Sunday 1 May 2022

Prussian Blue - 40 Years On

 A sort of historic day, albeit very personal, today. I'll explain.  Well over 40 years ago, the childhood me discovered wargaming, and subsequently spent all my 'holiday money' one summer on a copy of Charles Grant's 'The War Game', from a little bookshop in Looe, Cornwall.  Thoroughly enthused by the world of the VFS and Duchy of Lorraine, I dreamed of my own imagi-nations, while also becoming aware that 'proper'  wargaming figures were available, beyond the Airfix plastics in the local toy shops.  Further pocket-money was duly saved up, and a mail order placed with Miniature Figurines in far-off Southampton - for a whole 'Grant-size regiment' of about 50 figures. These would have cost about £5 to £6, and may have represented most of the 'defence budget' at the time. Hence an  obvious flaw in my childhood strategy is apparent - how did I imagine I would ever get a whole army? 

Anyway, it was a Prussian Line Musketeer regiment, and in my enthusiasm for fictional nations, and having no idea how to paint such figures,  I haphazardly slapped on some mid-blue ( rather Bavarian-looking, but I think it was 'Prussian Dragoon Blue' ) Humbrol enamel paint. Done! They were able to take the field, the only metal figures among a rainbow collective of mixed Airfix Napoleonics and  AWI, all painted in equally slapdash and equally non-historical colours.   Of course they were terrible paint-jobs, but the games were fun, and at least the advent of WRG 1685-1845 rules eventually allowed smaller and more economical units! And then my enthusiams moved on, and the imagi-nations ( and really, wargaming as a whole ) were forgotten, and the lone 'Grant regiment' sat in a box, in my parents' loft, equally forgotten and neglected. 

 

1970s paint job ( MC12, Prussian Dragoon Blue? )

These  unloved figures probably spent over 30 years in more than one loft - at least my folks were kind enough not to throw them out when moving house - until finally, and by chance largely thanks to another 'imagi-nations'  enthusiast, Henry Hyde and his 'Battlegames' magazine, my interest was revived. The opportunity duly appeared to buy some of the late Eric Knowles' Seven Years War figures, and  that led to the blog you are reading now.  And of course, now I have the chance to use my long-neglected Prussians. So, a year or so ago they went into a bath of 'Clean Spirit', and away went the Humbrol enamel.

back to bare metal - more or less
 

Finally, I'm very pleased to say that  yesterday afternoon  I sat in my partner's sunny garden, with 16 of these under-employed veterans, and finally bestowed on them their rightful reward - smart new coats of ( acrylic ) Prussian Blue.

Early days yet, but it's a step 'vorwarts!'

Now I'm the first to admit my painting skills have not necessarily improved in the intervening decades (and my eyesight, certainly not!) , but I think I have a bit more patience, better information and better equipment.  I will certainly be taking more care, and  I hope for a decent enough result, which will allow them to finally take their place on the battlefield once again, as the Prussian 9th Line Infantry ('Jung Kleist' ), and try conclusions with the dastardly Austrians. It feels somehow very 'right' to do this, and there's a strong sense of connection with my younger self across the decades,  and of course an awareness of the passing of time - where did those decades go?  If the little metal men have feelings, I hope I am making amends for all those lost years, and I hope to give them back their pride. Let's hope they fight like good Prussians!   I hope to show these again once they are finished - meanwhile, keep well, and safe, everyone.

 

 

 

19 comments:

  1. What a lovely post to start my Sunday with. Great nostalgia for past times meets the way forward. Looking forward to seeing how these turn out. The figures have had a long time in Winter Quarters but now their Spring has come…
    Alan

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    1. Many thanks Alan! It has been a bit of sentimental journey with these figures.

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    2. p.s. I have commented on your recent posting 'No Comment' with some suggestions that might help the 'anonymous' issue...

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  2. Blimey that’s a long time to be on the shelf. You were lucky the metal hasn’t degraded - as I’ve seen happen on older miniatures.

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    1. Thanks JBM - they seem OK, although they didn't come up exactly shiny from the Clean Spirit bath! Quite dull, but not pitted or cracked. I may have been lucky with my late parents' choice of lofts - a load of Airfix figures also stored there seem to have avoided plastic rot, too.

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    2. I've found Dettol very good at removing paint, as long as you don't mind the smell. Scrub off paint with old toothbrush in the Dettol after a soak - once you add water any remaining paint becomes stringy unless you have cleaned it off first. Once paint free, scrub in hot soapy water. For really stubborn paint, oven cleaner works but it can be aggressive on the metal.
      Neil

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    3. Cheers Neil. I have heard that about Dettol and may try it in future - I quite like its smell!

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  3. Thanks for a really quite beautiful story, and so resonant too. Made my (May) day. (Didn't hurt playing this in the background while reading:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q_JCwUioBo&list=WL&index=6)

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    1. Thanks, Buzhna for your kind words. Nice music, too!

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  4. Nice to see them being 're-loved' , Minifigs have stood the test of time I think .

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    1. Thanks Tony, I am glad to finally do them justice, and indeed I like these old-school Minifigs!

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  5. David,
    Your nostalgic revisit of your past co-incides with similar reminiscences from Joseph M the author of Frostgrave in the latest edition of Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy so you are " bang on trend"!
    My second hand copy of the Wargame came from Truro - obviously Cornwall was the place to obtain a copy it seems. I had seen the book originally in my school library at the opposite end of the country.
    Like you, it had sowed the seed of an Imagi-Nation (long before they were called such things). It was the purchase of the book that restarted the urge for me in the early 1990s.
    Prior to that I had gone the WRG route after trying to build 48 figure units (15mm FK15 Austrian) and had even bought some Spencer Smiths from the man himse - distinctly underwhelming at the time.
    I have just been painting white coated Estavians, some of whom may have been purchased in plastic from Peter Johnstone back in the early 1990s - a good soldier will often have to wait 30 years for a coat of paint and varnish!
    It's odd what triggers the memories - talk of the Atlantic Indians conjurs memories of failing to buy a box (with its lurid art) in the Toytub in Edinburgh - something regretted for years, but since rectified.
    Neil

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    1. Many thanks Neil. I will look out for the new issue of 'WSS', nice to be up with the fashions! If I remember rightly, 'The War Game' was published by David & Charles who were based in Devon, so there may have been easier availibility of their books in the region...
      I'm sure we are not alone in having figures which have waited many years to be painted. I also think that memory plays a big part in all this, hobbies connect us back to childhood, and that is probably pretty good for us all.

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  6. This is a fine and uplifting story - it is good to get around to dotting a few unfinished i's and crossing some long-neglected t's. I never had any juvenile leanings towards military games - well, not much - the toy soldiers (Timpo, Herald) were in a queue to be played with, along with the toy trains and the Subbuteo, but I really knew nothing about them. I seem to have skipped the Airfix Spitfire Kit stage, so any connections with my wargaming past now could go back no further than my mid-20s (when I was, come to think of it, still pretty immature).

    It is interesting to ponder whether my occasional unhappy associations with formal wargaming clubs were shaped by my collision with guys who had mostly formed their views when they were 13! Whatever, I am sure your Prussian boys will forgive you for all the years of neglect, and will enjoy getting out to play.

    WRG! - happy days - that was when wargaming seemed to "grow up" in some way (probably because Phil Barker told us this was so), but in many ways it removed a lot of the fun for me, and probably sowed the seeds of my eventual disillusionment and a lengthy sabbatical. Great stuff - thought provoking too - thanks!

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    1. Thanks Tony, glad it struck a chord with you! I think i started with all this mullarkey aged about 11 or 12, when friends acquired Charles Grant's 'Battle!' - I think it gave us a more interesting way to use the Airfix figures we already had - and you could see the same figures in the book, so you knew you could do this, too! Equally, clubs were a mixed bag - I distinctly remember a young man at our local club belittling my ( admittedly poor ) paint job on these very figures, which knocked my confidence considerably at the time. If only he'd said "great, but have you thought of doing them like this?"... I'm not very clubbable, anyway, and completely uncompetitive - which may seem a bit odd for a wargamer.
      Indeed WRG seemed very 'grown up' at the time, but all those endless amendment sheets and revised editions, and never really finishing a game.. Those 1685-1845 rules were actually a welcome move towards simplification at the time, I think!

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    2. 1685-1845 - agree, but the simplification was primarily in comparison to their own previous rules edition! The guy who abused your painting efforts - you should have struck him down with a thunderbolt. However, it probably gave you a useful, early exposure to the kind of social skills you would meet up with at the clubs.

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    3. Cheers Tony, agree with all that! I am going to at least read those rules sometime though, for old times sake. But I should of course be recommending the 'Portable Horse and Musket' set in Bob Cordery's new book - I know the author quite well 😀

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  7. Now that’s an uplifting story for a Sunday. And you can pay yourself on the back for being sustainable too David 😄
    Those WRG rules were liberating at the time. It saved another bunch of schoolboys from the expense of large units AND the admin of recording casualties in unit rosters.
    Chris

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    1. Thanks Chris ( Nundanket I assume?) Yes, my entire 7YW colection is in effect 're-cycled' / 'pre-loved'.. The Sustainable Wargame, anyone?
      Indeed I remember the WRG 1685-1845 rules being seen as a welcome step away from complexity - I never liked rosters and all that note-taking. I really must give those rules a go quite soon, for old times' sake.
      p.s. I have tried to comment on your blog re: the 'anonymous' issue - I have also put the same details on Alan's blog, on his recent post entitled 'no comment'. I hope it might help!

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