By Hal Thinglum - MERRIMACK MINIATURES 25MM PIRATE SHIPS MERRIMACK MINIATURES, 31216 County Rd 112, Pecluot Lakes, MN 56472 (218-5687447) has released simply the BEST 25mm ship I have ever seenl Joel Gregory is to be congratulated for his excellent work on this superb model! If you are into Pirates, as everyone seems to be nowadays, this is the model for you! Cost is $250.00, but more about this later Measuring an amazing 8" width and 26" long, (seven inches tall to the fourth deck) this resin cast four decker ship allows you to remove the top deck to reveal the floor below with guns and gun crews. Speaking of guns, there are 34 (yes, 341) metal guns included with this model, sixteen 12-pounders, twelve 9-pounders, and six 6-pounders. You may think -- um, $250 - that's a lot of bucks for a ship! Well, yeh. $250 is a lot of money, but think about this - 34 metal guns at $6 to $7 a gun is between $200 to $250, just for the guns! Many years ago, Greg Novak came up for a game at my house and brought several scratch built pirate ships made of wood and did a fantastic job - his biggest ship "as perhaps a little smaller than this model. It inspired me to paint up a bunch of pirates, which I finally gave away, however, my point is that even though I am a "landlubber", a well-done model can sway me into a new period and this ship could do it for you! The guns are in two pieces: the carriage, with wheels cast on (which I like), and the barrel. There are several lengths of gun barrels in the package. Still haven't sold you on this beauty, uh! What if Joel throws in 30 gun crew in three positions (with rammer, firing or pushing the gun, and kneeling ball)"
These are "large" 25mm figures which will fit in well with Dixon and Foundry pirates. In addition, although there are only three poses, they wear a variety of headgear so they look different enough. In addition, there is a well-done helmsman figure with legs outspread standing out to the side of the steering wheel which is cast oil to the figure. Very nicely done!
Now, what will you do with 40 guns - well, on the lower deck, there are eight gun ports per side on the top deck, there are seven gun ports per side ( 14 + 16 - 30) and two in the back (30 + 2 - 32). The remaining two, I suppose, can be placed either in the very front of the ship where there is a separate deck with two gun ports, or on the Fear (I don't know those shipping terms! Port, aft, etc) where there is an extension off the ship six inches wide in the rear and extending five inches along each side, there is also a third deck and fourth deck to be placed on the rear of the ship where the helmsman will go and there are two more gun ports. Thus, we are talking about four resin pieces to make up the bulk of the ship, two additional resin pieces which form the walls (with doors and windows) for the second deck (facing, each other) and a cast resin set of stairs leading, to the third deck There are a number of metal pieces including Fails, ladders, stairs, mast fittings, and six barrels as well as eight wooden dowels. The detail on this model needs to be seen to be believed Wood grain (both outside and inside, which I like), trail holes, elaborate designs on the sides of the ship, etc. There is also a hex nut to be used for supporting the main mast Joel includes an instruction sheet listing all parts as well as a section on preparation and assembly with information on assembling the masts as well. There is a screw which can attach the main ship body to the second deck, thus, if you loosen the screw, you can swivel the second deck to display the guns and crew on the first deck. Outstanding work, Joel!
Joel has also released a second pirate ship 3 1/2" x 15" x 3 3/4" high, a two decker if you included the helmsman area. There are eleven guns with five gun ports on each side three resin pieces (hulk, second deck, and wall with door to go under the second deck The helmsman is the same as used in the four-decker above and there are metal pieces for stairs, etc., including six wooden dowels. This one is a beauty by itself and Serves as a perfect companion for the fourdecker. Both ships have the rudder cast on to the resin ship body In the front of the ship, there is a small area for either a gun or pirate sharpshooters. The second deck has lots of room for pirate figures. Price for this ship is $75.00 Another outstanding effort, Joel! Highly recommended. You won't/can't be disappointed in either of these efforts! Send him $20.00 for a catalog of items.
So you aren't into pirates! Well, how about English Civil War or Seven Years War? Ever want to have a combined ship/land assault on a fortress? Perfect stuff for you here. There are a number of 25mm SYW Marines available including figures for landing boats (VILLAGE GREEN and LONDON WAR ROOM). In my 15mrn ECW collection, I have one of Joel's ships which I plan on using for exactly this purpose. REDOUBT ENTERPRISES offers beautifully done 25mm ECW figures which can be used to man an ECW ship.
By Hal Thinglum - 6MM BUILDINGS FROM DOLLAR STORIES - I recently found three excellent painted castles in a local dollar store. There were more, but these were the best of the bunch which I felt could be used for 6mm wargaming. One is clearly a castle 3" X 4" X 4" high, while the other two could be very large mansions about the same size. They are painted well enough not to embarrass you on the wargames table and certainly, at a buck each, inexpensive enough. I am considering having them repainted so they will look really good. I guess they are distributed by K'S COLLECTION, Chesapeake, VA 23320. Check out those dollar stores for some real wargames bargainsl
By Hal Thinglum - ITEMS FROM REGAL MINIATURES - REGAL MINIATURES, 1980 NW 94th St, Suite D, Clive, 1A 50325 (515-253-0907), run by MWANer Darryl Sheldon, has a number of very handy items for the wargamerl I saw Darryl at the recent LITTLE WARS CONVENTION and was very glad to pick up a whole slew of hobby stuff for my projects.
GLADIATOR GAMES BATTLEZONE TERRAIN - You know how I love wargames buildings - I couldn't pass up BZlr 15mm Rural Cottage Set ($15) which has three different buildings tiled timber, thatched cottage and post & lintel thatched cottage. These are nicely done resin type structures and will look great with my ECW/TYW/European collection(s). I plan on doing 15mm Peninsular War and found BZ1m 15mm Spanish/Italian building set ($19) with a three-story structure, two story building, and another two story building with shop windows These are perfect for the Peninsular or for Italy! They have a number of building and terrain items available in 15mm. Highly recommended!
ROUNDWAY 15MM MALBURILANS - I was very pleased to find that Darryl brought along his ROUNDWAY Malburians so I could add to my 15mm collection. This line is quite extensive There are British, Danish, French, Bavarians, Prussians, and Dutch packs as well as all interesting equipment listing (wagons, pontoons, guns, engineers, gabions, etc). Although this line is slightly larger in size than the ESSEX l5mm Malburian line, they still fit in very well I just won't mix them within the same unit. I picked up British infantry advancing with musket upright and with musket forward, as well as command (officer, standard, and drummer) ' French infantry with the same poses, more artillerymen, some engineers (pontoons were very essential for this period! There are figures carrying timber beams, kneeling with mallet, standing with oar, some useful stuff here!) Danish infantry advancing and command and Austrian infantry Standard bearers have cast on flags. Lastly, I got a bunch of casualty figures - laying prone cast on to a metal base - I'll use these for morale markers. Eight enlisted men/six command cost $3.29. Four troopers/three mounted command are $3.29. Detail is good, there is little flash, and I like the poses. Highly recommended!
HOWARD HUES/REGAL'S REALMS PAINTS - Darryl has repackaged the HOWARD HUES paint line - which is my favorite paintl The HH line is listed under "historical" paints and categorized into scenery (15), flesh hues (8), equine hues (8), Napoleonic hues (8), ACW (4), and military hues (17). 1 especially like the horse colors as they spread well and realiv give a nice look! The differing number of flesh colors is very beneficial to wargamers as well Darryl's new line of paints - REGAL'S REALMS - billed as "fantasy" paints, has 52 new colors, many of which, I am sure, will be very handy to us! If I could use only one paint line, it would be HOWARD HUES! Highly recommended!
HEROICS AND ROS 1/300TH SEVEN YEARS WAR - Darryl carries the full line of H&R 1/300th figures and I remain most impressed with the quality of this fine line! I've wanted to do a 6mm period for many years as I have this urge to see huge armies on my wargarnes table with open flanks! I stayed away from H&R for years because I assumed their quality would not be very good - I was wrong! The SYW line consists only of Prussians and Austrians, which is fine, because that's my area of focus for the SYW. There are 34 packs of figures (approximately 50 foot/20 horse/3 wagons or horse drawn guns/6 guns/5 elephants/ 15 camels/] 8 generals per pack) at $4.90 per pack. The Prussians have musketeers, grenadiers, cuirassier, artillery. hussars, fusiliers, jaegers, dragoons, lancers, general staff, and horse artillery, while the Austrians have musketeers, grenadiers, Croat grenzers, artillery, cuirassiers, hussars, dragoon grenadiers, and Hungarian infantry. A single pack of North American Indians is available. There is also a pack of gun teams and gunners. Let me give you some idea of the specific contents of several packs. MSY28 gun teams and gunners has two guns, 6 limber horses, 6 carters, 10 marching crew w/muskets, and two single horse limbers. I was surprised there were not more limbers as the reason I would purchase a pack like this is to obtain lots of limbers. MSY9 Austrian artillery has six 5-man crew sets with each of the five figures in different poses, and six guns. MSY20 Prussian General staff has seven 3-man strips of mounted generals of which six of the strips are identical poses. MSY25 Austrian Cuirassiers charging has twenty-one figures including six 3man trooper strips (one pose), and one 3-man command stand (of officer, standard bearer and trumpeter). MSY15 Prussian Fusiliers marching has a total of 54 figures including nine 5-man strips of enlisted men (one pose), two standard bearers, one mounted officer, two foot officers, two sergeants, and two drummers. Thus, with foot packs, you get two command groups and with horse, you get one. I really like these figures and they sure look good when painted. I should add that IRREGULAR MINIATURES and H&R match up very well as regards their guns. I plan on using the IM gun and limber range for my SYW artillery. Highly Recommended for the 6mm wargarner!
By Hal Thinglum - OUTLAND OF OHIO 15MM THIRTY YEARS WAR FIGURES MALBURIAN 15MM FLAG SETS - OUTLAND OF OHIO, 18-20 West Main Street, Phillipsburg, OH 45354) is now casting the 15mm TYW line formerly available from SOLDIERS AND SWORDS in Vestal, NY. I'd been looking for the Command/Character pack ($10.95) to add to my ECW/TYW collection. Within this pack are seven foot officers, 7 standard bearers, I I drummers, one mounted officer, two musketeers (each holding his musket and a "pig"), and four unknown spearmen with shield (could be Irish, I suppose). As listed, they are TYW figures, but would fit well for early ECW as well. They appear to be pewter figures with a fair amount of flash on them. I see a lot of similarity between this line and the 15mm MATCHLOCK MINIATURES ECW line as to design. I wonder if the same sculptor was used? I did expect a few more "characters" than were in the pack. Chris has quietly been putting together quality flag sets in 15mm/25mm and I was looking forward to getting the 15mm Malburian sets. At LITTLE WARS, I was able to get the following French (15 foot, four horse), British (15/4 again), Danish (14/3) and Imperial Austrians (8/6). Nice color, well-done. I put one of the French flags on the French foot unit I painted up and it looks impressive. You just cut it out, fold it over, apply Elmer's White Glue, and apply it to the staff Highly recommended! Drop Chris a line to get a listing of these beautiful flag sets!
By Hal Thinglum - TCS TERRAIN ITEMS - TCS, PMB4155, 545 Newport Ave., Pawtucket, R.L 02861 offers a large number of terrain items for the wargamer and I consistently find their products to be of great use on the wargames table! First of all, a beautiful centerpiece "The Pass" (CP#2 ' $26.00). a 9" X 7" X 3 1/2" high piece of terrain billed for 20mm/30mm. I like this piece and have long wondered why more terrain pieces such as this aren't done. It is made of foam filled resin and Leo Walsh of TCS reports it will float! Well, Leo, I don't think I want my terrain floating around the bathtub when I'm sitting there playing with my boats! This is a hill structure with a winding, climbing dirt road going down the middle, One side of the hill is higher than the other and there are four trees/bushes on the piece. Part of the sides is clearly intended to be rock while the top appears to have grass/sand on it. Would be perfect for Wild West, Peninsular, etc. Highly recommended! 4S-2 Supply wagon 1800's era 15mm ($4.00) is a nicely done "buckboard-type" wagon with high sides and comes in six pieces (main body, four wheels and wagon tie). N-46 is a 1400's resin sailing vessel w/metal masts (1:600 scale~ $5.50) - TCS also offers the same vessel sinking. They offer many 1/600 and 1/1200 ships, forts, and related items for these two scales. N-49 is a Viking longboat with mast and oars, all in metal. Are you doing the Alamo in 25mm and looking for ladders9 Well, TCS offers #150, and 8-foot siege ladder in metal (three ladders for $3.50). Now for you Wild West fellows - TCS has an extensive excellent line of 25mm Wild West structures and terrain items, H-68 (2 arms; four in pack) and H-69 (four arms , three in pack) are packs of cactus ($3 50) which are very well done, You have to glue in two arms on each cactus, you won't find better/less expensive cactus anywhere, my friends! You have to have a "Boot Hill" cemetery if you do Wild West and they have H-70 cast metal High Noon grave stones and markers (10 different pieces for $3.50), a real bargain! H-66 offers seven dead gunfighters (great for morale markers) in 25mm for $4.00 in three different poses (all prone). Nicely cast! Lastly, H-67 has four cattle ($3.50) which I would say are "longhorns". All handy stuff for the Wild West gamer and highly recommended. Good work, Leo!
By Hal Thinglum - THE SKIRMISH LINE PAINTING SERVICE - MWANer Charles VanNorman, 437 N. Maple Ave., Green Bay, WISC 54303 recently painted up five l5mm TYW horse units for me. These were 12-figure units from IRREGULAR MINIATURES and I was quite anxious to see them finished! I've been adding Polish/Eastern units to my TYW collection and these are little beauties! My favorite unit is SR6 Polish Winged Hussar (one wing), Charles did a wonderful job with these great figures. All are one-piece castings, which I prefer in 15mm! I sent him the two OSPREY books on the Polish Army as a basis for painting. The Hussars are mounted on well-animated horses with "bards" (is that you call the cloth covering the horse?) which are trimmed in gold; the wings are in three different shades of color, the lances are red with red pennants ' the Hussar's trousers are blue with a red shirt, armor on the arms/body and a fur cloak. The IM figures have different types of headgear which makes them look great as a unit and Charles did a great job with the armor. Very nice, Charles! My second favorite is SR5 Polish Pancerni with axe; the horse's bard is in a blue-gray with red and white trim, the knight's have red trousers and shirts covered with armor (several different shades of armor are used effectively!). SRIO Serbian/Croat light cavalry are done in "dull" colors which are very effective with this casting. Black outlining is used to highlight features. SR7 Early Polish Knights (1640's) with lances are great! Blue trousers/shirt with armor and a fur cape with different types of metal helmets. Lastly, SR4 Polish Lisowski Cossack with sword or axe are again done in "dull" colors and I love the effect. Charles utilizes the "black undercoating" method and this works very well for him! Highly Recommended! Thanks, Charles - Good Work, Sir!
By Hal Thinglum - B&B MINIATURES SEVEN SAMURI & SHOGUN 20MM RANGE B&B MINIATURES, carried by BROOKHURST, 12188 Brookhurst Street, Garden Grove, CA., 92840 (714-636-3585, e-mail: Brookhobby@aol.com) has branched out into a brand new period for them - 20mm Samurait I don't have a complete listing as of this date, but BROOKHURST was kind enough to send along six packs of figures. SAM5 Samurai Hero "Heihachi" ($3), measuring about 18mm from top of figure base to eve level, these two different poses come with separate sword. SAM6 Samurai Hero "Kyuzo" ($3) also has two poses: one with arms crossed while the second one has a separate sword. SAM7 Samurai Hero "Kikuchiyo" has one figure standing while the second is swinging a separate sword. SAM] I Shogun Personalities (Pilot Blackthorne in two poses, Priest, Mariko and Maid for $7.50) has two different poses for Pilot Blackthorne - one in Japanese clothes and the second in Western style dress with separate sword. The Priest is very well done. SAM] 3 Samurai Palanquin ($14.98) has two bearers and a female rider - you have to assemble an nine piece metal Palanquin. SAM17t Mounted bandits ($32.50) has twelve differently poses figures, all with separate weapons, on trotting horses (where the 'T' comes from) ' the horses are all in the same pose. Weapons are very well cast and there is no discernible flash. Well cast figures, fair animation, another great line in 20mm from B&B. Highly recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - WOODLAND SCENICS STATIC GRASS FLOCK - Also at LITTLE WARS, I stopped by THE LAST SQUARE stand (5944 Odana Rd., Madison, WI 53719 , 800750-4401 and was very pleased to see that SCENIC EFFECTS has come out with static grass. I obtained four different colors ($7.98 each for 32 oz): Harvest Gold, Wild Honey, Burnt Grass, and Dark Green. I use static grass on all my stands and have done so for years as it is (1) very easy to apply: paint the figure base green, lay it down and drop static grass over it and let it dry, and (2) looks very good! I am told they have a medium green but they didn't have that color available. For years I've been using the KIBRI brand, from Germany, but you don't get nearly as much for your money compared to SCENIC EFFECTS. Highly recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - ITEMS FROM EMPEROR'S HEADQUARTERS - Stopped at THE EMPEROR'S HEADQUARTERS on my way home from LITTLE WARS in search of more wargaming toys!
HALLMARK FIGURES - I love this line, I can always find something of value no matter how many times I look. SC 18 well ($1.25) is a two piece metal set consisting of the stone well and a wooden bucket winder. Very, useful for village scenes. Also got SC22 Village Fountain ($3.00), a large circular fountain with a pedestal in the middle. Very nice items!
REVO 15MM MALBURIAN FLAG SETS - Was fortunate to locate some old REVO flag sets for the Malburian period! 442 British Infantry (4), #44 French infantry (5), #45 Dutch infantry (5), #46 German States (5), and 447 Prussian Infantry (5) for about $2.00 each. I'd like to pick up the rest~ #43 Bavarian infantry, 455 Austrian infantry, and 456 French and Bavarian cavalry. Now, if you don't know about REVO, they are excellent flags , however, they are selfadhesive - meaning you have one shot, and one shot only to apply the flag as you wish it to be on the staff. Wish me luck! Quality is very good.
ESSEX 15MM EUROPEAN ARMIES - This is the Malburian range and I ran across three packs of Highlanders which can be added to my ECW collection or used for the '45, 1 supposel BRO89 assorted front rank clansmen, officers and NCO's has 8 figures in 7 different poses great figures! Musketeer firing, large axe (what do they call that - lochlar?) in two different poses, and five other figures in four poses with sword and targe. Very nice stuff - well animated and well cast! BR090 has eight lesser armed clansmen in four poses: sword/targe, small axe with shield, swordsman without shield, and lochelar axe. BR091 has eight poorly armed clansmen in 5 poses swordsmen lunging, scythe, swordsman attacking, lochelar axe, and running with axe. Highly recommended. I plan on putting together a number of Highland units for my FCW project - 12 figures on a large stand and three such stands as a large "mob".
By Hal Thinglum - RLBPS IMPORTS - Bob Bowling, 4827 Treeview Terrace, Rockford, IL 61109 (815-874-5351, e-mail: rlbpsb@earthl ink. net) is importing a number of UK figure lines including the excellent 20mm RAVENTHORPE MINIATURES line! Bob gave me the latest from RM - an American 20mm Assault Boat Team of 15 figures consisting of an officer w/carbine, six riflemen, BAR, flamethrower w/assistant, demolition charge, assistant boat leader NCO w/rifle, bangalore, and bazooka w/assistant ($15). Included is a written handout listing functions: the team was designed to land on the beach and attack German fortifications without any support. Interesting pack and very well figures! I would think you could use these for special missions in scenarios for WWII. Highly recommended.
By Hal Thinglum - B&B MINIATURES 20MM FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR FLAG SETS - I've long been thinking of ordering these flags and finally did - they are carried by BROOKHURST HOBBIES (see address in this column up above). For this period they offer 11 French and ten German flag sheets. The French have the Imperial Guard, 2 Corps , 3 Corps (two), 4, and 6 for the infantry and for the cavalry, Imperial Guard, 2, 3', 4 , and cavalry reserve. For the Germans, they have Guard Corps, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9th, 10 Corps and Bavarians while for horse they have Guard, 5th Division of the Reserve, as well as the 6th Division. Prices are $5.00 each. I only obtain infantry flags - French Imperial Guard and 2nd Corps and Prussian 2th, 4th, Guard and Bavarian sheets. There are nine to ten beautifully done flags per sheet, I caution you - they are "large" - 7/8" X 2" - this took me aback a bit because I hadn't left that much room on some of my poles for standard bearers. German flags sheets have two cavalry standards for cavalry attached to their corps. These flags are attached to the pole by bending them in half after cutting them out, applying white Elmer's Glue, and placing them on the pole squeezing out the excess glue. You can then bend the flag into the shape you wish it to be. I should add that each flag on the sheet is representative of a specific regiment with battle honors listed for the regiment. A nice touch! Highly recommended, but leave room on your flag poles for them.
By Hal Thinglum - WEST WIND PRODUCTIONS "BERLIN OR BUST" 25MM WWII RANGE - OLD GLORY, PO Box 20, Calumet, PA 15621 (724-423-3580, FAX 724- 4236898) is distributing this new range of excellent 25mni WWII figures They are carried in the UK by WEST WIND PRODUCTIONS, PO Box 178, Oldham, 01-2 7FP, UK (0 1706-880899 ' FAX 0 1706-88089 1) I simply can't believe what is happening with WWII 25mm wargaming we are getting more and more quality figures and vehicles! I talked with Russ Dunaway of OLD GLORY some time ago and he mentioned this range would be coining out and would very extensive with lots of vehicles and special packs These are 28mm figures (top of stand to eye level) and cast of pewter. As such, there is virtually no flash and you need only run a file under the bottom of the figure stand and you are ready to prime them! Thus far there are 17 packs of Germans, 12 of Russians, eight USA, four Waffen SS, six British, eight Marines, and six Japanese. The US infantry is for D-Day onwards while the Germans are for the late years of the war. The infantry packs contain ten riflemen while all other packs have eight with the exception of heavy machine gun/mortar packs which have six crew and two weapons I am sure this line has expanded considerably by the time I am writing this although the figures just came in the mail this afternoon. The German range, as stated, as 17 packs thus far there are two packs of riflemen (10 different poses in each pack) with a mixture of headgear and equipment , advancing and attacking. The attacking pack has some of my favorites. firing prone leaning on rock; two figures throwing grenades ' and advancing in smock. Great figures with lots of character! I like the packaging approach in this range as all the figures are different! 43 has officers and NCO's with MP40's, pistols, carbines, etc. 44 is the communications set with radios and telephones ' also with figures writing on notepads (some great forward observers!). 95 Light MG42's has four sets of MG42's (each of two crew) one set is running with the loader struggling with two large ammo boxes, two prone firing ~one firer in helmet while the other is in side cap), and the fourth firing over the loader's right shoulder (that will get you a hearing loss). Very good poses! The MG and firing figure are cast together. 46 Heavy MH42"s has six crew and one stationary heavy MG42~ one set of three is moving (nice set leaning over in their efforts!) while the second is firing ' the firer has the MG42 cast to him which is easily placed on the frame of the MG42 - one crew is loading and the second is peering through binoculars Fantastic set! 47 has 10 infantry in greatcoats advancing and firing rifles/MP40's with one figure throwing grenade. #8 snipers and flamethrowers has three flamethrowers and five great snipers two in cam mos, one great sniper kneeling leaning far forward firing with ammo belts on his chest This is another great set! 99 Panzerfausts and Panzershrecks - GEEZ - they keep getting better and betterl - four sets, one kneeling firing, one standing firing, two moving ' one great figure in greatcoat! #10 infantry in camo/winter jackets ooh - these are good! One figure is bareheaded; hooded jackets, netted helmets, heavy winter trousers! 411 Panzer grenadiers in canto smock features figures firing, advancing, even one in shirt sleeves. 412 Checkpoint set. YES, a checkpoint set! Metal gatehouse, two large signs on stands, and two piece roadblock as well as four figures: one on phone, one motioning "stop", officer w/slung MP40 pointing, and figure in greatcoat walking w/MG pistol in right hand and what I think is a baton in his left hand held behind his back. Great Set! #13 Guards set seven figures and one dog (of course, a German Shepherd!) with handler who holds leash in left hand. Most are in greatcoats. One his walking leaning forward holding flashlight up high, four are in relaxed positions, another is waving his right hand and holding an NIP40 in his left in greatcoat. Several good officer poses including one in sidecap which will pass very well for the Colonel from "Cross of Iron" #14 tank crew on foot eight crew, three armed (2 with pistols, one with SMG), five working on tank. #15 Tank Hunters with A/T bombs: eight figures - one heavily laden figure standing firing with charge on end of rifle, another throwing satchel bomb, one arming grenade, great figure running in camo with rifle slung on left shoulder carrying teller mine, another running quickly(!) with group of grenades tied together! Very good stuff here! Pack # 16 casualties: three dead prone on ground (very realistic - best I've seen), three kneeling getting hit, and two standing getting hit (one has just been hit in the chest). The last German pack is #17 Paras Fallschirmjager - ten German paratroopers advancing, firing, running. All great stuff for the German line!
Now on to the Russkies - there are twelve packs - again all $ 10 each. #1 rifles advancing has ten figures advancing, running, crouching, etc. , with a variety of equipment and headgear (helmets/sidecaps) while 42 rifles attacking has ten figures standing firing, kneeling firing, loading, advancing, etc. Equipment for both packs varies from blanket rolls to light equipment while some figures have sacks or bags attached to their bodies. Good stuffl #3 officers and NCO's - eight poses in helmets, sidecaps, service caps, including one great pose by officer standing in service cap with SMG held on his right hip. #4 communications set has eight figures including one standing with SMG in beret (and ponytail - can that be right or my eyes that bad?). #5 SMG armed infantry has ten figures firing, loading, advancing, etc. , while #6 light MG's has four LMG teams - one prone, one kneeling, one standing firing, and one moving. Nice poses! #7 Maxim MG - two three-man teams, each with a Maxim which requires assembly (four pieces); I've always liked the way these weapons look. The moving team has two figures pulling the maxim while a third lugs ammo boxes. The prone team has two prone members firer and loader, while the observer is kneeling. #8 Heavy MG - Degtaryev Dshk has two teams, again one moving (looks like all three crew are pulling gun) and prone firing - gun in four pieces and nicely cast! #9 snipers and flamethrowers - two flamethrowers, six snipers firing, advancing, four of the six snipers are wearing the Russian hood. #10 Scouts in camo suits - eight figures mostly with SMG's, one w/rifle. Advancing, crouching, firing, camo suits should look good painted up and should be easy to paint as well. #11 command in camp dress - eight figures with lots of character! Some are wearing Russian winter coat worn by Chinese in Korea -- the quilted type! Gesturing with rifle over head, charging w/SMG, three firing pistols, one with binoculars, one writing on note pad, and figure w/pistol with bag hanging on back. Lastly, 412 casualties -all prone, two of the eight may be wounded. All prone casualties are cast to a stand.
OK - that's itt An excellent line. If I know OLD GLORY, they will be releasing lots more! And, I would expect a lot of "unusual" type packs, such as the checkpoint! Every figure is differently posed, a real plus. They are large 28mm figures who are chunky - much like FIRST CORPS, however, they will match up with other 25mm WWII manufacturer's products. I am also expecting lots of vehicles - this will probably be the 25mm WWII premier line! Quality figures at OLD GLORY prices - you can't go wrong, can you! Highly recommended.
By Hal Thinglum - RENAISSANCE INK PAINTING SERVICE - RENAISSANCE INK, 335 Torrance Ave., Vestal, NY 13850 (607-748-4665~ e-mail- JWIRTH4702@AOL.COM run by long-time MWAN supporter, Jay Wirth, just returned six 20mm painted Franco-Prussian War Bavarian infantry units of 20-figures each, They are simply beautiful! The FPW Bavarians wore the "sky" blue uniform and Jay did a great job with them I The Jagers have green facings, there is a Grenadier battalion which Jay "spiced up" a bit with extra trim on the sleeves (thanks, Jay!), and four line battalions, each with different facings. There appears to be a lot of black outlining, which makes crossbelts and cuffs stand outl Uniforms are edged in red where appropriate and the hands are also outlined in black - I've never had figures with outlined hands beforel Excellently done - highly recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - FOUNDRY 28MM ANCIENT GERMANS LINE - THE FOUNDRY LTD, Huberts Lane, Doyle Rd., St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK GY1 1RG (0 1481-714241 FAX 0 1481-714905) has released a new line of blister pack Ancient Germans in 28mm. Thus far, there are eight packs. Suebi Warriors 1, Suebi Characters, Chatti Warriors and Veterans, Germanic Warriors and Characters, Savage German Warriors 1, and German Casualties. All foot packs, including shields, are 8.50 pds/$18; without shields, they are 6.50 pds/$14. All packs have eight figures except for the characters and casualty packs, which have seven. You can purchase all eight packs via a special deal of 59 pds/$125 which includes shields. Submitted for mention were the two character packs. First of all, the Suebi characters one figure in cloak holding severed head, standing with attached shield, sword arm outstretched to right, a hulking gentleman stripped bare to the chest, another leader with sword upstretched and cast-on shield, an open-handed fellow with "period" hairdo, and another cloaked figure w/sword. The German character pack features two open-handed figures with chest bared, one of which is another "giant", figure w/spear shaking his fist, one with large sword holding it in both hands as a baseball player would hold a bat, two cloaked figures (one with cast-on shield) holding their swords upwards, and a figure w/sword. These are "large" (28mm) figures with lots of character, no flash, lots of muscle showing, and very well designed/cast. Beautiful stuff, no doubt - close to $2/figure with shields a significant price increase over what I recall THE FOUNDRY charging in the past. If you are into skirmish gaming, these would be great figures for you to invest in!
By Hal Thinglum - OLD GLORY 25MM COLONIAL NWF LINES - OLD GLORY CORP, Box 20, Calumet, PA 15621 (724-423-3580 FAX 724-423-6898) has for some time had a 25mm Colonial line though I didn't really consider it as I felt my 25mm NWF collection was pretty much complete (primarily WARGAMES FOUNDRY with some RICHARD HOUSTON) for 1840-1900 with the exception of the Indian Mutiny, However, I found myself looking through their catalog one night several weeks ago and got excited about their Mutiny range and also, their Pathans. The Mutiny offerings cover the British (14 packs including infantry, horse, Gurkhas, Loyal Sepoys, and Sihk infantry) and 11 packs of Mutineers. I hopped in the car last week and made my way to THE EMPEROR'S HEADQUARTERS, 7047 North Barry St., Rosemont, IL 60018 (847-768; FAX 847-768-7806; website: www.emperorshq.com) at just the right time. They were unpacking a large shipment of figures from OLD GLORY and my old friend, John Brewster, found me the items I was looking for. First of all, the Mutineers, The line consists of Mutineer Command (30 figures) consisting of three drummers, three buglers, three sergeants - nicely done - three standard bearers w/o staff, and 16 officers in a variety of poses. They also have mutineers advancing, skirmishing (standing/kneeling firing, loading, etc), and cavalry. A Rebel Peasant Mob pack is excellent with lots of variety, including three figures with knives which I removed and will use as pack animal handlers. I didn't get the artillery crew as I have enough already. The Irregular Infantry skirmishing with muskets are very good and could be used as British allies for pre/post Mutiny actions. The Moslem Ghazi Fanatics charging pack is also very good. Then they have dead and wounded packs (15 figures/$14) although I only purchased the wounded pack, and lastly, Mutiny Personalities mounted including Tantia Tope, Nana Sahib, Ram of Jhansi and more (6 figures/$20).
The variety of poses within each pack is amazing - even more than I recall with my 25mm SYW OLD GLORY figure packs! In a thirty figure pack, there are at least ten different poses ' however, within each of those poses there is much variety as to head positioning/facial characteristics/headgear/etc. This is the type of thing I really like in a wargames unit. My infantry units for this period are 24 figures, mounted three to a stand, By using the standing wounded figures (within the wounded pack are figures for both regular and irregular infantry) and more officer figures to a unit than I would normally use (three instead of one), I was able to make up seven regular and three irregular infantry units. One officer pose is perfect for conversion to a flag bearer by bending his arm ever so slightly and hollowing out the hand for a staff By the way, the standard bearer figures for the Mutiny are open-handed and you will have to use your exacto knife for the left hand and a hand drill for the right. The personality pack is fantastic! I plan on using them for the 1840's right up to 1900. The Ghazis come with separate shields, which I don't like doing by the way; however, I tried something new. The figures have a lead point on the back of their left hand where the shield is supposed to go while the shields have a little indentation in the middle for a better fit. I took my hand drill and drilled the indentation out a little more so I get a much better fit and this seemed to work well The British Personality pack of six mounted figures is outstanding with Colin Campbell, Havelock, Hugh Rose, Henry Lawrence and two others - very useful command figures and fine looking indeed!
OG's Northwest Frontier line is also extensive consisting of 12 British packs - Indian infantry, Ghurkas, Bengal Lancers, Guides Cavalry, Mountain gunners, dead and wounded Indian troops, dismounted Indian cavalry with command (I have to get some of these!), and Sikh infantry with command. For regular British, they recommend using the Boer War line. The Pathans have seven packs. command (30 figures consisting of 6 drummers, four standard bearers, two swordsmen, and 18 leaders w/rifles and swords) tribesmen with rifles~ with muskets and jezails, charging with swords, mounted, and dead and wounded packs. I got all of the Pathan packs except for the dead figures. Again, the mix is great! My favorite figures are the standard bearers as their right hand/fore-arm is missing and the separate staffs have the missing part. Their right arms are in huge flowing sleeves with a hole for insertion of the forearm and staff Again, I pulled out my hand drill and drilled the hole a little more and had a perfect fit. The staffs are very good - four different types of them. The leaders are also very well done with all sorts of different clothing and facial characteristics. I separate my Pathan foot units into sword units and riflemen and have a lot of them already so I only picked up one pack of each. This worked out great as I came up with three 24-figure units of riflemen, two of swordsmen, and one 15 man unit of Pathan snipers which I am mounting on individual metal stands. The Pathan packs with muskets/rifles/jezails is interesting many of the figures are kneeling firing/in wait and are crouched quite low. This made it a little difficult, in my view, to use them on three man stands (certainly a personal matter), so I took these figures (15 of them) and made them into snipers as mentioned previously, The mounted Pathans (10/$27) are very well done, the horses are better than I remember the SYW OG horses being. Again, separate shields are provided and I ended up putting shields on perhaps 20 of the 30 Pathan swordsmen. Excellent figures, inexpensive, wide range within the period, many different poses, well cast (I mainly had to just file off the bottom of the stand for the most part; though the hands of the standard bearers needed work), very good detail, and they should paint up very well! One more point I would make as to OLD GLORY - actually two - one is that I get quality "large" 25mm figures at a very inexpensive price (not a bad idea, uh!) and secondly, OLD GLORY, from what I can tell, finishes their figure lines (again, a pretty good idea, don't you think?). OLD GLORY, as a "giant" of the hobby, from what I have read occasionally in some of the local newsletters, gets - blarned" for some of the very advances in the hobby they have made. I read of people complaining about how you have to purchase so many figures in a pack (usually 30 25mm or 100 15mm figures per pack) number of command figures per pack (too many/too few depending, I suppose, upon the individual gamer's unit organization); and flash. I highly suspect the vast majority of these comments come from what I would term "negatively inclined" people (much like what Howard Whitehouse discusses in this issue's column). Think of it OLD GLORY was the first to "lower" prices per figure by bulk packaging. I much prefer ending up without excess figures however, it should be remembered that I am still saving money because of OG's lower prices. Even with their recent price increase, I am paying only .90 for a 25mm quality foot figure. Yeh, I have to run my file under the figure base and with perhaps 5% of figures in a pack, there might be a large piece of lead to be removed under the figure base, but I can live with this, knowing that I am saving money. I think it is safe to say that if OLD GLORY had not have entered the market as they did and "lowered" the price of wargames figures, much of the rest of the market would be higher than they currently are I would have to say "Thank you, OLD GLORY or giving me a quality figure at an inexpensive price!" There, I feel better now - Highly recommended line(s) and I'm looking forward to seeing these figures join the rest of NWF collection!
Oh - almost forgot. OLD GLORY recommends using Napoleonic guns for the Mutiny so I picked up a pack of British 12 pounders (BY-E-05) from their Napoleonic range - nice guns - two for $9.00. They will fit in very well with my WARGANIES FOUNDRY and RICHARD HOUSTON guns (I love Richard's limbers and gunsl - I wonder if they are still available9), I think I have about fifty guns/limbers/crews for my NWF collection - could probably do gun for gun with that many! Anyway, the guns fit together well and look great - I love those 12 pounders! Highly recommended!
One more thing - OLD GLORY is now carrying the excellent 20mm WWII HINCHLIFFE line by SKYTREX out of the UK. When I was doing WWII Eastern Front/Pacific in 20mm, I had many of these vehicles and they are very good and have an extensive line. Call them for a listing!
By Hal Thinglum - MARK FENLON MINIATURES 28MM ACW FIGURE LINE Australia seems to be producing more and more figure companies and the latest new producer is MARK FENLON MINIATURES, 9 Welland Close, Penrith, NSW Australia (e-mail markfenlon@bigpond.com.au. www.bigpond.com.au/markfenlon I would urge you to check out this website - it is extremely well done and other companies could learn something from its quality! Mark is an ordinary wargamer, like many figure/terrain manufacturers, and gives his reason for starting an ACW line - "I thought there was room for a small independent manufacturer to produce anatomically correct figures of excellent quality at a very reasonable price." His packaging is as follows~ infantry (6 figures artillery (2 guns), artillery crew (four figures), and foot command (leader, standard, musician). An infantry pack is $6/US, $9/Australian, or 3.60/UK Pounds; gun packs are $8/$10/4.80 pds crew are $416/2.40 pds, and foot command is $3/$4.50/1.80 pds. Postage is $5/Australia, USA/5% UK/20%. Thus far, packs include CSA infantry advancing, charging, firing/skirmishing, loading/skirmishing, marching, and command. CSA artillery crew, CSA dead, and four guns 12# Napoleon, 3' Rifle, 64 howitzer, and 104 Parrot. Mark submitted eight figures for mention - they are roughly 30mm high from top of base to eye level, they appear to be more "anatomically" correct than other wargame lines - I think we've come to the point where our war"ames figures are "overfed" though this doesn't bother me at all. They remind me ofthe old 25mm CONFEDERETTES line as to stature. The faces are very well done~ the detail may not be as "raised" as we have become used to during the last ten years or so~ the figures submitted have "light" equipment and are wellcast. I am impressed with what Mark has done for his initial output and look forward to seeing more from this fine line! It is clear he has a real love for the period. Recommended.
By Hal Thinglum - MAGNETIC STRIPS - I recently purchased some more magnetic strips 1/2 " X 10 feet long) from WALMART for about $2.85 I had the idea of using my large plastic storage boxes (14" X 20"), getting some tempered hardboard from the local lumber shop and cutting them to the size of the box, Then I would line the hardboard with magnetic strips and store my figures with metal bases. This works very well and you can store an awful lot of figures in this fashion. Even if the figure bases aren't metal (as my 25mm SYW collection), I still plan on purchasing tempered hardboard and cutting out sections to line the bottom ofthe plastic boxes and putting my figures on the hardboard. Without the hardboard, the bottom of the box is somewhat uneven along the edges.
By Hal Thinglum - REDOUBT ENTERPRISES 25MM NEW RELEASES - REDOUBT, 49 Channel View Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN22 7LN (01323-738022 , FAX 01323738032) continues to pump out quality 25mm Napoleonic and American Civil War castings to add to their already extensive lines for these periods! One of the interesting things about doing MWAN for so long is that I've seen so many companies start out small and become quality producers of wargame figures/accessories and Peter Helin of REDOUBT ENTERPRISES is one of those who has done very well! First of all, for Napoleonic wargamers, Peter has added Polish Lancers of the Imperial Guard consisting of officer waving sword, standard bearer with eagle standard pole (cast-on), trumpeter, and two lancer enlisted men - riding with lance upright and charging with separate arm. In addition, there are three horses - walking, charging and galloping - REDOUBT makes excellent horses. Lots of aniniation, anatomically correct (as far as I can tell, anyway!), free of flash, and well detailed! The cast-on lance is well done with pennant which I prefer especially since the metal has some give to it I've never had any problems with the REDOUBT separately cast arms as they fit very well , for attaching separate arms, I always use the two part epoxy and put a little bit in the open area, put a drop of super glue on it and pop in the separate arm. Works well. The officer is especially well done with sword upright and looking slightly upright to his left. These are outstanding figures and should took great as a wargames unit on the table! Figures are .65 pence while horses are .95 pence
Next we have ACW cavalry! Six packs thus far - cavalry command in shirt order or shell jacket, regular cavalry command, and troopers in shirts, shell jackets, and regular cavalry troopers. Each pack has six figures/horses and cost ten pounds each. Each command pack has an officer, trumpeter, two guidon bearers, and two NCO's. All packs come with a variety of standing horses. Submitted were Command and troopers in shell jackets. These are fantastic horses; standing with heads and feet in different positions! Saddles are cast-on and all horses are in different poses! The riders are in three pieces: lower body, trunk and head, thus allowing a great variety of poses. I think this is a REDOUBT innovation ' if they weren't the first, thev were the first to do it well! Again, when assembling figures, I would use some two-part epoxy and super-glue. The standard bearers require a separate flag poles. The officer is pointing with his right hand~ trumpeter is holding his trumpet near his right leg. I like the enlisted man pack - all have carbines but are holding them in different positions on right shoulder, across body, across upper body/face, upright toward right side, holding it upright in air, and upright forward. Very nice poses!
Also new but not submitted is pack of thirty Virginia Military Institute Cadets (19 pounds) including personalities, officers, gunners and gun. This should be an interesting pack of figures!
Lastly is a "Farewell My Children" Napoleonic pack with thirty figures including Napoleon kissing the flag, standard bearer with standard, officer, sapper, four drummers and Old Guard presenting arms (19 pounds). What a diorama this would make for your bookcase shelf! That gives me an idea! I'm going to look up this painting and see what sort of terrain setting it was in. Seems to me it was in a courtyard if I'm not mistaken. Figures are in full dress uniform. The standard is done very well i lots of folds and nice and thick! The officer is presenting his sword to the front of his body/face. Napoleon is wearing a bicorne and greatcoat and leaning over slightly with his hands joined. The figures are cleanly cast (of coursel) and well detailed. An excellent set! You know how we are always complaining about these great new figures coming out in periods/scales we don't game in and how they are so hard to resist9 What if we did a diorama for those sets which we can't resist? I know it's not like having them available for the tabletop, but you get to look at them on your bookshelf - you'd probably see them a lot more that way anyway! Highly recommended! Congratulations, Peter - great work!
By Hal Thinglum - RLBPS IMPORTS - Bob Bowling of RLBPS, 4827 Treeview Terrace, Rockford, IL 61109 (815-874-5351, FAX 815-874-4829, e-mail: rlbps@earthlink.net website: www.rlbps.coni) is another one of those individuals who have been involved in the hobby from a commercial end for as long as I can remember (that's quite awhile, Robert!) and has been adding quality UK lines for distribution in the US. STEVE BARBER MODELS used to be limited, to my knowledge, to 1920's 25mm figures/accessories, but apparently he has branched out into other historical periods. He is producing Mongols in 25mm - I think they are pewter - there are eight packs available presently: mounted command, mounted w/swords, mounted w/bows, mounted command with one camel drummer carrier, heavy cavalry armored, eight foot w/bows $14), Yurt (what is that?) $15, and knights tent ($15). All mounted packs are $16 and have four horses with cast-on saddles and riders. Submitted were mounted w/swords and foot w/bows. There are four differently poses mounted figures which are verv good - one has an open-hand for spear/lance/standard; there is a swordsman with cast-on shield, a bare-headed swordsman, and a great leader with chainmail and helmet. There are two differently poses horses, both charging and they are done very well. Also included is a standard end for gluing on to a standard. Great detail for the riders! The foot pack of bowman has three identical figures firm- and five figures with different heads reaching for another arrow. There is a little more flash than I would expect on some of these figures - for example, the firing bowman has flash on the front of his face but it should be easily removed. Lastly, we have a line of "Prehistoric Settlement" figures which is quite extensive consisting of 18 packs of figures/accessories. Submitted for mention was STLI pack of eight identically poses clubmen ($13) on square figure bases. The figure is dressed in fur loin cloth and fully bearded holding a large club over his head. There are spearmen, archers, axemen, civilian (berry pickers- builders, flint miners and chief), woolly Mammoth ($17), Sabertooth Tiger ($3 25), Giant Terror bird w/nest and eggs ($6), deer, skin and bone tents (2/$17.50), temple, burial mound, flint mines, berry bushes, plants, and a rule book ($18.95). A Settlement boxed set is available for $120. Check out Bob's web site - it is quite well done.
By Hal Thinglum - TODD KERSHNER'S PIG WARS - DARK AGE SKIRMISH RULES - My old friend Todd Kershner (27679 Featherstone Rd., Sturgis, MI 49091, e-mail website Http://sites.netscape.woodmagusa/homepage has released his PIG WARS (" When Men Were Men and Pigs Were Money') rules set ($20 plus $2 postage Todd mentioned he is looking for stores to carry these rules). I remember playing in this game probably twenty years ago and it was a lot of fun! John Jennings of Black Falcon Publications did the art and layout for this 40-page effort with color covers and it shows; John did OLD GLORY's publication so if you've seen that, you know Todd's rules set is nicely done! PIG WARS deals with small unit actions during the Dark Ages and is defined by Todd as 5th Century AD to the Norman Conquest in 1066 though he reports they work well up to the 14th Century. It is designed for 6-10 units with each unit commanded by a single player who is given different tasks. This reminds me of the Norman and Saxon games Rich Black and I used to have some twenty years ago which were lots of fun. Every player had a unit with different objectives and we had an enjoyable time doing lots of back-stabbing! The game is designed for 25mm figures but can handle different sized figures. Basin- is not important as both individually based and groupbased figures can be used figure bases are marked with a code denoting morale.
Three armor classes are used unarmored, partially, and fully armored. Twenty man units are recommended while units with all mounted figures should be limited to ten figures. Examples are given for composition - for example, a Norman unit would have 12 fully armored spearmen, three unarmoured crossbowman, four fully armored mounted knights with lance, and one fully armored leader with lance, sword, or mace. The sequence of play is (1) draw movement card, (2) phasing player rallies and moves, (3) phasing player shoots, (4) mutual melee, (5) morale checks then repeat sequence for all players. Move distance is dependent upon armor class (foot move a maximum of 9" if unarmored, 6" if fully armored, unamored horse move 16" while fully armored move 12". Figures moving in difficult terrain use different types of dice (6-8-12-sided) to determine terrain effects. This is a "card-run" game in which each player has their own deck of cards and a second set of cards are used for movement determination. The second set consists of a single movement card for each unit in the game In large games, it is recommended that the movement cards not be used and a move/counter move system be utilized instead. There are only nine pages of rules with another page of optional rules. Tactical suggestions are offered and there is an addendum for Roman vs Gaul/German barbarians (100 BC to 300 AD) There are three scenarios - a small one and large battle (Battle of Hastings), thus giving us the full range the rules are capable of In addition, the third scenario covers "Romans on the Rhine", sort of an "inbetween" type of scenario as to game size. A nicely presented rules book and well worth the rnonev! Highly recommended! Congratulations, Todd!
By Hal Thinglum - THE LONDON WAR ROOM NEW RELEASES - Vince Clyant of The London War Room, 41 Beverly Hills Loop, Petal, NIS 39465 (e-mail tlwr@netdoor.com phone 601-584-8533 has a number of interesting new releases. First of all, he is producing 25mm cast-resin buildings which are quite good. I have a three story medieval type building with each story cast separately allowing access to all three stories. It has a separate roof and would be great for skirmish gaming! Even the windows are cast on so you don't have any assembly. The third floor is slightly larger than the first two and the building measures 2 1/4" X 5 1/4" X just over 6" high.
Also new are 25mm ship's guns - 6pd ($2.50), 9pd ($3), 12pd ($3.50), and 18-24pd ($5) guns in two pieces carriage (with cast-on wheels which I like!) and gun barrel. Very well done nice detail, no flash. Highly recommended - Pirate wargamers would find these guns of grea; use,
From his Spanish line, Vince has added a pack of seated Spanish fusiliers (I O/S 10) which are useful for sitting in ship's boats for landings or for wagon guards. I always like to have a figure riding my wagons, Nicely cast, the figures have their musket upright on their left side. Lastly, there is a pack of SBB10 Spanish fusiliers advancing (18 figures/$14). Four are firing, two are biting a cartridge, three advancing with musket at right side, five advancing with musket forward, three advancing with musket at 45 degrees, one is running, and one is walking, The vast majority are wearing cloaks. Vince's Spanish could be very helpful in Pirate scenarios.
By Hal Thinglum - OSPREY MILITARY JOURNAL - OSPREY PUBLISHING, PO Box 140, Wellingborough, Norhants, NN8 4ZA (01933-443863 , FAX 01933-443849 has released a new publication (6 issues/495 pds ' 4.25 pds/subscription price, The "preview" issue is 32 pages long while they report the "regular" issues will be double this size. Articles included Japanese Bombing and Torpedo Accuracy at Pearl Harbor, Confederate Cavalry at Brandy Station, book reviews, Gaming the Boer War, Hearts of Iron - Lissa 1866, a review of the rules set Charlie Company, a review of new products. OSPREY, as you know, as an excellent reputation in military publishing and from the looks of this "preview" issue, they will be continuing this work with this military history magazine. It would appear as though their intention is to attract both the individual interested purely in military history as well as the wargamer. Check out their website for new releases and a complete listing of all products. A nice effort!
By Hal Thinglum - FOREMOST FLAGS - The COLONIAL CONNECTION, 226 Wareham's Point, Williamsburg, VA 23185-8923 (phone/fax 757-229-1499 has released a new line of wargame flags which "are drawn in CorelDRAW and then printed on a laser printer" and "can be scaled to ANY size a customer wants." Flags can also be "customized to order" (i.e , including unit designations and battle honors), at no extra cost. There are an amazing number of flag sets (6mm to 30mm) available which are listed in a 36-page MWAN-sized catalog. Prices are as follows and listed in order of 25mm/15mm/6mm Sheet of flags (number varies) $4/$2/$2 full flag with cast tassel & metal pole $1,25; single flag 170/ 50/30, tassel .75, metal pole 10. Periods offered include Renaissance, Samurai, Medieval, ECW, SYW, American Revolutionary War, Pirates, War of 1812, ACW, Napoleonic including the Peninsular, and Mexican-American War. Four 25mm flag sheets were submitted for mention: Sheet I XX - Georgia Regimental Flags consisting of 15 regimental flags Sheet 361 Fourteenth Corps, 3 rd Division (1863-65) which has nine flags ' Sheet 359 Western Samurai Armies (circ 1600) with six large flags and 42 smaller flags for individual figures; and Sheet 41 SYW & Napoleonic Prussian Dragoons (1756-1807) with 24 standards. These are excellently done flag sheets - great color and detail and the idea behind this system is outstanding! I'll have to check and see if they can do 20mm SYWI Highly recommended! I would like to mention that THE COLONIAL CONNETION now carries the entire line of MUSEUM MINIATURES, a 15mm UK company (.35 foot/.70 mounted); I've only seen the 15mm ECW figures and quite a few of their transport items, but they are quite good! If you are looking for the 25mm HINCHLIFFE line, they have the entire line encompassing AWI, ACW, Wild West, Napoleonics, Ancients, Medievals, Renaissance, ECW, SYW, French Revolution, Colonials, and the still excellent FOREMOST range. Also available are the well done 30mm Napoleonic gun crew figures and equipment itemsl When I first got into the hobby in about 1975, I used to drool over these figures and they are still great figures! They would match up well with the larger 25mm figures currently available.
By Hal Thinglum - BACCUS 6MM FIGURES - BACCUS 6MM, 29 Highcliffe Drive, Sheffield, SII 7LT, UK (phone/fax 0114-2302761 e-mail. baccus6@aol.com, web-site http://baccus6.wargame.com, is a cottage-type UK industry which I have been aware of for several years via an advertisement in a Caliver Books magazine but had not had a chance to see the figures. I just received a number of their figures and was most impressed with them. First of all, I would urge you to contact Peter's website for a complete listing as well as some nice color pictures of his figures. Let me tell you what Peter can offer to us - he has a small Napoleonic line of French and British (Stovepipe shako) as well as flags ' an Ancients line consisting of New Kingdom Egyptians, Hittites, Persians, Greeks, Spanish, Moors, Punic, Republican Romans, Celtics and Imperial Romans, a nice listing of English Civil figures including Scots (plus flags) ' an ACW line (w/flags), and finally, the figures I received, Early 18"' Century Wars (Malburian Wars). For this period, he offers what he refers to as a "genertic" line of line infantry, four types of grenadiers, horse, cuirassiers, two types of dragoons (including French), two types of mounted officers, battalion guns w/crews, field guns w/crew, limbers, siege guns and mortars w/crew Also offered are Swedes (musketeers, pikemen, horse, dragoons and grenadiers) and Russians (Musketeers, Pikemen, Streltzi musketeers and pikemen, grenadiers, dragoons (in hat and kartuz), and cossacks. My figures came from the "generic" line figures tri-corn this period are cast four foot to a stand side by side and three horse on a stand standing one behind the other. Artillery crew are four on a stand and based as are the horse. If you do your horse in three ranks, you don't have to cut the stand apart, otherwise, you have to.
Mounted officers are mounted individually on round bases. Quality is very good, these 6mm figures easily have the detail of second generation 15mm figures! If you are a good painter and wish to do detail on 6mm figures, these are the figures for youl Even with my decreased eyesight, I can make out details such as swords on the side of figures. Flag staffs are cast on and none of mine were broken from shipment; in addition, you can bend them back into shape without breakage so the metal has some "give" to it (a good thing). Peter offers painting tips (for figures and buildings - yes, he has some accessories available for 6mm scale) on his website which he reports results in very quick, effective paint jobs, I think this scale would lend itself well to the black priming style. Many VOLLEY AND BAYONET gamers seem to prefer the 6mm scale and I myself have a great interest in doing a 6rum period for this interesting rules set. Check out MWAN 72 for the complete set of rules (complete at least at the time 72 was published I took out some of Jeff Lista's (WARGAME ACCESSORIES) metal bases and placed Peter's figures on them to get some idea of what they would look like - IMPRESSIVE! You know, we talk about wanting our wargame units to "look" like real units and unless you wish to paint 60-figure foot battalions in 15mm/20mm/25mm, we can't do it - except in 6mm - as painting time for the larger scales is much increased over that of 6mm. I am going to try my hand at painting some of these foot using Peter's painting hints - and will let you know how I do I If you use the V&B rules, you call go with much smaller stands than are recommended in the rules - for this period, I would use the battalion (of foot) as the basic unit - thus, you don't have to paint as many figures. Both foot and horse have command stands - the foot have two officers, drummer, standard bearer (cast-on pole) while the horse have an officer, standard bearer with cast on standard, and trumpeter with the trumpet to his lips. Troopers have their sword on their Fight shoulder. Mounted dragoons have an officer, standard bearer (again, cast-on flag) and drummer. There are at least two differently posed mounted officers in the pack of ten. Field guns are done in an interesting fashion - the gun itself is cast to the base and you have to attach the wheels. This is a good approach for this scale in my opinion. The artillery crew has an officer, gunner w/ball, rammer, and firing gun figure. The limber pack has four 2-horse sets (one horse behind the other), four limbers with separate wheels. Lastly, the battalion gun pack has two completely cast guns and a stand of four gunners (two per battalion gun) - the gunners are the same as with the artillery packs. Prices - in a word - inexpensive, a pack of twenty 4-figure foot bases will cost you 2.80 pds, 15 stands of 3-figure horse bases run 3.95 pds, ten mounted officers are LK four battalion guns w/crews are 1.40 pds four field guns w/crew are 1.65 p
Peter also offers army packs packaged for V&B - for instance, an Austrian Malburian Army Pack contains 40 stands of line infantry (160 figures), eight of grenadiers (32). 18 of Cuirassier (52), nine of dragoons (27), and two battalion guns for 14.00pds (roughly $23 or so w/o postage) - 192 foot,69 horse, two guns and four crew for $23.00! Not bad, uh! This would give you about eight battalions of foot and 10 squadrons of horse. He also offers smaller army packs designed for the DBR rules, Postage for the US is 45% - let's see, that's about $11.00 or so, thus a total of perhaps $34.00. Peter offers flag sheets for this period - eight for the War of Spanish Succession and five for the Great Northern War. I obtained the English/Danish foot sheet which contains 24 (1) infantry flags for one pound. I did have some breakage during airmail delivery from the UK, out of perhaps 90-100 stands, two foot figures became casualties - I might be able to superglue them back on but will more than likely just toss 'em because it is so inexpensive to replace them.
What do I like about this line? Just about everything, I guess - quality is very high, service is reasonably fast, the period is well covered except for Hussars (there are no dismounted dragoons in a more "open-order" though this can be easily resolved by using line infantry and separating the figures ' Peter seems to have a lot of enthusiasm for the scale, a fact which always impresses me; the website is very helpful prices are inexpensive and Peter takes all major credit cards, which makes ordering from the UK much easier.
What don't I like? I'm not crazy about paying 45% of my order for postage and handling - it doesn't bother me so much for small orders, but if I am ordering several hundred dollars worth of figures, I feel taken advantage of Peter does address this issue in his website and clearly is not the type of individual who lacks for opinions(!). There is no doubt that I can highly recommend this line - the 6mm scale seems to be catching on more and more within the hobby if MWANers are any indication. We need companies such as BACCUS 6MM and Peter is certainly providing a real service to us. Highly recommended and good work, Peter!
U.S. CASTS 1/76 SCALE RESIN MODELS USA LVT-1 LANDING VEHICLE TRACKED. Available from U.S. Casts, P.O. Box 3229, Santa Cruz, Ca. 95063. Current price is $15.00. This very nice resin kit consists of five pieces that consist of the onepiece hull, two separate tracks and two 30-caliber machine guns. On the hull and tracks, there is no flash at all. There is some flash on the machine guns. The kit goes together with no trouble at all. This kit fits in with the other landing craft that are currently available. A very nice kit that adds to the fun and excitement of the Pacific Islands battles.
Another nice release is USA LTV-Al LANDING VEHICLE WITH STUART TURRET AND TWIN 30-CALIBERS MACHINE GUNS. Available from U.S. Cast at the above address for $20.00. Another nice resin kit for the Pacific campaign. This kit consists of a one-piece hull with two tracks. These go together very well. The turret and gun barrel goes together very well. The two 30-caliber gun mounts has the circular gun mounts complete with guns, crew figures and gun shields. On these figures, there is some flash. The crew figures are especially nice. There is detail on the figures. They are complete with life jackets and helmets. Very good poses on the figures. This kit will add the extra punch that the Marines might need. If you are into 20mm Pacific battles, then you owe it to yourself to look into these kits. Very highly recommended.
BY LEN BREWER FAA 20mm WORLD WAR 11 JAPANESE ARMY FIGURES PACKS. I recently purchased some badly needed Japanese army figures from " The Tactical Edge " H.M.S. Inc., 90 Spirit Road, Winter Haven, FL. 33880. 1-863-401-8221. I received the figures in five days. Very fast service, IJA-8, consist of the command pack with five figures. The figures includes an Officer with a raised sword above his head leading a charge, standard bearer (standard not supplied), kneeling radioman, bugler advancing and a kneeling officer with binoculars. The detail is very good with no flash on the figures. 'This pack retails for $5.35. IJA-9, consist of five artillery gun crew figures. This pack has five figures in various kneeling poses. Two of the figures are holding shells, wie is yelling at another crewman, one is pushing the shell in and the last one is resting Very good poses. One figure has a soft cap on while the rest has helmets on, There was no flash or pieces of metal spruce of any kind on these figures, This pack retails foe $5.35.IJA-10, consist of four figures for the ambush party with a sub-machine gun plus flame-thrower. One of the figures is throwing a grenade, and he has the typical soft cap on. The sub-machine gunner is advancing firing his weapon. This figure has the typical equipment and soft cap. The flame-thrower in kneeling. The detail is crisp here again. The last figure in this pack is of a sniper. This figure is kneeling firing his weapon. The helmet is covered with netting and leaves. The figure has another net over his body. The only part of his uniform that you can see is his two arms, chest and legs. This is the best looking figure in the entire order. Again, there was no flash on any of the figures. This pack retails for $4.25. IJA11, is the close assault anti-tank group. This pack consists of four figures. The first one is of an officer advancing firing his pistol, holding an anti-tank mine in the other hand. The next figure is of an officer advancing with a sword in one hand and holding a satchelcharge in the other. The third figure is advancing with an anti-tank mine on the end of a pole. This figure is crouching while advancing. The last figure is that of an infantryman laying down with the anti-tank mine attached to the end of a pole. All of the figures are very crisp looking with sharp detail.
There was no flash on any of the figures. This pack retails for $4.25. WA-12, is the type 92,MMG with four crewmen firing. Another pack with no flash on any figures, the detail is very crisp on everything. This pack consists of a gunner sitting on the ground base. The machine gun has to be assembled and placed between his legs. After this, you have to glue his right arm on. The loader is lying on his base feeding the belt to the gun. Another figure in kneeling with an extra amno box between his legs. The last figure is that of an officer. He is kneeling and pointing forward to where he wants the crew to fire. This set retails for $5.25.
Austria Stands Alone-The 1809 Campaign. By Frank Chadwick. Volley and Bayonet Scenario Booklet, By Bill Widrick. This 180 page. magazine sized book is full to the brim with very useful information, whether you use V&B or not. If you are a regular MWAN reader and have issue number 72, then you already own a copy of V&B. Included in the booklet is a historical overview of the 1809 campaign. A chapter on gaming the 1809 campaign that includes rules unique to the campaign, a points system for designing your own scenarios, and rule modifications to the V&B system. Chapter 3 covers five battles. included are Sacile, Piave, Rabb, Wagrarn, and Aspem-Essling. Each of the battle write-ups include a detailed map, as your table should be laid out, including initial troop deployments/entry points. An hour by hour description of the historical battle. special rules, game length and victory conditions. detailed 0.13's for the participants, and roster sheets particular to the V&B rules set. Chapter 4 includes overviews of the armies of the participants in the 1809 campaign. This includes detailed information on the uniforms and a painting guide. Although no color plates are included, the painting information alone is well worth the $19.00 price tag. and in conjunction with the wealth of other information that is presented, make this a very worthwhile publication worthy of a spot in your collection. I purchased my copy from "On Military Matters" 609-466-2329, 55 Taylor Terrace, Hopewell NJ. 08525. Also available from "The Emperor's Press". 5744 W. Irving Park Rd., Chicago IL. 60634 and "Old Glory" P.O. Box 20, Calumet, PA. 15621.
By Hal Thinglum - HARLEQUIN MINIATURES 28MM WWII STALINGRAD RELEASES - HARLEQUIN MINIATURES, Unit S3, Top Floor, 632 Radford Road, Basford, Nottingham, NG7 7EX, UK (phone 0115-942-2265, FAX 0115-942-2298 is a UK company which specializes in fantasy figures, including Dr. Who, my favorite series(l), but has branched off into historicals with an excellent 28mm WWII Stalingrad line of Germans and Russians. Their stated plan is to release more WWII 28mm figures using the same approach as "Stalingrad" - picking out a specific WWII action and releasing figures for it. Thus far, there are five packs of each side and the packs mirror" each other -- infantry w/rifles, infantry w/SMG's, infantry prone and firing (each of these first three packs are $10.40/6.50pds for eight figures), LMG - four 2-man teams (Germans have M 34 while Russians have DP), and Character set (the last two sets are $12.00/7.50pds for eight figures). Let's take a look at them! First of all, the Wehrmacht] (1) infantry w/rifles 5 figures in helmet, three in side cap~ one kneeling holding right hand up to halt others behind him, one standing firing, six in various advancing positions. (2) with SMG's - 7 in helmets, one in sidecap ' one kneeling, one standing firing, one advancing firing, shading eyes, right hand up (point man), and four others advancing. (3) infantry prone & kneeling - interesting set, I think two kneeling, six prone, one laying on left side inching for-ward, another slightly upraised motioning with left hand, several creeping forward. Nice poses - mostly rifles, several SMG's. (4) LMG's 4 teams w/firer and loader - one prone set, one standing firing with MG34 on loader's shoulder (you know I like this set!), firing from hip (WOW), and marching with MG34 on shoulder. (5) Character Sev two figure base with soldier helping wounded comrade - what's interesting about this one is the figure helping is carrying the boot of the wounded soldier. Surrendering, on guard duty in smock smoking, throwing potato masher, officer w/clipboard, sitting with notepad or mirror with right hand on head, and kneeling digging in with shovel. Two ammo boxes joined together are included for sitting figure. Interesting figures! The Russians! (6) riflemen rough1y same mix as Germans, two kneeling (one is firing), rest advancing with one motioning with left hand. Mix of helmets, sidecaps, and one with fur hat in quilted jacket (nice). (7) SMG's - two kneeling (one firing), one firing from hip, throwing grenade, motioning w/right hand, rest at ready/advancing. (8) prone/kneeling two kneeling, two prone firing, one slightly upright throwing grenade (well done pose!), other three creeping, All good poses! (9) LMG(DP) - four teams one prone team firing, one kneeling team with Mg'er firing (nice pose), two teams advancing. Loaders are laden down with ammo boxes. (10) Character pack: surrendering, guard duty in greatcoat w/SMG, officer/political commissioner with arms folded ("Now here's what we I re going to do - lock arms, walk across a mine field while the Germans are firing everything they have at us, lay in the snow for eight hours in front of the German trenches, and then walk right into those trenches!"). Fur hat/quilted jacket w/SMG slung on right shoulder, kneeling eating from mess kit, sitting playing accordion (I'm getting a battalion of these!), advancing unsteadily w/SMG and bottle, and advancing with slung rifle holding auimal (chicken?) another figure you want a whole battalion of Pack comes with two ammo packs for sitting musician. An excellent line, sometimes a little more flash than I think figures should have, but I can live with that. This figure line shows some imagination which we haven't seen much of thus far. It would be easy to put together a camp scene with this line, I like the variety of headgear, rolled up sleeves, heavily laden with ammo and equipment, varying poses of advancing, interesting prone figures, outstanding detail, and their concentration on a certain action. I'm anxious to see other packs from this range - i.e., mortar teams, heavy machine gun teams, command, more characters - if I could offer some advice, I'd love to see some figures in really tattered clothing - Stalingrad was no picnic!
Would also like some civilians, medical teams, antitank infantrymen, gun crew, etc I wonder if they'll do any vehicles? They'll fit in well with all other 28mm WWII lines - we are getting spoiled, gentlemen, in 25/28mm WWII! What I really like about this scale/period is that everyone is making figure packs without duplicating any poses (except BATTLE HONORS). What this allows me to do is get a pack of each offering and have an extremely good looking army! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and GREAT WORK, HM!
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