Once upon a time many moons ago I was young, innocent and carefree. Then in 1997...everything changed. You could be forgiven for thinking this is something to do with the New Labour party coming to power but back then my grasp of politics saw no further than the grumblings of my dad at the guys on the TV, after all I was only ten or eleven years old.
No, what happened was I discovered toy soldiers. These "phases" as parents like to call them affect us all as we grow up and grasp outwards in an effort to establish some notion of identity in the wider world. For me it was more of an affliction, something which latched onto me and then never let go. Something I even helped pass onto others, some of which still find themselves bitten by the modelling bug to this day. Now don't get me wrong, as afflictions go, this one is awesome! It does continue to linger on and remain with me like an old war wound. That is to say I'm constantly thinking about it and people give me funny looks because of it!
So this never really was a phase for me but became more of a life choice. Some people follow sports religiously or absorb themselves in their careers. Other branches of nerd slave themselves to an alternate existence on massive multi-player online roleplaying games. Me? I'm always trying to think of how to make a cool mini, what army I want next and what wargear I should give my general so he can smash my friend's armies to pieces!
And within all this I have a limited format for acknowledgement, advise or approval. All of us define ourselves by our pursuits and although we engage in them for our own personal gratification there is always the desire to "talk about it". The nature of this hobby being what it is the vast majority of people will be baffled, disconcerted or dare I have to admit...downright bored by the revelations that occur to me with regard to the world of my little plastic and metal men. Only those who share an interest in this wonderful domain are likely to enjoy me recanting my exploits and therefore I feel there should be a proper medium to deliver that.
In recent times the exposure of my efforts has been limited to outings at the pub (arguably the best venue!), whilst engaged in games with friends and by using facebook as a blog for my hobby. I have however come to the conclusion that there are a great deal of my friends on facebook who wouldn't particularly like to hear about the adventures of me and my toy soldiers and therefore that isn't the greatest format to deliver my enthusiasm. And thus finally five paragraphs in and many words later I get to the point of it all! I am starting this blog to chronicle my endeavours in my hobby which mostly encompasses Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000. I do also have a sizeable British 8th Army for Flames of War that at some point deserves my attention and will no doubt get mentioned here. By focusing on a blog I ought to be able to offer much more than a status on a social networking sight and who knows? Perhaps the wider Internet community (that is fellow hobbyists who stumble across my humble little blog) might enjoy reading about my adventures!
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