A return to the Blogosphere and another Plastic Warrior show report

Some of the exquisite conversions available from Dennis Donovan at the show

A return? Or did I ever really leave?  A few thoughts on this blogging lark

My last blog post was the 21st of April. Over 2 months ago! It seems like longer. Did you miss me? Did I miss posting? So many questions!

Its been an interesting experience taking a break from posting after 35 posts in just over 13 months. That may not sound that many, an average of just under three a month, but I think most people would agree that my posts are generally fairly substantial. I watch other Bloggers post on an almost daily basis , but obviously they are often fairly short posts as a result. This is not a criticism, merely an observation as there isn't a right or wrong way to engage in this pastime. My own preference is for more substantial posts, but I also still enjoy some of the well chosen 'single photo with pithy or amusing comment' type of post. There is room for all styles, only the content matters!

Once I had started the blog, I definitely felt under pressure to write something relatively regularly, but I'm not sure why? Why do we do this in the first place? In my own case, I just wanted an outlet to express my thoughts and ideas on things that interest and amuse me. I also missed the creative art of writing, which was a big part of my professional life. 

I didn't start the blog with any expectations in relation to readers comments, but for me at least, the comments now make it worthwhile and somehow complete. I see blogs that have been going for years with barely a comment and wonder how that can be satisfying to the author. Without comments its like shouting into the wind with no reply. So can I take this opportunity to say a big 'Thankyou!' to all the people who take the time to let me know what they think of my efforts...its really appreciated! (It has also made me comment more often on other peoples blogs, as I now appreciate what a few words can mean). 

Its possible to form friendships though blogging as well which is immensely satisfying.

I know that I have come very late to this blogging lark and in some ways its definitely dying out in favour of vlogging on You Tube and other platforms. There are advantages to those videos and I enjoy some of them, but you would probably hate my Black Country accent and I'm definitely not glamourous to look at either! I think we are all better off with just my written words and amateur photography! I also like the ability to revisit interesting entries and enlarge photos to look in more detail .This is a lot more difficult to do with videos.

I raise the question above, as to whether I've actually been away. The reason I say that is that I have actually put together 9 blog posts at the time of writing these words, none of which have yet been published. Most of them are for my soon to be launched 2nd blog, 'Ratspike and Renegades' covering my interests in fantasy and sci-fi gaming. This will be launched in the very near future and I hope that at least some of my regular readers will find the content interesting. 'Watch this space' as they say! So I have been busy doing some posts, in between family matters and a difficult period with little sleep due to a flare up of osteo arthritis in my knee which lasted the best part of 6 weeks! Its a bugger getting older eh?!

Anyway enough of this rambling.....on with the (Plastic Warrior) show!

Richmond again and the Thirty Ninth (?) Plastic Warrior show!

My good mate John and I set off once more at 5.30am on Saturday morning and just over two hours later were outside 'The Winning Post' pub in Twickenham/Richmond. This has been the regular venue for the show for a good few years now and is a decent venue ideal for our needs. The pub itself has featured in at least one film 'the echo of Diana' and more than one episode of tv programmes such as the Sweeney and Minder.

Once the tables were set up ,everyone set about buying and selling (mainly) plastic toy soldiers. 

It was a familiar sight and one that I relish every year! The fun of hunting for those figures that you are searching for and even better, discovering the figures that you hadn't known existed or expected to find! This year again didn't disappoint and I came home with lots of new recruits for the forces here at Apperley Towers. 

John and I were behind our usual table on 'wargamers row', a short run of five tables where Brian Carrick has managed to place the wargaming contingent together. This is great as we all have lots in common and are never short of things to chat about when manning our tables. Thanks to Brian, Paul, and Tim for your company. 

A lot of the faces are very familiar, collectors and sellers that like us have attended the show regularly for over 30 years. It is a pleasure to chat and catch up and a side of the show that I personally love. Sadly we are all getting older and there aren't a lot of young faces coming through the door, but that's the way of the world I suppose. 

I took a few photos so that you can get a feel for some of the goodies on sale on the day.

I hope you get a flavour of the show from my badly taken photos, but as you can see there was a huge variety of figures for sale and some quite unique conversions. My next post will focus on my acquisitions, where my sons and heirs can see what their father wasted their inheritance on!

I heartily recommend visiting this show next time if you have never been before. You just never know what you will find. If you are interested in plastic toy soldiers generally, can I also recommend a subscription to Plastic Warrior magazine....my favourite read. Its great value for money and full of interesting articles about the history of manufacturers and the ranges that they made. It also covers a lot of new output from current producers which is particularly useful.

I hope to meet some of you there one of these years!

Tara a bit!

Doctor Who And The Red City - Episode One

Prop Shop........The Red City!

The 'Red City' is a large Sci Fi city that I built 6 or 7 years ago. It is made up almost entirely of plastic components manufactured and sold by Games Workshop for their Warhammer 40k game. I was fortunate enough to acquire a pretty large amount of frames at a very low cost. I sat on these for some years until I eventually decided to bite the bullet and get creative. I spent several weeks gluing these buildings and walkways together and almost hospitalised myself with the fumes from the glue I was inhaling! 

My objective was to create a collection of scenery that was both flexible and at the same time capable of providing different levels to fight over. Its primary purpose was for 25mm scale sci fi skirmish games like Necromunda. 

One of the main features that drove the design of the city was the walkways. I wanted multiple level walkways that threaded through the structure of the city. This would hopefully enable more complex firefights and add more interest to the games. 

The whole collection breaks down into separate buildings that can be connected in a number of ways by the walkways. The lengths of the walkways can be extended, resulting in a number of options and configurations.  

Designed for 25mm scale figures, the walkways are not quite as wide as I would like for my 54mm collection, but  apart from my Daleks, most just about fit.

The whole collection just about fits into two very large 'really useful' boxes and has been stored in the garage for the last couple of years. A desire to see it again and to try it out in a Doctor Who themed toy soldier game resulted in me blowing the dust off the boxes and the photos you now see. 

I Counted Them All Out...... Doctor Who And The Red City

Anyone who has followed Doctor Who, will be aware that whole episodes and in some cases whole story arcs, are missing from the BBC archives. They were destroyed at a time when the tape was more valuable than the film upon them. Sadly, I fear that in this battle report, I am going to have to ask you to assume the same thing happened. The second episode and conclusion to this game must be assumed to have been lost....or did it ever even exist? 

I decided to give my Daleks and Cybermen an outing as well as my refurbished 1950's Spacemen. 

I decided on a scenario where the Cybermen allied with the Daleks, have converged on a deserted world to gain control of  an object which would enable them to obtain ultimate power. The Doctor and an Earth Force task group have also arrived at the same time. The Doctor aims to obtain the object and dispose of it where it can't be found by the Daleks or their allies. The Earth Force are there to delay the enemy and assist the Doctor. 

The Doctor landed near the centre of the abandoned city but the Tardis was subject to the effects of a scatter dice. The Earth Force set up artillery pieces to cover the main approaches through the city.

The Daleks and  Cybermen had landed in the industrial part of the city and were now advancing through the City. Their main objective was the object of power, but  a secondary objective was the Doctors death. The death of the Doctors assistant would also score well for the alliance of evil. 

The Doctor (and the Earth Force) would win the game if he could find the object and get it to the Tardis to remove it. 

The Earth Force opened fire on the advancing Daleks but to little effect. The Dalek return fire was however much more effective and the Earth Force took several casualties. 

The 2nd Earth Force artillery team had much more success and scored a direct hit on one of the Cybermen units, killing four in one blast!

The Doctor and his assistant were moving as fast as they could towards the building where the object was radiating its presence. 

A second round of fire and movement resulted in no more casualties on either side but the Doctor was still a good few turns away from the building where the object was radiating power.

It is at this point that the episode ended ....... or rather I was unable to find the time to finish the game. Family matters (common cold all round) took a toll on my free time and I needed to clear the table for the visit of a wargaming friend for a planned Fantasy battle. 

So please accept my profound apologies for a partially completed battle report, but I know how much we all just like to look at photos of each others toys so I thought you might forgive me this once. I hope that this article at least serves as a brief introduction to my 'Space collection '.  I plan to show theses and other figures in more detail at some point, as well as another planned game on an alien planet. Hopefully this time I will get to finish it and will be able to 'broadcast ' the entire story!  

Tara a bit!