First off, many thanks for the great response from all of the clubs out there. Many newsletters were duly sent along for review, some from groups not heard from for awhile, and one from an HMGS branch in California never reviewed before. All of you that took the time to send in your newsletters are thanked profusely. I remind other readers that you don't have to be an official club, or even a group, to have your doings noted for posterity. If you think it's worth sharing, it probably is.
Just about every newsletter had some information on the Great Lead Debacle occuring in New York State. For those uninformed, Hal will probably have an update elsewhere in this issue, but to put it in a nutshell, New York banned the sale of lead figures at the start of the year, citing reasons of danger from the lead content for the little children. A group of unsung hobbyists formed an impromtu organization to combat this knee-jerk version of justice, and had some success, getting a ban to be granted until April. From there the news is cloudy, at this writing not many had a clear idea of what to expect after the April date arrives.
Obviously this is news we should all be concerned about. The very zealous doctor in charge of New York's decision making process took it upon himself to send letters to every other state urging them to take the same steps as New York. Perhaps many of us should follow the lead exhibited by HMGS Mid South, which is to try and form a group of "experts" who are best suited to present the hobby's point of view to otherwise uninformed, but well-intentioned politicians at their local state levels. On a personal note, I do tend to agree with the doctor who says it's unsafe for little children to play with lead soldiers. It's very unsafe. I'll prove it when you send a kid under the age of ten into my game room and try to let him play with my cherished, very expensive collection, 'cause I'll break the little $#@&* fingers. A joke to add some levity to this very grim situation, but possible something to consider when presenting our point of view. A group of twenty soldiers in 25mm painted to a high standard can be worth as much as $100 nowadays, and I can't think of a bettier point to prove that these are definitely not children's toys. If nothing else, politicians can at least relate to problems when presented from a money point of view.
On to more pleasant topics - Vedette - Central Illinois Table Top Warriors - 1705 Stratford, Champaign, Illinois 61821 - 3 issues, Dec. 6th, 30th, and Nov. 4th, 92 - It's good to hear from CITW again. Their Winter War convention was held Jan. 8-10th, with a good variety of games, including Western Gunfight, a Tactica seige of a castle, Roaring 20's skirmish, WW I naval combat, and the usual assortment of WW II, ACW, and some sci-fi. The War of 1812 seems to be gaining interest in the area, with two scenarios for 1812 action in dfferent issues of the newsletter, with some strong electioneering going on in one of the articles, as the author makes a good case for reasons to game the period. The ACW continues to be popular using Fire and Fury rules, with each issue having a scenario. Orders of battle and other background info is available with each scenario, and under the influence of such mega researchers as Greg Novak and Frank Chadwick, gamers can count on the orders of battle to be well detailed.
RANT - Richmond Area Gaming Enthusiasts - P0 Box 70364, Richmond, Va 23255 - These guys are more all 'round gamers than historical, shown by their attention to Battletech and Space Hulk, as well as the popular annual NASCAR racing league. The new Milton Bradley fantasy game Battlemasters is also getting some attention and ideas for some rules additions with Battlemasters is included in this current newsletter. Battletech is a Lord of the Rings - oriented fantasy game, using around 100 plastic figures form the Citadel-Games Workshop fantasy range. Historical gaming is represented via the popular Fire and Fury , but another rules system called Gleam of Bayonets is currently being used to ref ight Antietam.
North Shore Fusiliers - Brian Vizek, 7834 15th Ave, Kenosha, WI 53143 - subs are $10 for ? issues - Not much gaming going on right now, but most Fusiliers are buying paraphenalia like books and lead, and trying out science-fiction with 40K, and complaining about the high price of lead figures. (Hear, hear! I'm drawing the line at a buck myself, you guys) Brian Vizek and Paul Petri are building a 25mm Ottoman army for a game project at the annual SYW meet held in March, with a little help from Jim Purky. There's also some new interest in the F & I War because of Old Glory's new line of 25mm figures and the movie, Last of the Mohicans. The Old Glory line features dozens of different poses for Indians, settlers and militia, besides the regular troops. Rocky Mountain HMGS - Pinnacle - #4, Jan/Feb 93, P0 Box 13073, Ft. Carson, Co 80913 - The Rocky Mt. chapter of HMGS is electing their Board of Directors this Spring, and this issue is devoted to profiles on all the candidates. Of use to gamers in the Colorado portion of the country is the listing of local clubs in the Denver through Colorado Springs area. Interests seem to focus on ancients via WRG tourneys and Tactica, SYW, Napoleonics, Star Trek and Battle tech. One interesting Napoleonic campaign in Colorado Springs is a post- Waterloo event, assuming Napoleon did not captitulate following that classic struggle.
NOVAG News - Northern Virginia Gamers Wargaming Club - #13, P0 Box 729, Sterling, Va 20167 - Gamecon 92 was held Feb. 20 93 in Leesburg, Va. - Star Trek and Napoleon's Battles are popular here, and there's been some attention given to a quality Boxer Rebellion scenario lately. Besides the minicon, several local hobby shops also provide gaming days in conjuntion with NOVAG. As a club, NOVAG is putting up a miniatures display for the local library in order to create interest with the general public. A guy named David Luff is building a humoungous 6mm Adler Napoleonics force, with five French Corps and one British army already built - let's all share a moment of silence in respect for his prolific work - David will be using Nap's Rules and is looking for interested opponents, those who are also willing to create forces are welcome. By the way, new ediltor Dan Wiley is to be complimented at the improved quality content of this newsletter.
HMGS Mid-south - Major Bill Harting, 1011 Taylor Rd, Estill Springs, Tn 37330- 3831 - In order to be prepared for the future, as mentioned earlier, the highily efficient Mid-south g oup is attempting to put together a team to combat the same lead nonsense that took place in New York, when or if that great issue finds it's way to the state of Tennessee. Many of us would be wise to follow their plans. On a happier note, it seems a video titled "War- gaming with Toy Soldiers: North vs. South" was produced by an independent video firm with the cooperation of the Atlanta Miniatures Wargaming Society. Cost is $27.95, available from Blaine Stobaugh, JBM, 770 Old Roswell Place, Suite 1-400, Roswell, Ga 30076-1649. Not to be outdone, the Heart of America HMGS has also produced a video exclusively about wargaming, featuring notables Duke Seifried and Don Featherstone. Send $15 to Greg Nichols, 2442 NW Windwood Dr., Lee's Summilt, Mo 64081, to secure your copy. Besides all this, a major event, Seige of Atlanta was recenltily staged, more to promote the hobby to the general public then to provide gaming events. With good promotion from a pre con local TV show as well as the evening news, the Seige drew 450 plus visitors, besides the usual 100 plus gamers, and recruited 22 new members for HMGS Mid- South. You guys are something else. No wonder you won the War Between the States (what's that, honey? They didn't? Are you sure?)
Tornado Alley HMGS - P0 Box 20863, Oklahoma City, Ok 73156 - Just a reminder that one of the newest HMGS branches is gearing up and looking for new members. By the time you read this, they'll have held "Twister Con" from March 19-21 in Norman, Okla. It was a combined convention with boardgaming and roleplay along with the traditional historical miniatures. The newsletter lists other local groups and respective gaming times as well.
Miniature Gamers of Michigan - Bob Marshall, 133 E. Farnum, Royal Oak, Mi 48067 - Gaming has seroiously slowed in the Cold Weather state, with the exception of the January winter convention held in Lansing. Now the club is getting ready for it's grandaddy convention, You Gotta Do Whatcha Con, to be held Saturday, May 8th in Ferndale. This premier event features quality historical miniatures gaming with a smattering of sci-fi and fantasy little guys, also of high quality, or Bob won't let you play. Write Robert at the above address for details. Some of the other easterly located MGMers are also preparing to check out MIGSCON in Hamilton, Ontario, a 3-4 drive from the Michigan border. Several MGMers also were participants in the massive Borodino 92 affair, and a detailed report on that action is included in the latest newsletter.
Military Interests and Games Society (MIGS) - Chris Goldsmith, 821 Boronia Cres, Newmarket, Ontario, Ca L3Y 5J8 - As just mentioned. MIGs is preparing for the annual spring convention to be held May 29-30 at the 150 King St. East Holiday Inn in Hamilton. This ought to be a good'un, with 50-70 games and up to 12 dealers participating . Games will be mostly historical in nature, with the odd fantasy, sci-fi, and children's game. The club newsletter shows enthusiasm is high and the club has a great desire to present a quality event worthy of their quality organization. That's not just saying that, any glance at the club newsletter will reveal the club gaming schedule over a three month period, with an assortment of games reflecting the usual four gaming leagues (ancients, Napoleonies, ACW and now Renaissance WRG) as well as the odd unique game members may feel like trying. This is a very organized group, that, judging by the newsletter, manage to leave the politics out and place the accent on entertainment.
Triangle Simulation Society - 905-11 Shellbrook Kt., Raleigh, NC 27609 - Here's another group that puts the accent on fun, and works hard to avoid the politics. TSS originally had about ten members at it's rebirth three years ago, and boasts no elected officials, feeling that this way, there's nothing to fight over. God Bless 'em for this innovative approach. They also hold occasional min-cons, as in Call to Arms, which is in the process of being renamed since it conflicts with Kansas City's con name. Call to Arms 92 offered about 30 events, a 25% increase over last year. A recent refight of Waterloo occurred in 5mm scale, using Nap's Battles rules, with the final outcome similar to history. Many of the gamers using the rules for the first time managed to catch on fairly quickly. Other ref ights included the ACW action at Fredericksburg in 1862, with another historically accurate result. Currently, three campaigns are in progress - 1809 Northern Italy, France 1940, and the naval action Battle of the Coral SEa. Another campaign that sounds interesting is a current Western Front WW I acltion. This campaign is unique in that it's only played at various conventi settings. Finally, Bill Koff has a new WW I rules set available called REd Baron which he offers for sale, and anotehr TSS member has an ancients rules set for naval actions.
Pacific Southwest HMGS - 7150 Santa Barbara Ct., Fontana, Ca 92336 - Here's somebody never heard from before in this reveiws column. The newsletter, "Occasional Messenger", comes courtesy of John Curran, who wants credit given to new editor Bill Heizer, who's making a positive serious effort to print a quality newsletter on a regular basis. The newsletter contains several local groups contact data in order to provide gaming resources to area gamers, and also has a write-up on a club members journey to the Midwest, and his subsequent participation in Jim Purky's SYW Association's annual event at EHQ, Leuthen Day. There's more articles than club news in Occasional Messenger, but that isn't bad news by any means either. Thanks for the contribution, John.
Northwest HMGS - Citadel, 15008 111th Ave, Ct. E., Puyallup, Wa 98374 - May 22-23rd is the date for Enfilade 93, to be held at the Landmark Inn in Lynwood, Wa. Frank Chadwick will be this year's guest of honor, hopefully. Enfilade tries to bring a hobby notable each year. Local gaming groups and hobby stores gaming times are also mentioned in Citadel, and each issue provides short articles of a quality nature, like this issue's work on ACW ironclads.
Right now it seems the old favorites like ACW, Napoleonics, and WRG ancients continue with their traditional popularity. It's interesting that no one mentoions colonials very much any more, and even more interesting is how many purely historical groups are allowing sci-fi/fantasy to appear at local events, and how many gamers are dabbling in things like Space Hulk and Star Wars. Naturally, the lead toxic issue has all concerned, and some US makers have already made a committment to convert to pewter. Time will tell, but it looks like this could be a worse threat to the hobby than the Vietnam War.
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© Copyright 1993 Hal Thinglum
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