Less than five years ago, when I first contemplated a website to display and discuss my WWII miniatures, I intended it as a way to stay in touch with fellow collectors at the Armored Fighting Vehicle Forum, where I had been posting for some time. Teeming with enthusiasm, I pitched the idea to my family. One of my kids glanced at me quizzically and wondered out loud if there were enough people out there interested in my “stuff.” My wife, on the other hand, was characteristically brutally honest: “Ah, so your three friends from the Forum can look at your little toys,” she quipped with a smirk. It was an inauspicious and discouraging beginning for my proposed endeavor.

Today, a reader in Poland visited this site. It was an insignificant click for that reader but a milestone for this website, for with that click the site reached one million views. I realize that it may not seem like much in a time when a post on YouTube can go viral with millions of views in a couple of days. And yet, I’m thrilled. I had always assumed that I was one of a small brotherhood of geeks obsessed with war miniatures. Not so.

After wondering who was visiting the website, I installed a flag counter earlier this year (the widget at the very bottom on the right hand side of the screen). I was stunned to find that there are people all over the world visiting the website. In five months, miniature enthusiasts from over 100 countries, including unlikely places such as Iran and Iraq, have visited the website, as graphically demonstrated by the flag counter map below. I’m now certain that I’m not alone.

I would like to thank everyone who happens upon this site — loyal readers and casual browsers alike — for their support. I do this because I know there are people out there who read it. I can’t think of a greater reward.

Dear Readers:

I have spent over a year serving in a war-torn country where I didn’t have access to the hobby. While being away from family and friends was undoubtedly the toughest part of the tour, being away from the hobby — my books, tanks, planes, soldiers and, of course, fellow collectors — was easily the second hardest part. At any rate, I’m back, eager to resume where I left off before my long absence.

As I reread some of my previous posts, I realized that some included more text than necessary and not enough photos to illustrate the narrative. A long list of nearly completed articles also made me conclude that I often failed to publish articles because of some missing piece of information that, in any event, was minor and not crucial to the post. I will apply two aphorisms going forward: First, “a picture paints a thousand words” so I have resolved to be less verbose and include more photos; and second, “perfect is the enemy of the good” so I will seek to publish pieces when they convey sufficient information to make them useful, even if some information is still missing.

When I began this blog I aspired to publish one post each week. Alas, as some fellow bloggers with similar websites had cautioned, daily life often interferes with the hobby and even a single post a month can be challenging. Still, I have enough in the pipeline that a monthly post is feasible. Anyhow, I will strive to make it so.

To those readers who left comments that went unanswered during my absence, I sincerely apologize. It is precisely for you that I write this blog. I genuinely appreciate that you visited the blog and cared enough about the content to leave a comment. I will endeavor to respond to those comments as time permits.

Regarding the Pearl Harbor diorama I enthusiastically began more than a year ago, I promise you I completed it and photographed it — Scout’s Honor. I simply didn’t get a chance to write the narrative to accompany the photographs. You will see several posts on the diorama over the next couple of months.

Thanks for visiting the site. Our enjoyment of the hobby is greatly enhanced when we share it with like-minded individuals.

Warm regards,

chules