Been Five Years…

Today, before midnight chimes on the wall clock, June 21, 2016 is the five-year anniversary for the Wargamerabbit warren news service. What made me decide to start writing about the trips and tales of my historical miniature gaming is even to this day unknown, I made no mental or written notes back then. WR can present several thoughts, all which could have been the final decision maker, changing this meek uncommunicative historical gamer into a written word rabbit, with all his poor Queen’s english skills. My former English teacher Miss Cox (4th grade) would never believe it…. write something down in the english language? Little does she know that spellcheck can be a friend or enemy and this isn’t written in penned longhand either.

The susceptive thoughts, in no particular order or subject:

1. A place, like a diary, to record the actual fun games and events in my primary hobby; wargaming, painting miniatures and collecting historical military uniform books. Other pastimes include ballroom and latin dancing, sailing, driving the “big carrot” 2007 corvette (ten-year member of local corvette car club), and reading the occasional old dusty record of some past forgotten tale, historical in nature of course. For example, my grandfather, who was a stationed as a pilot on the WWI western front during 1917, also flew over the Palestine 1918 front lines then late in the war, flew north over Mediterranean Sea to Greece (Salonika) and onwards into the Russian Civil war on the White armies southern front. Won the Cross of St George for some hair brained mission which WR still has, along with his other awards from the war and WWII. See scanned copies below for an interesting history tie in.
2. Write up the monthly scenario and any pick up games with detail and pictures, so WR can read the flow of battle and remember the scenario in his old age. There are favorite blog posts, including the tabletop disasters, which still received their time on the blog. WR can track those elusive dice too.
3. Mention his fellow gamers, some who has since travelled away or in the case of minority still, past on to rolling dice with a higher authority. We all are getting older.
4. A place of file storage, off the warren home computer, Storage for completed scenarios. and share them with whoever is interested. WR’s unpublished scenarios (a long list indeed), in time, will make the published stage. Storage of the club… group’s…napoleonic rules,  as they are slowly written down. The old Version 1.0 typed pages have been scanned and placed on the WR. The current Version 2.0 is on again, off again project. WR places the work on the rules near the bottom of every list… since the group gamers known them to heart… some what…. maybe. Which brings up #5…
5. Force WR to write and record in one open sourced public site the napoleonic rules, charts, tables, game design notes, forms and templates, pictures, diagrams, video links (YouTube), rule changes or improvements (quicker way or shortened form), and anything else connected to the group’s napoleonic game. Soon to be posted for the gaming group after several months of work, WR just finished a complete list of the French Republican and Imperial napoleonic French generals (1790-1815), attached any portraiture file WR had to each listing, and evaluated their game tabletop ratings, all in several .xls spreadsheet workbooks format. There are 1050 listed names and most have portraiture (small ,jpg file) attached to each name for the roster forms. Next will be the Austrian, English, Prussian and Russian commander lists, plus several of the minor states on the side. Except for Bob keeping alive the Version 1.0 charts, no one in the group has stepped up, supported, or lent a direct hand on this huge challenge. Seem we are all growing old…. and foggy minds are… shall we say, forgetting or changing the rules. With a set of written rules, in chapter by chapter format, diagrams, photographs and all that, we can have a standardized start point and know the interface differences of Version 1.0 and Version 2.0 rule formats.
6. Have a discussion point and written out commentary, with supportive data, including pictures or diagrams, to cover the aspects of the napoleonic wargame systems and rules in their current format. All recorded on WR for future use and reference. Document how to play the napoleonic game, in its basic form, with examples of play and give a visual image to support the written narrative.
7. A place to record the large miniature collection with photographic record. WR paints to a good basic level for all his miniatures, unit details etc, with simple but effective basing. He is no fine artist compared to many in his chosen hobby. As WR completes a “collection army” to his satisfaction, or at least useful on the scenario or “free play” tabletop, his WR plan is to feature that army collection on the WR blog. The number of miniatures in WR’s collection is… to say “large” may be an understatement, with many future years of blog posting ahead. WR’s 25/28mm painted historical napoleonic miniature collection numbers over 23,000 in 20+ nation states. In second place are the 25/28mm ancient armies, which leads to the Polish late 1600’s, WSS, SYW, and Dark Ages (or post-Roman world) collections. Generally a 25/28mm miniature painter, but 15mm ECW, TYW, and ACW collections stored in the warren. Then there is the WWII 20mm collections of tanks and infantry teams, a small WWI 20mm collection, and finally the 1/3000 modern navies collection, geared to the old “modern time” of the 1960-2000 era / period. Major benefit of this work… WR’s estate executor will have some supportive record to start the process of identifying the collections, supported by the spreadsheet accounting, and WR’s habit to labeling everything. Reichsarmee anyone? That unit is the Bayreuth Cuirassiers 1760 era…..
8. A place to write down and record the many local California historical miniatures conventions and fellow gamer home visits. Describe in basic terms what the convention offered, a game description of the games WR participated in and commentary. A common theme are the visits south to Bob’s garage on the 3rd Saturday every month. Bob continues the monthly meeting date after WR ended his YR1988 to YR2007 staging of monthly napoleonic and FOW WWII 20mm games. A new scenario every month was WR’s goal during his years in the garage trenches. Flank assaults, delayed arrivals, unbalanced scenarios, actual victory conditions vs. line up and charge forward scenarios, surprises, special event on the tabletop. The gamers never truly knew their fate till the evening hours. Pity WR blog wasn’t around then…. those scenarios were sometimes real beauties. Some were month to month games with the tabletop scenario left up (in place) and continued game play the following month. Another favorite trip is the ancient Clash of Empires 28mm or WWII Over the Top scenarios at David’s, or the trips to St Crispins group in Anaheim (2nd Saturday), or HMGS-PSW local or regional game days. Links to all are on the WR Future event tab.
9. Write ups on WR’s occasional foray into tabletop terrain construction. Commonly needed for a special or unique piece mentioned or required for a historical scenario which WR has dreamt (researched) up. A “how did I do it” piece of questionable literature work.
10. While digging about for historical material for a specific historical scenario, a place to post the links and material for those following WR’s footsteps, enabling them to save time and effort to arrive at their own effort and conclusions. Same for designer notes on how to construct a tabletop scenario or present a varied presentation of scenario designs to mix up the dull routine of group gaming found in some gaming clubs.
11. Hey, WR has come up with 10 reasons… better than I thought starting this blog post.

So with the above reasons, and others which WR’s too dimwitted brain to formulate as reasons to have this blog, the next five years should be interesting for recording the trail of miniature games, scenarios, painted miniatures and…. what ever crosses the rabbit’s mind that future evening. Thanks to all that have entered the warren, maybe left a comment, maybe sent an email, just found themselves notes on the daily record of visitors and looks. The encouragement spurs WR to continue his journey into the world of marching metal (and some plastic) miniatures.

The first WR post June 2011: The Battle of Salamanca 1812 scenario report at Bob’s. How times have changed and improved for the better.

Michael aka WR

P.S. Mentioned above some old documents on my grandfather, 2/Lieut. A.M. Verity, 47th Squadron. RAC, and his service in southern Russia 1919. The Officer’s mess menu and the signatures on back are interesting. Based on some of the names with rank WR thinks these names are his fellow messmates. A research of the squadron military record (Imperial War museum?) may shed some light.

The Mess menu in Russian and English. Note the hand drawn colored flag behind the black eagle. WR scanned the envelope which the mess menu was enclosed in.

Backside of the Mess menu. Signatures across the rear face. Russian and English names.

Second Lieutenant A.M. Verity awarded the St George 4th Class. Russian text. English text translation on next slide.

English translation of the Russian Caucasian Army (White) award letter to WR’s grandfather.

Interesting note: The Tsaritsyn operation mentioned on the award letter dated about June 1919. If you read the wikipedia article link you see the mentioning of Joseph Stalin and his actions around Tsaritsyn. Also the city of Tsaritsyn is known for another name later in WWII history…. Stalingrad.