Ramblings Over the Front
The Collection, or How the Wright Flight Needs An Intervention
by , 10-12-2014 at 16:10 (3107 Views)
I've been updating the aircraft list for the Wright Flight, just the core players, and thus far five of us have 300 Ares/Nexus aircraft and balloons. When pulling the information together, it is apparent that we have too many Olieslager Camels, can field a bombing wing of Capronis, and have more Fokker Dr.Is than were actually built during the war. Okay, I may be stretching the truth a bit, but we do have a half dozen Belgian Camels and a dozen Camels, and pretty much every other plane duplicated three or four fold. Personally I have been trying to confine my purchases to specific nations (Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Germany, and the United States), but when one of those nations is Germany is does make it difficult to keep the collection in check. But I have managed to do that somewhat, giving away some of my non-qualifying nations to other players.
The argument could be made that when we are all not present for a gaming session then those in attendance still have the planes they need to game with. A valid point, but it is rare when less than three of the core are present for a gaming session, which means we almost always have duplicates of the same planes. I keep trying to talk my gaming brethren out of buying planes I already have, but let's face it, we like what we like and will buy it regardless. For example, my buddy Adler64, after playing with a Sopwith Triplane for the first time (not his own) and enjoying the experience, walked up to the case at The Hobby Shop (where we were playing that day) and bought three! And I just know when those lovely Nieuport 28s come out, I can see at least four of us buying all three offerings. For me, I stay within my nations, or try to. But there are some planes that I would love to own because a) the plane is a wonderful performer within game context, or b) the plane has an excellent scheme and just looks cool, or c) both.
Then of course there is the pull of fielding airplanes that Ares does not make, nor do we think they will ever make. Take The G Dog, he is the float plane king of our group. Smitch has a pair of beautiful American Salmson 2A2s and has ordered some other fairly common aircraft. Myself I have just purchased some early and mid-war planes to fill in holes, and I have a Pfalz XII and Pfalz Dr.I because, well, I am a Pfalz-phile due to my mostly Bavarian ancestors.
Add in not only the gaming and collecting of planes (we only game Wings of War/Glory about once a month), but also the time I like to spend looking at and reading about the real pilots and planes, and one has to realize what a time investment Wings of War/Glory truly is. I spent hours at the Dawn Patrol. I stayed in the hotel across from the museum on Friday and Saturday evening, gamed both nights at The Game Haven, was at the show nearly all day Saturday and half of Sunday. One would think all that time invested in such a weekend would result in a bit of burnout, but it only whetted my appetite for more, more gaming and more history. Also, I seem to visit the museum about once a month. Did I mention that I also game A LOT of other historical periods, lead hikes and backpacking trips, am active in my Civil War Round Table, and am a board of trustees member for a state-wide hiking organization? It is a wonder I even keep gaming some days! Let's not forget, I am also married, and of course time well-spent with the wife is important to a happy life.
I currently have 40ish Ares/Nexus planes, and 10 Shapeways to work on. With the upcoming releases, I see another dozen being added, depending on what planes are chosen. Not sure how many I truly need, and maybe I do need to cut back a bit. Perhaps only one of each type of German aircraft, and collecting more than one type of each for the other three nations I am focused on.
I am sure there are plenty of forum members who have over 300 planes of their own and so having a group collection of that number is nothing. To that I say "bravo" and "fool" at the same time. Bravo for collecting at such a frenetic pace. Bravo for pulling off some incredible paint jobs. Bravo for being so passionate about this game system. But also fool. Realistically how many planes will you ever see on a table? Realistically how many Fokker Dr.Is do you need, both pre- and re-painted? Realistically how much time will you have to invest just to have those planes see the table top in the first place? Or maybe, just maybe, you DO spend time gaming much more often than I do, and maybe, just maybe, I am more jealous than condemning of your collections. I'll never tell.
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