by Jim Purky
14. Washington's Wars is a new set of rules that was introduced by Soldiers & Swords (see Item #12 for address) at Historicon 1993. Jim Mitchell has volunteered to review this rule set for the next issue, so I will only attempt to describe what you get, rather than opine on the type of wargame experience that it produces. For $20.00 you get a slick, professionally produced rule booklet in a style similar to Fire & Fury and Tactica. This means lots of color pictures of miniatures and American Revolution re-enactors, a color painting guide, historical narrative to place the period in its context, 8 different AWI scenarios, army lists and leader ratings, optional F & I section, and a bibliography. And of course, the actual rules, which appear to be in the "easy-to-learn " category, which means that I automatically like the package. If you have even a passing interest in the American Revolution, then you should consider buying Washington's Wars as an economical reference book. Since I have not played the rules, I can not assess that aspect of the package, but stay tuned for Mr. Mitchell's review in future issues. 15. Old Glory intends to release an extensive line of 25mm American Revolution British, Continental and Militia figures in time for the Cold Wars Convention in March 1994. This figures will be compatible with the "Last of the Mohicans" range of 25mm F & I War figures that Old Glory released this year. Undoubtedly, the Indians and Colonial Militia could do double duty in the AWI period. 16. Dixon 25mm SYW Prussians -- Ed Phillips of Wargames Inc., Box 278 Route 40 East, Triadelphia, WV 26059, was kind enough to forward a number of samples from Dixon's growing line of SYW Prussians. I received 11 infantry figures and 2 hussars in milrlitons with horses to review. All figures reviewed stand 25mm to 26mm from the soles of their feet to their eyeballs and are moderate in build (as opposed to thin or chuncky).P25 - Musketeer waving hat would make for a nice diorama on a command stand waving to his general; P26 through P33 are all grenadiers: P26 kneeling firing (nice!), P27 standing ramming shot (a little too stiff), P28 march attack (a bunch of these would make for a nice-looking battalion),P29 wounded and clutching forhead,eyes closed(yes, its that detailed!) P30 Ensign standing with flag pole (you may want to snip off the cast-on pole and replace with wire) P31 Sergeant standing with spontoon (left arm appears too long) P32 drummer standing and P33 drummer marching (both are outstanding poses with excellent sculpted detail which makes painting musicians easy. Both have separate drums which must be glued on to figure). P46 officer falling backwards with sucking chest wound; P47 musketeer falling forward as if gut shot. Now for the cavalry: PC10 hussar officer in mirliton waving sword (nice detail to assist in painting) and PC 11 hussar in mirliton brandishing sword over his head (ditto previous comment).I like both of these figures, especially the facial expressions and the Royal Cypher on the sabretache. Also received two hussar horses, complete with van-dyking detail on the shabraque. H32 is galloping and is the bestlooking of the two in terms of anatomical proportion, and H33 is cantering, but appears slightly large vis-a-vis the two riding figures. Most Dixon riders throughout the range seem a bit small in relation to their horses, but this is a minor "nit" to pick and it shouldn't keep you from buying a regiment or two (or more). The sculpted detail on these figures is superb and these would make a fine addition to any wargame army. 17. First Corps 25mm SYW in India -- French : 44 Cheverton Avenue, Withernsea, North Humberside HU19 2HP The company has announced the first releases in what promises to be an extensive range of European , sepoy and native troops for the 18th Century battles in India. At present, there are 7 French and 2 French Sepoys, with more French and British figures to follow. I have not yet seen any samples from this product line, but I figured that I'd pass this information on to Tod Kershner and other interested people. First Corps accept VISA credit cards. Phone: 0964-613766. 18. Old Glory 25mm Marlburians Emperor's HQ now stocks twenty-eight different packs of infantry for the War of Spanish Succession. These figures were designed by the late Dave Allsop and were held from release until now. Cavalry packs will be available in 1994. I don't know anything about this period, but these are very attractive figures, 30 per bag for $21.00, I believe. 19. Old Glory 25mm Last of the Mohicans Range The company has released five more bags of figures to this fine range including: FIW-14 Highlanders w/command; FIW-15 British Light Infantry w/command; FIW-16 British Artillery; FIW-17 French Artillery and FIW-19 Rangers. Space prohibits a full description of all the poses, so I'll give you a representative sampling from several bags, each at $21.00 per 30 foot or 10 artillery crew plus 2 guns. In the Highlander bag, I found 31 figures including 2 pipers, 2 drummers w/ drum slung over their backs, 2 standard bearers, 2 officers w/sword, 2 sergeants, 1 wounded figure, 4 grenadiers in bearskin and 16 line infantry in five different poses. You could also use these figures for the Jacobite Rebellion. The artillery bag includes 2 light guns in 4 easy to assemble pieces,and 10 different crew figures including : crew dunking yammer into water bucket (great pose!), crewman covering both ears with his hands (ditto!), officer holding a map, 2 different crew with trailspike, crewman holding lighted linstock over gun barrel, etc.The animation in the artillery crews is superb. The Ranger pack has 10 different poses, but I was puzzled to see that most of them had bayonets (?). The British Light, Infantry wears a baseball-style cap with ear flaps (reminds me of the Mackenzie Brothers) in 11 different poses. These are nice looking skirmish figures. 20. Old Glory 15mm SYW Cavalry The company has just released five more bags of Austrian and Prussian cavalry to its rapidly expanding range of 15mm SYW figures. Included for review are SYP-6 Prussian Dragoons w/command; SYP-7 Prussian Hussars in Mirliton w/ command; SYP-8 Prussian Hussars in Fur Cap w/command; SYA-8 Austrian Dragoons w/command; and SYA-9 Austrian Hussars w/command. Each cavalry bag contains 30 riders and horses and costs $21.00 per bag. As with other Old Glory items, there is a considerable amount of variety in terms of poses for both man and horse. I also measured one of the hussars at 25mm from the bottom of the horse's hooves to the eyeballs of the rider. A comparable Essex figure measured 24mm, so both brands of cavalry should mix and match very well togeather. The Austrian Dragoons are particularly appealing, especially with the inclusion of six horse grenadiers in bearskin, several officers holding pistols, a nice mounted drummer with drum slung over its back as examples of interesting poses. In comparison, there were fewer unique poses in the Prussian Hussar packs.On the other hand, the Prussian Dragoons seemed more animated than their hussar bretheren. Particularly nice are the trooper waving his hat on the tip of his sword overhead, an officer firing his pistol and a brace of jaunty-looking officers and mounted musicians. 21. Front Rank Figurines have apparently redesigned their line of 25mm Jacobite Rebellion figures. I have not seen the new figures as of this writing, but will attempt to review them in the next issue. You can purchase Front Rank figues in the USA from Emperor's HQ or in the UK at: 'The Granary' Banbury Road, Lower Boddington, Daventry, Northants NN 11 6XY (PH: 0327-62720). 7YWA Newsletter
Regional News: Eastern US Regional News: UK Books, Magazines and Movies Miniatures, Scenery, and Rules Back to Seven Years War Asso. Journal Vol. VII No. 1 Table of Contents Back to Seven Years War Asso. Journal List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by James Mitchell This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com |