tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post3863861053550888589..comments2024-03-28T21:00:41.841+00:00Comments on KEITH'S WARGAMING BLOG: Miniature Wargaming - The Movie. A ReviewKeith Flinthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12903769462646267048noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-4185538221765211652022-02-13T11:35:30.626+00:002022-02-13T11:35:30.626+00:00A very well written and fair review. I did not kno...A very well written and fair review. I did not know there was a film in production let alone having been produced, thanks for the review Keith, I will give it a miss and as you point out on Utube there's lots of videos of people having fun with this hobby.<br />Looking forward to catching up with you at the Cotswold gaming day.<br /><br />Willz Harley.Tiberian generalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12751123635695247896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-10203725174572037012022-02-11T02:02:39.758+00:002022-02-11T02:02:39.758+00:00A very well written and fair review. You have a go...A very well written and fair review. You have a good writing style and your points are well made. I think that I will pass on this film.<br /><br />JimDer Alte Fritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01578422757511400566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-81916058149046635332022-01-13T02:09:21.946+00:002022-01-13T02:09:21.946+00:00Nobody gets anybody else's hobby, except peopl...Nobody gets anybody else's hobby, except people who share that hobby. That being said, I think it is so important as human beings for us to have hobbies (or enthusiasms), any hobbies. It's good for nourishing our souls. <br /><br />I am currently working on co-developing a documentary script for a client whose hobby (which I'm under NDA to conceal) I don't understand in the least. But listening to him talk about his passion is infectious. The filmmaker I'm working with and I had the idea of emulating Ken Burns's style, a filmmaker who has made virtually any subject riveting. So many of Burns's docs were of topics I had, initially, had no interest (like Country Western Music, for instance). And yet watching them, I became hooked. <br /><br />It's the way you tell a story that's as important as the story itself. Jeff Berryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09188876209461291938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-62138565981940220452022-01-11T09:39:36.433+00:002022-01-11T09:39:36.433+00:00@ lewisgunner - you're absolutely right when y...@ lewisgunner - you're absolutely right when you mention reality TV. That's what the director was looking for, as a film maker doing his first full length documentary. Interestingly though, it seems he is involved in wargaming and has wargamed in the past, though maybe not historical gaming.<br /><br />And yes, if only the guy had contacted me! Things would have worked out so much better!Keith Flinthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12903769462646267048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-22095644484728761142022-01-08T09:42:13.308+00:002022-01-08T09:42:13.308+00:00I still like the scene in Callan where he meets hi...I still like the scene in Callan where he meets his "target" for a game. I guess fundamentally its one of those hobbies that may just not work on the small screen. <br /><br />I do though look forward to seeing you on the Great British Wargaming Challenge one day with some old military type fronting it! Oh hang on I'm getting Time Commanders flash backs now! Wargamer Stuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05108623245011101004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-2670739359663738332022-01-08T08:57:15.523+00:002022-01-08T08:57:15.523+00:00Good review Keith, as usual you have given lots of...Good review Keith, as usual you have given lots of thought to the subject that you are addressing. It must be hard for any film maker or journalist to understand and then reflect what wargaming is as a hobby because it is so unstructured. The small company stories are easy to grab and have what film needs, which is a small cast, under stress, dealing with a definable and pictorially representable problem…its a bit if reality TV. <br />It would be much easier if the wargaming was like squash or curling, where there is an established set of rules and a structure of clubs and participation. I sort of assume that there is no one sitting in their converted spare bedroom playing solo squash? Wargaming is too diffuse to be easily understood unless one was to take an investigative stance based upon ‘Where’s the magic? ‘ n What is the pleasure that we players with toy soldiers derive from this hobby where there is research, modelling , painting, parading, gaming, competing and warm social interaction. Perhaps the producers and directors should have talked to you first?lewisgunnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01935143236897047636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-60823044764160877852022-01-05T13:33:01.325+00:002022-01-05T13:33:01.325+00:00@Steve - yeah, I really wanted to like this film, ...@Steve - yeah, I really wanted to like this film, and it's not without merit, but as a documentary about miniature wargaming it falls short. Miniature wargaming - Helping With Depression might be a more honest title. Or Miniature Wargaming - The Small Business Model.Keith Flinthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12903769462646267048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-90641373762388541812022-01-05T13:28:48.656+00:002022-01-05T13:28:48.656+00:00@Norm - same goes for me. I like to reflect on wha...@Norm - same goes for me. I like to reflect on what the hobby is and where it might be going, but ultimately it's just my own little projects and keeping in touch with my group of wargaming friends. Not really bothered what companies are doing well or badly, or whether historical wargaming is declining or not!Keith Flinthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12903769462646267048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-2631801459983639362022-01-05T07:00:11.020+00:002022-01-05T07:00:11.020+00:00Thanks for the review which has confirmed what I&#...Thanks for the review which has confirmed what I'd already heard about this film. Definitely won't be watching this unless it appears free on Amazon or on Netflix, but then only maybe as a last resort!Steve J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12143308117853983963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-73226716738270710302022-01-04T19:48:19.472+00:002022-01-04T19:48:19.472+00:00Thanks for the review. I must admit I had forgotte...Thanks for the review. I must admit I had forgotten about its release and after the initial announcements several years ago I simply thought they had given up on it.<br />Once again a great opportunity has been missed.<br />Wargaming is a wonderful hobby but we have always struggled to do it justice via the media.For want of something better to watch I have been following a series re Hornby and to be honest it has been very good. In one episode there were two wargamers extolling the joys of wargaming and their set up was first rate.It was a good advertisement for our hobby. Personally I have always thought a series of talks by the wonderful Harry Pearson reading and discussing anecdotes form his excellent Achtung Schweinhund would be a far better prospect. Thanks for saving me a tenner.<br /> Independentwargamesgrouphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07019172667119107650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-91927878026611718612022-01-04T17:27:02.971+00:002022-01-04T17:27:02.971+00:00Thanks Keith. I would agree that wargaming is a gr...Thanks Keith. I would agree that wargaming is a grass roots hobby and although we now have some manufacturing giants, for a long time it has been one under-pinned by cottage industry and there is still a truth in that. <br /><br />I therefore wonder sometimes when a media outlet, often blogs, bangs on about ‘the state of the hobby’ or ‘why are we all playing skirmish games’ or ‘its not as good as it was because the kids don’t do historical research type posts’, when really the only thing that matters in my wargame world is ….. well, my wargame world. <br /><br />Everyone could stop playing wargames tomorrow, but if i’m still playing them, there is no bigger picture issue for me. So I think there will typically always be a mismatch between what a person experiences as their own ‘wargaming today’ and what someone else tells them about ‘wargaming today’. Hope that all makes sense, I have just re-read it and it sounds like a cross between a rant and losing the plot :-) Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-49390086643305733952022-01-04T16:52:49.607+00:002022-01-04T16:52:49.607+00:00I think if I was trying to introduce someone to mi...I think if I was trying to introduce someone to miniature wargaming the best thing to do would be to set up a simple scenario with small forces, such as Blastoff Bridge from Charge! by Young and Lawford, and get them playing, not show them a film.<br /><br />But if I had to show them a film that featured wargaming, I would pick Callan, starring Edward Woodward, which shows the two protagonists united in their enjoyment of the hobby and interest in military history, despite the fact they on opposite sides in the murky world of espionage. arthur1815https://www.blogger.com/profile/12333670394529977263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1430463007570237159.post-36821364919228462402022-01-04T15:18:26.853+00:002022-01-04T15:18:26.853+00:00Good review but ultimately very disappointing, wit...Good review but ultimately very disappointing, with your review and others I have seen I think I will give it a miss. It's a real shame as it is a missed opportunity to show the hobby off.Donnie McGibbonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04231467693466430436noreply@blogger.com