The Plastic Soldier Review website currently says "..it seems almost disrespectful to talk about trivial thing such as plastic figures", and that is an entirely understandable reaction. I do, however, think that there is a psychological benefit in difficult circumstances from continuing to indulge in our hobby. I remember reading somewhere someone saying that men (*) like to model the world in miniature because that makes them think that they can control it.
It also reminds me of something written by David Nobbs - best known for creating Reginald Perrin - in his novel, 'Second From Last in the Sack Race'. On September 3rd 1939 a group of small children are playing a literal and unsavoury game of Poohsticks:
"I don't think there was a single one of us, however small, however deplorably apolitical the home environment that helped to shape us, who was not aware that an event of cataclysmic importance was casting its shadow over our little world and over the great world beyond our little world. I remember we played some kind of game on that fateful morning. I forget the rules. They don't matter. What matters is that we felt a compulsion to play a game, a clean game, a game with rules, because we knew, with the untainted instincts of youth, that the world was embarking on an adventure which was definitely not a game, and that for many years to come there would be no rules."
* And, ironically given that I am posting this on International Women's Day, it really is men they were talking about.
Yes I agree....we seem to have a biased Western view on here...is the Russian attack significantly worse or less justified than the assault on Iraq, looking for WMD,s.....probably not. That doesn't make it right and I suspect the Russian armed forces are less capable than the US, UK, France etc...so overcoming the Ukaine will take them longer...but then, they are likely to be in the same mess the Coalition was post the end of major hostilities...on going guerilla warfare. So I don't feel bad about continuing to paint and post about toy soldiers, just as I did not feel bad about it when it was the West that was doing the attacking....
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