The Operations Room

One of the most common laments of wargamers is 'lack of space'. I've struggled with this for years, even going to the length of selling a large part of my 15mm WWII collection in order to make space for new projects. I'm sure I'm not alone in our community, struggling to fit 'a pint into a quart pot' with painting supplies, models and terrain squeezed into every available cupboard in the house. The green-eyed monster has risen more than once when I have looked at pictures of other wargamers dedicated hobby rooms, basements and attics. My house is a humble three-bedroom and with two kids and one future son-in-law living with us, space has been at a premium, especially in the last couple of years.

The Operations Room at RAF Duxford

As previously reported, my eldest daughter (the Original Padawan) has recently left home taking her partner and a vast quantity of boxes and furniture with her. I've spent the last couple of weeks decorating and moving my youngest daughter into the newly vacated room. That process is nearly complete and now I, at last, get to start work on her old bedroom, turning it into a long-awaited games room. It's not very large (about 10ft square), but given I have done without any dedicated space for nearly 30 years, I'm not going to complain! There's still a lot of stuff to clear out, mostly old furniture and a massive accumulation of toys that are destined either for the recycling centre or one of several local charity shops. Then the real work starts - decorating this small corner of the house so that it can be turned into my new Operations Room.

I already have my eye on new storage units for my miniatures, display cabinets for the walls and maybe even a new painting desk. Most importantly however I will be able to instal a small gaming table in the room. Its will be small, I don't think I can fit a 6x4, but as most of the games I play are 6mm my existing portable table will suffice for the time being. I may make a slightly larger top for it, but I need to see how much space I have first.

I've waited patiently for nearly 30 years, but over the next few months, I hope to finally have a place for all my collection in one location...and more importantly, space to grow it over the coming years.