Ian Jones:
I have recently acquired a PC 386 with diskette 3.5" drive only, no CD. Are there any members who can supply games etc. on disk please? Graham Empson has already helped me out and I would like to acknowledge his support [via the Advisers Service]. I live at 38 Wool Grove, Andover, Hants, SP10 2QG and would welcome meeting any wargamers within commuting distance.
Duncan Mackay:
As I took Lone Warrior 126 out of the envelope Jean looked across and said "What a well presented cover". I thought you would like to know this. [Thanks Duncan, for the comments and articles. Kenn]. garibaldi@woden.com (Ian): Yep, 126 is a good one, very good. The 1812 article is particularly interesting as I have a special interest in the "American" wars throughout the 18th & 19th Centuries. Must give Rich an e-mail to let him know how I appreciate his contributions. The solo Civil Wars rules also had a great deal of interest - particularly the Initiative flow chart, which should be easily adaptable to other periods. The Baggage train facts & figures are also valuable for all periods - especially that "Northwest Frontier" scenario I have lurking in a dark recess somewhere. Well done all - again! Oh well , back to painting up Napoleonics - Lasalle's "Brigade Infernale" are nearly ready. By the way , your e-mail address was misprinted in issue 126 , might cause problems to "newbies" . [Oops! Thanks for noticing and it has been rectified.] Good soloing (& "Editing" )
Dermot O'Doherty:
I am a recent subscriber to Lone Warrior which I must say is a really excellent publication.
Chris Grice:
Not a huge take-up for the tournament yet, but early days, I suppose. Perhaps I made it sound too complicated? Time will tell if there is enough interest to sustain it. I had a letter re. the Tournament from Martin Hogg, which commented that he, like me, is still a relative newcomer to the SWA. I remember your saying that a lot of people join for one year and then move on. All I can say to anyone thinking of doing so is: " Don't sit on the sidelines - get involved!" Like any association, you get out what you put in, so USE the SWA's services, write to the adviser for your period (even if you don't want to know anything specific, you'll both enjoy the contact), join or use the ADC service, set down your own ideas as an article or letter for LW, whatever. Since joining, I've traded ideas and inspiration with wargamers of all sorts, and now wish I'd become a member years ago. [Me too Chris! Kenn]
S. Cook:
Keep up the good work, Lone Warrior goes from strength to strength.
Richard Goyder:
Lone Warrior, along with the SOTCW's Journal, continues to provide my only real wargaming. I'm not sure how it happened, but after years as a penniless student unable to afford the armies of my dreams, now that I have gainful employment all my spare time has vanished! Apart from sporadic purchases of plastic figures for my much planned Spanish Civil War campaign (see below) little of note is happening. Lone Warrior keeps me sane by reminding me there is more to life than work, so my thanks to you and all the team. I promise you an article if there is ever anything to write about! The ad ('At last' sighs the Editor) [not true!]: "WANTED: Boxes of Revell's WW I French Infantry. Unpainted, preferably still on sprue. Also interested in other boxes of 1/72 plastic figures. Contact: Richard Goyder, 8 Avery Court, Hernes Road, Oxford, OX2 7QU or goyderr@britannic.co.uk" No idea where I'll keep them if I buy any!
Jonathan Aird:
I'll let you have my thoughts on Warhammer Ancient Battles (WHAB) when I've tried it out some more (and with different armies). I'm afraid I can't match you - I don't have every army in the Armies of Antiquity supplement [nor do I, but I'm working on it]. I was at Salute last weekend, and there was a demo game of WHAB, using new armies from an upcoming book covering chariot army types in detail. Looked interesting. There was also an enormous "normal" Warhammer game running next to the WHAB game. Very impressive number of figures, standard of painting and GW style terrain. I hadn't been to Salute for a couple of years, but it was very enjoyable. There seemed to be a lot more room, I think mainly to due to a slightly different main hall layout which removed a couple of bottlenecks around the big traders. Going with the intention of buying very little probably helped as well, as I didn't get into the scrums which appear around the most popular traders. Took my SWA badge, but forgot to pin it on - not much use as a recognition aid when safely stored in a jacket pocket. [Oops! Still on sale at £2, incl P&P, from Editor].
Your Games Workshop tour sounds interesting, from the way they've described the HQ site in White Dwarf it certainly sounds as if it would be impressive. I would guess that you also saw their "museum" of "mega-games from games Days past"? At the risk of reminiscing, it's hard for me to believe just how big GW have got - I well remember trips to the Dalling Road store in Hammersmith when all they sold was other peoples stuff(!).
I think the idea of a web site for the SWA is a good one, as long it doesn't try and replace LW. Although the Internet is a wonderful thing, if say, LW were to turn into an e-magazine (i.e. an electronic copy only, available via the Internet) then I for one wouldn't be able to read it (home PC but no Internet connection at the moment). I'm probably not alone in that either. My main reason for not getting it is not that I'm a technophobe but more that the few plays that I've had on the Web have made me realise that I could potentially spend hours and hours "surfing" on it and I simply don't have the spare time. However, an SWA page which advertised the society, gave a few examples of the kind of thing found in LW back issues, and provided a contact address for sending membership sub's to would almost certainly bring in a few more members. I'm not sure how practical it is for me to do so, but I'd be willing to help in the construction of a SWA web site - my only real hesitation is that, as I don't have regular access to the Internet, loading the pages and then maintaining them afterwards would be a bit tricky. A site which isn't maintained would probably be more likely to put people off than encourage them to join (on the grounds that if the site hasn't been changed for 10 months or whatever then the reader may wonder if the society is still going - and maybe it isn't worth sending a sub' off). [I agree with you and in the background we are discussing a Website but be assured it will only advertise the Solo Wargmers Association and Lone Warrior and not become the main focus. Let's face it if you want to read Lone Warrior on the Net use Magweb!] You didn't say in your letter whether the articles on the SWA for other magazines situation was resolved or not (i.e. you already had a volunteer) - I'm still happy to do something if it's still needed and would be helpful to you. [Only you to date! Be interested, as usual, in seeing what you come up with. Kenn]
Chris Grice:
The tournament seems to have been well received by those who have taken part, so I definitely think I'll make it a regular event, with your assistance. Several ideas present themselves for future tournaments, but Napoleonic or Renaissance seem to be winning. I'll knock up a results table for the first tournament for probably LW128 (assuming everyone resubs!) and attach the advert for the next tournament to that, if that's OK, so earmark me a couple of pages, Ta!
Just received LW126. Great! It's amazing the inspiration that can be got even from articles covering periods that don't interest you. In the 'glossies', I'd ignore any ACW and most WWII articles, but those in LW are of a different class altogether. I lapped up Ken Van Pelt's about Merrill's Marauders and David Barne's commando raid. Keep up the good work!
Craig Ambler:
It's very sad news about David Barnes, although I never met him he did seem like a very good guy. I must admit that I really looked forward to his reviews and especially his drawings. He seemed to have a similar attitude to wargaming as I do, play for fun and make sure you enjoy it.
Lars Boye (Denmark):
I am glad you like WHAB. As an old roleplaying friend of mine pointed out, wargaming has seemed to come a full circle. Back in the 60's wargamers were trying out the early fantasy rules using their existing figures. Perhaps using Greek Hoplites as Elves. Now people using WHFB can be trying out WHAB using Elves as Greek Hoplites! I will probably be sticking to my beloved DBA for soloing, but I expect to use WHAB with my friends, who likes WHFB and have loads of figures based for it. Best wishes and thanks for the good job you do,
Godfrey Bailey, Malta:
Lone Warrior is going great just recently, to the benefit of all Association members and I still rank it as the best wargaming magazine around, even after 23 years!
Mark Money:
I hope that you are keeping well, and perhaps finding the time for the odd solo game. I have had to work away from home for the last couple of months, so the opportunities for gaming are even more restricted. I'm missing my 'fix' of 'Lone Warrior'; I had been expecting the latest copy in June. Is there a problem with printing and distribution? (I re-subscribed at the beginning of May). Issue 126 - what can I say? The usual extremely high quality once again!! (I even thought that the samurai on the cover did credit to the contents!! Ignore my previous comments re- the changes to the look of the magazine - I'm just an old fuddy-duddy!). I'm going to have to make time to put some of the ideas into practice, but when, I don't know... Keep inspiring me, none-the-less. [Delay in publication was deliberate in that it was considered important that the membership should be informed of David Barnes death. Trust you will understand. Kenn]
Martin Hogg:
I'm very sorry to hear about David Barnes. I never met him, I've only been a member for a couple of years, but I've very much enjoyed his articles and reviews and being a 'doodler' myself, admired his pen-work. Like many magazines and journals, part of Lone Warrior's feel is due to the graphical element. It helps to bind all the different aspects of it into a whole and sets a tone for the journal, one which works very well. A persons chosen style of artwork often gives a little insight into their character and I am sure that if we'd met, I would have liked David. [Although I have asked before, now is the time for all artists to get sketching and assist me in maintaining David's legacy of excellent artwork. It does not have to be review figures but must be of a wargaming nature and I will publish your contributions. Kenn]
Peter Helm, of Redoubt Enterprises:
I am very sorry to hear of the death of David Barnes. Although I never met him we spoke on the telephone and he was always good enough to send me copies of his reviews, along with his own comments and ideas. He seemed to be a very nice man and I was always happy to send him figures, as his reviews were knowledgeable and fair. I am sure that the SW A, as well as his family will miss him greatly, I know I will.
Ken Cooper:
Keep up the good work with Lone Warrior, the last few editions have been particularly good. There is a good mix of article, reviews and general comment. The computer section is particularly useful to myself, having limited experience in gaming by computer. I certainly intend contacting Graham Empson with some queries once I get my extension finished and I am allowed to get back to gaming regularly. SELWG 99 will be held on Sun 24 October 1999 at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, details Paul Greenwood 0181-857 6107. [Ken, thanks for your kind comments and the information on SELWG, so where are you going after the NSC? Kenn]
Steve Turner:
I was very sorry to hear of the recent death of David Barnes. Though I never met nor ever exchanged any correspondence with him, l enjoyed his sketches very much indeed. Their style fitting the character of Lone Warrior perfectly, livening up it's pages no end. Though I suspect he had a fondness for 2Smm figures (not my favourite scale, being too large for effective wargaming in my opinion), I found his observations on the latest 15mm figures, and other smaller scales, very useful indeed. There 's at least one figure manufacturer out there with my money in his bank account who can thank David & his excellent reviews for the privilege of receiving it. I have no doubt that David's contribution to the SWA will be sorely missed by all. [Steve, thanks for your kind comments. Kenn].
Steven Cook:
Is in dire need of a small battery powered polystyrene cutter. If you can help please contact him direct.
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