By Hal Thinglum - IMPERIALIST ENTERPRISES 25MM DEMI-BRIGADERS - Bob Haggerty, 229 N. 2d St., #C, Elkhart, IN46516-3024 (219-293-4398 after 4pm) has released a number of new 25mm figures from his excellently done Demi-Brigaders (1794-1806) French line. I've mentioned in the past how nicely sculpted/cast these beautiful figures are. They are "large" 25mm, (actually 27mm) and beautifully detailed! Bob reports that they were designed to fit in with Elite and Connoisseur. A total of twenty such figures were sent for mention in this column! There are nine numbers with each number having at least two variants; three have three variants. There is an officer w/sword and one w/pistol; two flag bearers (gaiters or trousers); two drummer boys, who are really "boys" of about ten years old who are equipped with oversized coats and hats! Six Fusiliers (two each marching, advancing, and firing); and nine Grenadiers (three each marching, advancing, and firing); some Grenadiers have the bearskin, while others have the bicorne. They also differ as to if they are wearing gaiters or trousers, as with the Fusiliers. Cost is $1.25/foot figure; mounted (including horse) are $3.00. Bob announces that the line will eventually include French, Austrians, Russians, Italians, Poles and others. The next releases will consist of Fusiliers in helmet and forage cap as well as foot gunners. It used to be that when a "wargamer", as Bob is, releases a figure line, it is done so because of a "love" of the period - and that is true for Bob, I am sure - however, such figure lines used to leave much to be desired as to quality. That has changed dramatically with Bob's line. To be perfectly honest, I have not seen a finer figure line anywhere - and I mean that! These are little gems! If you are into early Napoleonics, or if you can be swayed into a new period by a beautiful figure, this is the line for you. Having seen the Elite figures, I would have to agree with Bob that they would match perfectly. My congratulations, Robert, on a job exceedingly well done! Most highly recommended! By Hal Thinglum - REDOUBT ENTERPRISES 25MM NEW RELEASES - Redoubt Enterprises, 49 Channel View Rd., Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN22 7LN, UK has released more 25mm American Civil War consisting of Zouave infantry: ACI I I Eastern Zouaves advancing at the double w/rifles at right shoulder shift; AC112 Western Zouaves in same poses ' AC113 Eastern Zouaves charging w/mix of level/upright rifles and ACXI 14 Western Zouaves in same pose. Again, you can select from a large variety of head choices. The Eastern Zouaves are wearing baggy trousers and blouse while the Western Zouaves are wearing normal straight trousers and blouse. Excellent figures with great detail and animation, Also released are more Napoleonic 25mm figures - this time, French Hussars - Officer w/sword; trumpeter blowing trumpet, standard bearer, trooper charging w/separate sword arm allowing for different poses, and trooper riding w/sword at side. There are also four differently posed horses available - an officer's horse cantering and three EM horses trotting, cantering and galloping. Also new is PX26 Spanish Civilians - five nicely done civilians: a portly gentleman and his lady, a woman in cap w/food tray, a shop keeper in apron and a peasant w/shoulder scythe (separately cast) (3.50 pds for the five figures). Foot figures come in packs of six (4.00 pds) while Napoleonics are .65 pence and horses are .95 pence. The French Hussars are excellently done; I have slowly been collecting 25mm Peninsular War figures and mounting them on single based stands for some "skirmish" type gaming. A troop of French Hussars would look great. I plan on using the peasant w/scythe for my Spanish militia. Highly recommended! Good work Peter! By Hal Thinglum - CRUSADER GAMES LTD NEW ACW RULES - Crusader Games Ltd., 3811 W. 34th St., Cleveland, OH 44109 (crusader.games@gtemail. net) has released 'RIFLE WARS - PART I - A Study in American Grand Tactics' ' a twenty-eight page spiral bound booklet on the American Civil War. Designer Jeffrey Knudsen states "Rifle Wars shares with other Crusader projects a number of key design criteria.- no bookkeeping; no counters, caps, or other incongruous markers to detract from the aesthetics of the miniature battlefield; minimal die rolling, so that the player's decisions drive the action; simple mechanics to keep the scale time as close to real time as possible; and an emphasis on resolving the conflict offormations of units, instead of individual units, to better demonstrate the outcome of players' command decisions at a higher level of command. " The brigade is the smallest organization represented; I" equals 100 yards; one turn = 15 minutes; an infantry 'element' (a stand which is part of a brigade) represents approximately 200 men; a cavalry stand equals 125 men; and an artillery stand represents a two or three gun section. A basic infantry move in line is 4" (all movement doubled in column) while cavalry move 6". From what I understand, there is no "firing" or ,,rnelee" such as what we are used to in wargaming; rather, stands are lost because of an engaged unit's "negative status" and via an enemy unit's "threat points" - these threat points can be modified by the target unit dependent upon the number of stands (elements) and status of the unit. The actual rules take up only 14 pages -- there are "special features" such as engineering, field works, signal and telegraph stations, observation balloons, railroads, etc. The rules have a number of good examples of play along with illustrations of such. Cost, I think, is $12.00 plus $2.00 P/H. A set of Napoleonic rules "Napoleonic Command" is also available for the same price. Interesting rules! By Hal Thinglum -OUTLAND GAMES OF OHIO PAINTING SERVICE - Outland Games of Ohio, PO Box 457, Phillipsburg, OH 45354 (937-276-2336; FAX 937-837-1413; e-mail outland a_terinet.com) not only carries an extensive line of wargaming supplies (see their ad on page 153 of this issue), they also offer a quality painting service. Chris von Fahnestock, owner of OUTLAND GAMES OF OHIO, does all of the painting himself - and does a good job. I recently received four regiments of ECW/TYW cavalry - 12 figures/regiment - three were Cuirassier and the fourth a regular ECW horse regiment in buff coats with various types of headgear. I was very pleased with the job - horses were painted a variety of colors within a regiment, helmet plumes were differing colors, as were trousers and coats (where they showed under the buff or armor). Chris utilizes a "black undercoating" and this gives the figures a very nice look, which I like very much! He also painted flags on the standard bearer figures and put a great more detail on the flags than I would have asked for or expected! Horses would appear to have several shades of the same base color, another nice feature that adds to a figure's appeal! Very good job, Chris! Drop Chris a line for prices; I don't think you'll be disappointed with any work he does for you! Highly recommended! By Hal Thinglum - RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR BOOKS FROM CRAIG MARTELLE/ THE GAUNTLET - My (our) good friend in Moscow, Craig Martelle (American Embassy, Moscow, PSC-77, DTRO-M, APO, AE, 09721' e-mail: gauntlet2@hotmail.com www.garrisonclubs. org/gauntlet) has found two more Russian books on the Russian Civil War, one of my favorite subjects as of late! First of all, there are RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR 1917-1922 Interventionist Forces Uniforms, Arms and Organization. It is, of course, all in Russian, however, Craig has translated the captions and other information, such as charts, in a six page supplement. Cost is $10.00, 1 believe (including postage!). This is part of a series on the Russian Civil War and I have all of them - The White Armies, The Red Army, and the Nationalist Armies. Very worthwhile material. They are in the same size and approach as the OSPREY books - 48 pages with hardcover and lots of color plates as well as black&white photos. Another great release is TANKS OF THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR - Armada # 14 with captions and highlights translated (4 pages) by Craig! I don't recall the cost of this little beauty but check with Craig for this information. This is the same format as those paperback rectangular WWII booklets on tanks/etc. It is 56 pages long with color front/back and inside covers of tanks and four crewmen - great stuff There are lots of black&white photographs, which I find very inspiring! I even dug out my 15mm listing of the Russian Civil War/WWI by PETER PIG! We are very fortunate to have Craig in Moscow and making these important items available to us! You won't be able to find this type of information anywhere else - that's for sure! Thanks, Craig! FRONTLINE WARGAMING AFV - 25 BY LEN BREWER. This is a line of 20mm tanks and accessories for World War II. Available from RILBPS 4827 TREEVIEW TERRACE, ROCKFORD, EL. 61109. WWW.RLBPS.COM. This kit AFV-25 is a resin model of the Russian BA- 10 armored car. The kit consisted of six pieces. The car body and the turret had no flash on it at all. The wheels had a small amount of flash. The wheels and turret fits together very well. Scale wise this armored car fits in very nicely with the other line. This fits in very nicely in the entire war on the East front and helps to fill in a gap of these types of cars. Cost is $7.50. The East front gamers should look into this line. U.S. CASTS BY LEN BREWER. This is a line of one/76th scale resin model. Available from U.S. CASTS P.O. BOX 3229, SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA 95063. Sent in for a review was a copy of the M- 10 U. S. tank destroyer. Cost of this model is $15, 00. The hull, tracks and the open top turret fit together very well. On these pieces there is no flash. The hull has an outstanding amount of detail on it. The spare parts like the turret mounted machine gun, eye bolts, bolts and the other accessories are on strips of resin spruce. Very sharp detail, but there is a lot of extra flash on these. Since these are very small pieces, care must be used in removing this flash. Since this is a one/76th scale kit, this tank destroyer is a little smaller than the Sherman tanks by most of the other lines. Also, sent was the turret and gun for the M-3 6 tank destroyer. This turret will fit on the M- 10 hull. The turret and gun consist of three pieces with no flash on them. All of these pieces go together very nicely. If WWII is your gaming interest, you should consider requesting a catalog from U.S. casts. There are a lot of very nice models and some that are not being done by the other lines. UNIFORMS OF THE RED ARMY & WEHRMACHT WW-II BY LEN BREWER. Available from GAUNTLET PUBLICATIONS. CRAIG MARTELLE, AMERICAN EMBASSY MOSCOW, RUSSIA, PSC 77,DTRO-M, APO AE 09721. E-MAIL GAUNTLET2@HOTMAIL.COM. The cost for this book is $10.00 with a partial translation. This is a very nice 80 pages book of the different types of uniforms for Russia & Germany in WWII. The book is rich in detail. There are all kinds of Russian shoulder strap and what they mean. There is even a patch that tells people that you was wounded on the East front. Very highly recommended for the WWII gamer. RUSSIAN INFANTRY 1801 - 1855 BY LEN BREWER. Also availabe from the GAUNTLET. This is a 248 page hardback book that deals with the Russian army uniforms during this period. The cost of this book is $20.00 with a partial translation. This is the second volume of a three volume set. This is a book that is filled with wonderful drawing and color pictures of the Russian army. There are numerous examples of different types of troops, front,side and back pictures of the uniforms. The examples range from various milita units, regular and Guard infantry, officers, standards and the table of organization of various units from December, 1802. Very highly recommended for the Russian Napoleonic gamer. GETTYSBURG ST. JULY 1863 -- BY LEN BREWER. I recently purchased these two OSPREY " military books. The first book deals with the "ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA ". This is subdivided into the C.S.A. I st., 2nd. And 3rd., Army corps. Each corps is then divided into the divisions with the artillery attached. In this section, there is a brief history of the units that makes up the division. There is a brief account of the 2nd., and 3rd., Corps battles on the first day of battle. Also included is a section on Stuart's Cavalry Division and how to war game Gettysburg on July St. 1863. The second book deals with " THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC." Included in this is information on 1st. , 2nd., 3rd., 5th., 6th., 11th., Army corps plus the cavalry corps. Also, included is an account of the 1st., And 11th., Corps battles on the first day. There is a section on how to play the first day of Gettysburg from the Union point of view. There are another two books on the second day plus another tow books on the third day of battle. These two books contain a wealth of information for the average gamer. Cost of these books are $19.95 each. Available from your local hobby store and from some bookstores. If you're interested in Gettysburg, then you should check these books out. By Hal Thinglum - JOHN PRICE PAINTING SERVICE - I have used John Price's Painting Service, 5657 East 32d St., Tucson, AZ 85711 a number of times in the past and have always been pleased with the results, This time I shipped him some 20mm B&B Miniatures FrancoPrussian War figures; two twenty-man battalions of Prussian line, one French Guarde Mobile, and one French line infantry. John had never tackled 20mm before but took them on anyway. The results were very good! The B&B standard bearers come with separate metal eagles - or whatever is placed at the end of the flag staff - and he kindly glued them on for me and painted them up. There are tassels(9) hanging from the top of the Prussian flag pole and he did these up beautifully in several colors, The drummers are also done well - with shoulder insignia clearly done. Uniforms are trimmed in red and all faced are trimmed as well; detail is very good! The French infantry kepis are nicely done with red trim. John glues the figures to a "card-stock" type of base - perhaps eight figures per base and paints them in this fashion. They are also mailed back still secured to the stands and this works out well for me as it makes it easier to paint the figure stand green and dip it in static grass. The metal on the rifles and bayonets is very cleanly done. I can recommend John's work very highly! I should also add that he is very prompt! By Hal Thinglum - THE SKIRMISH LINE PAINTING SERVICE - Charles Van Norman, 347 N. Maple Ave., Green Bay, Wisc 54303 is another painter I have utilized quite often. I sent Charles more 20mm B&B Franco-Prussian War figures - three 20-man battalions of infantry consisting of Saxon line and Grenadiers, and Wurttemburg line infantry. Charles uses a different style than John - black undercoating - and I always like this style as well! Charles' detail is very good again with all uniforms trimmed in red and drummer's shoulder insignia clearly painted. Charles was also kind enough to glue on the top of the flag staffs. He glues four figures to a popiscle stick to paint them and also sends them back in this fashion. I like Charles' promptness and he is very friendly to work with. Highly recommended! By Hal Thinglum - STONE MOUNTAIN'S ADLER 6MM "EIGHTEENTH CENTURY" FIGURES - Stone Mountain, PO Box 594, Broomfield, CO 80020 (303-465-4246) carries the excellent line of 6mm ADLER figures encompassing Napoleonics, American Civil War, and the 18th Century - my personal favorite! I have six packs of figures for the 18th Century for mention in this column and they are little beauties! First of all, Prussian Cuirassiers - the enlisted men come in strips of two figures with their sword extended; there are 26 EM. There are two strips of command - three figures to a strip - consisting of officer, standard bearer and bugler. The detail is just fantastic. All EM poses are identical. There are also Prussian- artillery crews with fifteen strips of four gunners - my eyes are really bad but I can make out crew with portfire, bucket, ball, and rarnmer on each strip - a total of sixty figures! ADLER offers two sets of Musketeers - advancing and march attack - there are 12 strips of four figures and four strips of three figures - a total of 60 enlisted men. Command are available separately. The Prussian Fusiliers and Grenadiers are packed identically to the Musketeers. Cost per pack is $6.95 a real bargain, no doubt! These figures are the best 6mm figures I have seen thus far; there is very little flash; sometimes just a little bit on the end of the bayonet. Breakage is minimal and appears to consist of an occasional bayonet, I don't have a full listing in front of me as everything is packed away for the move, but drop Stone Mountain a line -- their catalog is very well done. This 6mm scale is so tempting! Very highly recommended! Back to MWAN #103 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2000 Hal Thinglum 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