Bob Giglio: Too bad you could not make FALL IN! this year. You missed a nice time, as I'm sure you've heard from friends of yours that went. Ian Knight had a nice time, and was very well received, especially at my Battle of Isandlawana game. Ian tried in vain to make the N.N.C. "do the right thing", but he had great luck with the colonial horse, holding up a few war bands with just a few colonial horsemen (but just for a few turns).

Attendance was nice considering it's a first year, a new venue, a new area, and during a monsoon as well. There were 922 paid admissions (711 HMGS members, 129 non-members, and 82 visitors), plus about 392 other admissions (200 dealers, 150 guests, 33 staff, and 9 VIPs). All told, it seems 1314 historical miniature enthusiasts descended on Gettysburg the weekend of November 7-9, 1997.

In addition, and most importantly, we had the most ever walk-ins of any site, as witnessed by the many visitors (including re-enactors in costume from the nearby battlefield), many who joined HMGS East (104 people became new members). In addition, the convention made an between $2-3K profit (final profit total is not yet available due to the outstanding printing bill, but estimate is closer to $3K)!

From postings on the newsgroups, as well as e-mail received, the convention got a 99% approval rating, with the same number of attendees stating they would return, as well as tell their fellow gaming friends. That's simply fantastic!

Heck, we even had way more theme events for Colonial S.A. than for any other theme that I can ever remember at a con! Next year I want to have the theme as: The Great Game - The Great Pathan Revolt (1897-98) and The Reconquest of the Sudan 1898.

Since it is the 100th anniversary of these two major colonial conflicts, I thought what the heck. But keep this under wraps, as I am not 100% sure yet, and Ian has to let me know who is good to bring across for both conflicts (I thought of Michael Barthorp, but Ian said he's getting up in years and will probably not be up to the hectic pace of the con, plus he's not into gaming at all).

The next HMGS East newsletter will have Convention Highlights of FALL IN!, and in Wargames Illustrated (Jan. issue #124) are two write-ups as well. One from the editor, Duncan MacFarland, and the other from Ian Knight. Nice to see that FALL IN! got a lot of good press....

Anyway, I will see if I can do an article or two sometime down the road. Maybe something for NWF or 1898 Sudan. See you at Cold Wars? If so, then its not colonial this time around. I'll be running a WWI air game (Red Baron rules).

I had heard that FALL IN! was a success, but very nice. I am always glad to receive something written from Bob, and even better for one of the anniversary issues. I await it with baited breath.

Ron Lizorty: Just received my first order of Guernsey Foundry 7th Cavalry figures from England (Reno's Group) they are great! Reno looks like Reno! Very good detail and sculpture and animation!

I think the Foundry's found another converted customer. I totally agree these are some of the best on the market with more to come.

Chris Nelson: Enclosed is an article from the latest issue of Practical Wargaming that I thought you would find interesting. The next issue is supposed to be on colonial wargaming but one will have to wait and see what will be new. Did you catch the In Search of History episode 1-19-98 which was on the Boxer Rebellion? I caught part of it and it wasn't too bad. Reminded me of the PBS Civil War series except shorter.

Thanks for the article. YES, I saw the whole show it was great. They even had motion pictures of part of the siege, WOW! was that neat. I wish they would show it again so I can tape it, or at most buy a copy.

Patrick R Wilson: The "Christmas issue" of the Heliograph was great! Of course I am more than a little prejudiced what with my association with Richard Houston's SpAm Wars project and Chris Ferree's "Splendid Little Wargame". Your practice of scanning the figures for review is still one of the best services you offer. Yes, the limits of printers to show all the detail the scanner catches is a little frustrating, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, a scan can still be worth about 900.

Chris, Richard, and I were all gratified by your kind and encouraging remarks. I must agree, General Shafter seems comparatively svelte. I'll have to get Chris to use me for his model (the General and I draw the same looks from horses). I was particularly impressed with your restraint and good sense to limit remarks on the basic rule set that came with the boxed collection. That is, they are not our best efforts in this project, only the first. The latest incarnation of Splendid Little Wargame (SLW) is both much different and vastly superior both as a game for fun and as a simulation. I can honestly say the game simply but convincingly demonstrates what was going on at San Juan Heights and another play test or two should put it in polished final form.

The rules themselves will still be only about six pages (3 sheets) but with two pages of game pieces. These are Volume of Fire Counters to be placed beside target units to indicate the total of "shots" directed against it since its last Adversity Test. Our counters are in color (and might still be provided that way) which instantly indicates if any portion of the fire was from the more "emotionally significant" sources of Machine Guns or Artillery. The other sheet is of slightly larger counters indicating the current Adversity Level and are also placed beside the units for ease of reference, eliminating the need for written record keeping.

Another likely addition will be an acetate Command Radius Template now being tested which will greatly speed up determination of which figures are "under control." The only other addition we currently foresee will be a single sheet for each of the 16 separate units/commands. These will have not only all relevant data for each unit but all of the game tables and charts as well. The game is being designed with Convention use in mind and we expect to have six American Players (each with two commands) and the Spanish will be played by the GM. The goal is to let each Player do his own thing both to speed play and increase participation.

In keeping with the rules changes and the increased emphasis on command-and- control aspects of the game, Chris is making additional flag bearers and Officers (including more personalities and additional Brigadiers) to complete the units for these "long" rules. I have already designed color U.S. Regimental and Battalion flags, as well as Spanish national flags, on my computer which are used to identify the units.

I have also finished flags for all the combat units (including Batteries) of the Vth Corps. These will be made available by Richard when the rules are ready. It depends on sales whether he will sell a comparable boxed set for El Caney or the rest of the Vth Corps, but as figures will be made available on a by-the-bag-basis, people can collect what they want.

Another exciting development has been Chris's use of a $40,000 CAD machine to print a 4' by 6' map of the San Juan Heights Battlefield using contemporary contour and West Point Atlas maps. This has allowed us to play the battle in the new ground scale of 1:75 feet with complete accuracy of the field. Besides being the best possible test of the rules as a simulation of San Juan Heights, it will be the basis for a 3-D battlefield that Richard will begin building in the next few weeks. Chris will print images of the battlefield as seen from the perspective of a man on foot at any point on the field, which will be a big help to Richard. It is expected this model and the game itself will be a highlight of TwisterCon VI this March in Oklahoma City.

The battlefield maps (suitably marking initial troop dispositions and other data) will also be made available printed on a couple of dozen "tiled" sheets of paper so that people who wish can buy them for their own 2-D play or as the blueprint for their own 3-D layouts. Chris expects to do the same for the El Caney field soon. We are also talking up a full campaign game system integrating the actually more interesting and critical naval portion. Though Richard has sold to Tactical Conflict Systems his fine line of 1:1000 scale vessels (including the complete SpAm OB), these models are excellent for the purpose. And, in keeping with the fast and fun (but not brain dead) spirit of things, there is even a good set of naval rules for the miniatures battles. These are Bob Duncan's charming "Battleship Diplomacy" which is specifically for this period. (Richard, are you familiar with Bob's work in Colonial Wargaming? His first rules "Soldiers Of The Queen" and his seminal work "Gunboat Diplomacy", as well as the battleship version, are naturals for inclusion or at least review in The Heliograph. Forgive me if I'm preaching to the choir, but I can't remember if either of us have previously mentioned his work.) Naturally, we will let you know about whatever we come up with over the next few weeks, especially if it will help with your SpAm War Special.

Mark Copplestone (the BEST miniature sculptor in the field. Period.) is working on a set of Comanches. Texicans, fort up! He is also still working on at least one full line of mounted and dismounted bandits. Neville CarrŽ said he had cast the "mannequins" for these about 3 months ago. He wasn't sure, but he thought they might be the James-Younger Gang (all are in dusters, rigged out for Northfield?. The NRA dream scenario!) There are also about a dozen new Victorian Bystanders ready which will be released when there are eight more women ready. I was told there was no release date on these yet as there are more SYW figures coming and other goodies.

Most exciting to me was Neville's saying that right now Mark is working full time on "Africa". Thinking he meant Xhosa or Masai or Berbers or some other rarity, I was surprised to learn he meant a collection of figures for Stanley's Emin Pasha rescue expedition, as well as another of Gordon as Governor-General of the Sudan and his gang of explorers and slave-busters! Again, no dates but I can hardly wait as these are perfect for my interest in Victorian historical role playing.

I can't wait to hear more about the new rules and the ability to make terrain based on a map from a CAD Printer WOW! As you can see from the review above the 'African' figures are coming along very nicely. I have read two versions of Stanley's Emin Pasha expedition (he had more fun than a barrel of monkeys getting there) and a figure range that can be used for it as well as other African actions opens up so much gaming for colonials, maybe this will help breathe new life into colonial gaming.

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