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The wargaming perspective

You can't collect what's not there.

Apart from other reasons cited, a major reason for choosing armies/eras is the availability of a complete range.

If I want to wargame the Sikh Wars, I need British foot, cavalry & artillery, units representing their Indian forces & a full array of Sikh troop types. Let's not forget suitable command figures for both sides. So.....10 different sets at a minimum? If any are missing, it makes it problematic, if several haven't been made, it makes it impossible.

There is a reason why Napoleonic & WW2 periods are popular. It's a self-generating enthusiasm.

Re: The wargaming perspective

I got my first soldiers in 1958. I watched about every WWII war movie made between then and about 1975, and many others. My dad and I both served in the US Army and so I have always collected US Army figures, and their enemies, and their allies. A few other things too, but given the US Army lineage goes back to the first muster of English speaking militia in the New World in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in December, 1637 until now, that's a pretty big range.

Still a few gaps but over the years Imex and Strelets have done a great job in filling some holes. Still, I always keep my eye out for a new item or two. This last year I started reading the Official History of the US Army in WWII. I have finished dozen or so volumes on the Pacific War. Good stuff.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

Re: The wargaming perspective

Interesting point about the fullness of a range. Don't know how manufacturers would square that circle. Bit of a catch 22 - if they bring out an initial set to test the waters, people might not buy it if they think it will not be followed up by others and they get left with a set they can't use. It does make me wonder if crowd funding/kickstarters is the way to go so they could raise the money beforehand and create a complete range in one go. It's easy for us to say that we will buy sets but that might not translate into actual sales.

Re: Why people choose particular armies and periods.

Graham Korn
Following on from the thread about the interest in the new figures for WSS, I\\\'m interested in why people choose a particular period or army. For me it\\\'s quite varied

1) Thinking the figures look cool - I love Dark Age stuff, big sweaty men in mail oooh errr!
2) Films and books (both fiction and history) often inspire me.
3) Politics, very much a lefty so can\\\'t resist having Spanish republican forces or people\\\'s army for VBCW.
4) Crap equipment, this mainly relates to WWII, I love the early part of WWII and am quite turned off by late war with wall to wall King Tigers and Panthers.
5) Sides that lost, always want to see if I can do better, nothing better than winning with natives against modern rifles.
6) Less popular units, so my Desert War figures are Indians and Italians, although I also had to have the Fighting French when Strelets brought out the FFL figures, don\\\'t suppose I was alone in that.

Some people mentioned in the thread that nationality didn\\\'t play any part in their choices and that is certainly true for me. I would be interested to know what motivates other people.
This is a great question for both fun and for manufacturers information.

As a young kid, television and movies here in the U.S. played lots of war shows and movies. The ones that I enjoyed the most were:

Always liked and still do to collect single sets and Playsets:
* "hand to hand combat" action/dramas.
* Infantry and Cavalry participants
* U.S. Cavalry, Indians attacking Cavalry Forts
* All the Beau Geste movies
* ACW and British Colonial Era Wars
* AWI
* Roman themes, FFL, Crimea, War Lord and Normans
* Love WWI uniforms and helmets
* Love Colonial Wars and uniforms

Very limited interest in late WWI on because:
* Too mechanized
* Not a big killing machine collector after late WWI
* Enjoy WWI biplanes and WWII Infantry armies but very limited tanks

In summary, I have always enjoyed the good story of man against man. Figurines and static accessories such as Forts, Stockades, Horse Wagons, small Cannons and Crews. I'm not a Wargamer so I don't need complete ranges, and buy figures I like. I do enjoy sets with both sides, but don't mind the wait. The wait, in fact, gives me time to save up and enjoy other interests in my life.

I've already bought the old collectables such as Giant of Hong Kong and Airfix sets from the 1960's off eBay. I will continue to buy Strelets latest Ancients, new current themes, up to early WWI especially. Like Italeri's FFL Fort just released.

I have always believed living life's "Life Stages", ie Early Childhood and Toys, School Days and Sports, Early Adulthood and Family, Middle Years and productive work, Retirement and simple life. Airfix brought me heaps of joy as a kid, and Strelets is satisfying my enjoyment with new products at the latter part of my Life Stages. In the middle stages, there were too many distractions. To me, each Life Stage has it's * Advantages and * Disadvantages and Limitations. Early and Later Stages have given me the best of the best of the enjoyment in soft plastic toy soldiers.

Strelets is the ultimate manufacturer of Man-to-man fighting figures, and the reigning Golden Age King of 1/72 Soft Plastic Toy Soldier Manufacturers in my book - "Long Live the King!" ... and me.