Toy Soldiers

[rcleary171]

There's a whole world of adventure and drama waiting inside that worn cardboard box. I wish I had one - I'd be turning our pool table into a battlefield right now.

[Rob Weaver]

That's a beautiful tribute to that wonderful playset! The box mine came in has been gone for 30 years, but the artillery positions are on the living room floor in use right now by the piqueno.

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

A summer friend of mine had a full set, and at age 12 we had taken over my hillside backyard. I was particularly found of the "shooting" mortar. But for some reason, teh next year we jumped over to the AIRFIX 1/72nd ("HO") scale as you got more in the box and good have biggr armies. But, one with all of the scenary, installations, bridges, etc., etc., Marx put out.

Although Marx is long gone, someone with the molds keeps the legacy alive year after year as "commemorative sets" for new generations.



Curt
Marxiteer Mess

[rcleary171]

Needless to say - as toy soldiers they leave much to be desired. But in the context of a new theme based Stratego game they're pretty cool. I have played the game with my son using the classic rules but there are also advanced giving more options to move and utilize your army. A nice addition to our rainy-day activity shelf.

[IMG][/IMG]

[Colonel Dave]

Before I became a reenactor, I was an avid military miniatures wargamer. We wargamed on a 6 by 12 foot table and used various armies. I still have 13 different nations in 15mm Napoleonics.
I believe wargaming has helped my knowledge of tactics in reenactments. Military miniatures are nearly extinct...it is all fantasy stuff now.

[Rob Weaver]

I don't think military miniatures are anywhere near extinct, just a niche in the wargaming market. I had no problem finding Revolutionary War dragoons when I needed to paint a few more units. Flames of War is the Wahammer of WW2 gaming. Heck, I even saw the Risk game with the 18th century figures last week in Walmart. Buy that and paint the 360 15mm figures...
Historical gaming is still very much part of miniature gaming. Just what's visible and common right now is fantasy and sci-fi.

[reddcorp]

I remember those Marx playsets. I guess I had almost every variety they produced. Several years ago I was digging up some flower beds at Mom's and uncovered a small army. I washed the dirt off and they were good as new. Mostly civil war, including one of the mortars.
Then on to the 1/72 Airfix miniatures, mostly Napoleonics.
Now, 54mm lead/pewters. I prefer the Imrie/Risley for detail but I almost went blind painting the Black Watch tartans.
A. Redd

[Colonel Dave]

I went to GenCon last year. That is the annual convention of gamers. There was one WW 2 wargame and the rest, literally hundreds, of fantasy games.
I have hundreds of unpainted Napoleonic 15 mm figures I would love to sell and a dramatic discount but I cannot find anyone that does military wargaming.

[Rob Weaver]

I've been historical gaming for my entire life, and have never attended a convention, to include GenCon. I think that's fairly common among historical gamers. Our style does not lend itself to the tournament-style of play that's been popular for a while now. I even sprung for the 150th Anniversary edition of BattleCry a couple years ago. I like the original edition better, but the terrain is prettier in the new edition.

[Colonel Dave]

What army and scale do you wargame? What rule set do you use? We use rules called Rank and File. It is a fast set so we get 6 turns in on a weeknight. I started using Column Line and Square. Ugh....a turn would last 2 hours, minimum. I hate Johnny Reb. Our rules use an alternate moving system. I move half...you move full....then I move my other half. Next turn, you move half...I move full....then you move half and so on and so on.