1. Copplestone Castings, P.O. Box 9298, Birmingham B14 7PN, UK www.geocities.com/gisby.geo/dda.htm You can now email an order to Tim Peterson who will fax it to Mark, I’ll let you know next time how this works as I am about to place an order after I see if there are any more Somalis coming. http://gisby.org/orders.htm or fax them to 11 44 121 444 7646. Carried in the US by RLBPS.

News from Copplestone includes a revised edition of Chris Peers “In the Heart of Africa” rules now available. “What’s next? After Germans, it will be “Knights of the Savannah” - the cavalry based armies of sub-Saharan Africa, from Sokoto to Darfur. Spectacular armies with heavy cavalry in bulky, brightly-coloured padded armour, skirmishing light cavalry looking like the Numidians of ancient times, infantry archers and musketeers and pagan (non-muslim) spearmen. Probably my favourite African armies.” SEE THE REVIEW-HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

2. Colonial Wars online at ColonialWar-subscribe@onelist.com This is probably the largest group of colonial gamers anywhere, and if you have a colonial question you are sure to get plenty of answers, as well as the latest gossip about figures and manufacturers. Highly Recommended

3. MWAN, Hal Thinglum, 22554 Pleasant Drive, Richton Park, IL 60471, $35.00 a year for six issues.

Issue 116 Well, there is nothing colonial this issue. However, I enjoyed reading the whole issue, especially Orv Banasik’s “Rebel Yell” ACW rules, very well done. MWAN IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

4. Wargames Illustrated, 18 Lovers Lane, Newark, Notts. NG24 1HZ UK

Number 174 This issue contains “Naval Brigades in ‘In the Heart of Africa’” by Chris Peers. In this article Peers detail, well to some extent, six actions involving naval landing parties (five British and one German) between 1875 and 1896. The detail includes ship names, naval and marine force composition, plus natives. I would consider this very good information for forming your own forces, obviously it is by no means complete nor even partially, but it gives you ideas. Then Peers applies this to ”In the Heart of Africa” rules that include gunboats and double rations of grog. All very interesting as are the photographs and illustrations.

Issue 175 Hey, aren’t those photos of Nappy III on page 54 from an earlier issue. “The Winter Patrol” by Alain Padfield while set up for Gothic Horror can easily be changed to a more historical set of figures. The basic premise is a winter patrol with limited visibility and a variety of encounters that could fit in quite nicely on the NW Frontier. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

5. Solo Wargamers Association $20 USD for the US edition, SWA, 1707 Ridge Road, Leavenworth, KS 66048

Lone Warrior 138 “Solo (I.E. Do-It-Yourself) Watchtower” by Nic Birtis instructions for constructing a watchtower for the NW Frontier. The illustration and the instructions are quite clear and the work easy to undertake. If you want another scenario for your NWF troops this tower will add so nice ideas. Highly Recommended

6. Cannon Fodder Miniatures PO Box 786, Bendigo, 3550, Victoria, Australia www.canfodmins.com While putting together my order for Castaway Arts below, I started pulling my unpainted Egyptians and I find that wow I got this unit I had forgotten about, but wait, they’re not Castaway Arts they’re Cannon Fodder but they are as alike as two peas in a pod except for their bases. In my enthusiasm to get camel mounted troops, I started working on a major Sudan Campaign circa 1884 with a minor English presence with a major Egyptian one. While I rounded out my Egyptians, I later found I needed more foot, so I am about to order more Egyptians as well as Greg’s GREAT American sailors for a gunboat excursion up the Yangtze river in search of trouble, or is that rescuing damsels in distress, whatever, just need to get more lead.

7. Castaway Arts PO Box 7599, Cairns 4870, Australia, Phone/fax 0740412079, www.castawayarts.com.au Castaway Arts is distributing the Heliograph in Australia and New Zealand. I was so excited about the new figures that I immediately emailed Gerry an order and got it in a week, what service! What weight 39 camels are not to mention their riders and two more foot units. But it figures, in my zeal to get more lead I miscounted and will have to order more lead to get the units right for TSATF. SEE THE REVIEW

8. Pulp Figures www.pulpfigures.com/main.php While all the above was going on with the Egyptians here comes a new company with figures I “Think” I need. Particularly their Chinese Tong/gangs to fight with my American sailors, which they also have. Oh Boy! I wish you manufactures would stop coming out with all these figures I like. Do Napoleonics or something I don’t care about, or at least don’t think I need. I sent the German Seebattalion figures off to Edward Harvey to review while I took the others. I am awaiting the Rugged Heroes figures to come out so I can spend more money. Speaking of which, Pulp Figures has on their site a set of rules called Rugged Adventures, for free, a 1:1 set. I just printed them off and have not yet tried them out but will report next issue. They’re free, give them a try. The figures are very nice too. See the Reviews

9. A&C Librairie Paris In one of the many messages on Colonialwars group was a review for a book about the French Marines. Since I know nothing about them I thought it would be worth investing in a copy. Well, I copied the letter from Ian Croxhall’s www.Warflag.com web site (see below) and sent it off. The charge showed up on my credit card bill the next week and within three weeks from mailing my letter the book arrived. Obviously, it’s in French but doesn’t look that hard to decipher, actually it’s fairly easy to read with only a few words to look up. It is 44 pages, color illustrated, sort of comic book layout style, on the history of the French Marines 1871-1931. While in the 44 pages the history is not detailed the drawings are, and along with the maps, scenario ideas and painting guides abound.

The book starts in Indo-China moves to Senegal, Timbucto, French West Africa, Dahomey, Fashoda, Madagascar, Morocco, WWI, and Syria. This was one of the best book buys I’ve made so far this year. The price is amazingly low like 119.71 francs or 18.25 euros, which equals about $17.50 depending on the exchange rate you, can’t beat this. (Volume I is 1622-1871 and is available)

Librairie A&C 19, avenue de la République 75011 Paris France Fax 011 33 1 40 21 97 55 Cher Jean-Yves Nasse Je voudrais acheter ce livre. Des séries Mémoire D'Europe LES BATISSEURS D'EMPIRE HISTOIRE TROUPES DE MARINE TOME II 1871-1931 Serge Saint-Michel & Rene Le Honzec Envoyez s'il vous plaît à

(your name address street address city state, Zip Code Country) Charge à ma carte de crédit.

(Enter type of credit card visa/MC etc, the number, expiration date and name on the card) Je comprends que le prix est approximativement 75 FF plus l'affranchissement. S' il y a un problème, ou si vous avez une question, envoyez-s'il vous plaît l'email moi.

(your email address here) Merci beaucoup.

(your name here - signature)

10. Osprey Publications Several new reprints and one new title are or will be available by June. MAA 4 The Army of the German Empire 1870-1888 reprint (now available), MAA 366 Colonial American Troops 1610-1774 (1) (available now) and MAA 138 British Cavalry Equipment 1801-1941 revised edition (available by June).

11. Online Maps I have been looking for historical maps to base scenarios and campaigns on. In one of the ColonialWars messages there was a mention of maps available online at Utexas so I tried www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/index.html

There are all sorts of historical maps here. My main interest was for Africa and the NWF, little actually for the NWF, but Africa has quite a few. Just follow the trail to the Historic maps of Africa section. The best maps are from the Scottish Geographical Society and may be a few French ones. The best way to print them is to save to your documents file, then open that up and use the print command under file--that way you can enlarge the map to fill the page. I hope you have a color ink jet because these maps are great. Mostly of West Africa they are very useful for planning explorations into the wilderness since they are all period maps and most detail is lacking. On the other hand, you can always use the CIA maps in the regular section of the map library.

12. Caliver Books, 816-818 London Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, SS9 3NH, Great Britain. Check out their web site www.caliverbooks.demon.co.uk Battlefields and Age of Empires are available in the US from On Military Matters, (609) 466 2329. Unfortunately, I have not seen either Age of Empires or Battlefields in a long time. They are still advertising them but no new issues????

13. Helion and Company, 26 Willow Road, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 1UE England, www.helion.co.uk I got their latest catalogs, not much for the colonial period, but if you are into WWII there is plenty. They also sent brochure from Tours with Experts. They list two tours of interest Anglo-Zulu with Ian Knight and Anglo-Boer with Parker Tours as well as several ACW tours. www.tours-with-experts.com

14. Articles of War LTD., 3 Rodeo Raod, Silver City, NM 88061-8710, www.articlesofwar.com I ordered two books the Brassey Spanish-American War 1898 History of Uniforms Series by Ron Field and A Black Corps d’Elite: An Egyptian Sudanese Conscript Battalion with the French Army in Mexico, 1863-1867, and its Survivors in Subsequent African History by Richard Hill and Peter Hogg. I thought it might be useful to have the Brassey book and would never, well you know, have thought about the Black Corps since I am not very interested in Maximillan except that I am currently reading Samuel Baker’s Ismailia who talks about those survivors being his most trusted officers and men on his service to Egypt 1868-73. More later including DA scenarios Service was fast as usual.

Along with the books was a flyer listing their reprints:
Egyptian War of 1882 $34.95
River Column, Brackenbury 34.95
Military Operations In China, 1900-1901 59.95
History of the Sudan Campaign 69.95
War in South Africa, The German Official Hist. 99.95
America in the China Relief Expedition 1900 39.95
Campaigns on the North-West Frontier, 1851-1908 49.95
My Life in the Foreign Legion 34.95

I have all of these but the War in South Africa book and they are wonderful. The books are all reprints of either official accounts or by participants, very useful. If you are interested in WWI in Africa they have Campaign in German South-West Africa 1914-15 by Collyer (34.95), East African Force 1915-19 by Fendall (34.95), and Gold Coast Regiment in the East African Campaign 1916-18 by Clifford (49.95). Tell them you saw it here. One of the BEST BOOK DEALERS I have ordered from.

15. Victorian Military Society, P.O. Box 5837, Newbury, RG14 7FJ Great Britain.

Soldiers of the Queen issue 108: As always while there are several good articles this issue the one outstanding article by Louis Ackroyd “The Niger-Sudan Expedition of 1896-97: Journal of Lieutenant Henry Charlton Chaworth-Musters”. Interesting journal account giving a real feel to the expedition, photograph of the Royal Niger Co. stern-wheeler Empire, and the battle at Bida. Great read!

16. Parroom Station Miniatures has released City Dweller Martian Royal Lancers. They come in squadron bags of one officer and 5 lancers. The lancers come with four separate heads so you could make four full units. Plorses come 3 to a bag. From the photos on the Miniatures Page these are very nice figures. I have some Martian foot from Parroom Station and they are very nice and work well with the original Space 1889 Martians. Available from the London War Room.

17. Arcadia / Tempus Publishers. 2 Cumberland Street, Charleston, SC 29401, www.arcadiapublishing.com or www.tempuspublishing.com They sent me two books for review, one I have asked Ian Knight to review Rorke’s Drift 1879: Anatomy of a Great Zulu War Siege by Edmund Yorke and The Black Watch: The Black Watch Photographic Archive edited by Stephen Lindsay, Regimental Secretary. I have not yet had the time to read through this but will by next issue. From the flyer they sent along there are seven Regimental photographic histories available: East Lancashire 1855-1958; The Cheshire Regiment; The Dorsetshire Regiment; The Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry; The Welsh regiment; and The York and Lancaster Regiment.