Wargame Product News 1988

Courier Dispatch
News of the Hobby

by Dan Schorr

GHQ, 2634 Bryant Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55408 has released Terrain Maker, a series of sets of 4" white polystyrene hexagons. Sets are available in 1/4", 1/2", 1", and 1 1/2" thicknesses. Priced at $6.95 per set, they include materials for trees and instructions.

Essex 15mm Napoleonics are being offered by Wargames, Box 278, Route 40 East, Triadelphia, WV 26059. The new releases are 62 packs of 1814-1815 French and British of all arms. The packs of 8 infantry, 6 command, 4 cavalry or 3 mounted command are $2.33 each, guns are $1.75. Prussians are scheduled to be the next army released.

Quality Castings, P.O. Box 11714, Alexandria, VA 22312, has released another batch of WWII and modern 15mm figures and AFVs. They include a German 5cm PAK AT gun, German 222 Lt. armored car, British Cruiser MkIV (1940), Soviet SU76, Soviet 45mm AT gun M 1942, US M2 Bradley AIFV, M3 Bradley Cavalry, US 75mm pack howitzer, and six flavors of US Marines, in packages of 15; advancing, defending, platoon weapons, hvy mgs and mortars, HQ and cmd,and gun crews. Prices range from $3.75 ro$5.00. They have also redone their Wespe ($1.50) and added a loader with AT round to the British gun crew set (.50 each).

Minifigs has added 6 landsknecht and 3 reiter Holy Roman Empire figures, 6 French and 5 Prussian Franco-Prussian infantry figures, and 18 figures, horse and foot, from the Thirty Years' War, all in 15mm.

Osprey has announced that the following titles will be added to their Men-at-Arms series in March: Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars (2), Hungary and the Fall of Eastern Europe 1000-1568, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and The British Army on Campaign (3) 1856-1881.

Wargames Foundry, Pendragon Miniatures, 1549 Marview Dr., Westlake, OH 44145 announced the reception of more new 25mm WF releases. Seven figues in the new 16/17 Century Polish Army range and 35 more figures in the 30YW range. The latter include cavalry and many can be mixed with the ECW range for a more complete 30YW line.

Military Reprints, 3937 Rose Hill Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45229 has released the Napoleonic uniform plates for Saxony. These full color uniform plates are reproductions of plates originally printed in Germany by Dr. Lienkast and R. Humbert and are available by subscription or as individual plates. See advt. elsewhere in this issue.

North ShorePress, who produces the rulesset A FISTFUL OF MINIATURES, has moved to 1413 240th Ave., Kansasville, WI 53139. These rules are a set of beginning/intermediate rules for battles with Ancients through Medieval period. $6.95 plus $1.00 postage.

Brandywine Enterprise, 4 Buckingham Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, wishes to announce they have moved from PA to NY and have available the GREAT BATTLE series and the Pengel & Hurt illustrated uniform and flag booklets. Also available is CHARGE! OR HOW TO PLAY WARGAMES by Peter Young and J. Lawford. This is a reprint of a delightful book and the price is $18.95.

Card Models, 9910 S.W. Bonnie Brae Dr., Beaverton, OR 97005 offers a 54" x 40" card model of the Alamo in 15mm which requires cutting and folding. Phil Hall reports that it works well with 15mm Frei Korps figures. Thanks, Phil.

Minifigs, Box P, Pine Plains, NY 12567 has released the following 15mm figures: Thirty Years War: Swedish infantry (pikemen, musketeers, artillerymen & infantry command) and cavalry (Noble cuirassiers, medium cav, dragoons & mtd. command); and imperialist infantry (pikemen, musketeers, grenzers, artillerymen and infantry command) & cavalry (cuirassiers, heavy lancers, mtd. arquebusiers, light cavalry & mtd. commmand) and will soon be coming outwith Spanish, French, German and mercenaries. Holy Roman Empire for the Pike & Shot period consisting of 16 landsknechts and three cavalry with Swiss, French, Italians, English, Irish & Scots to be added soon. Franco-Prussian War including French infantry (line infantry & chasseurs, Guard Grenadiers, Zouaves, naval battalion, and Guard Mobile) and Prussian infantry (line, Saxon line, Bavarian line, Wurtenberg line, and Silesian riflemen). They report they will be adding cavalry, artillery and command figures soon. The foot are packaged 24 per pack with cavalry at 8 per pack. They are also offering La Legion 15mm flags for the ACW (9 different packs); Napoleonics (17 packs); and English Civil War (2 packs). They are offering price discounts ranging from 5% to 19% off depending upon the amount purchased. The infantry and cavalry 15mm packs cost $5.98 each.

Modelers Mart, 2971 Range Rd., Clearwater, FL 34625 (813-4433822) has a guide for painting, PAINTING MINIATURES for $3.95 which we may find of interest. They also carry the complete line of Frontier Miniatures as well as many other items. Their catalog is available for $3.00 and is 100 pages long covering 50 different publishers and figure manufacturers.

Fourth Napoleonic Tour to France History buffs interested in Napoleon will be treated to a behind-the-scenes look in July at some of the most famous sites in France associated with the fascinating French emperor, according to Robert M. Snibbe, Managing Director of the Napoleonic Society of America.

The tour, which will leave New York on July 9th, will be guided by English speaking Napoleonic scholars. They will visit the Musee de l'Armee and Napoleon's tomb in Les Invalides, Malmaison and Bois Preau, Versailles, the Louvre, the Musee de Legion d'Honneur and Fontainebleau. They will also see the Palais de Beauharnais, one of the largest private collections in existence, and Gros Bois, the hunting lodge of Marshal Berthier.

The group will then go north toward Waterloo, stopping at the battlefields of Ligny and Quatre Bras. At Waterloo they will be met by the famous military historian, David Chandler, who will lead them for two days over the famous battlefield. On the way back to Paris they will visit the Palace of Compeigne and the famed Museum of Historical Figurines.

The group will be limited to 22 members, including their spouses. For information, write to the Napoleonic Society, 640 Poinsettia Rd., Belleair, FL 34616.

The University of Tennessee Press, P.O. Box 6525, Ithaca, NY 14850 offers FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON by Benjamin Franklin Cooling, ADVICE AFTER APPOMATOX by Simpson, Graf & Muldowny, and many other ACW titles including YANKEE CAVALRYMEN and YANKEE ARTILLERYMEN by John Rowell.

Quality Castings, P.O. Box 11714, Alexandria, VA 22312 will soon be coming out with an Italian M13/40 and Russian T-26 in 15mm to add to their already extensive line of WWII vehicles.

George Naiziger , 8801 Tammy Dr., West Chester, OH 45069, provides orders of battle for the period 1700-1918 and his catalog costs $1.00. it is quite extensive and appears to be very comprehensive in nature. The price for orders of battle is .25 per page and in the case of a multi-page order of battle, the last page is .10. Discounts range from 5 to 12% depending upon the amount of the order. Releases for 1988 include flags of the ECW; books on the Am. Rev. (four; Northern Campaigns 1 and 2 and Southern Campaigns 1 and 2 at $7.95 each); and five ECW books (Prince Rupert's Blue Coats; King's Lifeguard of Foot; Slanning's Foot; Rowdon's Foot; and Waller's Army - all at $7.95) and Rhinish Armies of the Napoleonic Wars ($7.95). These are scheduled for release throughout 1988 and George requests that money is not to be sent for them until it is announced that they are released. Volume 1 of THE FRENCH ARMY, Royal, Republican & Imperial (1788-1815) by George is now available at $11.95. Eventually this series will cover 8 volumes on the French Army (Vol. 2-Infantry; 3-Infantry; 4-Guard; 5-Foreign Reg'ts.; 6-Foreign Reg'ts. 7-Cavalry; and 8-Artillery & Train). All titles should be released by October of 1988.

Abbots Miniatures, 53 Harvey Rd., Ilford, Essex IG1 2NJ, England, has released a brand new line of 25mm British infantry and Zulus. All I know about them is that there are ten Zulu figures. Figures are 30 pence.

Lynn Bodin (of SAVAGE & SOLDIER) will be publishing THE BEST OF HELIOGRAPH sometime this month. This would be a good chance for you to pick up information from back issues which are not available.

Battle Honours, available from Battle Honours USA, 17 Ridge Rd., Budd Lake, NJ 07828, has released a large number of 15mm Napoleonic items including: Russian casualty set, Polish 61b, Revolutionary French w/light gun, late French Confederation 61b & howitzer, Austrian 3lb, Peninsula Ox Cart, Polish 12lb, French 6lb loading, late French/Confederation 8lb, French Guard Horse Artillery, French limber & team, Polish howitzer, French 61b firing, late French/Confederation 12lb, French Guard howitzer, early Austrian fusilier, and Austrian Grenadier.

Irregular Miniatures, 4 Park Rd., Norton, Malton, N. Yorks, Y017 9EA, England has released 2mm ACW and SYW and 6mm 18th C ranges which include Marlburian, SYW, and AWL Also new is a 15mm Asian range covering Chinese and Mongols.

RAFM, 19 Concession St., Cambridge, Ontario, Canada N1R 2G6 has released their 25mm BOOTS & SADDLES for the American Plains cavalry & Indians. They consist of cavalry mtd. command; cavalry dismtd. command; cavalry mounted, cavalry on foot, scouts, Custer mtd. and dismtd., Indians mounted & dismounted, Indian Chiefs & Medicine Men, and dismtd. gunslingers.

Geo-Hex now sells "Howard Hues" paints that match their terrain colors. They also have very small hills made by Little Mini Shops that fit with the Geo-Hex on top of the smaller hills to provide even more contour levels (3 for $11). See ad in this issue.

Munro Miniatures has announced that they are going out of business because of Chris Munro's health problems. The original owner (and perhaps original wargamer) Jack Scruby will run the business and is accepting all orders for Munro Miniatures. The Munro phone number is no longer valid. Write to Jack at P.O. Box 1658, Cambria, CA 93428.

The Men of the 24th: The Zulu War of 1879 is a new book written by Toby Giese, 9614 Maywood, Kansas City, MO 64134 and consists of as many photos of men who were at Rorke's Drift and Isandh1wana as he could find. Toby then attempted to identify each of the men in the photos and provide the reader with background information on them prior to the war as well as what happened to them after the war. What about Colour Sergeant Frank Bourne of Rorke's Drift fame? Well, Sgt. Bourne turned down a commission following the battle because he felt he didn't deserve it though he eventually worked his way up to Lt. Colonel before retiring in 1907. He died at the age of 91 in 1945 and we are treated to a group picture, taken in 1934, of a reunion of Rorke's Drift survivors, which includes Sgt. Bourne. There are detailed drawings of the buildings at Rorke's Drift and who was in each room. How about Private Hook? Was "Hookie" really a cad? What happened to him after the war? Well, send your $17.00 plus $2.00 postage ($3.00 postage if outside of the U.S.) to Toby and you can find out.

Drums of War Along the Mohawk: An Historical Miniatures Wargame of the French-Indian Wars 1744-1766 is Bill Protz's latest rules writing effort. It is, however, much more than a rules set as it contains a wealth of information wargamers find invaluable in entering a period. DRUMS is a 52-page book and is professionally done with a number of photographs, which are also well done. Bill provides the reader with an historical background on the period, then covers organization of the armies involved. The rules are written for 25mm/30mm figures although he provides, very briefly, information for conversion to 15mm. They are intended for, as the author refers to it, "quasi-skirmish" wargaming (games with few figures yet without the complexity a usual skirmish game might involve) to brigade level. Following organization, he moves on to deploying unitson the battlefield which encompasses formations allowed and rules concerning formations. The next section presents "How to Portray an 18th C Leader" which I think would bevery interesting, and helpful, for solo wargamers as well as groups of gamers. The section of "Rules of War" covers ambushes, characteristics for individual soldiers, European battles of the SYW, examples of fire, hidden deployment & movement, morale, random events, 17th C modifications, smoke, water-craft, faster turn resolution, etc., and a separate chapter is devoted to rules for colonial sieges. Also covered is information to use in setting up "The Lake George Campaign" which many gamers would find of interest. At $12.00 (Wisconsin residents add .60; North Americans add $1.25 postage and others add $4.25 postage), the book is of great value. The middle four pages consist of reference charts which can be removed quite easily from the book.

Also new from Bill is THE LAKE GEORGE HISTORICAL MINIATURES CAMPAIGN MAP ($6.00; Wisconsin sales tax .30; postage for N. Americans is .50 while others add $1.00), a three color 13"x23" gridded map of the Lake George Campaign which is also very useful.

Years ago, Jack Scruby produced a wargaming map which was fictional in nature for his colonial wargame campaigns. I saw it in one of his publications and then lost track of it though always wished I had been able to keep it around because it was so well done. Well, Bill Protz obtained permission from Jack to reproduce it. Measuring 17 1/2"x22 1/2", again in three colors, it is a most attractive and useful aid to the gamer interested in campaigns. It consists of an island or continent with many different geographical features and some exotic actual names (i.e., Zululand, Bengal, Algiers, Abba, etc.). Cost is $6.00 (Wisconsin residents add .30 sales tax, N. Americans add .50 postage while others add $1.00). A most useful map! Bill Protz, 5690 W. Glenbrook Rd., Brown Deer, WI 53223.

Wargames Foundry, 21 Villiers Rd., Woodthorpe, Nottingham NG5 4FB, England, has a 25mm Prussian staff set for 1.90 pounds consisting of seated officer with chair and table and two additional staff figures one of which appears to be a courier bringing a message. Other new releases include Franco-Prussian Bavarian cavalry and Marlburian light field gun & crew and infantry. They are also producing the former Citadel Miniatures line of 25mm figures encompassing Wars of the Roses, Wars of Religion, Dark Ages, Huns, Early Imperial Romans, Medievals, and Samurai. Their entire line is now available from Pendragon Miniatures.

Hotspur Miniatures, P.O. Box 8, Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 1ER, England, has a range of figures though they do not list the size of the Falkland Islands 1982 covering special boat squadron R.M.; mountain & arctic warfare cadre R.M.; British infantry and command; Argentinian Marines, special forces commandos, and command. Command packs of 3 figures are 72 pence while all other packs are 1.20 pounds for five figures.

Essex Miniatures, available through Wargames, Inc., P.O. Box 278, Route 40 East, Triadelphia, WV 26059, has added British cavalry (heavy dragoons and light dragoons - 7 figures) and artillerymen (four horse artillerymen) to their 25mm Napoleonic line. I also understand that Asgard figures (15mm) are now being produced by Essex. Don't know if they are available in the states. Donnington Miniatures, also available from Wargames, Inc., have released 15mm Scythian cavalry & infantry.

Warlords Models, 27 Feversham Crescent, York Y03 7HQ, England, produces 15mm artillery pieces of the early 18th Century. Cost and extent of line is not known.

Frontier Miniatures, 7343 Branding Iron, Canutillo, TX 79835 (915-8773049) has released a new line of 15mm and also 25mm figures for the FrenchIndian Wars. There are 12 packs of figures encompassing Rodgers Rangers (advancing & firing); Iroquois (advancing & kneeling firing); Indian w/scalplock advancing; Mohawk firing bow; Frontiersman advancing; French infantry (advancing & running); French trapper; and British infantry (advancing infield dressand advancing in frontierdress) in the 25mm line. Frontier has released 25mm wargaming figures from THE GREAT WAR & COLONIAL CAMPAIGNS 1914-1929 (British, French, Germans, Turks, Bulgarians, & Russians) which are supplied with separate heads (i.e. British w/forage cap, steel helmet, or wolseley helmet). These figures should greatly expand our gaming into periods we were not able to do before. in 15mm they have released an extensive line of Crimean War figures covering the British, Russian, Turks, Sardinians, and French.

Frontier Miniatures has released Harold Martin's SOLDIERS OF THE QUEEN COLONIAL RULES ($7.00). This is an 81/2"xll" 36-page booklet which, in my opinion, is excellent. This set of wargame rules is intended for 15mm/25mm figuers; 1"=10 yards; one move equals one minute, and one figure equals 5 regulars or 10 natives. The rules are organized in individual sections covering movement, firing, melee, morale, organization, and optional rules (awarding Victoria Crosses, recovering wounded, firing stakes, spotting, and open order) then there are two pages each devoted to short rules for the Boer War, Chinese rules, Egypt/Sudan, Pathan, and Zulu periods. A basic painting guide for Afghans/Pathans, Boers, British, Chinese, Dervish, Egyptians, and Zulus is also provided.

Falcon Miniatures has released a new line of 15mm Franco-Prussian War figures. It consists of French infantry (command, infantry in 3 poses, chasseurs, Guard Mobile, Zouave, sailor, Imperial Guard), artillery (1 pack of crew), and cavalry (8 packs including a mounted general) and a field gun, mitrailleuse, and limber set. The Prussians have infantry (command, 4 packs of infantry, one with overcoat, two jagers/landwehr, Wurtemburger, & 3 Bavarians), artillery crew, cavalry (five packs including a mounted general), and two guns (4# and 6# Krupp) and a limber set. 20 Infantry/8 cavalry/4 guns are priced at $4.50. See their ad for more information including the availability of army packs.

Falcon Miniatures recently informed us that they are going to be releasing a 15mm line of Napoleon in Egypt as well as an extensive line of 25mm Napoleonics which will feature the standard three or four line infantry in standard poses for each nation but they are going to add "connoisseur" which will feature poses with much more action!

More Courier Dispatch News About the Hobby.


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