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""Out of clutter find simplicity;
From discord find harmony;
In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity."
Albert Einstein The final straw was the Anglo-Saxon village. A dozen scratch built 15mm dwellings based on the Saxon Village reconstruction at West Stow, Suffolk and bought at the Bring & Buy at Partizan many years ago. I’m not sure why exactly they were in the airing cupboard, hidden behind the beach towels, but there they were when my wife discovered them. The ensuing “discussion” of my wargaming material revealed quite a few if not exactly forgotten, then, well, not remembered, gaming items lurking around the house. “Clutter” can be such a cruel word when applied to a Norman army of uncertain manufacture. Suffice to say, it was clear that my collection(s) had outgrown the house and Something Must Be Done. Much pondering ensued.
The timely demise of a wealthy relative, and subsequent fortuitous bequest, is a favoured deus ex machina of the 19th Century English novel. Where, you may ask would Jane Eyre be without the timely demise of her West Indies slave-owning uncle? Without Mr Rochester, for sure. My own bequest didn’t result from human bondage, although I understand things can get quite rough up in Scunthorpe on a Friday night, and my Mr Rochester would be in the hansom form of bricks and mortar. Thus The Shed was conceived – six months later, a two story, 72 square meter “outhouse” emerged from the mud of my back garden. Furnished with a workshop/painting station, a microbrewery, a shelved attic for fiction, comics, RPGs and re-enactment gear, and a 30 square meter games room with ….a permanent games table, wifi, coffee maker, TV, radio and under floor heating! Truly, Victorian romantic heroes pale in comparison to the wargaming luxury that is The Shed!
You may have guessed, the above is an extremely long-winded explanation for the disappearance of Tankard Tales from this site for the best part of a year. My apologise, but the banishment of my entire collection of books, games and sundry wargaming gear to a storage unit for over six months, with another couple of month to sort it all out afterwards (to say nothing of a damaged back from all the lifting) placed a serious impediment on my gaming in 2011. I haven’t been entirely idle, I’ve help my good friend Gavin with his web-driven Napoleonic campaign system which will go live very early in 2012 (more details in subsequent Tales) , and I’ve written a few scenarios, both for games at friends, and for this site’s advent calendar. Again with Gavin’s help, I’ve learnt some scratch-building techniques and produced some creditable fields and marshes for the games table.
I’ve also thought a good deal about gaming projects for 2012. I read with interest in the latest issue of Miniature Wargames (Issue 345) that Trevor Holland of Coritani believes that wargamers are drawing down their lead mountains of unpainted figures and are finishing existing projects rather than just adding to the lead pile. This certainly conforms to my experience of late, and that of those I game with, with much talk (and some action) to finish off existing projects. If this is a wider trend in 2012, expect a good year for paint, brush, and basing material sellers and a rough year for figure makers.
For myself, I’m looking over all my existing collections and looking to fill in gaps (mostly from the lead pile, but some, small, new buys). One thing I’m planning to try in 2012 is to “fantasize” my historic armies. Got a Viking raiders force? Add a monster for Grendel or a Troll (Troll Hunter is now available on DVD!) and you have a great fantasy game. A Dune-esque sand worm will spice up any WWII Western Desert game. A Shoggoth is just the thing for the Flanders trenches. A few very small purchases add a wealth of possibilities to existing forces.
Normal Tankard Tales service will resume later this month, see you then ! Matthew Hartley
January 2012
Webmaster's Notes Matthew Hartley is a prolific creator of games and scenarios and has been involved with Flintloque since it's inception in the 90's. He has written/co-written several rulesets, many of which are available from Wessex Games. A regular contributor to Orcs in the Webbe, he has written many things for the site including the extremely popular Tales of Albion series of scenarios and mini-games set in the Orcs homeland of Albion. |
