BY Steve Drake - BATTLEGROUND 25mm WW II Figures - I just got some of the new 25mm WW II Battlegroup Figures via Doug Carrocciols Miniature Service Center out of Yuba City, California. Hal reviewed these in #84, but since I've actually bought and painted some of the figures, Ithought I'd share my findings with all of you. For the most part, the figures are impressive. I like them a lot and I'll want more of their planned releases. For those of you up on the hobby's newest craze, 25mm WW II skirmishing, the answer is yes, they do blend well with First Corps 25mm WW II. While Battlegroup Figures are a tad slimmer add more finely detailed, they stand the same height as First Corps. Painted and based, standing next to each other, you can't tell the difference. I think I like the Battlegroup figures better than First Corps. The sculpting is very precise. None of the hands, faces or gear are oversized, as is the case with First Corps. Because of this, the poses seem understated, and when seen in unpainted form look almost static in a Mirlitron - old Minifigs sort of way. With paint, all this disappears, and the figures gain a life-like quality that impresses you with the subtlety of the sculptor's art. (Whew! What a sentence) Two poses that really illustrate this is the standing radioman and the walking infantryman with panzerfaust, both from the German infantry range. Unpainted the radioman has no life. His hands are close to his b6dy and he's just standing there, with apparently very little detailing. Painted, he comes alive. His shoulders are sagging, his head's slightly tilted, and his arms are close to his body because he's busy keeping his equipment in check. He looks like he's just stopped from a long march and is tolerating listening to instructions. I painted him with his eyes looking sideways with a slight grimace on his face to enhance the effect. Great! The marching fellow with the panzerfaust is similar with arms close to his body. He looks poorly animated, but when painted it becomes obvious he's walking this way to distribute the weight of his gear and panzerfaust. Again, very subtle. Now, with all that being said, there are a couple of the British infantry and three of the Germans that suffer from being out of proportion. A couple with heads seated improperly were easily corrected by removing and re-positioning thb heads. The most glaring figure is the,German handgrenade thrower. Leaning back ready to throw, the poor man's arms suffer from the worst case of Peter Guilder's disease seen in many a year. (To look at Old Master Pete's earliest work with Hinchliffe will show figures with some of the longest elbows since Marvel Comics' Mr. Fantastic) The grenade thrower's arms are so long as to make him look like he's only once or twice removed from the Orangutan family, something obviously not in keeping with the Nazi concept of the Master Race. His bent leg is also not bent enough, making it appear much shorter than it should be. Alas, the figure appears to have been dropped, than smashed. Although the sculptor has my utmost respect for the rest of his wonderful range, he should throw this pose away and start over. Having already bought all three of the available types, steel helmet, camo cover, and field cap, I can assure all you avid hobbyists that all is not lost. Take the extended empty-hand led ann. Saw it off where the rolled-up sleeve ends. Drill hole in the rolled-up sleeve socket. Take the sawed offpiece of arm and cut offhalf of it. Super glue this into the drilled socket, and viola, the grenade thrower is now in proportion. Be advised it takes less time to do this then it does to tell about it. According to Doug, muth more is planned for this range. Early next year we can expect American infantry and paratroopers. Down the line will be US Marines and Japanese, Waffen SS, partisans, German and British paratroopers, and resin-cast anti-tank weapons for all nationalities. Figures retail for $1.65 apiece, with a 15% discount provided to all customers. All this sounds promising, and I encourage you to buy from the Miniature Service Center, who provided excellent mail-order service. I phoned I my order to Doug on Friday, and by next Thursday the product was in my hands. Doug was also gracious enough to send me catalogs of all'his other ranges, which are all produced by Redoubt Enterprises, a British firm with several ranges in large 25mm scale. Ranges include the English Civil War, the American Revolution, Trojan Wars, Wellington's Indian Battles, Renaissance, Viking, Pirates, Three Musketeers, March or Die French Foreign Legion, Zulu Wars, Sudan, and the Napoleonic Wars. All catalogs are easy to follow and provide illustrations of some of the figures, which is always very helpful. Don't forget Redoubt is also responsible for the beautiful ships we've seen over the last couple of years, like the Pirate ship and the Sudan Paddle Steamer. Doug Carroccio can be reached at 916-673-5169, and by writing the Miniature Service Center, 1525 Bridge #163, Yuba City, California 95993. Doug doesn't take credit cards, so your payment will have to be check or money order.

By Steve Dake - 19th Century Miniatures - 13595 Green St. Grand Haven Michigan 49417, phone 616-837-7045 fax 616-837-8568 - Good news for Midwest Gamers and the rest who don't mind mail order is the information that the popular Steve and Steve of Igth Century Miniatures have purchased Connoisseur Miniatures from Peter Guilder. They will now own and manufacture all of the historical figure ranges produced by Connoisseur in the past. Not only will the figures be available by the piece, they will also follow the hobby trend and offer the figures by battalion, battery and squadron bags. Prices are reasonable by any approach, with individual foot priced at $1.00, horses at $1.45, camels at $1.65 and guns at $5.00 unless otherwise marked. Battalion bags are $20 with 24 infantry, squadron bags are $12 with six horses and riders, and battery bags are $22 with 3 guns and 12 crew. Discounts are available on big orders of individual figures, with shipping gradually decreasing to free the larger the order. Steve and Steve speak Visa and Mastercard. Easy to read catalogs are available. Try these guys: Steve and Steve are garners first, but conduct their hobby business in a professional and responsible manner. Don't forget they also carry many other ranges and product, including Battle Honors and Rank and File. Congratulations Steve and Steve, on your growing business.

By Steve Drake - Musket Miniature Paints - Last summer at MIGSCON I wandered by the dealer's booth of the Dayton Painting Consortium. What caught my eye was a range of acrylics I'd never noticed before called Musket Miniature Paints. They were tubed in I ounce plastic bottles with squeeze tops, similar to the Delcote sold in department stores. They offered a wide variety of about sixty different colors. Lately I've gone more to the squeeze bottles, so I was interested in a paint range packaged such that's geared to the military miniatures hobby. I didn't buy any then, but later in the fall when I bought some WW II Germans I had occasion to think about Musket Miniature's German Gray, which struck me at first viewing as being the best German uniform color I'd ever seen. A phone number was needed, so to AT & T I went, and soon discovered that Dayton Painting Consortium could be reached at 513-237-9915. Hey, I called and said, can you guys mail order paint? No problem, was the congenial response, and within days I was the proud owner of several new bottles of paint. After using the paint for quite a while now, I've got to say I like it as it's very workable. It spreads easily and covers well, even with those colors that don't usually spread easily and cover well, like black and white. The black is the easiest black I've ever worked with, and they have a color called semi-gloss white that does real justice to uniform belts and white trim. The German Gray lived up to it's expectations, and two shades of gray, Confederate Gray and Blue-Gray, were just what my rebel forces were looking for. Only Red was a disappoint, continuing to not cover well and drying much darker than I liked for basic red. I plan on trying many of their other colors as I haven't been this happy with an acrylic color range since PollyS. Dayton Painting consortium can be reached at PO Box 24185, Huber Heights, Ohio 45424. As the name implies, painted troops are the focus here and they can be had in 15, 20 or 25mm scale for reasonable prices with deals offered for voluble. Dayton also sells the old RSM 20 and 25mm ranges, and have gone to bulk bagging to enhance prices for the buyer. The Dayton catalog Also has an extensive listing of Musket Miniature figure ranges, which include 15mm Mexican-American War,15mm or 22mm American Civil War, and 25mm American Revolution. Fifteen to 22mm terrain and accesories are also available, and VISA or Mastercard can be used to complete your purchase.

By Steve Dake- H.G, Walls - 121 W. Colfax St., South Bend, Indiana 46601, phone 219-287-5533 and after 6 PM 219-299-0352 - You know, I read a lot of hobby reviews, and I seldom see the names of Elite Miniatures or H.G. Walls mentioned in dispatches, so to speak. Allow me to climb on my soapbox and rectify this: for those who do not know, H.G. Walls is Herb Gundt, who got started in the hobby business by constructing buildings and terrain pieces of a superlative nature. Herb first Gained fame in the Midwest area when he was asked to help with the palaces in Todd Fisher's French [Revolution project. Herb will tut-tut this, but it was obvious to all who viewed the completed palace Complex that Herb's buildings were a whole lot better than that famous guy who also helped, Ian iWeekley. ARer some time in the miniature construction business, Herb had an opportunity to get the Elite miniatures franchise in the US, and he now devotes a fair amount of time and energy developing the business. Elite offers extensive lines in the Napoleonic and Seven Years War periods, and Herb carries an ample supply of all the stock. Over the last few months, Elite has started to release an American Civil War line that promises to be extensive as well. Like all Elite figures, the ACW range reminds gamers of the Connoisseur range in size and styling. Elite is also following the trend to greater variety, with head variances and several types of one pose. Figures are available in discount bags or are individually priced at $1.25 per foot, $1.50 per horse and $6 for an artillery piece. Herb is genial as an acquaintance and professional as a business man. Send for his catalog or call to discuss your needs.

By Steve Dake - Freezywater Publications - 13 Rochester Drive, Hampton Park, Lincoln T-N6 OXQ, England, UK. This is not only a review, it's one of those wargaming love stories we all love to hear so much about. A few months back I came across a Miniature Wargames magazine, and the front cover photo immediately grabbed my attention. There was a War of the Roses scene, with beautifully painted knights, but it wasn't the knights that caught my eye. The knights were carrying banners and standards that were truly state-of-the-art, hobby-speaking, and always I have wanted high quality, historically correct banners for my icon-less medieval hoardes. Whipping off my bifocals add putting my nose about four inches from the magazine, my practiced wargamer's eye quickly discerned the banners to be commercially made. Cover photo credits proved this to be true: banners by Freezywater Publications, it said. Unfortunately, a search through the magazine for an advertisement or an address was for naught. Desperate I was, and hoping for the best while expecting the worst, I wrote Good Guy Editor Ian Dickie of Miniature Wargames and begged for assistance. I plied him with compliments and sweetened the deal by throwing in a self-addressed envelope with IRC'S. QInternational Replygoupons from-the US Post Office wot are as good as stamps in the UK) Pleasantly surprised I was when a couple of weeks later there appeared a letter from Mr. Dickie that pretty much said, Yup-per, here's the address and good luck. (Quick aside: My thanks to ypu, Hard-working Editor Dickie, you didn't have to do that) anyway, to the Post Office I again went for more IRC's along with my business letter of inquiry. (Luther aside: best thing I ever learned about correspondence with anyone is that if you want them to write back, send 'em a stamp and an envelope) A few weeks passed. This was a bad sign, because if you deal frequently with the British and the British Postal System, you discover two things. First, the British Postal System is much faster and more efficient than ours, and Second, British people tend to be more responsible and considerate than US citizens, meaning here, that if they can answer, they'll answer. Time passed with no response and I had chalked it up to being one of those things, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the familiar brown envelope with PAR AVON on it, which always signifies overseas mail. Dude, Pat McGill from Freezywater Publications said, I don't know how you got ahold of me with this old address, but you did! (Third Aside: Hats off to nameless thousands of the British Postal Service - this is about the third time you've pulled a chestnut out for me) Pat continued to provide info from his list of 50 medieval banners, which sell for -L 1.50 per sheet for 15mm,-L 1.80 per sheet for 25mm and t 2.00 per sheet for "show-off size 54mm". There's an ample selection of War of the Roses Lancastrian and Yorkist standards, Bosworth field, early and late Hundred Years War, Burgundian, Swiss, Imperial German, Polish and Crusader standards, all with about eight to twelve banners per sheet. Naturally I was historically clueless as to what I wanted, and Pat cheerfully offered advise in this regard as well.,I was well pleased with the standards when they arrived. They were well detailed and clearly printed. I would recommend Freezywater as a responsible business with a quality product. Mr. McGill also has several book titles on heraldry I've never seen before that average about $15-20 American, and he can also provide a membership application to the Lance and Longbow Society of the UK, which provides a subscription to the quality publication, Hobilar , covering historical and wargarning interests in the late Middle Ages. Pat doesn't take credit cards and would appreciate a check in pounds sterling, but says he'll take US dollars in a push. So the morale of this love story is multiple, trust in your wargarning brothas and the British Postal Service, and test the trust by buying product from them. Also, don't forget to take another look at Miniature Wargames magazine - the quality is up there again, both in terms of articles, photography and hobby ads. It's a regular purchase for me once more!

By Hal Thinglum - OLD GLORY 25MM FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION and FRENCH- INDIAN WAR LINES - OLD GLORY has released some very nice items for these two lines. First of all, my personal favorite, a 25mm French Foreign Legion fort in high density foam which is very sturdy and just a beautiful piece for your wargames table. Fort Zinderhoof (only $100.00 and done by Hundson & Allen) is 19" on each side and comes in four sections which fit together easily. I wouldn't even put it on a base, rather, I would leave it as such and just put it together on the table in the four pieces. The walls are sloped and nearly 6" high. There are four towers and an observation tower (as in the movie "Beau Gest") which is seven and a half inches tall. Built within the inner walls are three well done buildings with a lot of detail. There is one entrance with a separate metal gate (two doors) with pins to secure the gates on each side. In addition, there is a metal ladder to mount on the observation tower. Each of the four sections has stairways. I brought this over to show it to Clem Clemens as soon as I received it in the mail. Clem, if you recall, made my FFL fort for me some years ago and did a terrific job. He loved it and reported that it just doesn't pay to construct items like this when you can purchase such a well-done piece for $100.00 and he's absolutely correct! Also included for mention within this column were an assortment of mounted and foot Arabs. OLD GLORY's "Sons of the Desert" line features three bags of foot Arabs (swordsmen, spearmen, and riflemen) as well as a bag of Arab dead & wounded and a bag of Arabs "/captured machine gun. Of the six foot Arabs received, three were attacking w/knives; one w/sword; and two "w/pistols". All wear the long flowing robe and would paint up well using a wash technique or black primer. There are lots of mounted Arabs on horses; swordsmen, standard bearers, leaders, riflemen, bugler, etc. Some excellent poses. I can't really tell how many differently posed horses there are as there are so many of them! There are four bags of horsemen (command, rifles, spears, and swords) and one bag of camelmen. Thirty foot/10 mounted for an inexpensive $21.00. An excellent line and most attractive indeed!

From OLD GLORY's "Age of Reason" 25mm FIW line, they have released FIW24 Indians in long Canoe; FIW25 Indians in short canoe; FIW26 French trappers in long canoe; and FIW27 French trappers in short canoe ($21.00/bag). Long canoes are cast in two pieces while short ones are cast in one piece; there are two long and four short in each pack. There are eight figures in each pack kneeling. If you don't do FIW, you might consider purchasing a pack and painting them up for a conversation piece. Very good!

By Hal Thinqlum - TERMINAL HOBBY SHOP ITEMS - I recently purchased more static grass from THE TERMINAL HOBBY SHOP, 5619 W. Florist Ave., PO Box 3039, Milwaukee, Wl 53201 -3039 (I -800-4TRAINS) and very pleased with the service. The static grass is made by NOCH and is light green (item number 528 8310) and costs $2.99 for a bag of 20 grams. l have been using this with my 15mm and 25mm bases for years and am very pleased as it is very quick to work with. What I do is paint the figure base green and dip the figure in a box of static grass. Once it dries - very quickly - I glue the figures to a base. When secure, l paint the base green and dip the whole stand in static grass and the job is done! Highly recommended! Also ordered ATLAS white fence (item number 150 776) which is HO scale. You get 72" of picket fence with gates. Looks great for ACW town fences. ATLAS also makes a rustic fence/gates (item number 150 777) which is nice for ACW farm fences; again 72" and each box costs only $2.89. Very handy items and inexpensive!

By Hal Thinglum - THE WAR TOYS 1 and 2 - Clem Clemens purchased these two books (total cost around $40.00) and if you ever had an interest in "toy soldiers", you would enjoy them. The first 'The War Toys I Kriegsspielzeug: the Story of Die Geschichte von Hausser - Elastolin" is by Reggie Polaine and David Hawkins and the second is "The War Toys 2 Kriegsspielzeug: The Story of Die Geschichte von Lineol" by Dennis Fontana. Both are about 244 pages and published by New Cavendish Books, 3 Denbigh Road, London, W11 2SJ, UK. Clem purchased his from a book seller here in the US but I don't know where. Both books contain the history of the companies as well as complete catalog with illustrations. You'll really enjoy these books!

By Hal Thinglum - SIMTAC's - SUNG CHINESE CATAPULT - SIMTAC, Inc., I5-G Colton Rd., East Lyme, CT 06333 (860-739-2756) has released a Sung Chinese Catapult which they state "will fit in very nicely with our Feudal range of Mongols". I believe this is in I Smm scale. Steve Dinsmore of SIMTAC reports "historically it took 100 men to pull it back to launch it." Comes in five pieces with four wheels and is very well cast; no flash at all! Don't know price but this is an attractive item for your wargames army!

By Hal Thinglum - TCS NEW RELEASES - TCS, 545 Newport Ave., Suite 155, Pawtucket, Rl 102861 produces a very extensive line of terrain items in a variety of scales from 6mm to 25mm and la review of their catalog is most interesting. Drop them a line with a few dollars to cover the cost of Their catalog and you'll be very pleased. First of all, they released a 25mm Hollow Western House 1"1 story flat facade" in resin with metal windows and support posts ($20), one of four different buildings (peaked facade, 2-story stepped facade, and blacksmith shop). I've assembled several of These buildings and like them very much. They are easy to work with, look good, and paint up easily and well. Very realistic items for your 25mm Wild West Skirmish games! Now, my personal favorites! Three Mediterrain sytle city houses (ER66, 68, 69) at $5.25 each. When I was putting together my I Smm Sudan project, I purchased a number of buildings from TCS and very pleased with how they turned out. Although they are billed as Mediterrain houses, Hey will fit for the Sudan as far as I am concerned and I shall add these three little beauties to my collection. Two of them (ER66 and 68 are two stories while 69 is one story. Each has a wall aroumd the top of the roof There are two different packs of 10mm tents (145 and 147) at $3.25 a pack. #145 resemble the Sibley coned type tents (10) while #147 (6 tents) are long rectangle tents. Here's an interesting set of items. Metal furniture. Number 10 (two tables); 50 (four chairs); 51 (table & 2 chairs); and 52 (large table w/four chairs) sell for $3.25 each. Handy additions to your wargames skirmish buildings! There are three sets of damaged works in 15mm (103D,102D, and 104D) for $2.75 each. These are earthworks with the straight sections being 5" long. Here are some more Wild West 25mm accessories for you - #17 - aset of four piles of barrels (five to a pile); #5 -two dressers in resin; #15 four horse troughs: all for $3.25 each. To wrap it up, here's some items for you naval gainers. #49 Viking Long Boat in 6mm ($5.25) in metal. Comes in once piece with separate oars. N45S contains three sunk riverboats in resin with metal smokestacks ($6.25); N45 is a I :600 metal riverboat ($7.50) which looks huge to me and nicely done; #50 is a 1:600 blockade runner in metal and looks great!; while N50S is a sunk side wheel chip ($4.25) in resin. Some good stuff and very reasonable prices. I always enjoy looking through TCS's catalog as there are so many different types of terrain accessories!

By Hal Thinglum - H.G. WALLS WESTERN GUNFIGHT KIT BUILDINGS - H.G. Walls, 3026 Spnngbrook Dr., South Bend, IN 46614 (219-287-5533 or GnffonB@AOL.COM) has released the first of six different 25mm "laser-cut, wood model kits", the first of which will cost $24.9s. Herb Gundt, master-builder, reports, "all the parts in the kit are made from high quality plywood of 1/32" to 3/32" thickness." Submitted for mention was #1001, a single story building with shed roof. This is truely a wel detailed, beautiful structure! Even the windows are made from plywood with unbelievable detail! The first four buildings are one story while the last two are two story structures. There are also six packs of accessories including signs (four different packs of 14 signs each); side staircase for use with the two 2-story buildings; and 72" of corral-type fences and gates. Sounds like a very interesting line being offered by Herb. Congratulations on a quality product, Herb! Comes with written/graphic instructions.

By Hal Thinglum - WARGAMES FOUNDRY 25MM NEW RELEASES - WARGAMES FOUNDRY has released additions to their 25mm ACW and Napoleonic lines. First of all, for the ACW, there are 30 infantry in kepi and sack coat and one horse. Fantastic figures! A mounted officer on standing horse (.85 pence for horse; individual foot figures are .70 pence) looking as if he is overlooking the scene in front of him. Three foot officers (standing "/shouldered sword and separate sword arm; advancing gesturing forward w/sword; and running w/sword drawn). I really like the last officer as he has a determined look about him as he leans forward! Three standard bearers (standing, advancing, and running). The standing figure has the flag staff cast on while the other two have separate poles. Two of the three are in blanket rolls. Three drummers (standing playing drum, advancing, and running holding kepi on). Of course, I am drawn to the running drummer holding his kepi on. Very nicely done figure! Of the remaining 20 infantry poses, seven of them have eight head variants, something which I greatly like in figures! Two of them have separate arms w/musket cast on the separate arm. Usually, I don't like separate arms because I have absolutely no skill/inclination to glue arms on, however, all three of these figures are marching and one could adjust the separate arm to provide slight variations in pose and I really like the marching figures for the ACW period! One figure has a "pegged" separate pack which should fit in the hole in the back well and much difficulty. There are four different loading figures; two firing, three standing, three advancing, and one charging. All little gems, no doubt! In addition, there are two prone figures; one on his back loading and the other on his stomach reaching into his cap box - would make great skirrnish line figures! Lastly, what I always like in wargarnes figures - three casualty figures - one falling backwards; one dead on his back; and the third attempting to rise from the ground. The reason I like these figures is they are great to denote unit morale instead of using other markers which stand out like a sore thumb in a wargarne. The falling wounded, to me, denotes a unit which requires a morale check; the prone wounded has failed their morale check; while the prone dead figure denotes a rout. All very tempting to paint up indeed! Highly recommended. Check their ad in this issue for a special deal which allows you to purchase the whole set of figures. Lastly are new releases from their Prussian Landwehr Napoleonic infantry line. One mounted officer on standing horse; four foot officers including several great ones, one of which is encouraging his troops by waving his cap over his head (does that really work?) And a second holding his sword in both hands in front of him. Two drurnmers, two standard bearers, ne with separate staff; and ten infantry castings including one waving his cap (is he waving back to his officer?), three advancing (one w/o cap); one loading; one standing firing; two marching; and two standing. All except three have caps while the other three have shakos. There is a mixture of packs and blanket rolls. Excellent stuff! One of the first units I ever painted in 25rnm was a Minifigs Prussian Landwehr unit and I was very proud of them!

By Hal Thinglum - SCALE SPECIALTIES SHIP NAMES - SCALE SPECIALTIES, PO Box 117, Fullerton, CA92836-8117 (Phone/FAX 714-535-7486; sms@ss-SMS.com) is a new advertiser in MWAN and offers a full range of ships names for WWII, WWI, Battle of Trafalgar, and ACW. Submitted for mention within this column were French Navy destroyer and torpedo boat class names; ACW "selected" names for monitors, casemate ironclads, river monitors, ironclads, river ironclads, ironclad rams, rams, cottonclad rams/gunboats; tinclad gunboats; and "DAVID" types. They are separated by type and then class. They sent lots of pages for WWII German, Japanese, Italian, Soviet, British, and US ships including Liberty Ships (Merchant Marine, US Army & Navy, and LendA ease Names for WWII period); I can't wait to show my friend Clem Clemens this list as he was in the Merchant Marines in WWII. There are seven pages alone for Merchant Marine ships and they are separated by shipyards where they were built. In addition, ship names for WWI and Battle of Trafalgar were submitted. I would think this service would be of great value to the naval Wargamer. Prices vary from about $2.75 to $13.95 (Liberty ship listings) with most being around three to five dollars. They also offer card organizers which allow the gamer to organize his collection.

By Hal Thinglum - 25MM GUERNSEY FOUNDRY BELEASES - Guernsey Foundry Ltd., Huberts Lane, Off Doyle Rd., St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, GB, has released 25mm figures to add to their Russian Cossacks consisting of nine more foot (including one casualty) and matching (8) mounted figures. Fantastic figures! RC9 Father Krasnoruki - "Mad Heiromonk" is the best! Standing w/staff in right hand and cross extended upwards in left with two pistols in his belt. Huge beardAong hair and dressed in long robe. Amazing detail. His mounted version has him with cross tucked into his belt and holding a pistol in his right hand! I can't recommend these figures too highly, believe me! There are five different Cossack ponies including a dead casting. One foot figure is advancing leading forward w/pistol; another holds a musket in his left hand a tankard over his head in his right; another is parrying w/ his sword arm and holding a pistol upwards in his left; ah. great stuff! Also received were Russian SYW musketeers and grenadiers in campaign order wearing waistcoats w/o coats. The Musketeers do not have their swords. I love these figures and have ordered four regiments of line and one of grenadiers to add to my SYW collection. Should be quick and easy to paint up as they are in campaign order. I believe there are six or so variants of the attack march position for both musketeers and grenadiers, a standard bearer, drummer, officer, mounted and foot Colonel, and casualty. Outstanding line! I'm anxious to see the artillery for the SYW line! The Cossacks are ideal for some individually mounted skirmish gaming, but mine will see action as Russian light infantry in 24-figure units mounted three to a stand. Oh, my goodness, what a line! Now the Plains Indians releases: Five Cheyenne Dog soldiers on foot, all with names and five of the same post but mounted. Also five Young Braves on foot and also mounted as well as five horses, each with two variants. Geez! Excellently poses figures with detail/animiation! Shields and some bows/arrow pouches are separately cast. I've never had an interest in the Plains Indians period, but these surely got my attention! Horses are very well done! My favorite foot figure is "Goes Walking" from the Young Braves group. He is charging whence extended and separate shield. His mounted counterpart has his lance at his right side upright. I'm looking forward to seeing the Cheyenne figures. The Plains Indians (20 Indians/10 horses) is available from the US for $42.50; see their four page ad in this issue for details. What more could you ask for if you do skirmish gaming - the same figure depicted on foot as well on horseback! Highly recommended! I wonder if they will do US cavalry?

By Hal Thinglum - THE OLD NORTH STATE FIGURE COMPANY 10MM ACW LINE. This is a new company (104 Omni Court, Stephens City, VA 22655, attention: Joe Burgess) whose 10mm ACW line has been sculpted by our own Jim Brokaw. They submitted about 30 infantry poses in a variety of positions; marching, advancing, loading, firing, charging: all of them enlisted man poses. I find the detail to be outstanding for this scale, or any scale actually! The figures come in single packs ($5 for 24 foot/12 cavalry/15 artillery crew w/four carriages and 8 tubes), double packs ($9 and you double everything from the single pack); Quad packs ($ 16.75 with everything X4); and Army packs ($48.50 consisting of three infantry quad packs; one artillery pack, and three mounted command figures). Each foot pack has one style figure (i.e., advancing) in two poses; cavalry packs has one style figure in three poses w/each horse having different leg positions; and artillery has two different type tubes per gun. There are many different poses and I am told that 10mm paints up very quickly! Let me see: for the ACW period, I have painted around 5600 15mm figures and sold them; around 2500 25mm which I also sold; am currently working on another 15mm ACW army with a projected 3,000 figures; am strongly considering a 20mm ACW project; was strongly moved by the 25mm Wargames Foundry ACW figures in this issue; and these fine 10mm ACW figures are tempting! Am I foolish or have I lost it entirely?!!! I always remember what my friend Orv Banasik said about his collecting. If he had to do it all over again, he would do 10mm scale as you can do so much more with this scale and I can see why! Highly recommended and congratulations to Jim on a fine job putting this line together!

By Hal Thinglum - PRAIRIE PRODUCTS 20MM AWI COLOR FLAGS - Orv Banasik, 3165 26th Ave., Manon, Iowa 52302, sent me six sheets of 20mm AWI flags. All have 12 flags per sheet; I don't know pnce, however, they are inexpensive for such quaility. I use Orv's flags for my 25mm SYW, 15mm ACW, and 25mm British Colonial periods, and have used them for my 25mm ACW collection so it is difficult to recommend them higher than that. Excellent quality as to colors and detail and I prefer the non-adhesive flags, as these are, where you cut out the flag; fold it over the staff as you want it; apply white glue to one side of the flag; and glue it in place before folding it so it looks as though it is waving. Easily done, even for someone like me! Good stuff!

By Hal Thinglum - AURIGAR: THE CHARIOT RACING GAME - Ken VanPelt, 1205 Allendale Drive, Greenwood, MO 64034, of the Lion's Den Wargaming Club (816-537-7883) sent me a copy of these rules and reported I could print them in this issue of MWAN, which I did, and you can order your own set for $4.95 in card stock. Simply and clearly written, they would appear to provide an interesting chariot racing game. I remember years ago, someone here in the Chicagoland area put such a game together and it was visually very appealling. Ken reports he will be doing his game at Twistercon March 21-23, 1997 and since I will be the Guest of Honor, I will have a chance to see it operating! Look forward to seeing you then, Ken and thanks for allowing MWAN to print your rules!

By Hal Thinglum - A&A HUGHES PAINTING SERVICE: - Alan Hughes, 2 Princess Rd., Seaham, Co Durham, SR7 7SP, UK (011-44-191-5812781 from states; 191-581-2781 in UK) recently sent me my first 15mm Essex ECW painted unit for my upcoming ECW project and to say I am pleased with the result is an understatement! 15mm figures, which I sent to him, are .80 pence per foot; 1.50 per mounted; while artillery is counted as a figure. This is a Royalist Greencoat foot regiment with a combination of gray hats and steel pots. Painting detail is great with facings and every single detail painted, including shirt collar, to a high standard. In addition, Alan does not charge extra for painting flags; Essex casts their flags on their figures and I was dreading this as I don't like cast on flags because of the painting. Alan did a great job painting the flag as well! 25mm prices are 2.50 pounds/foot and 3.50/mounted. Highly recommended! Thanks, Alan!

By Hal Thinglum - OLD GLORY 25mm SYW LINE: Needing more SYW 25mm limbers for my SYW project, I picked up several bags of OLD GLORY's one-horse Limber packs. You get six each of limbers, limber horses, and horse riders for $21.00, a real bargain. I had been paying around $8.00 for just a limber from Front Rank, and although they were excellent limbers, I didn't want to pay that much as I needed ten of them. There are three different poses of limber riders. One horse pose, but a good one with a minimum of strapping thus ensuring a quick paint job, which I like! The limbers come cast in one piece with the two wheels separate. The only thing I didn't like was that I had to redrill the holes the wheels as they were too small and I ended up ruining one of them. I should be a little more patient when I do this type of work as it could have been avoided, I am sure. A real value! Also I picked up bags of Austrian (SYWA19) and Prussian (SYWP16) 12 pars & howitzers as well as Austrian (SYWA15) and Prussian (SYWP14) artillery crews. Outstanding guns and figures. You get six guns and 30 crew to a pack. There are ten (10!) different crew poses in each pack and some very nice ones - allows you to really have different looking crew members within a battery. Again, I had to drill larger holes in the wheels so they would fit on the guns. Once this was done, super glue worked fine to attach the wheels to the carriage. I really like these artillery crewmen; lots of character. There's a Prussian crew member with mallet and barrel; he has a bandaged head; and great looking artillery officers. I also did a silly thing - I picked up single bags of Prussian Musketeers (SYWP2), Fusiliers (SYWP6), and Grenadiers (SYWP4) because Russ of OLD GLORY had sent me some samples of the three bags and I thought I'd pick up the rest of the figures needed to make up regiments of each! Thanks a lot, Russ! Again, outstanding figures; all in march attack pose; my favorite for the SYW! As far as I can tell, there are about three or so different poses, perhaps more, in each bag, with small differences as to position. What this allows for is to have a regiment of 37 figures in "march attack" position and have it look like a real unit where some of the soldiers are slightly out of position with the others. I really enjoy that look! Lots of detail on the figures and they should look great painted up! Because of the detail, they should take my style of painting very well - I prime the figure white, then water down the color on my brush so that the paint flows into the uniform folds and you get almost an instant wash with a minimum of time!