TRIBUTE

Lately it seems, there have been an increasing number of wargames miniatures traders who have folded due to the owner/operators retiring. Sometimes they are picked up by other businesses (best case scenario) but it always comes as a bit of a shock to me when these announcements roll out.

On the weekend I learned that Elite Miniatures Australia is ceasing trading effective immediately. Nathan Vinson has been a stalwart of the Australian wargames scene since he and Scott started up the business in the 1990s - I have been buying from him since that time. I first met them when they started out at a CANCON. Nathan bought Scott out years back and has been at the vanguard especially of Napoleonic Wargaming (28mm) in Australia for three decades.

Due to distance (bit of a deal in Australia) I've only ever had the joy of playing with Nathan once and that was in Singleton when he was still the Captain of the Australian Army Sniper School. He's moved on since then and too far North for me to keep in touch other than through Facebook and over the occasional purchase.

What made Elite Miniatures Australia special was that Elite Miniatures figures were cast and distributed under licence locally. The cost savings to the customer were unparalleled. If I bought 4 x 28mm infantry figures from the same UK distributor they cost me AUD12.00 before international postage - AUD3.00 each. In Australia, buying the same figures cost me AUD1.50.

Elite Miniatures Australia allowed me to get into Grand Manner Napoleonic Wargaming with big battalions (1:20). Once you go there you can never go back. This was well before the arrival of plastic 28mm figures. My armies run at hundreds and hundreds of figures and as you can see from the price difference local distribution allowed, Elite Miniatures Australia yielded massive savings over time.

Elite Miniatures Australia announced closure of business due licensing changes, metal costs and something I am very familiar with - personal time-poverty.

I returned to wargaming in the mid-nineties when I was about 30. That return began with 28mm Napoleonics and principally with Elite Miniatures. I couldn't have done it without Nathan and Elite Miniatures Australia.

I want to thank Nathan for his very real contribution to the hobby in Australia. All good things must come to an end it seems and this was truly a very good thing.

He's leaving a massive hole that looks unlikely to be filled. Good luck mate. Thanks a tonne and when you are next in Canberra, let's get a game in.