1) Practical Wargamer, May/June. Chris Nelson sent me a copy of the article "Chitral, an Afghan Fort" by Ian Weekly. The article contains a brief history of the fort, it' s ok. Weekly built a model of the fort, which he does for a living, that is outstanding. The article contains six photos of the model, two of the fort and a ground plan of the model. The description of the model building leaves a lot to be desired, way too short, but the phots and plan are worth a thousand words, so I guess it all works out. If.you are looking for a Northwest Frontier fort to construct take a look at this article and Weekly' s book Buildings for the Military Modeller, Design and Construction for some great ideas.

2) The Sudan, 1884-98 by Doug Johnson and Greg Rose a special publication of Savage and Soldier magazine available from Bob Burke, 4726 Appaloosa Court, Antioch, CA 94509 ($7.50 with color plates or $2.50 BW). The color is well worth the money as is the publication in general. There are four color plates with a total of 30 figures. This is at least as good as the Osprey book with information on Madhist flags and a bibliography to die for, well maybe not die for then you can't use it.

3) The Zouave, Spring 1996. 20578 Alliance-Sebring Road, Alliance, OH, 44601. I am not particularly interested in the Civil War but this zine usually has something worth reading and stealing. This issue is no exception with an article by Steve Fratt, "Multi-Day Battles with losses and Stragglers for Fire and Fury."

4) Redoubt, Miniature Service Center, 1525 Bridge #163, Yuba City, CA 95993-8611. I received a flyer continuing the 15% discount until 30 June, which will problably continue further depending on the Dollar. It also announced that there will be new figures for the Zulu and Sudan periods, finally, doug has figures with broken bayonets for sale at 50 cents each - Sudan, Zulu and FFL- call him at 916-673-5169.

5) Modelers Mart, 1-800-223-5260. Not much here of colonial interest. But, on the Old Glory ad page there is a listing of 15 mm Zulu War bags of figures. I don't know whether these are new or not, I suspect they are, obviously I have not seen them and can't review them as I said last issue.

6) Osprey Rorke's Drift 1879, Campaign series 41. What can one say about a book by the acknowledged expert on the Zulu War. Actually, quite a few things. First, the color plates gave me lots of painting ideas, beyond the fact that they looked good. Second, the maps are well done, informative, particularly the details of the mission station, and the 3-d maps are great. However, after looking at the photographs and then the maps I get two different feelings for the place. The photographs show much more terrain than is indicated on the maps, particularly the 3d ones. I would have liked to see a section of an Ordinance Survey map of the area. Without the terrain features, I know it shows the Shiyane Hill but without any definition, the battle would be fought out on a flat table. The area is not flat. Ian Knight's extremely impressive collection of period photographs as well as modern day of the area plus the text makes this well worth the money if you are interested in the Zulu War.

7) MWAN 80. Hal Thinglum, 22554 Pleasant Drive, Richton Park, IL 60471. If you don't have a subscription to MWAN you should. MWAN covers everything and there is lots to read, 'orrible Howard Whitehouse smashes your funny-bone in his "Skulking in the Rear" article featuring Binky Bagshot. The color cover shows a scene from Hal' s Sudan project, very nice fort.

MWAN 81. Among the various useful articles is "1919 - The Third Afghan War: An Introduction" by Paul Hinson and is exactly as advertised, quite good despite its brevity.

8) El Dorado Volume VII No. 3. US subs from Paul V. Walsh, 227 Sunnybrook Road, Springfield, PA, 19064. This issue contains numerous pages of annotated bibliography, uniform and standard drawings, maps, OBs and articles on Latin and South American wars. Very highly recornmended.

9) Caliver Books, Partizan Press and Matchlock Miniatures. 816-818 London Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex SS9 3NH England. 01144-1702-73986. Received a flyer and catalog, the flyer indicates the wide range of books available from Caliver. However, the catalog really caught my eye "Modern Warfare 1820-2,000 AD List S". The catalog list over 500 colonial period titles, not counting WWI appropriate titles. Makes my mouth water to see a listing for MacGregor "The War in Afghanistan". It' s not outrageously expensive, as I have seen elsewhere, 19.50 pounds. Most of the prices are lower than I have seen with other English retailers. I don't suppose you guys would be interested in two years of free ads for a copy??? I hope to be in the general vicinity of Caliver Books next summer if my wife looks the other way for a split second I'll be there in a flash.

As you will see Partizan Press has given The Heliograph via Bob Giglio (see below) permission to print an upcoming article from Battlefields. Geez, I guess they're letting The Heliograph scoop them. Thanks Partizan Press.

10) Also from Caliver/Partizan Press Battlefields Vol. I, No. 4, available from On Military Matters, 55 Taylor Terrace, Hopewell, NJ 609-466-2329. This issue announces that our own Bob Giglio is the US editor, good choice. Nothing this issue is colonial, but the articles in this issue are all worth reading for ideas. Highly recommended.

11) Soldiers of the Queen issue 84. Membership to the society from Michael Parker, 11 Fennel Close, Cove, Farnborough, Hampshire GU 14 9XD England. As usual I don't know where to start there are five articles and four book reviews all well worth reading. This issue is an "Anglo-Zulu War Special" with some great newspaper drawings and an article with photographs on the movie 'The Symbol of Sacrifice" a silent film of the Zulu War. Highly recommended

12) Lone Warrior, issue 114, US subscriptions from Richard Barbutol707 Ridge Road, Leavenworth KS 66048. Among the many articles worth reading three caught my eye. Randomizing Commander' s Characteristics by Steve O'Brien, good ideas worth stealing. A scenario "An Account of a Western Gunfight" by David Barnes with "Western Gunfight Rules" by Kevin White. Both of these are pretty interesting and worth stealing from. Finally, "From Mahdist to Martians... or There and Back Again" by Paul Grace is an article about desigrung rules and record keeping. Highly recommended.

13) Articles of War, 8806 Bronx Ave., Skokie, IL 60077-1896 has reprinted Colville's History of the Sudan Campaign 1884-1885. I believe that Caliver Books is carrying it in the UK. I have not finished reading it yet and will write about it again when I do. However, if you are interested in the Sudan, this is great, there is much information in the 63 appendices and the text of both volumes in the original and one here, that you can follow the entire operation on a daily basis and know who is where and what the officers name is. Amazing detail. Highly recommended for the Sudan enthusiast.

14) Pendragon Miniatures, 1549 Marview Drive, Westlake, Oh 44145, 216-871-4587. Pendragon supplies Wargames Foundry and Guernsey Foundry figures. Actually, according to Bryan Ansell, Guernsey Foundry, Pendragon faxes orders to Guernsey Foundry on a daily basis, so the figure orders come direct and complete from England in less than two weeks, depending on the mail only one week. This arrangement should help keep the costs down and service high. See Figure Review for the latest Wargarnes Foundry Figures of the Sikh Wars.

15) Miniature Wargames No. 156 and 157. Available in the US from Wargames, Inc. Box 278, Route 40 East, Tridelphia, WV 26059-0278,304-5470000. Only one article for the colonial period, which fits in very nicely with Wargames Foundry Figures for the Sikh Wars, "The Miniature Wargames Guide to the Sikh Wars" by John Watts. This is set up to be a four part series. The first part concerns the causes, initial deployment and moves, the battle of Mudki and a guide to the British forces. This part contains four plates of British troops, two maps, British OBs, UDit strengths and uniform data. Part two contains the battles of Ferozeshah and Aliwal, two maps British OBs, eight plates of Sikh forces, plus uniform information. Very useful information for campaigning the wars.

16) Wargames Illustrated, Nos 103 And 104. available as above. Issue 103 has several articles worth reading: "Wargarning the Crimean War, Part 3 the Battle of Inkerman" by Derek Coleman; "Garibaldi in South America, Part 2" by Paul Parsons; and "There was some good bayonet-work at Mahoetahi" by Carl Lambert. This last article is about the First Taranaki War 1860-61 with the Maoris. While the article is short it is packed with good information.

Issue 104 has "The Sikh Army 1845-1849: Uniform Guide" by Alan and Michael Perry. This guide is outstanding and is one written page with 16 color drawings of troops and standards. The inforrnation contained in this article and the one by John Watts comes from contemporary drawings and descriptions.

The Perry's used their research to guide the figure making for Wargames Foundry. Finally, there are two letters from manufacturers replying to Bill Kriegs letter in issue 102.

17) Dragoman, a journal of news and opinion concerning the Ottoman Empire in the age of Napoleon, Surnmer 1996. The Dragoman (the title refers to the title of the official translator in the Ottoman imperial court) will be published approximately four times a year. Subscriptions cost $4.00 a year ($6.00 for overseas). Subscription requests and other inquiries should be directed to The Dragoman, c/o William Johnson, 1524 S. 10th Street, Ocean Springs, MS 39564 (email at WEJJER@aol.com).

I have volume 1, No. 1 from our own Bob Burke who is listed as Grand Vezir, right below Mr. Johnson as Sultan. This is an eight sided, full size newsletter, with a map and two line drawings, quite good. If you are looking for something different for your Napoleonics this is the place. There are four informative articles plus a question and answer section. I certainly learned quite a bit. This might be the place to pit my 1809 Austrian' s against Turks. This may have some very nice potential even for colonial gamers. Get a free sample copy by writing Mr. Johnson.

18) Barnes and Nobles 1-800-THE BOOK. Lots of great books as usual. Several caught my eye With the Foreign Legion in Syria (after WWI) by John Harvey $23.96. Twenty-five Years in the Rifle Brigade (Napoleonic) by William Surtees, $29.95. Fields of Battle, John Keegan looks at every major fortification and battlefield in North America, get this to make your travel plans, $24.00. This is just a few, if you like the Roman to medieval periods this is the place to shop.

19) Piquet 165 Charles Street, Vestal NY 13850. Through the good offices of Brent Oman, Thanks again, I received the missing parts to my Piquet, Din of Battle set. As soon as I get around to it I will give them a try or two and let you know. If anyone out there is going to a convention, particularly Historicon, go listen to their lecture about how to play Piquet on Saturday afternoon in the Hopewell Room and try to play in the game they put on and let us know about it. And if they give out any more free cards and newsletters please pick one of each up and send it to me.

20) Historicon: if you are going, go see Pete Panzeri's talk about the Little Big Horn Campaign, after the Piquet people on Saturday. At Cold Wars Pete put on a great show discussing the battle and new revelations about what occurred, I guess it will be the 120 anniversary. To go along with it TNT is going to show "Crazy Horse" next month. The previews looked like they were perpetuating the old myths of the last stand a la Errol Flynn. Since they, TNT, seem to be making movies about American Indians from a sort of PC view point, they should be making the movie from the Indians point of view. But, "Crazy Horse" doesn' t look like it from the previews. I hope that I am wrong since the Indian view point for this battle has been proved to be correct, according to the archaeological evidence.

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