Origins '83 A Success for Historical Miniatures AVALON HILL, CHARLES ROBERTS, DAVE ARNESON & LOU ZOCCHI HONORED. Many of the boarcigame and fantasy gaming oriented companies report that they did not do as well at Origins this year. However companies with Historical Miniature oriented products were happy indeed. GHQ, Stone Mountain, Ship Shop, Rai Partha, Alnavco, Er~pire, Adventure Games, Wargames, SGS and others report a sales increase over last year though the expense of a trip to Detroit was higher too. The Organizers claim 4500 attendees (compared to 3800 for Origins '82). My personal observation is that the numbers were "stretched" somewhat. I feel that there were fewer gamers than last year though the enormous size of the place could have fooled me into thinking so. The Historical Miniature events were spread out on several floors and rooms with clemogames in the dealer's area. This made it tough for people who were in one game or tournament to see what was happening elsewhere. For future conventions, I vote for having all the historical miniature games in one large area (gym, etc.) as was done quite nicely in '82. This being the 25th anniversary year of Avalon Hill, the company's founder, Charles Roberts, was honored as the "Father of Wargaming" that should read "boardgaming". Your editor explained as much in his short talk: "Today we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the MODERN ERA of Wargaming" but 70 years ago, HG Wells published a book titled "Little Wars" an event we celebrate every time we play a miniature game. Both HG Wells and Charles Roberts are honored in their name being given to the GAMA Miniature and Board game awards respectively. Dave Arneson was justifiably honored as the "Father of Role Playing" an honor greeted by enthusiastic applause from the audience! Another unsung hero of the hobby was suitably honored. Lou Zocchi (Gamescience Inc.) who has done many behind-the-scene things to build and protect the hobby from the unscrupulous was voted a $1000 honorarium in recognition of his efforts. HG WELLS AWARDS Best Historical Figure Series'82 RAFM: 25mm Siege Equipment Best Fantasy/SF Figure Series '82 RAL PARTHA: Personalities & things that go bump in the night Best Vehicular Series '82 GHQ: Micro Armor Best Miniature Rules'82 GDW: Striker Best Role Playing Rules'82 FASA: Behind Enemy Lines Best Role Playing Adventure'82 FLYING BUFFALO: City Book I Best Professional Miniature Magazine'82 THE COURIER PUB. CO.: The Courier Best Professional Role Playing Magazine'82 STEVE JACKSON GAMES: The Space Garner Best All Time ACW Miniature Rules BATTLELINE: Rally 'Round the Flag Best All Time SF Miniature Rules GDW: Striker CHARLES ROBERTS AWARDS Best Pre-20th Century Boardgame'82 AH: Civilization Best 20th Century Boardgame'82 AH: Storm Over Arnheim Best Science Fiction Boardgame '82 STEVE JACKSON: Illuminate Best Fantasy Boardgame'82 SLUETH PUBS: Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective Best Professional Boardgaming Magazine'82 STEVE JACKSON: Fire & Movement Best Adventure Game for Home Computer '82 SIR TECH SOFTWARE: Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds Best Amateur Adventure Gaming Magazine'82 N. SCHUESSER: Journal of 20th Century Wargaming Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame STEVE JACKSON METRO DETROIT GAMERS HOBBYIST AWARD Dana Lombardy Outstanding Hobbyist The Guest of Honor was James Dunnigan and Special Guests were Charles Roberts, Chris Crawford, Dick Bryant and Dave Arneson. ANCIENT COMPETITION The annual ancient competition was especially interesting this year as one player, Steve Herndon, played in both the 15mm and 25mm tournaments! Steve managed to come in second in both, beaten each time by a late Imperial Roman Army. All the talk about the killer Late Imperial Romans is more than just talk. Steve's Asiatic successor armies were beaten by Bob Andriola in the 15mm competition and by Kruse Smith in the 25mm competition. The competition organizer, Tom Hazlett promises a report on the finals for the next issue. The Courier awards a plaque for best painted armies used in the competition every year. They were won by Russ Tulp with his beautiful 25mm Aztecs and by Kyle Brown's fantastic 15mm Macedonian Greeks. PAINTING AWARDS The Courier Best Painted Historical Unit Steve Aleo Grenadier Best Painted Individual Grenadier and/or Pinnacle CastingConnie Walkner Grenadier Best Painted Group or diorama of Grenadier and/or Pinnacle CastingMichael A. Brown Origins '83 Best Historical Single Figure Rob Torres Origins '83 Best Historical Unit Stephen Aleo Origins '83 Best Historical Army Robert Moon Origins '83 Best Non-Historical Single Figure Steve Aleo Origins '83 Best Non-Historical Unit Connie Walkner Origins '83 Best Non-Historical Large Specialty Figure Mac McMahon Origins '83 Best Non-Historical Diorama Richard Kerr Origins '83 Best Overall Richard Kerr The Historical Miniature events were numerous and varied, there were several new sets of ancients rules being tried -we will be reviewing thern as we can play test them. The other period of major interest was the ACW what with Adventure Game's release of the new rules "Johnny Reb". Several other homegrown rules for ACW were also being demonstrated. Colonials were very much in evidence with several The Sword and The Flame games including a Boxer Rebellion scenario by Bob Beattie - the Boxers won! A PUSH TO BETTER SCENERY MUCH IN EVIDENCE The one major item that struck my eye was that everyone made a special attempt to provide good scenery - in fact much was exceptional. No paper cut-out hills were in evidence. Many interesting terrain ideas were shown off in these games. Among new products were three lines of beautifully detailed 25mm and 15mm building that we will be reviewing in these pages soon hopefully next issue. Also a set of modularterrain boards for Micro Armor called Geo-Tek elicited much comment -they also will bereviewed next time. A new board game from Australia will be of interest to Miniature gamers. The company sold out of Empires-in-Arms an up-to-seven player game that will be ideal as a campaign game. Many of the buyers were miniature gamers and that is saying something at $35 a pop! A final note: My thanks to the players in the Seven Years War game put on by the Seven Years War Society under Tri Corne rules (authored by our own Ken Bunger). They kept their comments down to discreet shakes of the head as I managed to lose the entire French Right Flank all by myself! - DICK BRYANT NEW PRODUCTS AT ORIGINS '83 Those of us fortunate enough to attend Origins '83 had the opportunity to see one of the largest selections of historical lines presented at any convention in recent memory. This selection included a number of English lines that have not been available in the United States until this time plus some outstanding new products from American manufacturers. At the top of the list were three new 15mm lines from Enola Games. These consisted of British Colonials, ACW, and their long awaited Napoleonic line. A spokesman for the company said that we could expect several more additions to these lines in the near future. This was also my first opportunity to see the entire Essex line of 25mm figurines. They current offer a vast selection of Medievals, ECW, Colonialsm and Ancients. These figures are excellent and the extent of each line is very impressive. They are currently being imported by Wargames located in Richardson, Texas. Our one Canadian company RAFM was on hand with their award winning ordinance plus a preview sampling of crews for a number of their war machines. If you have not investigated their products for 25mm gaming they are well worth the effort. Another recent addition to the ranks of the historical manufacturer is Frying Pan & Blanket Amalgamated producers of the figures for Adventure Gaming's new set of rules,The Complete Brigadier. These figures are sold in organizational sets to compliment the rules. Many of us are familiar with the excellent rules and books published by Empire Games. They have purchased the Heritage ancients, ACW and Napoleonics and will be manufacturing them under the name Empire Miniatures. Scotty Bowden informs us that many of the figures are being re-worked and that there will be a number of new additions to each of the lines. Knowing Empire's reputation for quality we should see some excellent products. Stone Mountain unveiled their new 15mm colonials starting with French Foreign Legion and Arabs. These figures will be packaged for use with Yaquinto's The Sword and the Flame rules with proper ratios of men and officers. Jim McCarron of Stone Mountain also mentioned that British Colonials will follow as well as some additions to their 25mm ACW range. In previous issues we reviewed Platoon 20 and Frei Korps miniatures. Both of these lines are now being produced by Platoon 20 U.S.A. In addition to the Frei Korps Seven Years War figures they also showed their new ancients and Mexican War figures in 15mm. There were also a number of new Platoon 20 figures which had not been previously available in this country. Ral Partha continues to broaden their current historical lines with some additional Saxons sculpted by Dennis Mize. These Medieval 25mm figures were especially well done. I also had the opportunity to see the new Ral Partha Pathans which will be the second expansion release in their colonial line. All of these f igures were nicely done and very clean. Although Miniature Figurines did not attend Origins Greenfield Hobby Distributors did have three of their new lines on display: Hannibal and Republican Rome, the Norman Conquest, and the Franks and the Moors. The Ship Shop in Annapolis, MD had the first of their newly packaged Jacobite miniatures on display. These English-made figures will now be produced here in the United States. The Ship Shop will also be carrying Mainly Military models buildings and scenery. These are some of the best buildings made. One of the surprises of the weekend was a line of 25m 17th century figures by Task Force Games. Although a somewhat limited line currently they are ideal figures for skirmish games. Finally, Excalibur Hobbies of Arlington, MA had their new imported line of Tin Soldiers, Ltd. from Australia for sale. I was told that they are now available in the States by writing to Excalibur. - JAY S. HADLEY T.S.R. REORGANIZES T.S.R. Hobbies Inc. recently announced a reorganization and consolidation of their operations. Four separate companies will be formed: T.S.R. Worldwide Ltd., to handle business outside the U.S.; a yet-to-be-named Entertainment division, to develop and handle business with the entertainment industry (motion pictures, television, video, etc.); T.S.R. Ventures Inc., a new product and development group; and T.S.R. Inc., to handle ongoing business. A name conspicuous by its absence from the lists of board members and Vice Presidents of the restructured T.S.R. is that of Duke Seifried. Duke joined T.S.R. from Heritage last year and it now appears that he must be listed amongst the missing. T.S.R. ENTERS MINIATURE MARKET T.S.R. Hobbies recently announced the release of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons miniatures. The figures are 25mm scale and represent player characters. The four sets available are 'Fighters, Rangers, and Paladins', 'Clerics and Druids', 'Magic User and Illusionists' and 'Monks, Bards and Thieves'. Each set contains 12 pieces. TSR plans to extend their miniature range to include S.F. and Spy/Espionage figures. They also plan to market their own line of water based paints, brushes and other hobby accessories. LONG LIVE BEAU GESTE Falcon Miniatures, POB 102, Medford, MA 02155, have announced the release of a new range of 25mm figures covering the French colonial wars. The range comprises some 60 figures including Foreign Legionnaires, Zoaves, Chasseurs D'Afrique, Spahis and their Arab opponents in North Africa; more Legionaires (different uniform), Marines, and Sailors in Indo-China, with Annamite regulars, Annamite irregulars and Chinese opponents. Also available will be a French limber, field gun and Mitraleusse machine gun with crews. Interestingly the North African Legionnaires will be available mounted on mules or horses, and the foot command pack will include a sergeant figure. It is plannned to have the whole range available by August at a reasonable $3.98 for a pack of 8 foot figures. Send an SSAE to the above address for a list, and watch The Courier Reviewing Stand for details on the figures themselves. POST CONVENTION REPORT "DONNYBROOK" 1983 by Jeff Condon March 25, 26, and 27, 1983 DONNYBROOK was held for the second year in a row in Portland, Oregon. The 21/2 day event was attended by wargamers from all over the Pacific Northwest, from the California border to Vancouver, B.C. Saturday was the largest attendance with over 80 people participating in the events. Gaming included Pike & Shot, Seven Year War, Zulu Colonials, World War Two naval and armor, and (of course) Ancient and Napoleonics. Championships were played in WRG Ancient, 6th edition for both 25mm and 15mm, and an open "hands-on" instructional battle was offered new players to the new revolutionary George Jefferies V.L.B. Napoleonic rules. Lynn Bodin, the Editor of "Savage and Soldier" magazine was on hand to do a 2 hour presentation on Colonial wargaming. Even as a fan of the era and an occasional contributor to "S&S" e I found much new information in Lynn's presentation. I can strongly recommend this to other convention organizers. Engraved awards were presented to the Ancients champions sponsored by The Military Corner shop of Portland. The winners were: Berry Kemp of Vancouver, B.C., Canada in 25 mm Terry Griner of Spokane, Washington in 15mm GLEANINGS Fire & Movement, (8 issues per year, $23.00 per 12 issues) POB 18957, Austin TX 78760-8957. The latest issue to hand (May 1983) features indepth reviews of CISC's 'Bonaparte in Italy', Simulations Canada's 'Rockets Red Clare; and GDW's'Attack in the Ardennes. There is also a miniature supplement that reviews the WRG 6th edition Ancient rules and includes a figure review; and a section examining a couple of recently released computer games. An excellent book review column, several short game reviews and letters page round out a very good issue. F & M is published under the aegis of Steve Jackson games, who are to be commended for deciding to allow the magazine to pursue its traditional unbiased role as far as reviews are concerned. Miniature Wargames (Published monthly, 75 pence per issue - no subscription details) Duncan MacFarlane, 18 Lovers Lane, Newark, Notts NG24 1Hz England. Shades of 'Battle' (only better), look out 'Military Modelling'! This new British publication is just tremendous. I received the first 3 issues all at once last week, and immediately dropped everything to pore through them. The first thing to attract the attention are the full page color photographs that are literally sprinkled throughout the magazine. At present they are not tied to any particular articles but we are promised that this will be rectified in the future. The text is to the same standard as the photographs. As an example, issue No. 3 contains articles on wargaming the Crusades, Armies of the Wars in India, 1740 - 1816 (a series), the Greeks in Bactria and India (another series), The Battle of Lutzen, suggestions for using campaign diaries, painting techniques, building a half-timbered house and many others. There is also a figure review column and a letter page. This magazine has to be a must-see for miniature gamers. Unfortunate IV I don't have any subscription information and it does not seem to be readily available on this side of the Atlantic yet. I'll follow up with more information in next issue's Courier Dispatch. American Wargamer: Newsletter of the AWA (published monthly, $8.00 for 12 issues) Stuart Smart, 8841 Lock Berlin Road, Lyons, NY 14489. A very well written newsletter that is packed with news and reviews covering all aspects of the hobby, The reviews are generally short, succinct and candid, and there are a great many of them packed into the 11 or so pages of the newsletter. The May issue contains a miniature column giving a lively 'Ship of the Line' scenario, a listing of wargaming groups, a 'Gunslinger' game variant and ongoing news of a WWII campaign as well as the above mentioned news and reviews. CONVENTION NOTES Announcements of your convention here are FREE. However, The Courier must receive your notice at least 4 months before your convention to assure timely appearance in these pages. Ancient Tournament: The 6th annual Norbert Gisclair Tournament for Ancient Miniatures will be held September 17 and 18,1983 at the Royal Ballroom of the Student Union, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. For further details contact Ed Mills, 1554 Dabney Drive, Denham Springs, LA 70726 MassCon: is the fifth annual Western Massachusetts and New England games convention. Board, miniature and role-playing tournaments and demonstrations are featured. Tournaments in backgammon, chess, Risk, Dungeons, and Dragons, Ace of Aces, Panzer Leader, Wooden Ships and Iron Men, Gunslinger, Squad Leader and many others will be held. Hundreds of dollars worth of prizes will be awarded. There will also be demonstrations of historical battles in miniature, notably battles from the American Civil War, World War 11, the Crusades and the age of Napoleon. Games are open to both experts and novices. Admission to the convention is $3 per day or $5 for both days. Food and lodging are available at the Campus Center. September 24 and 25, 1983 (9 a.m. to 11 p.m.) Campus Center, UMASS, Amherst (Registration - Rm 163). Write to MASSCON, POB 117, Amherst, MA 01002. CONVENTION CALENDAR Sep. 30-Oct. 2 1983 Lincoln V Lincoln, NE Hobby Town, 134 N.13th, Lincoln NE 68508 Oct. 1, 1983 National Capital Military Collectors Ex. Springfield, VA Springfield Inn, 6550 Laisdale Court Dick Perry, 6433 Deepford St., Springfield, VA 22150 Oct. 14-16,1983 Suncoast Skirmishes Tampa, FL Holiday Inn Central Convention Center. Suncoast Skirmishes, 4006 Wallace Ave., Tampa, FL 33611. Nov. 5-6,1983 HMGS Southeast Gamefest Raleigh, NC Baptist Student Center E. Mohrmann, 1855 Arlington St., Raleigh NC 27608. Feb. 25-26,1984 Game Faire Spokane, WA Book and Came Co, West 621 Mallon, Spokane, WA. July 5-8,1984 ORIGINS'84 Dallas TX Origins 84 PO 59899, Dallas TX, 75229 July 27-29,1984 ATLANTICON Baltimore MD. University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus PO 15405, Baltimore, MD 21220 Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. IV #6 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1983 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com