I haven't been doing much in the way of wargaming for the last two months because I have been coaching Pee Wee football. I'm slowly getting a couple of projects started so that I can work on them this winter and maybe get them finished next year.

I did get some good news. I was most put out when RSM told me that they were out of business. So when I received a card from Hal Thinglum saying that a new company was going to start selling them again I was pleased.

Was I surprised when I found out that they have LOWERED the price of the figures. they are now bagging their figures in units and the cost has been lowered to $.65 each for their 25mm (actually 30mm.) figures. That is a drop of $.20. Their 20mm figures have also been reduced from $.50 to $35 each when you buy them in 24 or 48 figure bags. The service has really improved, too. I called them with my order on a Wednesday and my complete order was in my mailbox the following Tuesday. So fast that you hardly have any time to get interested in a new period and lose interest in the figures you just ordered. Their address is: Dayton Painting Consortium 140 Indiana Ave. Dayton, OH 45410

They have a toll-free number if you have a credit card that isn't maxed out yet: 1-800736- 8961.

I have been switching over to 20mm figures this year because I like them better and they are easier for these old eyes of mine to paint. I've noticed that 20mm figures are making a comeback. I've been sending for some catalogs from new figure manufacturers in England. I've received catalogs from "Kennington", "Qualitycast" and "New Line Design". Qualitycast and New Line sent me samples of their stuff and it is nice. I received a Zulu War Brit from Qualitycast, and he is outstanding. The only fault I can find with the casting is that he is measured with 'Imperial' millimeters, so he is a little taller than most 20's. They are available from Brookhurst Hobbies in California.

New Line sent me a French Grenadier of the Guard from their Napoleonic range and a Gaulic spearman from their Punic War range. Now here is a company that you need to take a serious look at. The figures are really well done. The casting is first class and the detail is great. I think what impresses me most is that the Napoleonics are available in bags of 100 figures for 119.5, including postage. That is cheaper than Essex 15mm figures. The Punic war range is only sold in bags of 10, but the price per figure works out to 26p each with the postage. The cavalry is a little more expensive. I don't know how good their mailorder service is, but I got their catalog back in 9 days.

I've also been fooling around with Don Featherstone's new rules system. We tried them in a Mexican-American War battle and it worked great. We also tried a variation of them for an AWI game and it worked there, too. These rules are really interesting because everything is based on morale. No dicing for hits - you shoot, he tests morale, he shoots, you test morale. You can only fail 3 or 4 times before the unit is lost for the game. I really like how smooth this kind of game plays compared to some other stuff I've played lately.

I'm going to apologize for not being in Portland in October. Like I said at the beginning of this article, I coach Pee Wee football and we had a game to play. We were 4 and 0 at the time so I thought it best to be at the game.

Here's hoping to see all of you at the auction in February!

"what's the difference between a game and a simulation? Well, if I win, it's a simulation..."