My Next Project

Now that I'm about 75% done with my massive 10mm Napoleonic British and French armies my mind naturally turns towards, not using them, but launching on another scale and time period entirely! Of course if the local players show any interest in Napoleonics that plan could change but they seem largely trapped in the morass called Flames of War version 3.

Which, by the way, seems even more a-historic and cumbersome than version 2.

Of late I've stumbled across 40mm and 54mm toy soldier gaming. In these games you field larger sized soldiers which are painted in the traditional manner- bright gloss! The miniatures are far less detailed than those seen in modern games and thus the paint schemes are much simpler. Finally, you can play in your garden or on your patio, stopping every now and then for a chip or to chase away the curious cat.

I think it would be a bit of a lark to field some colorful toy soldiers and have them decide the fate of tiny central European duchies in the 19th century. After agonizing over the colors of the cuffs of French dragoons it might be different to just let loose and paint cheery colour schemes on zouaves and spahis and then face them off against camel corps and bicycle troops. To get a sense of this sort of gaming check out Megablitz and More!

The first step is probably to pick up Funny Little Wars from the Virtual Armchair General. Then I'll get a new PO box so the wife doesn't notice the influx of completely new hobby supplies!