by Jim Purky
1. 15th Annual SYWA Convention will be held once again in South Bend, Indiana on Friday March 27th and Saturday March 28th, 1998 at the Holiday Inn Downtown. Paul Petri and Brian Vizek are once again heading up this year's gala event, which will include special guest speakers Christopher Duffy and Brian Leigh Dunnigan. As with last year, the convention hall will open its doors on Friday morning at 9 am to accomodate a full day of wargaming on both convention days. The usual assortment of dealers will be in attendence, giving members a chance to see, firsthand, a wide range of books, publications and wargame products related to 18th Century military history. Anyone wishing to host a wargame should contact Paul Petd at 1012 Darmouth Ddve, Bartlett, IL 60103 (or email him at zeithen@aol.com). Remember, its not too early to start making reservations at the Holiday Inn for this event. 2. Christopher Duffy Trip to Silesia Professor Duffy's second tour of Frederician battlefield sites of the Seven Years War is scheduled to take place May 15 to May 24, 1998. The tour is limited to about 30 members and slots are filling up fast. This ten day tour will meet in Berlin on Friday May 15, 1998 and travel to Breslau (Wroclaw), which will be the headquarters for all site seeing. Specific sites have not been determined at this point in time, but sites visited will likely include Leuthen, Leignitz, Hohenfriedburg, Kunersdorf andlor Zorndorf, to name but a few. Dr. Marc Heine will once again accompany us and handle all of the logistics. Anyone interested in joining this once-in-a lifetime tour should contact Marc Heine at Tour de Force Travel, Flexibreaks Travel Service Ltd., 7 Seymour Place, London WIH SAG, United Kingdom. The telephone and fax number is 0181-983-1487. Tour cost is £ 730 with a single room supplement of £ 120. A non-refundable £ 100 deposit is required immediately with the balance of the tour price to be paid by March 20, 1998. UK residents can submit sterling checks or bank drafts, while US residents can pay using Visa or Mastercard. To call or fax from the US, dial 011-44-181-983-1487. The tour price includes hotels, 9 breakfasts and 9 dinners, ground transportation, guide services, taxes and gratuities. Note that transportation costs to and from Berlin are not included in the cost. 3. Old Glory 15mm French Cavalry A recent visit to Emperor's Headquarters revealed that five more packs of French cavalry for the SYW had been released. They come in bags of 30 horses and riders with an assortment of different poses and command figures. The company did not send me any samples to review hence I can not give you any more details. New bags include SYF-4 Hussars in Mirliton, SYF-5 Dragoons in Bonnet, SYF-6 Dragoons in Tricorn, SYF-7 Schomberg Dragoons in helmet, SYF-8 Cuirassiers in Tricorn, and SYF-9 Cuirassiers in Bearskins. ll~e cost per bag is $18.50. 4. Future Old Glory SYW Releases I was informed that Old Glory intends to add British artillery so that the King's Forces are no longer out-gunned by the Jacobites. A1so on the horizan is a major release of Hanoverian troops in 15mm scale. This is terrific news for those of us who like to game the SYW in Western Germany. No time table for the releases has been given, other than the fact that they will be released in 1998. At this time, I would like to ask all members to write a short note to Mr. Russ Dunaway at Old Glory and (1) thank him for supporting the SYW period with 15mm and 25mm wargame figures, and (2) plead with him to add a 15mm bag of French Household Cavalry to the range. Afterall, the Gensdarmes and Carabiniers did fight in the SYW and are an integral part of any French wargame army. As we know, the Maison du Roi units did not take the field in the SYW, but they were very conspicuous in the War of Austrian Succession. I am hopeful that a letter writing campaign by the membership might encourage Old Glory to add the Maison du Roi to their 15mm line. At the present, Minifigs and FreiKorps 15 are the only source of such figures, but they are too small to use with popular brands such as Essex and Old Glory. Wnte to Old Glory at P0 Box 20, Calumet, PA 15621 or call (412) 423-3580. 5. Guernsey Foundry 25mm Prussian Hussars GF recently added Prussian hussars in fur busbies and mirlitons to their growing range of SYW figures. Ihe good news is that they look terrific. The bad news is that they come in 3 pieces (legs, torso with head, and pelisse) and require assembly. It appears that the legs and torso fit together with minimal problems, but I've had a devil of a time gluing the pelisse to the body. The end result probably makes it worth while, but personally I would have preferred a one piece casting with less animation. I may depict my regiment without the pelisse to save myself the trouble of assembling the figures. The accompanying light horses are well rendered and in good proportion to the riders. Note: I was in error when I said that Steve Philips was representing Guernsey Foundry on the west coast. Steve shows product samples at various conventions and takes ordas which are sent to the company or to its official representative, Pendragon Miniatures, in Ohio. I apologize for any confusion that my own confusion over this arrangement may have caused. 6. Osprey's Army of Louis XV I am told that there will be one more volume (no. 5) in the 5 volume set on the 18th Century French army. Volumes 1-4 are already in circulation. Volume 4, just released, covers light infantry and specialist troupe, while Volume 5 will cova naval and colonial troops. No word yet on the release date, which should be in 1998. 7. Remarks on Cavalry - von Warnery This classic book by the famous Prussian hussar commander has recently been reprinted in English by Constable and Co. Ltd, 3 The Lanchesters, 162 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 9ER. The book is available from On Military Matters, Articles of War and Emperor's HQ, among other dealers. The cost is $30.00 and includes an introduction and forward by Brent Nosworthy. This book covers actual battlefield tactics as employed during the 18th Century and includes 31 line drawings of cavalry types and 10 plates illustrating cavalry formations in addition to 14 pages of commentary by Brent Nosworthy. This book is a must have edition for all SYW libraries. 8 Regimental Colors Yikes, these guys have just released a huge collection of 15mm and 25mm French cavalry and infantry flags that are too numerous to mention in this limited space. These flags are simp1y the best that I have ever seen. A line of Austrian infantry (regimental and liebfahne) and Reichsarmee flags (Ferentheil, Cronegk and Varell) are also now available. Previous releases include every Prussian infantry and cavalry flag, Russian SYW flags and a new range of AWI flags. I understand that Swedish flags are in the pipeline for future release. WOW! Prices are $5 for 25mm and $3.50 for 15mm. Contact Regimental Colours, 1416 Forsyth Way, Brandon, Florida 33511. Back to Seven Years War Asso. Journal Vol. X No. 1 Table of Contents Back to Seven Years War Asso. Journal List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by James E. Purky This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. |