Welcome everyone to the first post of 2021, and thank you for your support and comments over the course of 2020, and indeed 2019.
As I head rapidly towards the final part of my second year blogging, I was intending to do some kind of review. Has this blogging thing actually worked out and have I done what I intended to do. Then I should probably leave that a little longer, although the thought processes have been whirring away, and will continue to whir away.
I was intending for my first post of the year to be about something I did a lot of in 2020. That is walking in the local area. Yesterday (31 December) saw Mrs Nundanket and I take a long impromptu walk which proved to be very fulfilling, if that’s not too grand a term. Of that more anon.
However, on the Roll a One blog I saw mention of the God’s Own Scale (i.e. 6mm) podcast. There are interviews with the people who run three of the main 6mm manufacturers, Irregular, Baccus and Heroics & Ros. I just listened to the one (episode 14) with Andy Kirk from Heroics and Ros. As the bulk of my SYW armies are H&R, I was naturally intrigued to hear about one of my favourite manufacturers.
In the interview Andy talks about how he came to acquire the business, why he loves it and what he's been doing to develop the products and the customer experience. Now I know not everyone is a fan of 6mm, but you might find it interesting purely from a general interest point of view. Andy comes across really well, he is an engaging speaker, is clearly passionate about his subject and seems driven by providing something that meets customers needs. The interview touches on some of the challenges in producing ranges that people want and how they have redesigned some of the products to meet current tastes and production method to provide the products in a way that customers want. For example, historically H&R have produced mixed arms packs of infantry - each mould is a pack (about 50 to a pack). In the new designed infantry range the moulds are single weapon groups (about 1/2 dozen to a pack). The interview also covers the redesign of the H&R website, how turnover has quadrupled in the last decade, plans for the future and the impact of Covid-19. Not everyone's cup of tea but I found it fascinating. The full range contains a staggering 3,000 different castings.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
https://godsownscale6mm.podbean.com/e/episode-14-the-one-with-andy-kirk-from-heroics-and-ros/
First, good to see you got in a fulfilling walk. Here, seven inches of new snow in the last two days.
ReplyDeleteSecond, keep on blogging!
Third, I will give the suggested podcast a listen. I am very interested to hear about COVID impacts to the hobby.
Happy New Year!
Thanks Jon. The nearest we’ve had to snow in this part of the country was sleet on Friday afternoon.
DeleteI would say with 135 blog posts in 2020, that was quite a year; well over what I've managed since starting 9 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t realise it was that many! Obviously lockdown had an effect both in terms of time available and subject matter to write about.
DeleteWoke up to a further smattering of snow. I haven’t been out as has been sheet ice here for days. I may be interested in winter warfare but I have zero balance.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed your Blog posts this year, especially the walks given I used to live around that area when at and post Uni. Carry on Blogging and I'm looking forward to more of the same this year.
ReplyDeleteWere you at Kingston Uni Steve? I know a few guys who were there in the 90s and my daughter is now studying there.
DeleteWere you at Kingston Uni Steve? I know a few guys who were there in the 90s and my daughter is now studying there.
DeleteYep, at Kingston Poly as it was then, the Knight's Park campus, but graduated in 1986. I lived in Claremont Road in Surbiton until the late '80's then moved to Thames Ditton for a year. The walk from there along the river into Kingston was a regular trip for me at the weekends, especially when they had the Dunkirk boats as part of the regatta.
DeleteYou know in all my 26 years of living in the area I’ve never been to the regatta.
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