Sunday, January 3, 2016

'Nostalgia' from AlanD - Forgotten Heroes of The Advancing Game


I played my first wargame in the late 1970s, probably when I was about 8 or 9 years old. Every couple of weeks, after some badgering from my brother and me, my dad would move the furniture in the dining room over to the side, get out the 1/32 (54mm) Airfix Napoleonic figures, and we would play The Advancing Game. 


 The imaginatively named Advancing Game involved setting up our boxes of Napoleonic Infantry on one side of the dining room. My box was French Line Infantry, my brother had British, and my dad used the Scots. The goal of the game was to advance as many as possible of our figures across the carpet to the other side of the room, moving our armies a hand span at a time. In between each turn, one of us would be at the other end of the room with our treasured Britains 5.5 inch spring loaded howitzer, firing a certain number of nails to mow down as many of the stoically advancing figures as possible. 


During the next couple of years playing The Advancing Game the three of us competed to devise projectiles to cause as much mayhem as possible, even making chainshot from a couple of nails linked by paper clips. Inaccurate and short range, but it could be devastating as the plastic enemies approached their goal of overrunning the gun.

We grew up, the spring in the gun broke, but playing The Advancing Game remains one of my treasured childhood memories. For the Nostalgia round I went looking for the Airfix figures we used. I couldn't find my French, but I located in a drawer the British and Scots, along with some of the missiles my father made that we once used on the dining room carpet, one of which is featured here.


At last, the heroes of The Advancing Game receive this memorial, in honour of their years of service marching into the jaws of death a hand span at a time.

25 comments:

  1. That is just magnificent. All the memories!

    Nostalgia at its purest, well done Alan!

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  2. A great tribute Alan, they look great!

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  3. Loved the memories, nice one Alan!

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  4. Loved the memories, nice one Alan!

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  5. You should publish those rules! I have one 54mm Airfix Redcoat, these are much lovelier!

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  6. Heck this brings back memories, well done!

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  7. I remember that game. Even had the same gun but mine was Africa Corps vs 8th Army

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    1. My 1/32 Airfix Afrika Korps were usually deployed in forts made out of blocks.

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  8. Games with dads and Kids are probably how most of us began.

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  9. That carpet it GOLD. Brilliant effort Alan!

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    1. Thanks Millsy. Sadly, I didn't have a sample of the original garish tartan carpet we had in the room.

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  10. A fantastic bit of family history Alan, I think it's just wonderful. It's even made better seeing the figures and a sample of the ammunition you used. Just awesome. Thanks for sharing that.

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  11. Wonderful family history and fantastic painting. And what a projectile! Thanks for sharing.

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  12. Mine was pack 75 howitzers , and the other side a pak40! .. Nice entry

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  13. This is absolutely great. The story, the figures, the basing are all just perfect.

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  14. Brilliant! I played with my dad a few times, mostly I launched marbles and the dreaded steelies( ball bearings) at the opposing force.
    Beautiful work on the troops with the lace and braid...also a reminder of why I don't throw projectiles at my forces anymore! I'd hate to wreck the paint! ;)

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  15. great job - I also had these miniatures, but I could never paint them so well

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  16. Beautiful! These guys really take me back! Thanks.

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  17. Great story of childhood memories and super painting of figures that fought in those games.

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