Skirmishing Wargaming

Does Size Matter?

by Mike Blake

Of course not - and don't let anyone tell you different! ("Va Va Vroom"). However, one further quirk I should mention is that for us in the loose knit bunch who call ourselves Skirmish Wargamers, there is one preferred scale of figures to use - the size that our very first games were played in - 54mm! This makes it pretty unique in another way. Because most wargamers use 25mm or 15mm figures, when we set up a game it attracts a great deal of interest, and the most frequent question we get asked is "What are the figures?"

The answer is "anything and everything!" We use any make of 54mm plastic figure, toys from Hong Kong, collectors figures from Historex, Britains, Timpo, Crescent, Cherilea, Reamsa, Jecsan, Marx, Accurate, etc etc. All are remodelled, converted and repainted. Usually new weapons in metal are used to replace the often floppy plastic originals. One guy, Lucky Pete Reynolds, makes all his figures from Airfix WWII American marines - and he has made Huron Indians and Courier du Bois, Crusader knights and Saracens! For most of us, the figure side is very important because it really gives us the chance to do what we enjoy most - play with toy soldiers!

Well, there you have it - a colourful aspect of the hobby of wargaming that has lots to offer and which has kept me off the streets making trouble for much of my life. It has given me, and continues to give me, enormous pleasure. It has brought me some wonderful friends. It has given me a chance to extend my knowledge and understanding of military history. And, perhaps most importantly of all - it's been damn good fun! Get hold of a few figures and get Skirmishing.

Skirmish Wargamers

We are a group of enthusiasts from all over the country who enjoy getting together to play Skirmish games, usually in 54mm scale. We fight games from Saracen & Crusader to WW II, but concentrate on the Old West, covering the widest possible interpretation of it, ie Aztecs & Conquistadors to the Mexican Revolution. Because of the scale our games are pretty eye catching, but we do try to produce some terrain which looks good too. You may have even seen us at a show – we don't get to as many as we'd like but are always at Colours in Reading in September, to put on the Steve Curtis Memorial Game, in honour of one of our founder members. We must be doing something right, because we have won various Best Game awards at shows, and indeed have taken the coveted Wargames Illustrated Best Demo Game at Colours na record 3 times!

We produce a Newsletter, Reports From The Skirmish Line, with news of events, new figures and game reports. We also have a Journal, Annals Of Pima County, which is quarterly and has longer historical articles and illustrations.

If you are interested, contact me, Mike Blake at The Moorings, Middle Lane, Whatstandwell, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5EG, UK, or at botch.blake@virgin.net.

Skirmish Scenarios

Back to The Gauntlet No. 17 Table of Contents
Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues
Back to Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1999 by Craig Martelle Publications
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