Dixons Miniatures
25mm Wild West and ACW ranges

Available from: Spring Grove Mills, Linthwaite, Huddersfield, W. Yorks. England, HD7 5QG, or Wargames Inc, Box 278, Route 40 East, Triadelphia, WV 26059, USA

More of these well sculpted and cast figures for review. I will begin with the ACW list: Bandsmen: Choice of hat or kepi.

ACW301 Fifer marching. Lots of bands about in the ACW. This is a lively figure. ACW303 Bass drummer standing. A well balanced figure. Infantry: Choice of hat or kepi.

ACW304 Officer - frock coat, drawn sword with standard. Pole only, provide your own fly. A good "valiant" type.

ACW307 Infantry, open shell jacket, barefoot, knapsack, advancing, fixed bayonet (Confederate). A good vigorous pose.

ACW308 Infantry, shirt sleeves and blanket roll, barefoot, advancing, fixed bayonet.

ACWVG3 Sniper, shell jacket, Springfield rifle, lying behind earth mound, reaching into cartridge box (one man vignette). The rifle has the barrel-long sniper sight in use at this time. He is hugging the ground and contorting himself to reload whilst staying hidden and looking out.

Now "Wild West" Outlaws and Lawmen (Personalities)

On foot:

WGP1 Wild Bill Hickock firing revolver. Long hair and reaching with his left hand for another revolver.

WGP2 "Commodore" Perry Owens firing rifle from hip. Sharps rifle. Chaps, long hair, sixgun holstered on his left hip.

WGP3 Billy the Kid firing a revolver. The figure wears the clothes of William Bonney, as in the well-known photographs.

WGP4 "Pearl Hart" (Taylor) drawing revolver. Cross drawing from the left hip. A well modelled girl.

W GP5 "Cattle Annie" firing Winchester in the air. Ankle length skirt and wide sun hat. Could be used in Colonial games.

WGP6 "Little Britches," Winchester at the ready. Girl with her hair tied back under a range hat. Pistol on her left hip, stepping forward in an aggressive way.

Mounted personalities:

MWPG1 Billy the Kid carrying Winchester. Good "portrait head."

MWPG2 Calamity Jane holding carbine aloft. A Sharps - yelling too. Buckskin clad.

MWPG3 Cattle Annie leveled Winchester. Across her waist, to the right, looking right.

MWPG4 Little Britches brandishing revolver. Hat hanging on her back. Huge revolver - Colt maybe. Very crisp modelling and casting on all these figures.

Horses:

H46 Galloping. Legs bunched beneath body.

H47 Walking. Rangy looking beast. Excellent saddles - pommel, cantle, etc.

"Scratch-built town buildings" are mentioned on the list. I haven't seen any so can't comment. They come in sections A to E and range in price, at the time of writing, from £19.95 (4 buildings) to £9.75 fro a Blacksmith's and a small store. I have no idea what they are made of. A "starter pack" of 5 buildings - one each from each section- is offered at £69.95!! Send S.A.E. for fully illustrated and detailed list. Now for a few drawings of some of these figures. If you don't see what you want, send for samples. "The Deadwood Stage is rollin' on over the plain" - mine is an old Britains one - a bit big for these figures, but who cares? Dixon do their own transport. Check it out. Drawings not to scale.

Alternative Armies
"Flintloque"

Review of the Rules and Figures of "Flintloque" by Alternative Armies, Unit 6, Parkway Court, Glaisdale Parkway, Bilborough, Nottingham, NG8 4GN. Made available by Partizan Press.

This is a fun game. A Napoleonic Fantasy Skirmish with 25mm metal figures! What?, I hear you say. For your money (price at the time of writing £18.99) you get 16 well modelled figures - French Voltigeurs (Elves) and Sharke's Company of the Rifles (Orcs). A rule book 32 pages long in a well presented package about the size of a Cornflakes packet. This is a team production by Mac Coxhead (Concept, design, writing and development), Steve Blease (rules system and scenario development), Pete Krifton (cover art, logo and internal illustration), Heather Paling (creative writing, game development and proof reading), and Tim Pollard (typesetting, layout and editing).

Portions of the book may be copied from indicated areas for gaming convenience of purchasers. 

The whole story is based on a fantasy version of the "Richard Sharpe" adventures by Bernard Cornwell and the names of the characters reflect this, Lt. Sharke, Harpy, Hagmun, Arris and so on. There are three scenarios included: "Sharke's Rifles," "Sharkes's Gold," and "Sharke's Sword." The huge bog orc Harpy carries a volley gun and Sharke has a huge sword besides his Bakur rifle.

The rules are fairly simple skirmish rules and Quick Reference sheets are part of the book. The rules aim at role play too and quite rightly, say this kind of play makes for more fun. That's what wargaming is all about isn't it?

Well, I showed the whole kit and caboodle to three older experienced wargamers (and they're all younger than me). Their reaction was, a bit of a steep price for the metal and rules (Wargamers always say this). That they'd have fun with it if a member of the club brought it along on a "spare" club night, i.e. not one designated for Borodino or Poltava, etc.

Well, you are either going to love it or not. "Historical" garners may dismiss it - I think they'd be wrong. "Fantasy Fanatics" might also say it falls between two stools. To my mind, guy gaming is Fantasy.

Personally (and how else can I put it?), having enjoyed skirmish wargames and Wild West shootouts in the past, what's wrong with taking the suspension of disbelief a little further? The figures of Voltigeurs were pronounced very good by all the garners who saw them. The Rifles were pronounced the better type of Fantasy figure. So there we are. I like the figures myself - particularly 'Arris for some reason. All the Rifles are great characters.

"Flintloque" - the Skirmish" " is a good game and could become a cult if enough people buy it. A few drawings follow, not to scale.

Redoubt Enterprises
25mm Trojan Wars range

Redoubt Enterprise's new releases in the 25mm Trojan Wars Range Achilles and the Myrmidons 49 Channel View Road, Eastbourne, E. Sussex, BN22 7LN, UK and Miniature Service Center, 1525 Bridge St. #163, Yuba City, CA, 95993, USA

These packs extend your options of play in the Homeric period - or fictional campaigns of course. Tony Bath had loads of Greek 30mm flats in his campaigns - I know cos' I bought some when he sold up a great many.

There are selections of figures in each pack, bareheaded and in linen cuirasses. Also some front rank archers to mix in with the previously released javelinmen and spearmen. I will list the figures/packs, comment and draw some of them, not to scale. Prices, at time of writing: Myrmidons or archers £3.60, TX3 Achilles in chariot £5.50, TX14 Helen £1.50.

T30 Pack of 6 Myrmidon javelinmen advancing, running or throwing, round shields. The shields are actually the pelta shape = where the troop-type "Peltasts" came from. Good energetic poses in tasseled and fringed kilts.

T31 Pack of 6 Myrmidon swordsmen, advancing or thrusting, round shields. Pelta shields again. More subdued action poses than the javelinmen. Good.

T32 Pack of 6 Myrmidon archers advancing or shooting. They are bareheaded and with loop quivers on their right hips - swords on the left.

T26 Pack of front rank archers in tunics and boars' tusk helmets or bronze helmets advancing or shooting. A mix of shooters and archers selecting another shaft, one doubles forward. Excellent poses.

TX3 Achilles, hero and leader of the Myrmidons in bronze armour, crested bronze helmet, round shield in chariot with driver, accompanied by a running shield bearer with "figure of eight" shield. Highly decorated armour, 2 horses with decorated manes and good action poses. A charioteer laying into them with a whip (Report him to the Jockey Club!) and the poor s** running, with suitably strained expression, carrying the huge shield. Also a light wicker and leather chariot with a wicker partition. All Redoubt chariots seem to fit together very easily. Offer all the bits up without glue to begin with of course.

TX14 Helen of Troy in court dress. The style is evidently taken from wall paintings of Mycenean court ladies. Excellent model with fine features. The hair is particularly well done. "The face that launched a thousand ships." Drawings now:

Guernsey Foundry
25mm Old West range

Review of Guernsey Foundry 25mm metal Old West new releases

A vailable from La Guelle, Mont Arrive, St. Peter Port Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK GY1 2AA

With yet another - I must call it "transfusion" of properly proportioned, well modelled Wild West figures like these, I will be surprised if there are not a lot more Wild West skirmishes breaking out from Lands End to John 0' Groats - and the rest of the wargaming world too. There are less townsmen and more cowhands and Apaches in this offering - enough for you to take over the hick town or become Cochise, for a few hours anyway. None of the Mexicans on the list have been sent yet, but that may be remedied in the future. I will list the figures, comment, and draw some of them. 

Cowhands

OWC6 Drawing revolver, goatee. Cross belly draw. Someone may have made remarks about this young man's little beard!

OWC7 Bareheaded with rifle. Range hat on the cord hanging on his back. Large dragoon pistol holstered on his right hip. Fringed chaps.

OWC8 Roaring drunk with revolver. Waving a bottle of "Snake Pizen" in his left hand, yelling. Fringed chaps, hat on his back.

OWC9 Batwing chaps firing rifle. Walrus moustache. Cross draw pistol on his left hip.

OWC10 Not sent. (Bareheaded, firing rifle.)

OWC11 Fringed chaps firing revolver. Waistcoat, over shirt sleeves rolled up. Another mustached "hard head." Leaning well into his shot.

OWC12 Trail Boss. Or "Ramrod." Weeping moustache, gaunt face. Pistol in right hand, hat in his left. Bags of character.

Shootists. Four of these.

OWS8 Enforcer with sawn off shotgun. He has a badge, a huge pistol on his left hip, in a cross draw position. A walrus moustache and a mean expression.

OWS9 Wild Bill Hickock. 2 pistols, frock coat, long hair, watch chain in his waistcoat, knee boots and a ready-for-anything stance.

OWS10 Enforcer, long coat, firing pistol. Range hat and a Victorian military moustache. The long coat was sometimes called a "duster."

O W S 14 Pinkerton man with pistol, frock coat. A sharp looking character. "Earl Haig" face.

Apaches

OWA7 Kneeling firing rifle. Bare chest, knife on his left hip.

OWA8 Standing with bow. Just fired the arrow, by his stance. Watching the strike intently. Shirt, pistol on his right hip. Quiver on his back.

OWA10 Firing revolver. Traditional war club in his left hand.

OWA11 Firing carbine. Cuddled into the aim. Pistol on his right hip. Wearing a waistcoat.

OWA12 War leader with rifle. The face is a miniature portrait. Rifle held across the body.

OWA 13 Army scout or brave in captured jacket. Small round hat on his head, rifle held at the point of balance in his right hand. He gestures with his left - "Hark" or "Careful" type signal.

There are Mexicans on the list which I haven't seen - but I can imagine a "Magnificent Seven" scenario using them and seven of the shootists figures, or rather 6 and a young cowhand. I will now draw a few of the reviewed figures, not to scale. If you don't see what you want, send for some samples. More figures still to come.