By Hal Thinglum - HEKI TERRAIN ITEMS - I made a trip to my local railroad hobby shop several weeks ago for some super glue and came across some HEKI items which I picked up. First of all there is #1183 --seven pieces of hedging each about 3 1/2" long and 1/4" high. They are perfect for 15mm figures, or even 10mm. The interesting thing is I bought two packs and they are a different shade of green; one is dark green, the other is light green. However, the code is the same. They could also be used as rows of crops in larger scales such as 20mm/25mm. Cost was $7.99 each. #1187 is three long strips of flexible dark green hedging. These are taller than the #1183 and probably close to 16-18" long and 1/2 " high. They are very flexible and can be twisted to conform to a curving road system if necessary. Cost was $5.95. Highly recommended.
By Hal Thinglum - MUSKET MINIATURES 15MM EASTERN FRONT RUSSIAN BUIDLINGS - MUSKET MINIATURES, PO Box 1976, Dept MW(that's MWAN!), Broomfield, CO 80038 has released a set of 15mm WWII Eastern Front buildings and accessories (see their ad in this issue for a listing). They sent along two buildings for mention in this column: FST3010 Small rural cottage intact and destroyed (all buildings are available intact & destroyed); cost is $10.95 each. These are excellent resin cast buildings with separate roofs and metal windows. They are on a nice base and have interior casting on them (i.e., the floors are wood strips). There are log cabins, rural log houses w/tin roof or thatched roof, and brick urban style houses. These quality buildings are perfect for the Eastern Front and can just as easily be used for a wide time period - certainly for Napoleonics or the Great Northern War if you game these periods. I'll be saving these for my WWII 15mm Eastern Front and 15mm Russian Civil War projects. They will fit in perfectly with my hovels buildings that I already have. Highly recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - B&B MINIATURES 20MM AWI NEW RELEASES - B&B Miniatures, 37 The Queensway, Hall Road, Hull, UK HU6 9BH (phone 01482-803478; fax 01482-803478) sent a Hessian heavy gun and crew (Ar/32 Code) from their American War of Independence line (price is "series 12 though I am not sure what the cost is) and I like this very much. After examining the uniform of the four Hessian gunners, I believe I can use them as Prussian gunners for the SYW period. They appear to be wearing gaiters and tricorne! The gun was very easily assembled - I like the casting quality of B&B as I never have to do any filing or cutting down of the axle to fit the wheels on. Gun detail is very good; the four crew are as follows: officer, crewman with ball, with spike, and with rammer. They are in relaxed "at ready" positions and nicely detailed as well. They will fit very well on a 1 1/2" X 2" base for my 20mm SYW project. They offer heavy, medium and light guns for the British, Americans and Hessians thus far. I have asked Ian Bratton of B&B if he intends on producing any limbers for this period and hope they consider making a "generic" limber (with only two horses and one rider). I am most enamored with this company and can recommend them most highly without reservation! Carried in the USA by BROOKHURST HOBBIES, 12188 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, CA 92840 (phone 714-636-3580; fax 714-636-9150; e-mail: info@brookhursthobbies.com; web site: http://www.brookhursthobbies.com).
By Hal Thinglum - TACTICAL EDGE ITEMS - THE TACTICAL EDGE, 90 Spirit Lake Road, Winter Haven, FL 33880 (phone 863-401-3182; fax 863-401-8221; e-mail: jaguar@tacticaledge.net), who support MWAN via advertising, sent along two items for mention. First of all, we have a BP CAST 20mm Rolls Royce 1940 AC with Boys ATR and crew (BR-110 code) for $9.95. Everything is in resin except for the gun and crew figure, who is cut off at the knees for gluing into the hatch of the armored car. The only thing you have to do re assembly is to glue on the four wheels, gun and crew member. The turret can just be placed in the hole intended for it so it can swivel. I must admit that I am very impressed by the BP CAST stuff I've seen. Detail is outstanding and assembly, as I stated, is easy. I see this vehicle as having multiple applications: if I was doing French Foreign Legion in 20mm, I'd add this sucker in real fast! Secondly is an Figures, Armour, Artillery (FAA) Hotchkiss H35 French Light Tank (TVR13; price code K) with resin body and turret and metal tracks and gun. I really think resin bodies are the way to go for 20mm vehicles. Sharp detail and quality casting! No price was included. I remember when FAA made only figures and it is great to see them branching out into vehicles as we trust their quality - not to mention that their prices, I believe, are most fair. Highly recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - 15MM RENAISSANCE RANGE FROM VIKING FORGE - Loren Schwendeman of VIKING FORGE, 1727 Theresa Lane, Pocohathan, VA 23139 was kind enough to send me samples from his Renaissance range in 15mm when I wrote to him inquiring about gunners for the English Civil War period. Included were MRX15 through 18 consisting of crewman with rammer, with wad & bag, with swab and bucket, and officer with linstaff. These are very nicely done 15mm figures which fit perfectly with my collection of ESSEX, MATCHLOCK, DONNINGTON MINIATURES, and others. Quality is good; I did have to use my exacto knife to clip off some flash between the end of the rammer and the base of the figure, but this was easily done. Cost is .30 each. Loren has infantry, cavalry and guns for the early 16th and early 17th centuries. In addition, he offers DUTCHMAN, SPANIARD, SWITZER, SWEDE, a set of Thirty Years War rules by Doug Hubbard ($12), which I found very difficult to locate.
By Hal Thinglum - KENNINGTON MINIATURES 20MM FIGURES - KENNINGTON MINIATURES, 4 Church Vale, Forest Hill, London, SE23 2UW, UK (phone 020-8291-6675; fax: 020-8291-3375; e-mail: rephoto@rsigns.fsbusiness.co.uk) is another one of my favorite 20mm figure manufacturers. First of all, they sent samples of their 20mm Napoleonic Spanish line! SG1 through 5 are Spanish Guerillas: standing firing pistol w/sword, advancing w/carbine & pistol, kneeling firing carbine, advancing w/musket, and standing w/musket. They wear a variety of head gear ranging from kerchief pulled tightly over the head to bicorne to regular brimmed hat. If I was doing 20mm Napoleonics (when I saw the figures, it did cross my mind!), these figures could also be used for Spanish militia. There are nine Spanish line infantry: Command including drummer, officer and standard bearer with cast-on staff, each in two different poses - standing and advancing; firing, loading, at ready, kneeling at ready, porte arms, and two different poses for march attack and advancing. All you need to do with these figures prior to painting is to run a file on the underside of the stand. There are seven Spanish grenadiers: firing, loading, at ready, kneeling at ready, porte arms, and again two poses of march attack and advancing. All have the Spanish Grenadier fur cap with cloth piece coming off the right side of the cap. Lastly, there is a Spanish gun crew: with bucket, rammer, ball, and firing the gun. These are wearing bicornes and in firing poses. Their Napoleonic line is quite extensive and consists of French, British (including Peninsular British), Austrians, Russians, Nassau, Brunswick, Belgians, Netherlands, Prussians (post 1806), Portuguese (post 1810), Bavarian, and Spanish. They also offer seven Napoleonic personalities and guns/limbers!
I also obtained a bunch of 20mm American Civil War figures for my 20mm ACW project. This was exciting stuff for me! My 20mm ACW project has been on the back burner for awhile and this will get me going again on it. I like my ACW figures to be marching so I ordered marching figures in jacket/kepi, frockcoat/kepi, jacket/hat, and Texas Brigade. Each marching figure from these four comes in two different poses thus, offering variety. I can mix all four in different units as well for even more variety. I also ordered more command figures in those four categories: officers, drummers, and standard bearers with cast-on poles. Each comes in a standing or advancing pose. This offers a tremendous amount of variety of poses and types. KENNINGTON MINIATURES are only available from the UK and I've always used my credit card for purchases and have been pleased with their service. They are now selling figures in packs as well. Four foot are 1.35 pds while six are 2 pds. Three cavalry are 2.50 pds while guns or limbers are one pound. Highly recommended stuff!
By Hal Thinglum - FIGURES, ARMOUR, ARTILLERY (FAA) NEW RELEASES FOR 25MM SPANISH CIVIL WAR - FAA, 17 Oakfield Dr., Upton Heath, Chester, CH2 1LG, UK has released a number of new 25mm Spanish Civil War items which are very exciting! These include: LSVo1 Bilbao armoured Car (8 pounds), LSV02 Armoured Lorry #10 Militia lorry with turret (10 pds), LSV03 Renault FT Tank with 37mm gun and MG option (8 pds), LSV04 T26B tank (10 pds), LSV05 Armoured lorry #9 Nationalist APC (8 pds), LSV06 Armoured lorry #12 militia lorry with turret (10 pds), LSV07 Pzkfw 1B (10 pds), and LSG/01 M1897 75mm field gun with four Republican crew (6 pds). Outstanding stuff - simply outstanding! All bodies and turrets are in resin while other parts are in metal. I think resin allows even more detail on these little beauties than metal would provide! I wasn't able to denote any flash at all. Now these vehicles can be used for other periods than the SCW - the T26B tank is a Russian tank and can be used for early WWII actions on the Eastern Front; the Pzkfw 1B could be used for German allies or, I believe, for German reconnaissance units in WWII; while the Renault FT tank with 37mm gun could also be used for WWII - the Germans used a lot of captured French equipment for units operating against partisans from what I've read. Armoured cars would fall under the same category, I'm sure. I am very excited about using these vehicles for both my 25mm WWII and Spanish Civil War periods! The M1897 75mm field gun was used by a lot of different countries - including the French Foreign Legion, I believe - mine will be used as Romanian artillery for WWII Eastern Front. The gun comes in five metal pieces (2 wheels, carriage, barrel, and shield) with four crew: two kneeling and two standing - all in side caps. Nice stuff - can't wait to see them painted!
By Hal Thinglum - RIFLE WARS - PART 1 - A STUDY IN AMERICAN GRAND TACTICS FROM CRUSADER GAMES LTD - CRUSADER GAMES LTD., 3811 West 34th Street, Cleveland, OH 44109 has released this rules set consisting of a spiral-bound 29 page booklet by Jeffrey Knudsen and Lance King. I quote from the designer's notes: "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 of formations of units, instead of individual units, to better demonstrate the outcome of players' command decisions at a higher level of command." The brigade is considered the smallest organization; 1" = 100 yards; one turn = 15 minutes; and a brigade is considered to consist of at least four infantry/cavalry "elements". Movement is 4" for foot/artillery, 6" for cavalry, and 12" for commanders/scouts. There are five types of troops (green, experienced, vets, old vets, and short-timers) and five categories of leaders. This is a well laid-out set of rules and should be interest to the ACW gamer. They also publish NAPOLEONIC COMMAND, a fast-play grand tactical system ($12) and report they will soon be releasing FIELD MARSHAL, SOLDIER KING, a rules set for 1689-1789 ($12). I don't know price of ACW set, but I assume it is $12.00. Contact them for more information. Nice looking set of rules.
By Hal Thinglum - EUREKA MINIATURES ITEMS - AB FIGURES IN 15MM, 20MM AND 25MM - Nic Robson of EUREKA MINIATURES, 10 Woorayl Street, Carnegie, Vic 3163, Australia (PHONE 03-9568-4085; E-mail: nicr@eurekamin.com.au) is about as nice a fellow as you'll meet! We met at last year's HISTORICON and had a great time talking. Nic carries the AB FIGURES which is an excellent line of 15mm Napoleonics. Before I forget, Nic offers a great mail order service and also carries MWAN in Australia - can't be too bad of a guy, uh! First of all, Nic sent along some new releases for the 20mm WWII British line consisting of rifle squad gone to ground, infantry squad on patrol, tank riders, rifle squad advance to contact, and Universal Carrier crew. These are excellent figures, measuring 19-20mm from top of base to eye level. As far as flash is concerned, I don't even think you need to file off the bottom of the base - outstanding casting work, Nic! There are ten "gone to ground" figures: five prone/crawling and five kneeling. Twelve tank riders: nine sitting poses and three standing w/o bases. There are ten "on patrol" most with slung rifles. Ten "advancing to contact" which are in action poses and four figures in the Carrier crew pack along with packs and weapons. Opps, almost forgot about the 6pdr crew bag with four figures w/o bases. All figures mentioned are wearing the British steel helmet and are excellently done! Gamers with British WWII collections will definitely want to get these! Also listed in their catalog are 31 packs of WWII 20mm tank crews, each has six different poses. If you like 20mm crew for your vehicles, this is a great line to choose from! Don't know prices.
Nic also sent along an Assyrian 2-horse chariot in 25mm. The two horses are differently poses and there are two figures with pegs to be inserted on the chariot. The chariot comes in nine pieces - I am highly impressed with Nic's casting ability! I don't know the cost of this item and it is not listed in the catalog.
AB's main focus is 15mm Napoleonics - I have to say their quality is simply outstanding. Nic sent a number of Prussian, Russian and British figures encompassing foot, horse and artillery crew. What I like about AB is that they offer a number of figure variations (from 1-10) within each listed pose. This allows greater variety within an individual pose. Cavalry are usually cast separately from the horse and have the saddle furniture on the rider although the Russian Cossacks I received were one-piece castings (great!) with cast-on lances (none broken - all the way from Australia?!!!!!!). Standard bearers also have cast-on poles. Lancers have cast-on pennants. I rather suspect this line may well be the best 15mm Napoleonic line available as to quality. They may not possess the variety of OLD GLORY, but their variety is quite good given the number of variations within each pose. Very highly recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - METAWARGAME II - Theron Kuntz, PO Box 58354, New Orleans, LA 70158 (504-481-1373; e-mail: utiltkz334@hotmail.com) publishes METAWARGAME II ($5) which consists of approximately 60 or so 8 1/2" X 11" pages held in a notebook. Apparently there is a METAGAME PRIMER ($5) as well. Let me quote Theron as to what is "Metawargame" - "The answer at this point of the discussion could be that METAWARGAME is an exercise, an informant, an attitude, or just an innovation. But METAWARGAME is - in reality - more than plain, one-word descriptions, the style that is prevalent in the discursive thinking of mono-logic and the articulation of everyday cursory expression." Theron continues later to further describe "Metawargaming" - It is, essentially, the individual ultra-development and the reconditioning of not only Historical Miniature Wargames but also of the enthusiasts' thinking apparatus. A reader may envision this progression through recognizing the didactic components deployed in METAWARGAME's expositions. The pretexts set forth by METAWARGAME's introduction are also founded in those same purposes regarded as sine qua non of mainstream embodiment and utilization. The rationale supported by me for METAWARGAME's substruction is, however, of more profound complexity, containing critique of 'recurring structures and idiosyncrasies,' dissemination of typographic structures in an effort to relate and identify inconsistency, construction of conceptual and theoretical technologies to augment acceptable elements and to amend functional inadequacies, production of a relational vocabulary for increased dynamicity of focus and flow, and to bring 'constructive discernment' to the Wargame community." Most of the publication (approximately 22 pages or so) deals with METAWARGAMING terms while another four pages provides a chronology of events and inventions. If you are a wargame designer interested in the esoteric, you may be interested in METAWARGAMING.
By Hal Thinglum - THE THIN GREY LINE - TAC PUBLICATIONS, 22 Mead Way, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1GB, UK (phone +44-1865-370083; e-mail: chris@kidlington66.freeserve.co.uk) publishes this outstanding effort - THE THIN GREY LINE: The Organisation of the German Army 1941-1945 by Bob McKenzie. This covers organization for many units including infantry, volksgrenadier, SS grenadier, Sperr Divisions, Luftwaffe, light infantry, jager, Gebirgsjager, Ski-Jager, SS Gebirgsjager, security, fortress units, Flegerdivision, Fallschirmjager, motorized infantry, panzer grenadiers, SS motorized, Sturmbrigades, and much, much more! In addition, the beginning provides information on troop quality and equipment. Retail price is 10 pds (about $16) for this excellent 116 page effort! It is designed to be of use with COMMAND DECISION, SPEARHEAD, CLASH OF ARMOUR, and TAC: WWII rules sets. Truly excellent reference work! I can't recommend it highly enough!
By Hal Thinglum - MORE TAC PUBLICATIONS - TAC PUBLICATIONS (see address above) kindly sent along two more publications - WWII MICRO-CAMPAIGNS by Scott Fisher (about 50 pages - 5 pds/about $8) and EASTERN FRONT 1944 Volume 1 - Scenarios for Second World War brigade level actions by Nick Murray (39 pages at same price). The campaign booklet has seven micro-campaigns (Hannut, Belgium, 1940; Smolensk, USSR 1941; Demyansk, USSR 1942; Matanikau River, Guadalcanal 1942; San Fratello, Italy 1943; Bourguebus, France 1944; and Stolberg, German 1944. The rules themselves are a short four pages long (the kind I like!) and there is an additional four pages regarding conversion of TAC to COMMAND DECISION III and to SPEARHEAD. Any rules system which uses "platoon" sized elements can be used with the campaigns. The author states "A central aspect of the micro-campaign system is the ability to link three or more games to form a micro-campaign." Scenario information includes listing of the situation, terrain, weather, location, time period, ammunition, random events, and an excellent section on organization of the forces involved. This is an excellent little publication and worth more than the actual cost! Highly recommended! The Eastern Front 1944 booklet has ten scenarios for battles on the Eastern Front between February and August, 1944 and uses from two to nine battalions per side. The first five are designed to be played as a mini-campaign for the siege of Tarnopol while the other five were "chosen to reflect the diversity of operations across the whole of the front." Each scenario covers the battle picture, ground, mission for both sides, mini-campaign, ending the game, campaign consequences, and epilogue as well as forces for both sides. There are excellent sections on German and Russian TO&E and weapon data. If you have an interest in WWII, you MUST obtain these products! My congratulations to TAC PUBLICATIONS!
By Hal Thinglum - GAUNTLET PUBLICATIONS FROM RUSSIA - Pay attention now! IF YOU DO NOT GET THESE PRODUCTS WHILE THEY ARE AVAILABLE, YOU WILL BE VERY SORRY! We have all, in our hobby careers, passed up certain items only to kick ourselves at a later date. This is another one of those times! Craig Martelle, The Gauntlet, U.S., PSC-77, DTRP-M, APO AE 09721, USA (e-mail: gauntlet2@hotmail.com) is a Marine Major serving in Russia at present. Not only does he publish the US version of the UK's GAUNTLET (known as UK's MWAN - isn't that nice of them!), but he scours the Russian countryside looking for "anything" that American wargamers might find of use. The fact that he is fluent in the Russian language as resulted in him locating a plethora of items you and I would never be aware of if it were not for Craig. The books are in Russian, of course (except for two thus far), but Craig provides translations for picture captions. I have been picking up anything concerned with the Russian Civil War and WWII and have been very pleased with every item! Here we go:
RED ARMY AND WEHRMACHT UNIFORMS - Distinct Badges, Uniforms and Equipment of the Ground Forces of the Red Army and the German Armed Forces - 80 pages/$10; color drawings & B/W illustrations - virtually every page has color drawings of uniforms and badges. Eight pages of translation included. Excellent!
ARMY OF PETER I (PETER THE GREAT) - Osprey-like, but more color plates of uniforms, equipment, arms, etc. 64 pages/$10. Fantastic for uniform colors; five pages of translations. I will never do The Great Northern War; however, I can't pass up this book!
NORTHERN WAR - CARL XII AND THE SWEDISH ARMY FROM COPENHAGEN TO PEREVOLOCHNIY 1700-1709 - eight pages of great color uniform plates ala Osprey; four pages of translation. A number of b/w illustrations.
HUNGARIAN ARMOR 1940-45 - 32 pages, no color photos, but many photos and b/w illustrations. No translation included; no cost information.
MESSERSCHMITT Bf.109 - same series as above; 30 pages - many, many b/w line drawings of this plane along with drawings of interior of plane. No translation/no cost information.
FIRST SOVIET TANKS - excellent(!!!!) 64-page glossy booklet with photos and line drawings of early Soviet tanks (1919-1933) along with inside cover color drawings of same. Five pages of translation/$10.
RUSSIAN ARMY CAVALRY 1907-1914 - 48 page publication with eight pages of color uniform plates along with photos and drawings of equipment/arms. Sixteen pages of translation(almost the whole publication/$10.
RED ARMY TANK CAMOUFLAGE 1930-1945 - 56-page glossy with four pages of color plates; 149 b/w photos, which I've never seen before - that's the neat thing about these books. We've seen virtually all known photographs of WWII, but not these Russian photos, we haven't! Completely in ENGLISH (thanks to Major Martelle!)! $12.00 only. Also covers tank markings and tanks named by their crews. What a buy!
GERMAN ARMY ARMOR CAMOUFLAGE 1941-45 - 48 page glossy with 121 b/w photos with color inside covers. Captions in Russian and English with three additional pages of translations ($12). Many photos of knocked out German tanks. Terrific stuff!
RUSSIAN LIBERATION ARMY OF WWII - 44 page glossy hard-cover book with eight pages of color uniform plates; I was surprised to see this book coming out of Russia! Five pages of translation/$12.
EASTERN LEGIONS AND COSSACK UNITS IN THE WEHRMACHT IN WWII - same format as above; 46 pages/$12. Eight pages color uniform plates, many b/w photos. Seven pages of translation.
THE IS TANKS - 48-page glossy booklet in English (again, thanks to Craig); many, many b/w photos with color inside covers. The photos of Russian tanks inside Germany were very interesting! Excellent source book!
By Hal Thinglum - THE SKIRMISH LINE PAINTING SERVICE - Charles Van Norman, 347 N. Maple Ave., Green Bay, WI 54303 (920-435-6337) recently did two 16-figure battalions of 20mm Franco-Prussian War French Line Zouaves for me and as usual, I was very pleased with his work! They appear to have been done with a black undercoating and are very handsome! Zouave jacket trim (blue with red trim) was nicely done and faces are painted with character. Definitely recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - FOUNDRY 28MM ANCIENTS - THE FOUNDRY, Mount Street, New Basford, Nottingham, NG7 7HX, UK (phone 0115-979-2002; fax 0115-979-2209) has released a new series "I HAVE GAZED UPON THE FACE OF AGAMEMNON" - it consists of packs of Trojan/Mycenean Kings, Hectors Chariot, Achilles Chariot, Trojan/Mycenean Warriors standing, and Diomedes Chariot. Each pack is 6.50 pds/$12 while chariot packs are 8.50 pds/$15. Packs of Trojan/Mycenean Kings (eight beautifully done figures including trumpeter) and Achilles Chariot were sent for mention. This is a two-horse chariot with two figures with pegs to fit into the chariot. Separate weapons and shields and a beautiful chariot model! A pack of seven separate shields was also included - all are different. Some of the figures have separate weapons but they cast on to the figure base and easily removed. Open-handed hands for weapons seem well cast and would fit the weapon well. Howard Whitehouse, 409 Wellesley St East, Toronto, Ontario, M4X 1H5 Canada (phone 877-360-9111; e-mail: HowardW@netcom.ca) is the new full-time US representative for THE FOUNDRY.
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