By Hal Thinglum - BATTLEWORKS STUDIO 25/28MM RUINS
Jeff Nall of BATTLEWORKS STUDIO, 156 Forts Ferry Rd., Latham, NY 12110 (www.battleworksstudio.com) is a new, at least to me, provider of quality 28mm ruins and I believe he offers some 20mm items as well. There are five sets of ruins: #1 has six pieces including two walls and four floors (five stories high) and measures 13" high and is 4 1/2" X 9" in size ($27); #2 has three pieces (two walls and one floor; two stories high) and is 5" high and 9 1/2" X 12" ($24); #3 has two walls and one floor and is 5" high and 5" X 11" wide ($23): #4 has two walls and one floor and is 4" high and 11" X 3 t/2" ($19); while #5 has two pieces measuring 2 3/4" high and 3 1/2" X 9 1/2" wide ($15). The outer detail is very good with brick, window and door detail, and battle damage, as well as other external building detail, though there is no inner detail. It should also be made clear that these are "corner" sections; not complete buildings, though they can easily be made into a complete four-sided building if you purchase, for example, four kits. The floor pieces have a wood texture on the top side. As you would expect, they would be perfect for any period probably from the Franco-Prussian War on although the architecture, I am sure, would apply to the ACW period as well. I just didn't think of us using ruined buildings for ACW games. They fit in perfectly with 28mm WWII figures and I suppose could be used with 20mm as well. They would require basing, painting and terraining, and it would look better if you added some ruins debris, I suppose; at least I would prefer to do it that way. The floors will easily hold a number of figures, dependent upon which set you obtain. It seems as though Russian "factories" are a popular WWII building structure to stage wargames with and you could make a beautiful ruined factory with these kits.
Jeff also offers a 28mm resin trench system consisting of three pieces with a bunker roof totaling over 40" long for $130. This model is huge - the center section is 18" long and just over a foot wide at it's widest point. There are two lines of trenches and the two are joined by a trench in the middle. The right side of the center trench has a sandbag emplacement with two steps leading up to it from the rear trench set just below ground level overlooking the front line trench while the left side section has a machine gun bunker with removeable sandbagged top which can also offer cover to a defending figure. The two end pieces are about 11" long and 10-12" wide. Each of them has a front and rear trench system which join at the very end of the model. In addition, they each have a sandbagged defensive position at ground level between the two trenches. The trenches are all irregularly designed with wooden retainers. They are also lined with sandbags along the top. Ground texture is very good being quite irregular with many stones and rocks and there is even part of a metal barrel and partially buried wooden door. I might add that the sandbags are also irregularly designed lining the trench tops and defensive positions. The first thing I thought of when I saw this model was the scene fromTHE CROSS OF IRON when Steiner's patrol is returning from enemy lines and is fired upon by his own unit from a machine gun bunker! The trench is about 1 3/4's" wide. One front trench section in the center piece has a wider trench area where you might place an MG42 team. I've not seen a better trench system than this set! Along the back of the trench system, especially the center section, there are tire tracks. My only complaint is that the rear of the trench sections are not terrained as are the front and the sides; meaning that the model just drops straight down. This is fine if you wish your trench to occupy the edge of your tabletop. However, if you want the opportunity to recapture your lost defensive position with a brilliant counter-attack, either your force will come from off-table or have a very steep climb! This can be rectified, I am sure, by mounting the three sections on a base and then building up the back of the trench for a more gradual incline. The sections fit together well and would not require any significant filing to allow for a good mating of the sections. Boy, would this look good painted up! I should add that the front of the three sections is irregularly shaped so that it doesn't resemble a giant rectangular resin mass! Very effectively done, Jeff!
Also in 28mm, he has a gun emplacement ($13.50) for a tank, AT gun or flak gun; haven't seen this one either. His website has photos of the trench and emplacement but not the ruins. There is also a 20mm "Z" style trench ($15.50) 11" X 5". My intention is to have a fairly large section of ruined buildings for my 28mm WWII Russian Front project and Jeff's ruins will be a valuable addition to this project. Nice work, Jeff! I can easily highly recommend these ruins!
By Hal Thinglum - 3-D CONTOURS TERRAIN WORK
Long-time MWANer Andrew Doyle of 3D Contours, 120 McPhail Road, Hattiesburg, MS 39401 (601-5834321) is someone I have used for many years to base my wargames trees and buildings. I have always found him completely trustworthy, dependable, and HIGHLY skilled in turning my trees and buildings into works of art (in my opinion) which look great on my wargames table! I recently sent off a large number of painted European 15mm buildings to Andrew and asked him to create farms, villages, and towns from them. I also sent him some 15mm trees, fences/walls, and some unpainted accessories such as wells, road signs, town square fountains, etc. I gave him a general idea as to what I wanted for each basing (i.e., I grouped the buildings and accessory items for each "base" but left him some "artistic" leeway. First, let me tie this review in with Jeff's ruined buildings review from above. I found some ruined building items in my wargames "junk box" and without thinking very much about it, just threw them in the box I was preparing for Andrew. I am not even sure if I gave him any instructions. I was very surprised (and highly pleased) when he returned my finished items and I pulled out two beautifully done based ruined buildings (9" X 9" and an "L" shaped 4" X 10") which Andrew had painted in a most realistic fashion (I mean, there is no doubt these buildings were burned!); however, what knocked me off my feet was the interior detail - lots of "ruins" including wood which had fallen from the roof sections and even a painted casualty figure within one of the bases! Other types of debris included plaster pieces. One of the buildings is a two story structure with a partial floor; well, Andrew went a step further than I would have thought and put in supporting beams beneath the floor and extended them a little ways out from the floor section so you could see them. Great work, Andrew, and thank you! These two ruined sections will form the foundation of my "ruined town".
Every once in awhile, I'll find wargames bridges - I love bridges! - and will send them on to Andrew and tell him I want them painted and placed on a river/stream base - my wargames rivers/streams were made by Andrew. He has a standard river/stream width; I believe my two inch water section with the bridge is considered a "stream" by Andrew; what this allows is that I can add this new section to previously obtained sections and they will all fit together! The section is just short of a foot and includes a short piece of road (again two inches wide) for the bridge. The riverbanks have stones and several tuffs of tall grass and Andrew added some tuffs of bushes on the piece as well. By the way, this was a "log bridge" in 25/28nn scale for my WWII project. The non-river section is terrained with grass.
I like to have my wargames buildings based with trees and other such items on them instead of placing them individually on the wargames table. I took all of my painted 15mm European/English buildings and grouped them into individual (1) farms which included the living structure and a barn and sometimes a third smaller structure, (2) villages, and (3) a larger town. As stated above, I also sent Andrew some painted walls/fences and unpainted accessories and some trees and asked him to create individual bases for them. First of all, the farms of which there were five. Andrew put them on fairly irregularly-shaped bases, which I want. They all were terrained with a dirt section in the middle with the dirt leading out to one side (the road). He added some sections of hedges, crop fields, stones, bushes, little dirt trails leading through tree sections (one of the pieces has a total of 11 trees on it), and took one of my TCS "rock" structures and placed it on the larger farm with the 11 trees. What a visual treat they are for us wargamers! Now when I need a farm for my 15mm ECW/TYW wargames, I just have to pull out a farm base and place it on the table!
The villages - when I was grouping buildings for my villages, I selected buildings which, to me, "looked" like they belonged together; meaning they were the same "style" building, and ended up with three villages each with six to eight buildings. I had a number of items from HALLMARK like wells, crosses, road signs, etc., and I sent these along (unpainted) and Andrew decided where they should go. The three villages are anywhere from 11" to 16" long/wide and on square or rectangular bases. By the way, these bases will not warp because of the type of material used by Andrew. The roads (again two inches wide) and town centers are dirt and each of the three has an accessory in the town square (a well, one of the HOVELS market town square structures, while one of them has a hedged-off square in the middle with a small well, a tree, and a large cross. The cross is mounted on a brick section, in which Andrew cut out individual bricks. One of the large buildings has a hedge in the back yard. Outside one of the barn-type village buildings, Andrew laid some straw on the ground; there are tuffs of tall grass, shrubs, flowered plants, small stones, lichen, and trees. Very effectively done!
The town - I sent Andrew eleven buildings for a "town" and instructed him that I wanted it on more than one base. He created four 12" square bases for my town. I had also sent him some cobblestone roads which I found in a model railroading shop. He used them for three of the four pieces and cut up individual bricks for sidewalks to line the road. Andrew also created a town square statue consisting of a base upon which he placed a 25mm knight with a banner and painted the figure all in gold. Very effective. I did not, by the way, send this to him. From the sidewalk, there are brick sidewalks leading up to the houses as well as hedges, trees, flowered plants and scrubs added. Some of the houses have scrub around three sides of them. I had included a large church and graveyard which Andrew did a great job on. It sits one base along with a second town building. There is a brick sidewalk leading from the church to the graveyard and to the other section of the town.
All of the sections, by the way, can be placed in any variety of ways and will still "fit" together with the town roads meeting each other! Anyway, the church piece - he made a small park in one section of the base with a large tree surrounded by a brick sidewalk on all four sides of it and included two park benches. Very nicely done, Andrew! The fourth square is of a huge mansion (from Old Glory); Andrew lined the base with a stone/picket fence (from TCS) and the entrance was made by making larger gray "brick"; this leads to a circular brick area in front of the building and in the center, he placed a large tree. There are scrubs lining all fence areas and lots of flowered plants on the premise. I can use anyone of the four pieces individually or group them together for a two foot square town. Beautifully based model! Highly recommended service!
By Hal Thinglum - TCS 25mm PRODUCTS
Leo Walsh of TCS, 545 Newport Ave., Suite 155, Pawtucket, RI 02861 (e-mail: leowalsh@aol.com) is on the main manufacturers of wargaming accessories that I have depended on for years. I recently obtained some 25mm items for my WWII Russian Front project: these items were from his "Fantasy Table Top Accessories" line and include NEC9 vertical storage tank ($6.50), a three inch high round structure with NEC9D ($6.50) being a damaged representation of the same model; and NEC1 power generator machine ($6.50), a 2" X 3" device which stands 1 3/4" high and could be used for a blast furnace. I got them because I thought they would fit well within a Russian factory setting and they will; the storage tanks will be placed on an individual base and placed close to the factory. He also offers, within this range, piles of parts and machines. Very useful items for the tabletop!
By Hal Thinglum - TREE BASE HOLDERS FOR WARGAMES HILLS
I've been looking for a product I could insert into my hill sections and leave them there permanently for placing trees with wire bases into them. I finally found them at MENARDS hardware store the other day. They are made by METAL SHOP and the code number is 233-9465 and they are titled #4/6 All Purpose Anchors and sell ten to a box for sixty-eight cents. They are plastic "jackets" one-inch long with a "lip" on the top. You can drill a hole in your hill, place the jacket/anchor in and then place your tree. That way, you don't have to permanently insert your trees. What I'll do is paint the lip green and perhaps drop a little turf/grass on it so you won't be able to easily make them out on the hill.
By Hal Thinglum - DIXON 25MM SYW FIGURES FROM WARGAMES
Wargames, Box 278, Rt 40E, Triadelphia, WV 26059 (www.speartorifle.com) carries the Dixon 25mm line which contains a little-known Seven Years War line consisting of British, French, and Prussians. For the British there are regular infantry (15 poses), grenadiers (6), artillery crew (5), dragoons (4), and light dragoons (3). The French have regular infantry (11), artillery crew (4), and cavalry (4). The only available gun is a 6" howitzer ($8.99). The Prussians have the widest selection: musketeers (18), grenadiers (14), fusiliers (12), Cuirassier (4), Dragoons (4), and Hussars in Mirliton (3). There are two horse poses for the British and French cavalry and five horse poses for the Prussians (two cavalry, two Hussar, and one officer's horse). I used to have many Dixon figures in my FIW collection but never had any SYW so I decided to pick up a unit of Prussian Hussars in Mirliton. PC10 is an officer with sword arm stretched directly up; PC11 is a trooper with sword overhead; and PC12 is a trumpeter blowing trumpet. There are two horses available ($2.89), one at gallop and one cantering; saddles are attached to the horse. The galloping horse is quite outstretched! Regular foot/riders are $1.49 each while officers, standard bearers, drummers are $1.69. The Hussar troopers are all in the same poses and do not have any different head poses. I like the figures a lot and plan on obtaining more of them for my SYW Project. They are well detailed and there is no flash. A limited range but of high quality! Service is always outstanding from WARGAMES!
By Hal Thinglum - SABER & SASH 25MM FRENCH NAPOLEONICS
Saber & Sash, 119 Dublin Road, Raleigh, NC 27609 (www.sashandsaber.com) has a growing line of 25mm Napoleonics. Thus far, they offer only French 1809 infantry in full dress, French Chasseurs a Cheval, French line foot artillery crew and five French guns (4, 6, 8, 121bers and 6" howitzer); Austrian 1809 German infantry (in shako and helmet), Hungarian infantry, and grenadiers for both the Germans and Hungarians; and Russian infantry (1812) both line and grenadiers. For other periods, they offer American Civil War and SYW in 25mm and 40mm ACW, Napoleonics and AWL I have the French 1809 in full dress and Chasseurs a Cheval to present in this column. Prices are as follows for the Napoleonic range: 10 infantry/artillerists or 4 cavalry ($12.50); artillery (2 guns/$12.50); regimental pack (50 infantry/20 cavalry are $50 which includes for the infantry 10 command, 24 fusiliers and 16 elite and for the cavalry, command consisting of an officer, trumpeter, NCO, and farrier and elites are included as well). The French infantry have command advancing (2 each officers, eagle bearers, sergeants, drummers, and 1 sapper and one port-aigle); Fusilier advancing support arms (five variants) and Elite advancing support arms (five variants) - support arms is march attack position. Standard bearers are open-handed and there is a small hole in the right hand so you can place your drill bit to drill out the hands to fit in a wire pole. The Eagle is cast separately. There are two poses of officers (one in bicorne), drummers, standard bearers, and sergeants, and one pose of the sappeur and port-aigle. The Chasseurs a Cheval have, in addition to the command mentioned above, troopers (four variants) and elites in bearskin colpack. The horses also have different poses. The French artillerists have ten different poses. The guns come in five pieces (two wheels, carriage, barrel, and chest. I did not see any flash on the guns and the figures have a minimum of flash; run your file across the bottom of the base and under the horse's rein and that should take care of it! Figures are about 28mm from top of base to eye level. Quality is exceedingly high as is detail. I like the "march attack" position and the different variants in pose. I should mention that none of the infantry command poses are duplicates; they are all differently posed. This line would be a joy for a good painter to work on! Chris Hughes of S&S reports they are planning on expanding into the Peninsular War and this would be a great thing for me as I am putting together a 25/28mm Peninsular War Project and I'd like to see Chris produce other figures within this range as well as some French in campaign dress. Most highly recommended! I am anxious to see further releases. I am also tempted to obtain some of their 25mm SYW (Prussian musketeers, fusiliers, grenadiers, and Hussars; Russian infantry in waistcoat) figures to my 25mm SYW collection! Outstanding quality; congratulations, Chris!
By Hal Thinglum - IMPERIALIST ENTERPRISES 25MM GREAT NORTHERN WAR
Bob Hagerty, 229 N. 2"d St., #C, Elkhart, IN 46516-3024 (574-293-4398 after 4PM) has been around the hobby longer than I have! He used to sponsor a wargaming convention in Indiana and sometime ago, started producing 25mm French Revolutionary and Prussian figures (which I very much like!) and now is expanding into the Great Northern War. He has released seven Swedish figures thus far: officer, flag bearer, drummer (each for $1), pikeman, musketeer (each for .85), and grenadier in mitre or tricorn (each for $1). These measure up to be 25/26mm from the top of the base to eye level. The standard bearer comes with open hands and the officer holds a sword upright and the spontoon is separate. The pikeman holds his sword upright but lower than the officer and has an open hand for a pike (not supplied). Musketeer and Grenadiers are at ready position. These are extremely well detailed and well cast figures, just as with Bob's earlier efforts and I commend him for an excellent production! There is something about his line(s) that I really like; I plan on getting some of the French (1798-1806) for my 25mm Peninsular War project because they are so appealing! If you are into the Great Northern War, or have had a hankering to do this period, here are the figures for you. Bob states he plans on releasing Part 2 at Historicon and it will consist of variants in the korpus cap and hopefully, four Swedish Dragoons. Nice job, Bob, and highly recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - AOUILIFER 15MM SEVEN YEARS WAR FIGURES
David Clayton, PO Box 574, Kennesaw, GA 30144 (e-mail: histcolassoc@earthtink.net) is now carrying the Aquilifer line. The list for SYW looks pretty impressive: Prussian Musketeers, Fusiliers, Grenadiers (standing and kneeling firing and loading, march attack, charging, and advancing), casualties for all three as well as officer and artillery casualties ($4.80 per battalion pack of 12), artillery bombardiers w/howitzers (one gun w/four crew for $2.80), artillery officers mounted (4/$3.40), mounted and dismounted personalities and superior officers/ADC's (two different packs of three each; $3.60/mounted; $1.80 for dismounted), Guards 1 t Bn and Guards Grenadiers, artillery limbers with two ($2) and four ($2.50) horses, Cuirassiers (standing horses, charging horses, or in melee (12 for $10), and Dragoons (as with Cuirassier but casualties as well). He also offers a Prussian Infantry Bde with artillery (4 bns, mounted General, two light batteries, one medium/heavy bty, and one mounted officer of artillery) for $28 as well as a Prussian Guards Brigade ($29.50). The Austrian listing has an infantry Bde as described above, German and Hungarian Fusiliers & Grenadiers (in the same poses as the Prussians), artillery casualties, and mounted and foot superior officers. These are "large" 15mm figures, actually measuring out to almost 18mm high. Detail is good and the line looks as though it will be quite extensive.
By Hal Thinglum - RELEASES FROM THE VIRTUAL ARMCHAIR GENERAL
MWANer Patrick Wilson, 10208 Haverhill Place, Oklahoma City, OK 73120-3922 is carrying an interesting line of 28mm figures, especially if you have seen the movie THE GANGS OF NEW YORK, called the "B" Boys! There are four packs of figures, five to a pack, at $10 per pack: Roach Guards, Dead Rabbits, Chichesters, and Plug Uglies. These are very interesting and, I suspect, useful figures for wargamers not interested in doing scenarios for THE GANGS OF NEW YORK! Very well detailed and extremely well cast, they have a "Foundry" look about them; if you need some civilians for your wargames for any time period from the 1820's through early 1900, these are probably what you are looking for. They are armed with a variety of "weapons", ranging from guns and hatchets to clubs and paving stones and wearing hats, top hats, and "bowlers." Several have flag poles for standards. Very nicely done line! Patrick is also offering 28mm scale full color cardstock building fronts, sidewalks, piers and cobblestone streets designed for these figures. He included four 8 1/2" X 11" sheets of cardstock with nicely colored building fronts which require scoring with a hobby knife. If you aren't aware of it, use foam core, available from your local craft shop, to glue the store fronts to - very effective. Lastly, Patrick has cardstock full color "Dynamite Decks" consisting of 16 cards (10 sputter, 2 pffft, 2 dud, and 2 ka-boom cards); these cards are intended for any role playing games to add a little excitement to figures handling dynamite. I don't know the prices for the last two items but check them out at www.thevirtualarmchairgeneral.com.
By Hal Thinglum -25mm SYW FROM DAYTON PAINTING CONSORTIUM LTD
Long-time wargamers may remember how exciting it was when the RSM 25mm SYW figures came out many years ago. It was, by far, the best line available for this period. For some reason, I never obtained any of these figures - I think they were unavailable for awhile - for my 25mm SYW armies and heard the THE DAYTON PAINTING CONSORTIUM LTD, PO Box 24185, Huber Heights, OH 45424 had made them available. They were kind enough to send me some samples and I must admit I am very impressed. These figures have held their quality over the years! I received Prussian fusilier charging, Jager firing, and Musketeer marching. Also Austrian Grenzer firing, British Courier on galloping horse, and Highlander firing. The casting is very good, even by modern standards. Detail may be just a tiny bit tad less than modern figures, but close enough for me, no doubt! Very stately figures, just as I would want for the SYW period. Now, more good news: prices! A bag of 36 foot including command is $23.40 (what about that just the organization that I use!); 12 riders/horses including command is $19.80; two guns/12 gunners is $11.80; two light guns are $4, two heavy guns are $, while limbers (four horses and two limbers) are $7, and six mounted generals are $9.90. Extremely reasonable prices indeed! What countries do they offer? British (13 bags), French (11), Prussians (13; including dismounted dragoons), Austrians (15), Hanovarians (8), and Russians (6 bags). They also have a Jacobite Rebellion and American Revolutionary War line as well as 20mm Napoleonics and American Civil War. A very good buy! Highly recommended! Oh, figures are also available individually at .75 per figure. My ruler tells me they measure out to be around 28mm high; they are, however, a rather "thin" figure, but again, I find this very appealing!
By Hal Thinglum - 25/28mm ELITE MINIATURES - NAPOLEONICS
I have always liked the Elite Miniatures, 26 Bowlease Gardens, Bessacarr, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN4 6AP, UK (www.eliteminiatures.co.uk) line although I had never seen the Napoleonics. I have regiments of British Dragoons and French Cavalry in my 25mm SYW collection from Elite as well as some gun crews. Well, let me tell you, the Napoleonics are lovely indeed! Peter Morbey sent six packs of Peninsular War figures: BP2a British line infantry Centre company charging in trousers (as well as the rest of their uniform!), BPC17 Royal Horse Artillery Mounted Officer w/horse, and line infantry command pack standing with ensign. From the Portuguese line, I received POR1 Portuguese line infantry (1806-12) centre company advancing in Barretina shako, and POR16 line infantry command pack w/standard bearer in stovepipe shako (1810-15). First of all, all standard bearers have an open hand for the flag pole. Figures are highly animated, no visible flash except for a little on the bottom of the stand, great detail and character. In addition, they are made of pewter, which I personally prefer. If I had to pick one 25/28mm line to do a project on, it would be the Elite figures! Simply outstanding line. Individual mounted figure and horse are 1.70 pounds; four foot are 2.65 pds. Elite offers discounted unit prices based upon the rules set IN THE GRAND MANNER. For example, a 32 figure foot battalion is 20.25 pds while a 24 figure cavalry regiment is 34.25 pds. Very reasonable prices for outstanding quality! I really like these figures! There are French (1800-14, 1812-15 and Napoleon in Egypt 1798-1801), British for the Peninsula and 1812-15, Austrians (1800-15), Russians (1801-08 and 1812-15), Saxons (1800-09), Prussians (1808-15 and 1800-07), as well as Duchy of Warsaw, Nassau, Portuguese Legion, Portuguese and Brunswickers. Peter has a Seven Years War line for the British and Prussians and French; Ancients (Republican Romans and Celts), and an American Civil War line. Check out some of MWAN's recent color covers with Peter's Elite Miniatures figures! Highly recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - BACCUS6MM 17TH/18TH CENTURY POLISH
If I were a "young man," there is no doubt that I would have a painted 6mm army and it would probably be Baccus6mm; they have just released a 17th/18th Century line of Polish consisting of twelve packs: Hussars (five different types; including the famous "winged hussars"), Pancerni and Petyhorcy cavalry, unarmoured cavalry, Haiduk infantry and Haiduk "tenth Men", Musketeers w/matchlock and Berdysch Axe, and pikeman. All cavalry are mounted three to a metal base one behind the other, while the foot are four to a base standing side by side. I am afraid you have to see these figures to realize what the quality is! Cavalry command have cast-on flags, the pikes look right for 6mm and are not huge metal poles, but rather, pikes. These figures will fit into Baccus6mm Great North War or serve as a Polish army during the 1600's. Unbelievable quality in 6mm! Highly recommended (www.baccus6mm.com)!
By Hal Thinglum - LARRY BROM'S WARGAME RULES
Author Larry Brom writes "Finally, after twenty some years, I have decided on releasing these "Big Battle" colonial rules that have been requested all those years." EIGHT HUNDRED FIGHTING ELIGHLSIHMEN (The Colonel and The Band) - A Radical Variant of The Sword and The Flame ($14 plus S&H) is a set of battalion level rules for TSATF and includes official rules changes as of 2003. This is a 22-page rules booklet with the last two pages devoted to rules changes. Available from AND THATS THE WAY IT WAS..., 213 3`d St., NE, Hickory, NC 28601-5124 (www.thewayitwas.com). Larry's recent rules effort addresses the "problem" that I have mentioned a number of times in MWAN - we all loved TSATF and built large armies that outgrew the Skirmish-level rules. One inch equals 34 yards; one figure = 40 men (20 figures = an 800 man battalion/tribe); one gunner = five men; and three guns/12 figures = a six gun battery. The game still utilizes a playing deck but only one card per "unit" per side is used along with several other cards. There are only three phases: movement, fire, and close combat. Firing is by "unit" using 20sided dice. There is a new morale table (20-sided dice) for Zulus, Pathans, and Dervish. British rifles can fire 24". There are three pages of sample orders of battle for the Zulu War, Afghanistan (1880), and the Sudan (1884/85). These rules look very interesting and straight-forward - just what I like. I think they are definitely worth a try and I like the way Larry has addressed the large armies many of us developed out of TSATF. Highly recommended and nice job, Larry!
Also released is THE SUN NEVER SETS 20th anniversary edition (edited and expanded by Patrick Wilson), which was originated by David Waxtel and Barry Gray in THE COURIER many years ago (1982)! It is described as a "practical campaign system for the colonial wars of the British Empire, 1860-85". Cost is $40 and it is a spiral-bound 77 page effort. First of all, there are some very attractive cardstock sheets included: distances by sea in days from port to port, sequence of play, counters for the British and their enemies, supply depots/outposts/forts/supply counters, and five sheets of event cards. In addition, there are five 8 1/2" X 11" full color maps and three 8 1/2" X 15" maps (nice quality!). There are also record sheets for Political levels, finances, voting record, and monthly war diary. Lots of accessories in this rules set! The beauty of this system is that each player assumes responsibility for holding a voting seat in Parliament as well as for running a "native" country, thus, their voting in Parliament may well be biased based upon their native involvement. Information pertaining to the minimum number of figures required is provided and player roles (Prime Minister, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, The First Sea Lord, etc) are defined. There is a "deployment" table which dictates placement of forces.
The sequence of play is as follows: Event phase, political level, native mobilization, native movement, espionage, British movement, British re-supply, British mobilization, combat, attrition, exchequer, independence level, and turn record phase. The Political level is determined every month for each theater and this aspect of the game is instrumental in determining if war occurs. There are some excellent ideas here for solo wargamers or for individuals wishing to conduct campaigns. There are charts to determine expedition type and strength (very useful) as well as native strength. There are rules dealing with land searches (to find the enemy), native ambushes, gunboats, railroads, supply depots, and much more! There are extensive army lists for the natives providing very valuable information for the colonial wargamer including army organization. There are also special rules for rockets, Special troop types (i.e., engineers). This will be a very interesting rules set to sit down and read at your leisure even if you don't game with TSATF - plenty of ideas to steal! Highly recommended; way to go, Patrick!
By Hal Thinglum - GRANDE ARMEE NAPOLEONIC WARGAME RULES
MWANer Sam Mustafa, 100 Rock Road, Apt 105, Hawthorne, NJ 07506 has published GRANDE ARJEE - The Great Battles of the Napoleonics in Miniature (price unknown). This is an 8 1/2" X 11" spiral bound 110 page effort with color covers. Sam opens by stating "Grande Armee is a set of rules by which players can use miniature figures of any size or basing system to recreate the famous, large scale battles of the Napoleonic wars In wargame parlance, it is 'grand-tactical" in scope, in that players command entire armies, moving whole corps and divisions on the table. The basic unit on the table-top is the brigade representing a few thousand solders " All infantry and cavalry are mounted on three inch square bases while artillery is based 1 1/2" X 3" and each unit is labeled (unit identity, brigadier, skirmish value, and if the unit is a mixed brigade). A roster system is used to keep track of your units. There are six morale classes and units are assigned a strength point value. A single turn has four phases: weather, command, "pulses" (skirmishing, artillery fire, first side control tests/movement/combat followed by second side, and rally segment. There is no time scale in Sam's rules, rather, as Sam writes "Instead of representing a fixed division of time, the turn represents a period of activity. " Commanders use "command phase chits" to provide to units under his control to allow them to carry out activities on the battlefield. Players roll for initiative and can secretly use "chits" to modify their initiative die throw. Concerning command effectiveness, Sam reports "is measured by the amount of attention a general chooses to give to various tasks, under the limitation that he has only so much attention to give."
In this fashion, Sam attempts to illustrate that a great general "is somebody who manages time better than the average person, perhaps concentrating on one thing, perhaps devoting a little time to each of several things. "Although skirmishers are not visually displayed on the tabletop, they are a part of the game in that if your skirmishers "push back" those of the enemy, they get to fire at the enemy unit formerly screened by their skirmishers. Artillery fire is a maximum of 16", unit movement is random and based on a certain amount (i.e., 6" for "fast" infantry) plus one six-sided die. Sam does not distinguish between melee, small arms fire, and supportive fire during the combat stage. A unit's strength points reflect their strength in numbers, morale, and whether artillery has been assigned to them, thus, there are no morale checks, disorder, or fatigue; these factors are all rolled up into one. Each army is assigned a "break point" which takes into account their "confidence" (three different levels: confident, fair, and shaky) and number of units. At the end of the turn when an army exceeds their break point, they must roll for army morale. There are special rules for garrisons, towns, howitzers/rockets, reinforcements/off-map movement, sappers/engineers, and bridging, as well as optional rules for personalities, hidden subcommanders, blown cavalry, baggage trains, random weather, playing without rosters, and stubborn defenders. Sam includes four scenarios with an historical background, rosters, map, scenario special rules, and unit labels. There is an appendix section dealing with detailing how to design your own scenarios, a list of the major officers of the period, and unit ratings. Lastly there is quick-reference section for the rules and then the rules charts and tables.
Well, those of us who have read Sam's many writings in MWAN dealing with wargames rules might well have asked while reading them "He may well have some legitimate complaints about wargaming rules, but show me what he's produced." After looking through his rules, I would have to say that Sam did an excellent job in rules organization and writing. He is obviously a gifted writer both in content and being able to present his thoughts in an understandable fashion. Sam used quite a few flow charts and I find this very helpful in understanding written rules. This effort might well be the best presented set of rules I've seen in this regard. I like his use "rules headings" as they are very straight-forward and presented in a manner that we would use while playing the game. If you think you have a rules set in your mind waiting for publication, take a look at Sam's approach and I think you could learn something. Great job, Sam - highly recommended!
By Hal Thinglum - MARK BROWN PAINTING SERVICE
Mark Brown, 11574 Dueling Oaks Ct., Pensacola, FL 32514, has done a lot of 15mm, 20mm, and 25mm painting for me over the years. I recently sent him a dozen or so SYW 25mm Prussian Grenadiers to do for me. I already had two dozen painted and wanted to build a 36figure unit for my SYW project so I sent him a painted figure and asked him if he could paint them in the same "style" as the painted figure. I would assume this can be a tricky thing to accomplish - copy someone else's style. However, Mark did an outstanding job and I was very pleased as I wasn't able to tell the difference between the painted example and the ones Mark did. This can be important when you have two different painters each do a portion of a unit. Very nice work! I know Mark prefers to paint in 25mm, but I've also been impressed with the 15mm and 20mm painting he's done for me. Very honest individual! Thanks, Mark!
By Hal Thinglum - THE SKIRMISH LINE PAINTING SERVICE
Charles Van Norman, 347 N. Maple Ave., Green Bay, WI 54303 (920-435-6337) has also painted for me for many years. This time he did a number of 20mm American Civil War mounted Union cavalry. Charles did an excellent job on the Union cavalry uniform, which I personally hate painting, as far as detailing the tunic as well as on the horses. I especially like his work with horses; he uses at least two colors on the horse and I find this method very effective. I also like the variety of horse colors he uses as I don't like all of my horses in an ACW regiment to be the same color. Solid, clean painting - thanks, Charles! I might also add that I have found Charles to be very helpful and thoughtful in sending me information pertaining to periods that I have had had him working on.
By Hal Thinglum - BACCUS 6MM SEVEN YEARS WAR AND SAMURAI
Peter Berry of BACCUS 6MM, 29 Highcliffe Drive, Sheffield, S11 7LT, UK (e-mail: baccus6(a,)ao1.com; website: www.baccus6mm.com) recently decided to go full-time with his figures company and the results of his decision are showing. Earlier in this column, I mentioned the availability of his Polish armies. I just came in from getting the mail and Peter sent his newest releases - 6mm Seven Years War and Samurai. First of all, the Samurai which are intended to cover the feudal pre-gunpowder period. Peter plans to add figures to cover the Age of War armies. There are six packs thus far: mounted Samurai archers galloping and stood, archers on foot, retainers, Sohei with naginata, and pravises four to a strip). Mounted packs are 4.70 pounds while foot packs are 3.30 pounds. Mounted packs have fifteen strips of three figures/stripe while foot have twenty strips of four figures each. Thus, you get 45 mounted or 80 infantry per pack! DBE Army Packs are offered at 18.00 pounds. Peter also has three sets of 6mm flags: Minamoto clan, Taria clan, and Hojo clan; each set is 1.25 pounds and has 64 individual transfers. These transfers are new for BACCUS and are of the "water-slide" type transfers. The two packs of mounted archers each have different poses, thus, each strip has three differently posed figures. This would great in 6mm! Each of three foot packs have a command stand with one figure carrying a large banner; again there are different poses on each strip. Quality and casting is simply outstanding! You really do have to see them yourself to believe what can be done in this scale!
I saved my favorites for last: SYW - thus far, only the Prussians are available and there are seven packs: line infantry (musketeers), grenadiers, fusiliers, Kurassiere, Dragoons, Hussars, and Artillery. Foot have twenty strips of four (80 figures for 3.30 pds), horse have fifteen strips of three (45 for 4.70 pds), and artillery have four guns and 16 gunners (2 pds). An Army Pack has 48 strips of infantry and command, 18 of Kuirassiers, nine of Hussars, nine of Dragoons, and two battalion guns. There are four sets of Prussian infantry flags (1.25 pds each) with 24 different flags per set (total of 96!) for specifically named infantry regiments. Very nicely done flags, by the way! The infantry command stands have an officer, standard bearer with cast on flag pole, drummer and enlisted man. The enlisted man stand has four identically posed figures. Here's how good the quality is - my eyesight leaves much to be desired and I am waiting for my new eyeglasses - however, I can tell what type of troops these 6mm figures are! For example, the Prussian Fusilier command stand has the drummer and enlisted man in Fusilier mitres while the officer and standard bearer are wearing tricornes! Well, it's amazing to me, at least! OK, the infantry are good, BUT, the cavalry are just fantastic (don't you love low-key reviews?)!
Did I mention that infantry strips have the four figures side by side while cavalry strips have them one behind the other? The command stand of the Kurassiere command stand has an officer, trumpeter, and standard bearer with cast-on flag (I like these) as do the Hussars and Dragoons (drummer instead of trumpeter) while the trooper strip has three identical poses. Very little flash on these figures and I don't even have to file off the bottom of the strips to allow them to stand without falling; when have you been able to do that with almost any scale? The gun comes in three pieces; gun/carriage and two separate wheels. There are four differently poses gunners. Peter reports that future releases will include all of the major participants and that he plans to add the AWI and FIW periods as well. Furthermore, all nationalities will have full color flag sheets. BACCUS 6mm also has Ancients, ECW, early 18th Century Wars, Napoleonics, and ACW, as well as an extensive line of 6mm scenics. There is also a fantasy range done by Chris Berry. Peter offers his ECW rules FORLORN HOPE (15 pds), WARGAMES SCENARIOS FOR THE ECW (11.50 pds), GA PA (Age of Marlborough and Charles XII rules) for 11.50, GREAT NORTHERN WAR 1700-1721 Colours and Uniforms (33 pds), and THE SCANIAN WAR 1675-1679 Colours & Unifoms (19 pds) as well as an interesting CD series of material on the War of Spanish Succession 1701-1714 (11 different CD sets ranging in price from 10.50 pds to 35 pds. Most highly recommended!
What I can envision with these great 6mm SYW figures is a VOLLEY & BAYONET type rules/basing system where one stand equals a regiment. You could have two or three battalions on your stand - wouldn't that look great! Cavalry could be in two solid lines and both infantry and foot would resemble what they are supposed to represent - regiments! I'd really enjoy hearing from MWANers who use 6mm figures as to how they approach this figure scale.
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© Copyright 2003 Hal Thinglum
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