By the 1990s, Ral Partha presented an enormous range of fantasy figures in 25mm as well as some in 15mm. The figures were meticulously sculpted and offered a dainty appearance when viewed next to most other figures of the time. Their D&D range was huge. The dragons were especially striking. But take a look at some of the other offerings like the Mimics. They also had several historical ranges including a beautiful but limited Renaissance range as well as an interesting colonial range.
The stuff of empires. Here are the original 3 books that began the whole thing as well as the first supplement. For those who do not know, players would take the part of a fantasy adventurer and enter dungeons in search of treasure while battling all sorts of foul creatures. One player, the dungeon master, would moderate the game and perhaps even craft his own dungeons and fantasy worlds. At the time I bought this, the game was not too well known but it sure caught on quickly.
Perhaps one of the things that binds the most popular games is introduced here. Players craft their characters, building a little game-playing avatar who goes for a romp in an imaginary world, not unlike the point-based armies created for games like Warhammer and WRG Ancients. By creating these imaginary persons or armies, one invests in it and is anxious to see how it fares.
It is surprising that a game shaped by miniatures rules in this case Chainmail should neglect that side of the hobby. TSR and Gary Gygax did provide Swords and Spells as a kind of Chainmail ver 2.0. But it was not enough to satisfy and the niche left open allowed all sorts of modules for single and massed combat to be concocted by other companies. Eventually, there was an effort to generate a more compelling set of rules but by then most gamers had found other approaches.
There was a time when Alnavco and the line of ships put out by Superior were a major source for naval miniatures. The line is still available with additional 1/2400 ships and the monster sized 1/1200 ships.
In the days before the ubiquitous shopping mall with its generic range of stores, any major city could be counted on to offer a dazzling range of toy and hobby shops. Likely one of the most dazzling was the multi-story hobby palace Polk’s Hobbies on 5th Avenue in New York City about a block south of the Empire State Building. Each floor was devoted to a particular hobby with one floor set aside for model soldiers. You could set your sights on plastic models or toy trains or working models. Of course, they had a wonderful collection of miniatures though mostly for those sort of people who enjoyed putting them under glass jars on curio shelves. Even so, this is where I went to purchase copies of the Wargaming Newsletter and The Dragon.
A trip to Polk’s was always an experience. The store clerks were generally rude or at best indifferent but at first it hardly seemed to matter. During the 60s, a weekend would see floors crowded with hobbyists in search of that elusive bit of detail. By the 70s though interest dwindled. 45th Street had multiple model railroad shops while 33rd and 57th boasted The Complete Strategist. Even the soldier-in-a-jar crowd could go to the plush Soldier Shop. Eventually, the upper floors were sold off and Polk’s was reduced to crowded quarters in the basement. In 2013, Polk’s finally closed its doors. While it was there, it was worth seeing.
Polk’s offered different catalogs for different hobbies. The figures catalog shown offers display figures and a handful of very early wargames. Below, an attempt to explain figure scale.
Here are some old figures from the Rogue Trader era. The Space Orcs had a curious Nazi biker quality to them. Citadel’s earlier use of metal figures as opposed to plastic seemed to allow a scope to added personality that seems lost now. The newer plastic figures draw variety from interchangeable heads and arms.
Perhaps even more interesting are the Squats. There used to be a nice range of these figures, cleverly sculpted with lots of personality. However, Games Workshop decided to shelve the Squats apparently because they did not mesh with the 40K world and possibly because they gave the game the appearance of a light work-over of the original Warhammer universe now simply dressed up in spacesuits.
Milton Bradley Toys and Games Workshop meet and create a game that was unfortunately far from epic. The simplistic rules might appeal to children, but for adults, the game components were the main draw. Dozens of plastic Warhammer miniatures were included, enough to sate even the most avid collector. If only MB spent a little more time on the game.
Happy New Year!
A side by side view of Prussian Landwehr in 15mm by Essex on the right and Battle Honors on the left. The Battle Honors figures appear more delicate, more carefully proportioned while the Essex figures which one reviewer described as ‘gnomish’ are a little more toy soldierish. Figures are primed white, painted with acrylics and metallic enamels.
Old Glory with its rather tall figures and exaggerated poses provide a range of Napoleonics. The Austrians are reputed to be their best. These are primed white, washed black, and then detail picked out. Flags are commercial but I do not recall the maker.
The website has been active now for several months selling nothing, promoting nothing, getting few visitors, and otherwise settling into a distant backwater of the Internet. Which is all well and good. An original expectation was that I would work on the design of a larger corporate website, something that did not materialize. Instead, I have had a lower level of input into a less noticeable site with limited rights and permissions. And this is where the Little Men came to the rescue.
I have been able to mimic much of the activity on the larger website including the use of mechanisms I would not normally have access to because on this website, I can do whatever I want. Sadly (or not), the content has been more limited than I had hoped. It is not so much a question of material as time. There is so blessed little of it. Even now, I spend much of the week traveling by plane or car and getting very little done. Even so, having this website available has been great at every level.
Of course, there is still more to come, perhaps as inconsequential as what has already been served up. This was meant to be a learning experience and it has been one. It was meant as an exploration and the exploration continues. I can find dozens of websites covering the same ground better presented and better informed. But this is where I learn and so far, it has been great.