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Sunday 18 March 2012

I should not have gone into Hobbycraft ...

For reasons that are not relevant to what happened, my wife decided that today we would go to Maidstone to do some retail therapy. One of the shops my wife wanted to visit is situated on a retail park near the centre of the town, and as a result I parked the car almost right outside the local branch of Hobbycraft. As I was there, I decided to go in ... and that turned out to be a bit of a mistake!

I wandered rather aimlessly around the store as I did not actually need anything ... and then I came across a display of wooden kits. There were four of the wooden RMS Titanic kits on display ... and I just could not resist buying them! As a result, I have just got back home with lots of ideas about the various different torpedo boat/destroyers that I can build on the hulls that come with the kits ... which is actually counter to what I decided yesterday to do next.

I have come to the conclusion that I am suffering from a bad dose of FWS (Fickle Wargamer's Syndrome). We all suffer from it from time to time, but I seem to have a bad dose of it at the moment. I know that I should be building some nice pre-dreadnoughts and ironclads to go with my 15mm-scale figures, but I keep being drawn towards building slightly larger, 1920s to 1940s warships ... including aircraft carriers and cruisers ... and having visions of fighting sea battles with these models.

I think I should go and lie down in a dark room until these ideas pass ... but I am not sure that they will!

12 comments:

  1. Hi Bob

    Now, now, no remorse allowed, after all, this is war gaming.

    The only way to deal with temptation, in these matters, is to submit.

    Regards

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just on Google now, there must be a hobbycraft somewhere near the yorkshire dales. My wife loves making cards...I think that they call that synergy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Arthur,

    I am weakening ... and wondering if I could pursue both projects in parallel.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ken H,

    There are branches in Leeds and Sheffield ... so it might not be too far to travel.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  5. hello Bob,

    remember you are retired; you have time to pursue any avenues you want. If you decide building parallel fleets is a great idea; follow your bliss :-)

    Don

    ReplyDelete
  6. Brigadier Dundas (Don),

    You are absolutely right. In theory I can do exactly what I want ... assuming that I can find somewhere to store all the model ships!

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  7. Luckily well sealed wood can survive the outdoors well if your new navy out grows the available space. Think of the use you could put them to at COWS and the pleasure that you could give those who have a chance to play with them.

    Such selflessness!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ross Mac,

    That is an excellent idea.

    I had considered giving the models a coat of clear polyurethane varnish to help protect them ... and that will also help them survive in any outdoor storage I might need to use.

    I have an idea for a naval wargame at COW, either on the lawn or in the large Practical Room, and it would involve using these and other as-yet-to-be-built models.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  9. I too was in Hobbycraft today (Gateshead) and I must admit I'm more and more disappointed with their selection of modelling goodies every time I visit. Their stock of Woodland Scenics products and the decreasing selection of kits is making me think it may be time to stop visiting this overpriced craft store.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Steve's Wargaming Stuff,

    What surprises me is how variable the stock in their branches can be. My local branch - Crayford - had almost no basswood last time I visited but the Orpington branch had loads ... but no wooden RMS Titanic kits. The Maidstone branch had plenty of basswood sheets but very little other basswood ... but did have four wooden RMS Titanic kits.

    Their pricing is also on the high side, but as it is my only source of some of the materials I use, I am rather stuck with having to use them for the time being.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  11. Been there, done that got the hobby supplies..

    Cheers and enjoy!

    PD

    ReplyDelete
  12. Peter Douglas,

    I hope that you managed to buy both what you wanted and what you needed.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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