them because they were there. Since our local store closed (a great shame, but understandable in the circumstances), I’ve had to rely on Hobbycraft or buying direct from Airfix/Humbrol.
All the best,
Bob
Reminds me of a conversation a couple of years ago with a model shop owner in York. I'd popped in in passing and it was a slow day so we got chatting. He was looking to retire and sell the business as a going concern. It was in a good position and an established fixture, so he felt he deserved a reasonable figure. He had even more tied up in stock - as he said, you've got to have a wide range and all the new stuff if you want people to come back. He had some interest but when he mentioned his six figure price tag, he didn't hear back. I suspect if I went back now, it would no longer be a model shop. He'd have had to write off his stock and get the the best price for the shop lease.
DeleteGreat post Bob, I agree with you about it being a golden age. However I think that a business is valued on its sales figures, not what has been invested into it in terms of moulds and sculpts. (Having friends in the industry I do know howmuch these things cost and their cumulative value in even a small wargames company can be staggering.) I wouldn't want to buy a business and not be able to get my money back quickly to then start turning a profit. I've seen quite a few business come up for sale recently and not get sold at all... for considerably less than that asking price.
DeleteCheers,
Pete.
Pete.,
DeleteBuying (and running) any business is far more expensive than many people realise. When I ran my educational consultancy, every month I use to write cheques for HMRC (for PAYE, National Insurance, and VAT) and salaries ... and the former was always for more money than the latter.
I assume that running a manufacturing business is even more costly, and the saleable value of the machinery, moulds, etc., is always going to be less that its true cost. Anyone setting up or buying a wargame figure manufacturing business is never going to make a fortune, and I suspect that it can easily turn into a money pit.
All the best,
Bob
Anthony Climpson,
DeleteI have had similar conversations with business owners. Only last week, I was discussing a restaurateur’s plans to expand his restaurant business by moving to new premises. He had negotiated a lease - with his existing landlord - on a former bookmakers shop, which had been vacant for over two years. On the day the deal was to be closed, the landlord announced that he had received a better offer, and it all fell through. Furthermore, the landlord announced that as his restaurant was doing so well, the restaurateur was told to expect that when the lease on his existing premises came up for renewal, the cost would increase by 50%!
I’ve met plenty of model shop owners who have set up in business, made a reasonable success of it, and then had their leases not renewed or increased in cost by ridiculous amounts because the premises were seen as being more valuable because it was being used by a prosperous business.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob -
ReplyDeleteI came late into war gaming - well into my 20s, though as a kid I used to draw battles and play battles with anything I could lay my hands upon that might become a soldier, or tank, or war ship or bomber. I didn't know war gaming was a THING until a friend discovered Don Featherstone's primers in a local public library, and other showed up at the student hostel one day with some Napoleonic Minifigs.
From almost that moment on, chess, for which I had an unhealthy passion, began to take a back seat. Although I still play online, I haven't belonged to a chess club for well over thirty years, and haven't played 'over the board' for almost 20.
I think it was Charles Dickens - but stand to be corrected on this - who said that Chess had an infinite capacity 'to make men happy'. Wrong. War gaming has. The stories war games can tell offer a strong pull to the imagination that is hard to resist.
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteIt sounds as if - as a young man - you were a potential wargamer in search of wargaming! Thankfully, you found the right sort of inspiration to fulfill your quest.
I used to play chess, but found it rather constricting as I wanted it to be a simulacra of a battle, which it isn’t. That said, it didn’t stop me using a chessboard as the basis of my first PW!
I agree about wargaming having a capacity to give its participants tremendous amounts of fun and enjoyment, and I am sure that it has helped people to cope with the current pandemic by giving wargamers something constructive and imaginative to do during it.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed reading your article. Yes, to-days gamers are rather spoiled for choice- so many ranges and scales and different styles created from so many manufacturers- it is hard to choose and make a choice. Like you I remember a time in the 1960s when it was virtually OO/HO AIRFIX plastic model Soldiers and Humbrol Paints- exclusively. My first metal figures were a handful of Minifigs in 25mm- Vikings bought in the early 1980s. Simpler times then and seemingly uncomplicated by other distractions. Best Wishes. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteI did not want to give the impression that I thought that all younger wargamers were a bunch of spilt brats, but sometimes a few do give that impression when they start complaining about this or that not being available, and how expensive figures are to buy. In truth, I think that when we were starting out in the hobby, the shared joy when a new model or range of figures became available helped us to feel part of an active and vibrant community, something that I think has been diminished, if not lost.
All the best,
Bob
Thanks Bill, I enjoyed that, and mostly agree with you. I think the 'greying of the hobby' and attendant 'what's wrong with wargaming that young people in their droves are not painting up armies?' and 'we all need to start doing X, for the good of the hobby!' hand wringing is unnecessary. Wargaming is a niche and it takes a special type of person to commit to the research, painting, and outlay in time and money needed to field armies, decorate a table, learn rules, and coerce friends into joining one for a battle.
ReplyDeleteWe also need to have pretty understanding spouses!
All the best to you Bob, and here's to many more last words from you.
Aaron
Prufrock (Aaron),
DeleteI have been reading and hearing about the imminent demise of the wargaming hobby for more years than I care to remember. As you comment, it is a niche hobby, and likely to have a relatively finite growth. As long as people are interested in history - and military history in particular - there will be wargamers.
All the best,
Bob
PS. Thanks for your best wishes ... and I hope to write many more words before I stop!
The sheer range of periods, scales etc and the ease with which you can order them, and the availability of information and support does mean it’s a golden age compared to decades ago. There also seem to be many more styles of rules and types of gaming experience available these days. Staggering really. We are spoiled.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about the relative cost either. I know many manufactured products are relatively cheap these days because of globalisation. But the vast majority of figures seem to be manufactured in the UK or US. That’s an amazing success.
Nundanket,
DeleteI can remember trying to convert tribesmen from the Airfix Tarzan set into barbarians using plasticine and banana oil ... and making a right Horlicks of it! The sheer range of figures in a multitude of scales that one can buy today would have seemed miraculous back then. Likewise, to someone who started with Donald Featherstone’s and Peter Young’s rules, the vast range and style of Wargame books that we can choose from is staggering.
All the best,
Bob
Agreed. When I was growing up in the late 60's and 70's there was a tiny fraction of what you can find available now both in terms of figures and information. Remember all the articles on figure conversions? We do indeed live in a golden age!
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteI used to love the conversion articles, even though my attempts to copy them were usually disastrous! In retrospect, life seems as if it was simpler - and more fun - back then.
All the best,
Bob
Thanks, and the same for you! That was part of the fun, along with quests to find figures and discovering new books. It is so much easier now, but finding interesting blogs and groups is also fun.
Delete
DeleteMark Cordone,
As long as wargaming remains fun, it will continue to prosper.
All the best,
Bob
I concur that these days it is a continued 'golden age' stretching from the early 2,000's. A virtual cornucopia of figures, rules, scenery, books, magazines and internet sites all for purchase or perusal by the interested.
ReplyDeleteKhusru,
DeleteLet’s hope that the ‘golden age’ continues to flourish ... and may one day become a platinum age!
All the best,
Bob
Right on, Bob!
ReplyDeleteI also recall the graying and imminent demise of wargaming being talked about decades ago.
As for curmudgeons, they come in all ages. ha ha
Fitz-Badger,
DeleteCheers! Somewhat like Mark Twain, the imminent demise of wargaming has been misreported rather too many times to be true!
By the way, what is worse than an old curmudgeon?
A young one!
All the best,
Bob
A good point well made Bob.
ReplyDeleteTradgardmastare,
DeleteCheers! Arthur and I seem to have hit the right note with quite a few people.
All the best,
Bob
Enjoyed reading your article.
ReplyDeleteIts always interesting to read the experiences of other wargamers, particularly of a similar age. My introduction to the hobby was very similar. I have a very clear memory of my first visit to Hinton Hunt in Camden Passage, though it was a year later than yours. Also how impressed and excited I was by the wide range of shiny figures, despite the large amounts of flash which had to be removed before I could start painting.
I was particularly struck by your comment about being involved in the start of something new, and feeling part of a larger community. The excitement of a new box of Airfix, or a new Minifigs figure.
I suspect this is an emotion shared by most of our generation of wargamers, whether in UK, USA or elsewhere.
I am sure that wargaming will outlive all of us, though no doubt it will evolve and change to take advantage of new developments.
I think we were lucky in that there was so little choice back then. It made us appreciate every new model or book. The more you have to work at something the more you enjoy it.
Paul Leniston,
DeleteI am really pleased that you enjoyed what I wrote.
I only paid one visit to Camden Passage, as I ‘discovered’ other manufacturers - particularly Minifigs - soon afterwards. Hinton Hunt figures were a bit prone to flash ... and I can remember Eric Knowles referring to them as ‘Squint and Grunt’!
I seem to remember that the arrival of Airfix Magazine was one of the monthly high points of my life, and I especially enjoyed the figure and military conversion articles. Getting hold of a copy of MINIATURE WARFARE or WARGAMER’S NEWSLETTER was a real bonus!
I think that the wargaming hobby will continue - in some form or another - for as long as people study and enjoy reading about history. Interest may wax and wane, but there will always be a core of people who will want to wargame.
I draw a parallel with my other hobby, Freemasonry. I’ve heard all sorts of tales of Lodges closing down because they cannot recruit new members ... and then coming across Lodges that have waiting lists of youngsters (18 to 30 year olds) who want to come in. The latter Lodges have done this by making themselves more welcoming, by actively recruiting amongst groups with a common interest or background (e.g. university students and motorcyclists), and by adapting the traditional times when they meet to be more convenient.
All the best,
Bob