ALL THE NEWBIE QUESTIONS
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:47 pm
Hmmmmmm where to put this....... I suppose tips and tricks might be OK.......
Way back when - When I was part of a conventional group portraying a fixed unit - We came up with some pretty cool stuff in our time - We were considered quite an outfit and we achieved many things - Lots of which survive to this day and indeed set trends if I may put the modesty cap in the drawer for a moment or two.
But all things changed and some of us went on to form something else new and rather radical but the recent crop of noobs and - yep - sorry - dweebs, has prompted me to try something. Instead of simply criticising and piss taking - I thought I'd try to share some old fashioned techniques and get back to basics - The basics of what makes a group GOOD and what makes a re-enactor worth his salt.
I don't know how it's going to be received - probably criticised by the current crop of starlets and fly boys - Certainly I feel the Euro babes might have a jump on it - But remember - We DID it - By using the techniques and the methods illustrated on this thread - We made the Windhund a known group and we established some precedents that are still the foundation of many groups. Certainly - We weren't wholly original - I personally acknowledge in GREAT part the SBG and its structure, excellent discipline and attention to detail. I fully conceded that a lot of what I did in the 90's and 00's owed much to that venerable organisation that today still stands out amongst them all. I also say that we took some aspects of the hobby and we modernised them. We even dared to innovate in places and we certainly changed the direction of some aspects of the game......
How did we do it? Kameradschaft, Purpose and Direction. We ran a tight ship - It was made up of MEN, not nampy pamby dressy uppy boys...... We were men who put on a uniform and we knew what we were going to do that weekend. We had goals and objectives and we did something VERY important. We communicated. We talked to each other - on the phone, in the pub, at the gig - The internet was in its infancy and only a few took it up immediately - So we used that as a communication tool too. We built a website and we put loads of content on it. We updated it regularly and we advertised.
Members had to have their kit together by a certain time - We had kit lists and we did something that I still believe is fundamentally important even in this electronic age.... WE HAD A NEWSLETTER! I kicked it off then Herr Schmidt did it for a while before I took it back on. It was an A5 publication and it ran sometimes to FORTY pages! I know SBG still publishes "Signal" and I believe this is an important tool in both making members feel they belong and in keeping people informed and in touch. I still have 27 or so issue of "Der Windhund" and I just spent a couple of hours reading them. Over a decade on, they still make sense and they are still current.
Our purpose as a group was mainly to recreate Panzer Grenadiers. We did this at static displays and we also rapidly decided to do battles for the public. To this end we kitted up with FAC1 rifles and we were the most prolific unit owning MGC MP40s for a while - I remember ELEVEN coming out to a battle one weekend! We had mortars, schrecks and all manner of toys which people used to stand and drool over - Yeah - sure - other groups had them too but the Windhund proper tooled up and made a noise wherever it went! We had FUN! But alongside this there was a serious side and members used to arrange trips to the Heurtgenwald every year too. Vehicles were a large part of the 116 and at its peak I remember the following vehicles all being incorporated at the same time
2x OT810 converted halftracks
1x Marder Munitionschlepper
1x Opel Blitz
3 x Typ82 Keubelwagens (1 replica)
1 x Typ166 Schwimmwagen
4x Dnieper/Ural converted Combis
Why the history lesson? Well it's about history isn't it? and roots..... and I feel a lot of this hobby has lost its roots at the moment.
So back to the fundamentals and the basis of this thread - I'd like to reproduce some documents which saw their final form in 2005 and were of great help when getting people started and up to speed in this hobby. They gave people something to do and something to learn over and above "what am best gun" and "Which am best choonik"
I hope that they will be as well received as they were by members of 116 and that people will take them and adapt them to use within their own units. FFS - don't start a bunfight over wrong spellings or mistakes in drill, uniform or whatever - just take the documents for what they are - aids. Aids to making people belong and making people look, act and feel right. If there is a mistake here and there - then make sure your document corrects it - Don't try to score points on me with petty postings to make yourself look smarter - Remember - I have been there and done it - Have you??????
Way back when - When I was part of a conventional group portraying a fixed unit - We came up with some pretty cool stuff in our time - We were considered quite an outfit and we achieved many things - Lots of which survive to this day and indeed set trends if I may put the modesty cap in the drawer for a moment or two.
But all things changed and some of us went on to form something else new and rather radical but the recent crop of noobs and - yep - sorry - dweebs, has prompted me to try something. Instead of simply criticising and piss taking - I thought I'd try to share some old fashioned techniques and get back to basics - The basics of what makes a group GOOD and what makes a re-enactor worth his salt.
I don't know how it's going to be received - probably criticised by the current crop of starlets and fly boys - Certainly I feel the Euro babes might have a jump on it - But remember - We DID it - By using the techniques and the methods illustrated on this thread - We made the Windhund a known group and we established some precedents that are still the foundation of many groups. Certainly - We weren't wholly original - I personally acknowledge in GREAT part the SBG and its structure, excellent discipline and attention to detail. I fully conceded that a lot of what I did in the 90's and 00's owed much to that venerable organisation that today still stands out amongst them all. I also say that we took some aspects of the hobby and we modernised them. We even dared to innovate in places and we certainly changed the direction of some aspects of the game......
How did we do it? Kameradschaft, Purpose and Direction. We ran a tight ship - It was made up of MEN, not nampy pamby dressy uppy boys...... We were men who put on a uniform and we knew what we were going to do that weekend. We had goals and objectives and we did something VERY important. We communicated. We talked to each other - on the phone, in the pub, at the gig - The internet was in its infancy and only a few took it up immediately - So we used that as a communication tool too. We built a website and we put loads of content on it. We updated it regularly and we advertised.
Members had to have their kit together by a certain time - We had kit lists and we did something that I still believe is fundamentally important even in this electronic age.... WE HAD A NEWSLETTER! I kicked it off then Herr Schmidt did it for a while before I took it back on. It was an A5 publication and it ran sometimes to FORTY pages! I know SBG still publishes "Signal" and I believe this is an important tool in both making members feel they belong and in keeping people informed and in touch. I still have 27 or so issue of "Der Windhund" and I just spent a couple of hours reading them. Over a decade on, they still make sense and they are still current.
Our purpose as a group was mainly to recreate Panzer Grenadiers. We did this at static displays and we also rapidly decided to do battles for the public. To this end we kitted up with FAC1 rifles and we were the most prolific unit owning MGC MP40s for a while - I remember ELEVEN coming out to a battle one weekend! We had mortars, schrecks and all manner of toys which people used to stand and drool over - Yeah - sure - other groups had them too but the Windhund proper tooled up and made a noise wherever it went! We had FUN! But alongside this there was a serious side and members used to arrange trips to the Heurtgenwald every year too. Vehicles were a large part of the 116 and at its peak I remember the following vehicles all being incorporated at the same time
2x OT810 converted halftracks
1x Marder Munitionschlepper
1x Opel Blitz
3 x Typ82 Keubelwagens (1 replica)
1 x Typ166 Schwimmwagen
4x Dnieper/Ural converted Combis
Why the history lesson? Well it's about history isn't it? and roots..... and I feel a lot of this hobby has lost its roots at the moment.
So back to the fundamentals and the basis of this thread - I'd like to reproduce some documents which saw their final form in 2005 and were of great help when getting people started and up to speed in this hobby. They gave people something to do and something to learn over and above "what am best gun" and "Which am best choonik"
I hope that they will be as well received as they were by members of 116 and that people will take them and adapt them to use within their own units. FFS - don't start a bunfight over wrong spellings or mistakes in drill, uniform or whatever - just take the documents for what they are - aids. Aids to making people belong and making people look, act and feel right. If there is a mistake here and there - then make sure your document corrects it - Don't try to score points on me with petty postings to make yourself look smarter - Remember - I have been there and done it - Have you??????