The Great Army Give-Away!

Every so often a thread will flare up on forum somewhere on the internet about the pros and cons of 6mm miniatures. What has always irritated me is that many of those making negative comments about 6mm had never actually seen them at close hand or tried their hand at painting them. I've long argued with those of the, 'Can't see them, never mind paint them!' school that unless they have actually had a go at doing just that, then they were talking from a postion of ignorance rather than experience.

Just this sort of thread appeared on THE MINIATURES PAGE in June 2004. As a result, I decided that I'd do something positive rather than just join in the usual mud-slinging. As a result, on 17th June the following announcement was placed on TMP:

'The Great Baccus Army Give Away!

I have free army packs to give away to the first twenty people to contact me. These are all from the Baccus Spanish Succession DBR range and comprise a 100-point condensed scale army, including a full uniform-painting guide and full-colour flags.

The catch?
Well, firstly this offer is not for those of you out there who already use Baccus miniatures - remember, I know who you are! :-)

Secondly, I expect all recipients to paint the army up quickly and report their experience with it back to me, preferably with a photograph of the end results.

What's it all about?

Well, this is for two groups of people:

• Firstly, this is aimed at all those gamers who have been intrigued by the possibilites that 6mm can offer, but have not yet taken the plunge. It is a painless and free means of getting some 6mm in your hands and giving them a go.
  
• Secondly, it is aimed fair-and-square at all of those of you out there who automatically react to 6mm miniatures by declaring that you "can't see them, never mind paint them," or regard them as shapeless lumps of metal. There are loads of you who have said this in public often enough, so I know that you are out there.

I am putting my money where my mouth is by offering to place some of the little chaps in front of you at my own expense. All you have to do is to have a go at painting them. The packs aren't all that large, so they won't take long to do.

I will be adding a feature section to my site reporting all feedback, both good or bad - so now is your opportunity to prove me wrong. After all, if you say you can't paint in 6mm scale, how do you know if you have never tried?

I look forward to hearing from you!'

I had expected a limited reaction to this, and to be honest was wondering if they would all be taken and I would have to explain in public why I couldn't even give 6mm armies away...

However the response was amazing! All twenty packs were spoken for in 65 minutes. Emails and telephone calls continued to pour in, even after I'd send a frantic email to Bill Armintrout at TMP to post a feature asking people not to call. The last request arrived 36 hours after the original post and there were 372 hopefuls all wanting to give it a go.

The Army packs were sent out on 23rd June 2004. This page will be upadated as I get the results and reactions back. It should make fascinating reading.

The following were those who go to me quickest plus one 'guest'. Sam Mustafa is the author of the exellent 'Grande Armee' Napoleonic rules. The fact that Sam, a committed and faithful 28mm gamer has produced one of the most 6mm friendly rules on sale is something of an irony, and I thought I'd give him the chance to see what all the fuss is about.