Welcome to another tale from the toy room here at Apperley Towers! This is intentionally short, as I am preparing a solo game which will form the basis of a much longer battle report in the next week or so. In the meantime, I thought I would share some ideas on the future of this blog and also show some new acquisitions to the toy room.
I started this blog having been inspired by a number of other peoples efforts. The best of these have a very definite identity and style and I knew from the start that I wanted to attempt to create a unique identity for my own blog. Whether or not I succeed will be for others to judge but I am working on ideas to help to achieve this goal.
If I ask myself what I enjoy the most about other peoples blogs, I find that generally its seeing their toys, whether engaged in combat or just on parade, and the imagination used to enjoy the different facets of the toy soldier hobby. Battle reports are enjoyable, but I find myself focussing more on the figures and the scenic items than the tactics. I love the spectacle! Maybe that's just me, but I suspect a lot of the people visiting this blog are not dissimilar?
I also enjoy blog posts that cover more than one item and want to give my own blog a magazine feel, with more than one article and recurring features.
To this end, I have been thinking about the subject matter that I would enjoy writing about and have come up with a number of 'feature departments' to go forward with.
'I counted them all out....'
Battle reports, which I know from my blogs statistical data is easily the most popular subject. I intend these to be as frequent as time and energy allow.
'Waifs and strays'
New acquisitions which have found a home here at Apperley Towers.
On just that topic, here are the waifs and strays I gathered from the Malvern Toy Fair last Sunday. A modest haul and all non military. A total of £25 paid and I suspect some are ex shop stock, with no sign of play or wear and tear. Nothing extraordinary but I am more than happy with them.
Toy fairs are hit and miss with old hollowcasts and whilst there were plenty of military items I did want, the prices deterred me. The Britains military lorries are something I would like to buy but good condition examples are around £100 each.
'A lick of paint'
I strip and repaint probably 90% of the figures and vehicles that I acquire. (This can be a little controversial and is a subject I will discuss at a later date) I know we all like to see the end product of peoples efforts and I will show mine. I also intend to cover conversion work in this feature.
As an example here are some French Foreign Legion which are receiving the attention of the sharp end of my paint brushes. The finished article will be revealed....when I finish them!
My enjoyment of terrain pieces and scenic items is no great secret. I intend to share items from my collection and talk about how I made them, or where they came from. I know I am not alone in this area of interest. (anyone who has not already done so, should go and read Michaels blog 'wargaming with 54mm toy soldiers', where he creates wonderful scenery for his toy soldiers to exploit)
'As the actress said to the vicar'
Non Military figures to populate my wargaming world are another passion. This is where you will find them.
'Infernal machines'
This is where I intend to show and talk about anything mechanical or travel related. So look here for Spaceships, Steam Tanks, Locomotives, Horse Buggies and everything in between!
'Anything but a one!'
Desperately bad dice rolling, rule books, rules experiments and anything rules related.
and finally.......
'Three Cheers'
Primarily books about toy soldiers, particularly those that inspire us and make us want to buy or paint more toy soldiers! Other inspirational books, films or tv programmes can also find a home here.
So there we have it. I hope you will enjoy what I have planned. If you can think of anything else I should cover please let me know.
I will leave you with the traditional Black Country words of parting and a few photos of the Wild West collection now all packed safely away after their recent adventures.
Tara a bit!
An interesting read and some lovely pictures to go with it. I like your idea of a magazine style blog with different topics, works well for me. Your finds from the toy fair are a very nice bunch, some great figures and scenery, should look great on the table. I am firmly in the repaint camp, these old figures gain a new life and can carry on for loads more years, I understand the collector wanting the figure as is but I am a gamer and like seeing nice painted figures on the table. Looking forward to seeing more.
ReplyDeleteThankyou Donnie. I am really enjoying writing this blog and I want it to entertain readers as much as possible. I hope my future scribbles will continue to amuse. On the subject of repainting old figures, I intend to write a few words on this subject in the not too distant future. In general though, I am firmly in the camp of 'repaint whatever you want'. These figures were made to look bright and shiny and if I can take them back to that glorious state then I am a happy old man.
DeleteFantastic pictures Graham! The turn-of-the-century, English village scenery is wonderful. As a child, the Britains' gardens/allotments always fascinated me in the catalogues, but if asked, I'd always pick soldiers first!
ReplyDeleteHi Jack, I will admit to an extreme fondness to the Britains garden range, partly linked to the memory of my late father who was an extremely enthusiastic gardener. I have never taken to it (my wife is our gardener), but I love the plastic and lead miniature gardens I can create. I plan a series of pieces specifically under a feature I intend to call 'The Potting Shed'. I forgot to include his one in the write up above.
DeleteHello Graham. As you already know, I am very much enjoying my visits to your blog. I was particularly impressed with photos 9-11, a chance to walk the streets in your miniature town. But those medieval weapons were powerful, and I love the 'retro' rocket. And thank you for the kind mention too.
ReplyDeleteMichael
Hi Michael, I have lots of ideas and tons of stuff to share from my collection. Glad to have you along for the ride! I just need the time to set stuff up for the photographs and games !
DeleteGraham
Another excellent post Graham! And you are right, I love to see toy soldiers when I am browsing blogs and yours is a real gem! I look forward to all of your "feature departments," especially the 'Infernal machines' and the 'Prop shop!' I have a column in Plastic Warrior magazine called "Watch This Space," which deals with all things sci-fi toy soldiers and I'm always looking for new ideas! Being a child of the 1960's, I always enjoyed the great sci-fi movies and all of the toys that went along with them! I try to bring that joy to the articles that I write in PW!
ReplyDeleteThank you Brad, I'm really pleased to hear that my humble efforts are hitting the spot. I have read every article you have ever had published in Plastic Warrior and enjoyed them all. I subscribed to PW from issue 26 and have read every issue since. My favourite magazine of all time! I am also a bit of a sci fi fan and trust me, there will be articles that will scratch that itch.
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