Monday, June 9, 2014

A Military Gentleman

Ottoman cavalry  charge into a Thin Green Line somewhere on the Steppes of Russia. Photo copyright by John Ray and printed with his permission.


For those of you who have already purchased a copy of John Ray's book, "A Military Gentleman", you might be interested to know that a related on- line forum has been created for all owners of the book. The forum has been open since approximately March 2014 and there has been a lot of lively conversation about general Wargame topics, painting and basing tips, pictures of various forum members' collections of miniatures and lots and lots of pictures of John Ray's collection of miniatures that were not included in the book. In addition, some of the forum members are participating in a new campaign, circa the mid 1770s in Europe, and the campaign has already generated a number of tabletop battles and even more gorgeous photographs of the John Ray collection.

For more information, click on the following link to the website for "A Military Gentleman" and get a preview of some of the content that is available only to forum members. 


There you will find a nice slide show that provides a further preview of the forum experience.

If you do not already own a copy of the book, then fear not, as a limited number of copies are still available. However, once the book is sold out, then that is it as a reprinting of the book is not likely, given its expense.

I leave you with the words of John Ray, himself, as he describes what the forum is all about. Information on how to join the group is provided at the end of the second paragraph:

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"Given that AMG was not cheap to produce, nor was it cheap to purchase, and I would not wish to devalue the book for those who have invested financially by ‘splashing’ loads of free photographs across the internet. So I have decided to create a forum to answer some, if not all of the above. In addition there will be areas for general hobby discussion for members who are interested in the Horse and Musket period. This will be a forum for model soldier collectors, not just members who wargame. Foremost I am a collector of model soldiers who on occasions display figures on a table; enjoying the company of friends of like persuasion.

The lounge area is available to those that have purchased the book. Here questions can be put and we’ll endeavour to answer them. In addition, more photographs will be included and free downloads of the campaign mentioned above will be made available. These downloads follow the same lines of the layout shown in AMG, including more original unseen artwork. More important than the AMG section of the forum will be areas for general hobby chat with like minded model soldier collectors. This will be an online forum with a difference, where first names will be the norm, no pseudonyms allowed, and a convivial supportive atmosphere will be paramount. If you have purchased the book and would like to join us, please just email me at johnrayAMG@yahoo.co.uk stating the email address you will be using and include your book number and I will respond with your password. "

2 comments:

  1. Jim,

    Thank you for your support of the Forum and purchasing the book.

    Having sold most of the books, I wanted to repay those who purchased, with a Forum with a 'Give Back', Free PDFs prepared professionally on the same format of the book.

    The Forum already has a relaxed atmosphere, where members feel part of a hobby community.
    I believe that the stringent rule of no pseudonyms only first names as helped to create a Forum hard to equal if you like the Horse and Musket period.

    Hope to see book owners on the forum.

    Before you register please email me at johnrayamg@yahoo.co.uk for your username.

    Regards to All in the Hobby.

    John

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  2. Dear Jim,

    My copy sits in an honored pleace near the recliner and is enjoyed fully, read and viewed in small bits. Many years ago I read a small bit in the Reader's Digest about the art of slow reading. Things that are as wonderful as this book deserve to be read slowly and digested bit by bit.

    Happy Father's Day!

    Jerry

    A/K/A The Celtic Curmudgeon
    "Grumpy is good."

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