Robert Trimble of Hollywood. CA:

You probably will not enjoy reading most of this letter, since it is the product of something over a year's periodic stewing inspired by MWAN's numerous flaws. I have copied appropriate pages from the current issue to illustrate these with the hope that, once they are laid out in front of you something will be done to correct them, since, regardless of how irritating they are, I obviously am buying the mag on a regular basis now that it is being carried by Brookhurst Hobbies.

The overall impression is one of amateurishness, which is not the same thing as "amateur." Although I wrote for publication for ten years and was paid for it, I never considered myself anything but an amateur since it was not my livelihood (considering the shaky ethics of the people I was writing for it's really fortunate that I wasn't a staffer), so I'm hardly one to criticize either amateur writers or the amateur press, but "amateurish" is another matter.

Specifically, you waste page space on unnecessarily wide margins and superfluous vacant lines between paragraphs. Your format is inconsistent, with some paragraphs indented while others are not; sometimes a space is left between a period and the initial letter of the next sentence, sometimes two, and not infrequently there is gap whatsoever. Type size, face and even density vary from article to article. Typos are painfully common, and although some can be deciphered by exercising a bit of common sense others do not appear to be based upon any terrestrial language I've ever heard of.

Edge margins are inconsistent and columns frequently unjustified, while at other times the words are either spaced out ridiculously to fit a set width or jammed so tightly together as to br virtually unreadable. The letter column is pretty much a disaster area; I seriously doubt that everyone who does write jams everything into a single paragraph, and why do you head each one with "So-and-so of Such-and-such?" I have never seen an address written this way.

I also question the wisdom of providing a complete address for each correspondent unless permission to do so is expressly given. "Model Railroader" used to do this and, as I recall, a number of people complained quite volubly, pointing out that this fingered them for thieves who thus knew where to look for eminently saleable brass models and other items which could be turned over for a fast buck. I can certainly understand why you might think it's a pretty neat idea, since this way gamers with similar interests can contact each other directly, but I'd ask first in future or include it in an editorial note somewhere.

Getting back to-what irritates me, standardize upon either a single column of type or two; don't dither. I've already mentioned proofreading but I will do so again: you're the editor; if you expect people to pop for seven bucks you have to give them something which can be read without resorting to the Enigma machine. It's also your job to make sure that what goes onto the page makes sense after a fashion and reflects some form of linear thought.

Unfortunately a great deal of what I try to wade through reads as though it were the handiwork of a roomful of monkeys armed with supercharged IBM Selectrics.. While it might be too much to expect you to rewrite everything which is submitted you must be checking what comes in whatever form, and if it's on a disc corrections should be fairly easy to insert.

I am, incidentally, green with envy; I do have a computer, but it's an ancient 286, scattered about the apartment in pieces and lacking some vital internal components. Set out requirements in your instructions to contributors and let them do the formatting, including reducing the wasted space at the bottom of the page. Although equal top and bottom margins are pretty much the industry standard, you could cut the bottom back to an inch, freeing up 5/8ths of an inch for editorial copy; this slight asymmetry would actually not look bad.

To summarize: proofread, standardize upon column width and justify margins, eliminate vacant lines within paragraphs, indent initial sentences (two ems look good), and insert one em between punctuation and letters to improve readability. Perhaps I've overlooked something, but if so it should be fairly easy to pick up now that I've established parameters for what ticks me off. Now that that's out of the way I can get on to more pleasant matters.

(Well what do I know? Move the contents page to the front of the magazine; even the French are abandoning this practice, after all. When you run your reply to a letter, "--Ed." placed at the end is entirely adequate and standard practice to boot. And, perhaps actually finally, when you rewrite letters, in addition to leaving them as separate paragraphs correct spelling and grammatical errors, and eliminate anything which makes the writers look like idiots.

As I recall, you were jumped on several years ago when you ran something which was either outrageous or cretinous rather than change it, since you didn't want to change the spirit or some such thing. One of the former editors of the National model Railroad Association newsletter would run anything which came in stet, with the result that some members came across as semiliterate at best. As long as you don't alter letters to reflect your own opinions or moral position you're actually doing people a favor when you clean up their writing, since they come off looking better, and I shall go into this further once I'm out of the parenthetical interjection mode.)

Okay, to the stuff which gives you a wann feeling deep down inside. While MWAN can benefit from some (well, perhaps a lot of) work it's the closest thing to Jack Scruby's "War Gamer's Digest" that I've yet seen, and that includes the version Donald Featherstone produced when he set about helping to put the mag out, an unfortunate exercise which killed it off in short order.

Now, WGD was both amateur and amateurish, but it pretty much was the hobby publication industry when Jack started it so there was very little to pattern it after. Today, as a trip to any reasonably well- stocked hobby shop will demonstrate, the situation has altered so radically that people who've been in the hobby since it really began to pick up in the latter '50s and '60s have trouble coping with the information overload. I'm in a better position than some others since I was never really a wargamer, my interests revolving then, as they do now, more around uniforms and collectors' lead than the really small-scale stuff Happily I recognize the potential lines such as Wargames Foundry and Guernsey Foundry (and even Games Workshop, at least their quasi-historical line) have for vignettes and dioramas. I'm decidedly not alone in this, as the annual Southern California Area Historical (originally "Military") Miniatures Society shows demonstrate quite handily, good work being recognized and bought regardless of physical size. "I paint it, I don't push it," is one of my frequently repeated sayings (the other commonest one is, "That's what paint stripper is for;" I try to be as objective about my work as possible, but will say that, first, I'm neater than most, and, second, I do a pretty nice job of basing), since I'm rarely been impressed by the games I've looked in on.

Too many people who do push lead take themselves far too seriously, confusing a game with the actuality of warfare (which in truth is no fun whatsoever, although I happily didn't get any closer than the Philippines and so never had anyone trying to kill me); and the perfect intelligence players possess thanks to their Olympian position above the table turns me offcompletely.

Although I'm no gamer this doesn't mean that I haven't stockpiled a lot of lead, just that I have different objectives in mind. Taking advantage of a long-running sale I loaded up on, of all lines, Minifigs Ids, the then-new NRWS. Like Orv Banasik I find military flags of extraordinary interest, although I have no intention to sell what I've drawn so far. Instead I've given considerable thought to writing an ongoing series of articles, illustrated with the flags in painted form (a number of years back I'd been planning to do this for "The Zouave," but as final-scale line drawings which would have to be colored by hand; the project didn't get much beyond this since I realized I'd bitten off far more than I could chew, and the editor gracefully pulled the plug by saying that resolution was unacceptable--well, it was irresolution, really), and so far have completed line art for the entire French infantry component of Napoleon's Egyptian expeditionary force and all four of Pennsylvania's California Brigade regiments, down to designations.

Having learned a bit about the Canon color copiers I no longer regard multiple-step reductions with horror, and for the possible articles will work with color transparencies; considering the respective sizes of originals and working repros I may have to seriously consider investing in a medium-format camera to shoot the chromes, since 35mm is just too small to preserve fine details in legible form. I make no claims as to their artistic merit or hairsplitting accuracy--they're intended to be used for wargames, after all--but the designs are as accurate as my decidedly limited skills can make them and they will look the part, at least. Although the drawings are six inches on the hoist (a nice, big size to work with) and have to be reduced to 3/4" this can be done in only three steps, and by turning one of the controls off there's no major problem with the images breaking down into little blocks.

A word of advice, however, to anyone using a printed flag which he or she suspects has been made on a color copier: give the sheet an overspray with something along the line of Testor's Gloss or Dullcote. The fused toner will crack as the flag is bent around its staff, but an overspray will keep it from falling off or opening up. Additionally it will seal the surface of the paper and even out the rather gritty surface a copier produces. A second solution, applicable regardless of how the flag has been produced: rather than conventional white glue, which dries rigidly, use a flexible type such as Aleene's Tacky Glue. This remains rather rubbery and lives up to its name, since it's easy to form the flag into any sort of furl or billow one prefers, sparing you a lot of mess since the operation can be carried out at your leisure.

Third point: flags don't go into a nice S-shaped ripple when being blown about by the wind. I've spent a fair amount of time (although not enough film yet) observing and photographing flags at Civil War reenactments, and the shapes they assume momentarily are far more complex. Pick a breezy day and park near someplace flying a flag and you'll see what I'm talking about. Also, if command stands include two flags don't form them alike, since there appear to be eddies and even dead spots side by side and the effects can be radically different even a few feet away. (Hmm, pretty long paragraph there, isn't it?)

Mentioning reenactments brings me to a point which might be worth bringing up in the magazine: if you have the opportunity to attend a reenactment, do so (that's the general "you," incidentally). As long as the people involved are working within the blackpowder era it will be applicable, even if details will differ between, say, the Civil and Revolutionary Wars. The magazine "Living History," which I've seen in a Barnes & Noble or Borders, regularly runs a calendar of events which covers most of the country, and there are specialist newspapers for the Civil War buffs which go into even greater detail. No amount of reading, watching television or playing wargamesis going to give you as good a handle on what actually took place and how things were done as a day at a reenactment (well, "Gettysburg" is an exception, but even that benefits from some first-hand experience; also, specialist dealers show up and in most instances the general public can spend like drunken sailors on little goodies they may not have realized even existed); anyway, some sun and fresh air (ah! the smell of black powder smoke: splendid!! aren't likely to hurt anyone.

Books, magazines, postcards, uniform prints and suchlike are where I invest my hobby dollars, although these are jumbled together er so badly that I hesitate to apply the label "collection" to the lot. As a result, once I was introduced to the idea of painting wargaming lead (I was out on disability at the time: a rather nasty form of the Big C) I wasn't hurting for references.

After a rather cautious start (typical, I'm afraid) I found that I was capable of doing quite a tidy job (as I said earlier, I'm neater than most since I use & modified optivisor-- wonderful things, magnifiers--and take the time to clean foam groundcover off the figures' feet) and took a few modest steps towards doing the really fiddly stuff. When I get back to it I'm going to see how time effective shading faces on 15s can be, and I have some other things I want to try.

You discussed, I believe in the current editorial, basing or rebasing figures using white glue. While my experience has been with l 5s attached directly to chunks of magnetic strip (I was quite surprised to find that the field strength varied according to which side was facing down, the smooth one being much stronger; also that the poles seemed to swap around once the strip was cut into individual bases: weird!), and this might not be strong enough by itself for groups of 25s (epoxy a piece of 40 or 60 thou styrene sheet or steel shingle, a handy--and brutally heavy--item found in major hardware stores locally, thus I would assume in your part of the country as well, to stiffen the strip), I found that the thin bodied "superglues" such as Pacer's Zap work just fine, although you have to give the assembly a spritz of ZipKicker or similar accelerator to prevent fumes from the CA from frosting the paint (again, weird).

Since this stuff has very little longterm strength it's easy to pop the figures loose if you remount them for whatever reason; you just insert the tip of a small screwdriver or chisel blade such as is marketed by X-Acto among others under the edge of the cast base and lever the pieces off. Of course, the method I use for finishing the stands might make this a bit difficult, but all that's needed is a bit of carving to find the limits of the bases.

To elaborate (and avoid yet another run-on paragraph; mustn't be a hypocrite and criticize you for something I'm guilty of far too open): I follow the usual practice of painting from the head down and skin out, so a figure's footwear and base are the last major parts I paint (lordy, the fine details and touchup do take time, don't they?). I used Polly-S and other water-based paints so there was little delay, although I'm going to see how enamels work for the aforementioned fiddlies when I can get back at it; Earth is a nice, generic dry-dirt color and conveniently is almost the same shade as Woodland Scenics' earth-blend ground foam.

As I said, I take some care with a figure's feet and make certain to paint over any slops which go either way, with the result that there is a nice, crisp dividing line between what's supposed to be leather and what's dirt. In view of the rapidity with which acrylics and similar paints dry. I can spot the figures (I use Nap's Battles/JR basing practices, so infantry is four to a stand, which I cut an inch square) on their pieces of strip as soon as I'm satisfied that I haven't missed anything... and I think a digression regarding how I paint lead may be in order at this point, but I'll get back to the primary subject afterwards.

I've read about and seen a lot of different ways to hold figures while painting them, but to be arrogant I think I've come up with the best one. If you visit a major crafts store--locally we have the Michaelschain to tap, but there are certainly others to be foumd in different parts of the coumtry--you'll find a section devoted to various kinds of woodworking (not the Tim Allen variety, I just couldn't think of a better term to use): bags of tongue depressors (which make splendid paint stirrers), carved letters, shapes and kiss, and so forth.

Assuming we're not unique, there will also be bags of lather-turned wooden clothespins, with round heads and long split tails. These are used, frequently by elementary school classes, to make dolls, and one company even sells supplementary ring stands so the little buggers won't simply topple over as soon as they've been set down. I found that the pins were just the right diameter to be held comfortably for extended periods and that by sealing the grain with polyurethane va nish (I haven't tried the spray variety yet, instead thinning the varnish and pouring it into some sort of container - an old film processing tank worked very well, and whatever was left over could be returned, with a bit of care, to the can without causing much of a mess--then just standing the pins on their heads, maintaining the level at about half their length).

I could spot-glue the 15s with CA, leaving about half of the cast base extending beyond the edge of the flattened top. When I'm finished I just pop the figures free with a bit of pressure from my thumbnail, scrape off whatever residue remains, and they're ready to base. I try to keep the numbers down to some comfortable total--you know how boring it can be to tackle too many figures at once; a JR regiment seems about right--and hang the pinned figures on the edge of a xerographic paper box (the slot in the tail is about 1/8" which is the thickness of the lids I've come to know and love after 20-plus years in reproduction).

Then I'll pick one which is distinctive, either a mounted officer or one of foot, and start with that, applying, say, flesh to all of the appropriate areas, but not being too careful about cuffs and collars; I want to make sure that the exposed areas are thoroughly covered. When the officer's face and hands have been appropriately slopped over I move that pin to the end of the line (left, since I'm right-handed and pick up the next one, working my way through the entire row of 20 or so.

The next area to be painted is generally the coat, then I do the pants, and so on. As I move from one color or area to another I try to keep the outer edges neat, but don't worry if I paint over belts and accouterments; these will be picked up later. By starting with the same individual figure on each pass I don't overlook any, any by concentrating on a single color or area I'm; not likely to find I've glued a figure down in a cluster which has something I forgot and will j now have trouble getting at without smearing ::, paint oil the other pieces. I use Blair's spray ' matte finish since I like the eggshell sheen it creates, dead matte colors looking just that, dead. The slight surface sheen also pops out sculpted relief, so there's a greater feeling of depth to the finished paint job.

With that out of the way, I glue the infantry figures two wide by two deep, then build up to the level of the cast bases with acrylic modeling paste, a rather neat item you can find in most art supply stores. It's some sort of powdered rnaterial--Grurnbacher says it uses marble dust--in an acrylic medium, and like the paints it can be thinned and cleaned up with tap water. Working it around the bases can be a bit tricky, since you don't have a lot of room to play with, but there are a number of things which can be used as applicators, including cheapo flat toothpicks.

Eve picked up a slug of dental tools at various shows, and mail order companies such as Micro-Mark and Squadron carry sets, although they're on the pricey side. Still, how many are you going to need? There's a lot to be said for the convenience of buying from a large company too, so this might be the path of least resistance. However the job's done, it is essential that the paste be kept off the feet, which is where the magnifier once again pays its way; there's no particular secret to cleaning the figures, a wet paint brush (a #0 would be large enough to mop the stuff up while still narrow enough to get in between the figures' feet, but whatever size is used, it's got to be kept clean; otherwise the paste will harden and all you'll have is an expensive paint stirrer) being used.

The same one could be used to paint over the hardened modeling paste with the same earth-tone shade as went onto the bases. A point: since the paste dries from the surface in it tends to develop a lot of cracks, but however bad this might look it's nothing to worry about. I have a tendency to have at the bases before they're altogether dry, but that's a character flaw I have to put up with, not a universal practice, and if the process is far enough along it doesn't seem to do any particular damage. The idea is to cover the paste and at least the edges of the bases with a complete coat of paint, no white areas showing. Once this has dried (more or less) I give the entire base a coat of acrylic matte medium, then pour earth-blend foam over it (time for another aside, which again will put an end to an overly long paragraph).

It probably comes as no particular surprise that I dislike handling freshly-painted figures; smears, ye' know. Once they've been popped off their pins and tacked to a stand with CA they're a bit easier to maneuver, but not much, and then there's the problem of how to hold them when painting and foaming the base. I've again resorted to clothespins, this time cutting a piece of steel shingle (thin enough to be scored and broken using a regular modeling knife, although this is murder on the blade tip, and benefitting from a lick with sandpaper to remove any potentially dangerous burrs) one of two inches square, depending upon what it's to be used for.

I must admit to being, apparently, the world's most inept mixer of epoxy, however, since I've watched while these pieces of sheet steel have simply fallen off, so it might be advisable to make up some sort of little assembly jig and reinforce the epoxy with a flat-headed tack of some sort, driven as close to the pin centerline as possible. I haven't tried this myself yet, but it seems logical. The magnet will, of course, stick to the metal like grim death (or at least long enough for foaming to be carried out), which is good since I pour a bit of foam into an easily handled small container (a plastic film cannister should do the job, since there isn't much foam being used at any particular time), and the whole shaky assembly over something else which will catch the unused foam, and sprinkle whatever it happens to be over the stand.

At this point you may be wondering how the foams' supposed to stick, not surprising since I forgot to go into this more than casually.

Jumping back to the top of the page, I mentioned painting the base with acrylic medium. One of the habituees of a hobby shop I used to hand out at used white glue for this, but since I don't like the sharp edges this stuff tends to develop as it dries I'm going to try a mixture of Tacky and medium, which should make use of their best features. By itself matte medium lacks the grabbing power to keep foam from rubbing off the edges of the base, but by combining it with Tacky I should have something which will hold like grim death while remairiing flexible. I did find that the glue had to be added slowly and mixed into the medium thoroughly; otherwise it would simply clump together into a rubbery lump, although the medium remained unaffected.

Anyway, once the bare base has been given a nice even coat of whatever adhesive you elect to use, first the earth-tone foam is poured across and over it (this is where the clothespin comes in handy, since you can turn it to any angle without fear of the figures coming adrift thanks to the magnet). The figures are examined carefully and any foam which stuck to the feet is cleaned off with a wet paintbrush. Give the first layer a chance to dry (again, I tend to hack away while this is still wet; I really must learn patience), brush on another coat of adhesive, and follow suit with grass blend, again cleaning anything off the feet. Finally, when the whole mess has cured, flood it with diluted medium, cut by about 50 percent; let this dry and the foam is locked down permanently, but doesn't look it. One suggestion: examine the stand carefully for bubbles and break them up with a brush.

I neglected to do this once and the medium dried with noticeable rings, left by the bubbles as they burst. By working over the areas where these have formed their outlines can be eliminated completely. And don't try to make the coating of "grass" too even; if the "earth" shows through thin spots it looks far more natural. After all, battles are rarely fought across manicured lawns. I'd also recommend leaving battlefield debris, rocks, and casualties off the movement stands. Such items rarely move about, but if you see them on the same stands every place the unit goes they'll stand out like neon signs.

A final thought (as if!) and I'll move on: match the surface to the area you're supposed to be fighting in. I've seen French units from Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign mounted on bases covered with bright green flocking when they should be standing on sand, to put across the impression that they're in a desert. I know, parts of Egypt have been under intensive cultivation for over five thousand years, but it's the effect which counts.

On to a totally different topic (at least temporarily), Steve Dake's query regarding flagstaffs and shaft weapons which don't bend is a definite non-issue. There's nothing particularly onerous about clipping l/32nd brass rod into appropriate lengths with flushcut nippers or rail cutters, and if one prefers steel there's always a Dremel Tool with a cut off wheel. Cleaning the cast staffs off can be a bit tricky if they cross heavily detailed areas, but I've done it without destroying anything, and if I can, anyone can, since my motor coordination has never been of brain surgeon caliber (oh, how much easier this would be on a computer!).

The finials can probably be made from paper--this is something I've thought about but haven't flogged away at yet, but I have some ideas as to how I'll go about it--even the ACW eagle being a possibility (not exactly origami, but paper sculpture of a sort), padded out with epoxy putty. As far as some manufacturer turning these out, how much extra would people be willing to pay to save themselves such minor effort? I'm afraid that he's simply going to have to do it himself. Wargames Foundry adopted a suggestion which I made, although it might have been coincidence; since they never acknowledged it the idea may have come from within the company, but it does show that my concepts are commercially viable.

Their new ACW color bearers have open hands, actually U-shaped, to accept pieces of heavy wire or rod, and I have hopes that Guernsey Foundry, now that they're branching out into our Civil War, will follow suit. I believe Jacobite Miniatures made their figures with open hands as well, although it's been a long time since I saw any of these and I may be mistaken. In any event, cutting the cast shafts away, regardless of what theire representing, opening the hands out, and epoxying wire or rod in is no particular strain.

I will agree that sharpening the points on a pike block will break looky-loos of the habit of grabbing without asking permission first, and it will make gamers a bit less casual when it comes to handling their own lead, so it's a practice which should be encouraged.

Good lord, I think I've covered everything I'd wanted to talk about; how odd, I'm usually good for several more pages when it's a first-time effort. Obviously I haven't copied those pages which illustrated my gripes, but I will list them since you logically have a copy of the mag (issue #86, to be specific): I (unnecessary blank lines between paragraphs, excessive lower margin; 49 (single column of type, no indents, unnecessary blank lines if the initial paragraph caps were indented); 57 (indented too far--two ems is entirely sufficient-- inconsistent spacing within paragraphs, again unnecessary blank lines between paragraphs; 89 (no space between headings and paragraphs, single column, inconsistent type face, unnecessary-and incorrect--single apostrophes used for quotation marks); 109 (inconsistent type face, single column, indents, vertical spacing: there should be blank lines separating the paragraphs in rule sets, otherwise they're too difficult to read properly); 134 (type too small, indents too deep); 137 (two radically different type faces unlike anything else in the mag; two columns rather than one as in previous articles--which do you want?); 154 (From ... of and Editor's Note: --Ed. at the end of your reply is entirely adequate and in keeping with standard practices; just look through most professional magazines and you'll see this is the form most frequently used); 174 (virtually all of the above gripes, plus a parenthetical aside in column two which isn't closed in that paragraph but apparently begins the next one, capped to boot). There, I've vented my spleen with specifics presented to show why and have rambled on virtually uncontrollably, which is pretty much par for the course.

I hope you'll not be too ticked off by this point, since I've not been dinging at you simply for my own enjoyment. Essentially I'm very much a Type B, but it irritates me to see someone falling short of what he could be doing with a magazine.

To repeat, there's no shame in being an amateur, but there is in being amateurish, so figure out how you want the mag to look, establish standards for contributors, and put out another 80 (or more). If, between the complaints, you can find anything which you feel might be of some interest to your other readers, feel free to use it (as long as you don't cram it into a single paragraph! ).

Giving what's gone before a quick once over I see that I did not mention Arms and Equipment of the Civil War, a paperback version of Time-Life Books' magnificent Echoes of Glory trilogy. I've seen this set in Borders Books and Music, and it might be carried by other chairs. While this isn't on the quality coated stock TLB uses, which means that details aren't as sharp or colors as crisp, it's not pulp junk, so the ink doesn't spread as though on a blotter, and at $19.95 for the trio (in a rather cheesy cardstock slipcase which is going to break, count on it) it's probably the best bargain an ACW buff is likely to come across, period. In fact, the original printing is available in the same stores, Bach volume being tagged at $40! I picked mine up as review copies for around $25 apiece, but I've never felt that I spent too much; still, it would have been nice to see the set marked down to $25 total first, as happened, but such is life.

Well, Godfrey Daniels, I forget something, a bit of philosophizing! Steve Dake refers to the positively unbelievable painting standards which have been reached. Perhaps by wargaming criteria, but not by any others which are being applied to military miniatures; I know, since every month I see work by some of the best people currently active in the hobby worldwide. There are military modeling clubs in virtually every part of the country at present (although the hobby's popularity, like that of every other, tends to ebb and flow), and several host annual shows which are right up there with and the World Expo.

HMGS is, by comparison, very small potatoes indeed, but this is not a law of nature. There is really only one way to improve and that's by going to see what others are doing; there's no better way to do this than by keeping an eye on the show schedules published in "Fine Scale Modeller" and seeing what's been dropped off et local hobby shops which cater to this may's target audience. The International Plastic Modellers Society has scion branches all over and these too hold regular (generally monthly) meetings, and while they also are often ignorant of the dedicated groups' standards they frequently include some pretty darned good people in their ranks.

Don't read wargaming mags alone; there's a lot of great stuff on painting techniques--different from what are used on wargaming lead, which, since the desired results differ radically, is no surprise, but elements can be adopted (and adapted)--and uniforms. "Military Modeling" ran a series by Dino Lemonifides on British flags years ago which was pure gold; his Almark books surface at model soldier shows every once in a while, another reason (my primary one, really) to go to them whenever possible, since dealers from out of the area bring in all sorts of goodies. If any are within a reasonable drive (by my standards, up to four hours, but then I'm a raving loon!) visit doll house miniature stores: lots on architecture, including some (often pricey) plans which can be scaled down and tweaked to meet wargaming needs.

Remember, it's the vertical proportions which matter, not horizontal, so you can fiddle with a building's footprint quite happily as long as the doors and windows look right when figures are placed by them.

For tools there's probably no better place to hit than a good model railroading shop. We in LA are lucky in having The Original Whistle Stop within easy reach, over in Pasadena, but this hobby is so popular (just check the store directory in the back of "Model Railroader" to see what I mean) that good ones are easy to find. This is also the place to go for scenicking materials (Woodland Scenics and AMSI are top of the line, and a browse through the annual Walthers catalogue will give you enough to work on for years) and, even better, books on how to use the stuff. Dave Frary s revised his Kalmbach Books title and I doubt if there's anything better in print. l Shep Paine's book on dioramas is into its umpteenth printing and contains about as good a minicourse in painting figures as you'll see; again, it's aimed at larger scales but can be adapted to small-scale lead.

Actually, there probably aren't two hobbies which would benefit as greatly from crossover as model railroading and wargaming. Model rails know how to dress lay outs so realistically that in an increasing number of instances it's difficult to tell from photos whether the scene is real or miniature, and there's a lot which can be plugged into basing and, a step or two up, into formal dioramas. In turn many layouts are so underpopulated that much of the sense of reality vanishes, the cause being model railroaders' lack of confidence when painting figures.

Since any wargamer is going to need large numbers of troops which have to be painted to meet certain standards, and these are being raised all of the time, the techniques required to turn out bunches of lead can be applied without the least bit of alteration. Considering how numerous model railroading clubs are, it should be easy for wargamers to hook up with them and swap knowledge back and forth. This way everyone benefits, standards are bumped up, and both groups are exposed to; different ways of thinking about and doing i things. You might even find recruits in both, camps.

Rather than go on even further (there is a limit to how much chatter the human mind can stand, after all) I'll just say that a dip into form of scale modeling will prove profitable. There's an enormous amount of information out there (and I mustn't forget the Web) which can be put to use to everyone's advantage. We're all frogs in little ponds, but there's no danger in hopping onto the bank and taking a look into other ponds,'since there are no storks, just a bunch of other frogs looking back. And on that profound note I nail the lid down on this Letter Which Will Not Die.

Quick, get a mallet and stake: it's still twitching! Nick Nascati and others of his persuasion should find this of interest: Squadron Mail Order is regularly discounting Revell and ESCI 1/72nds starting at $1.98. Considenng what the Revell TYW figures look like this isn't a bad deal at all.

(Editor's Note: My gosh, Trimble, did you feel better after you wrote this letter? I certainly hope so! Actually, a clever editor can do a lot with a letter such as yours. I see the options as follows:

A) Suggest that you perform an anatomically challenging physical act;

B) Rip you and your letter to pieces, both in print and physically;

C) Humor you and your suggestions by gratuitously thanking you for making such truly astute observations;

D) Treat it as the absolute truth and set oJon a mission to correct every short coming you identified;

E) Suggest that you consider switching to another publication which more completely meets your standards of publication;

F) Expound upon how my sensitive feelings have been irrevocably damaged, and how you are indeed a "lout " for having done so for,

G) Relate what I have to go through to publish AdWAN and how ungrateful you are for not appreciating it.

Well, which approach shall I take? I can't say, Mr. Trimble, that I enjoyed reading your letter. A better description would be that I marveled at how something as inconsequential as MWAN is in the whole scheme of things can arouse such emotion in someone.

Your description of MWAN as"amateurishness" is one which I would wholeheartedly agree; I have no desire to be anything else.

I did, as you will note in this column, take your advice regarding utilizing paragraphs in the letters column. This should make it easier to read. I really don't have an interest in taking the required time to make the other changes which you've suggested The reason(s) I chose not to is that I have learned several things while publishing MWAN and have religiously adhered to them.

1) Know my strengths and weaknesses: My strength is that I am basically compulsive and can make myse j sit down and pound out MWAN every two months. Ady weakness is that I don't really care that much as to "how" MWAN looks visually; I just want to provide as much information as is possible within its pages. I would add, however, that I am very proud of what Rinck Heale, MWAN's printer has done visually with MWAN over the las; few years!

2) Never provide a standard which I can not live up to on a regular basis. This includes not publishing more pages that I can consistently pound out and not providing a "visual" standard which would require more time and energy that I can consistently carry out each issue.

3) Don't attempt to live up to other people's expectations of what MWAN should be. Since I am the one who takes the financial risk and does the majority of the work, if has to be what I want it to be; not what someone else thinks is appropriate. Otherwise, I am not going to be able to maintain my motivation to continue publishing MWAN.

I agree with you, Mr. Trimble, that $7.00 an issue is a fair amount of money and l sincerely believe that MWANers get their monies worth. by I didn't believe that, I wouldn't keep publishing 192 pages is an awful lot of information; I don't think anyone else provides more pages.

Where else would you find your eleven page letter to the editor, Robert? Other magazines couldn't justify spending that amount of space on a letter to the editor. I can do it because of MWAN's length.

Your remark concerning much of MWAN being "the handiwork of a room full of monkeys armed with supercharged IBM Selectrics " is one I have to agree with as well. I thank you for recognizing the fact that I have not, in any stretch of the imagination, had the good fortune to have a group of "rocket scientists " to work with over the last sixteen years! Do you have any idea what it is like to receive a column from Steve Dake or Howard Whitehouse for example and try to make sense of their ramblings.?)

From Sean Sweeney of Dublin, Ireland: I only started to subscribe after getting a handful of back issues on special offer from Caliver Books. It was one of my better decisions, MWAN has proved to be a greater source of inspiration than some of the UK glossiest What I most like is a by-product of the size of your magazine. 192 pages allows topic to be covered from different angles by different contributors and still leave plenty of space for other articles.

I look forward to seeing more from Steve Dake (MWAN 86) in future issues. Such columnists along with editorials and letters tend to produce more gems of wisdom and sow more seeds of inspiration than a book full of scenarios or battle reports.

As far as Steve's contention that suitable pikes are hard to come by, I cannot agree. I've 25mm ECW Scots Covenanter & Irish Confederate armies and am starting a TYW Spanish army. Initially I had problems with sourcing pikes. Then I started to use copper electrical wire. I am aware that the USA is a world apart when it comes to electrical systems, so what follows may make little sense.

I get hold of square solid strand cable of the type used here and in the UK for domestic lighting circuits. ( Ask for 1.5 PVC, PVC.) I strip off the two layers of insulation to reveal a solid copper wire of 1.5 sq mm cross-sectional area. That's about Imm diameter and fits nicely into the hands of my Redoubt Enterprises figures. Some drilling/cutting/filing helps. I cut the wire into 8cm lengths, then hammer the tip with a claw hammer against a vice. One or two blows produce a nice flattened tip which I then snip into a spearpoint with a pliers. The result is a strong pike that will not easily bend.

Over the past five weeks I've deployed my armies at my local club ( The Wild Geese without any pike bending or breaking off. In the past I admit to the occasional pike breaking off, but it is rare even for someone as clumsy as me. It is cheap too, the cable retails at 20 pence per metre ( about 30 cents). Its tedious but not hard work. I've produced about 250 pikes and 20 lances this way for clubmates this year so far. I tend to make them by the hundred, use what I need myself and offer the surplus to clubmates.

Flagpoles are a different kettle of fish. I can produce a variety of spearpoints, but nothing ornate. However I have successfully soldered one eagle onto a copper Flagstaff. The wire may be too big for true 25mm figures. I think they work well with Redoubt figures but have also used them with Wargames Foundry figures.

Jim Harsney ( MWAN 86 ) asks for a simple yet historical Pike ~ Shot ruleset. I swear by 'Forlorn Hope' ( available from Caliver Books) . It is in need of updating for the nineties, but for historical ganiing in ECW it is without equal. We are adapting it at present for the club's TYW games. It's potential for 16th century warfare is limited. DBR can't be beaten for speed, but I've had too many unhistorical results to use it on a regular basis.

The Pike & Shot Society ( Membership Secretary: Ian Wilson, 66, Westbury Road, Coudon, Coventry CV5 SKY, England. ) produce rulesets for their own members and the society journal Arquebusier ) is well worth the annual subscription.

Charles Lewis ( MWAN 86 ) bemoans the shortage of English language Funcken titles. Well, they've all been in Dublin bookshops, the Lace Wars are the only French-texts I have. Caliver books advertise Funckens in their catalogues as well as occasionally listing second-hand copies.

By the time you get this, I hope to have got my hands on Redoubt's new Poles to see how well they'll adapt to TYW Croats. I can't believe anyone can find the time to paint 200 figures per month. I feel content to finish 20 a week. I'll have 20 of Guemsey's Old West figures painted by Sunday, ready to start on 185 Guernsey & Wargames Foundry figures for a Fenian raid on Canada 1866 game. Troops in uniform may be quicker to paint, but I'll be doing well to get all 185 ready this side of June.

I note your request for articles. Just as soon as I paint my Canadians, Fenians, Poles, Croats ... I may be able to provide some scenarios with an Irish flavour. Of course, Guernsey have promised they'll produce some Austrians and I've always wanted a SYW Austrian army. Too many figures in boxes, too few hours in the day, too little money in the bank.

By the way, Guernsey do plan US cavalry to go along with the Plains Indians. Start saving now.

One thought with regards to Glenn Bianchi's letter in MWAN 84 and his difficulty with sourcing clubs/opponents The vast majority of garners buy at least some figures/terrain/books via mail order. It follows therefore that such companies between them have a list of virtually all known gainers, even the most reclusive soloist. Maybe next time Glenn orders some figures he might try asking the company if they'd be interested in supplying his address to the customers in his area when next they'd put in an order. I know that it is asking a lot off the mail order company chosen, but the more happy interactive garners around, the more figures that they'll require in the future. It is a system open to some abuse: competitors may try to use it as a means of accessing each others client lists; companies may worry that they'll be held responsible if a lunatic lands at your door one dark and lonely night .... !

Clubs like the Pike & Shot Society already offer a similar service. Upon joining, you are asked if you object to your name & address being given out to other members. That's not much use to you if you're the only local member. By joining a society he's interested in, at-the very least Glenn would get a years supply of the society magazine. If he's lucky he'll end up with a couple of contacts who'd be willing to play games when he's in their area either on work or on vacation. If he's very lucky he'll find a contact within commuting distance. If he's truly blessed, as all my friends say, he'll find a good woman and stop playing with toy soldiers at his age!

Finally, here is one more vote for a future compendium of MWAN rules.

From Col. Richard Martin. Allen, TX: I was certainly glad to meet you at Twistercon V in Okahoma. I just finished a solo scenario which lasted about three and a half hours. The computer generated scenario portrayed a French attack on a Russian strongpoint located just outside a French occupied village. Forces consisted of 12 line infantry regiments, 4 grenadier infantry regiments, 2 skirmisher battalions, 4 cavalry regiments, and 3 artillery batteries (6. 8, and 12 pounders) on each side. (approximately 400 troops per side).As per the computer, the French moved out of the village to attack the Russian strongpoint.

Well placed Russian artillery repulsed the attack with heavy French casualties. In the other sectors (center and Russian right flank) the Russians did not fare so well even though their artillery was well deployed and caused severe casualties. The French did not deploy their artillery effectively until the latter part of the engagement. The big drawback in the Russian effort was the lack of cavalry. Per the computer, the Russian strategic reserves consisted of three Russian cavalry regiments which did not arrive during the battle. Thus the battle was a French victory because of a supremacy in cavalry.

Casualties were: Russian, 39 (9.75%); French, 34 (8.5%). A very close contest. Very enjoyable to watch the battle develop. The rules are very flexible, and can be altered to fit individual desires. Very adaptable to SYW and other periods of contest with appropriate modification..

If ever the twain should meet, maybe at a convention, I would be happy to set you up with the program so that you could, if you so desire, enjoy many an hour of solo gaming. The program can easily be installed on a 3 'hi: or 5 1/4 disk and would not take any hard disk memory.

Solo gaming is becoming the norm with me because of the difficulty in scheduling games with people having diverse preferred gaming periods and outside commitments that deity scheduling. I usually game 2 to 3 times per month.

Through your enthusiasm as expressed in MWAN, I have been able to maintain an interest in the hobby which I might have otherwise neglected.

(Editor 's Note: Enjoyed meeting you as well, Richard; thanks for showing me your computer program for solo wargaming! I can see whyyou enjoy it as you do! I trust that you and your family enjoyed the drive from Texas up to Oklahoma./)

From Bruce A, Meyer. c/o New York. NY.: The gaming scene in Hong Kong is a little slow right now. Everyone is holding their collective breath with regard to the takeover by the ma eland on July 1". We have lost some club members due to several handover factors; the British military is leaving, many Civil Servants are hightailing it, and some of the international companies are sending people home.

My latest project is a true international effort. I travel down to Australia often and frequently play with club down there that is deeply into 25mm Marlburians. Clinton Reilly in Oz. has a computer moderated set of rules that does a good job of reflecting the combination of morale, training and the debilitation of a stand up firelight.. 15Trun Napoleonics are my nonn but as the eyes get weaker 25's look more impressive on the table. The Guemsey Foundry guys convinced me to paint their Cossacks and I found painting 25's not all that difficult.. Then I ran into Robert Haggerty Tom Imperialist Enterprises in the Midwest and his new line of Marlburian French, real pretty. They mix well with Old Glory and Foundly for variety and I always wanted an excuse to buy some Hinchcliffe artillery.

So, I've just about finished opposing French and Dutch armies. What has really been fun about this is that many of the units, especially the Gennans, are precursors of my Napoleonic troops. Chosen carefully both armies can mix in colorfill allies. I actually originally toyed with building cheese annies, you know, the regiments for Brie, Muenster, Edam, etc. but even my wife thought that was too much.

From Brent Oman Highlands Ranch, CO: I had a chance to get to the SYWA convention in Southbend earlier this month. Nice convention and really great people. The highlights for me were Dr. Duffy's presentations on the effectiveness of Croats on the battlefield and a talk covering the Battle of Maxen (so much for rigid linear deployments!)

I'm just in the final stages of finishing up my SYW Austrians just a couple of gun batteries and infantry battalions and I will move on to another period to paint up. It looks like Napoleonics trying to stick to my rule of twelve. I will try to hold the Austrians I'm working on to just 12 infantry battalions, 6 cavalry regiments, and 4 artillery batteries.

The Austrians will be used to engage Bob Jones' French (from the Old Glory limited edition range of 25mm Napoleonics from a few years ago). My figures will be Elite, supplemented by some of the new Old Glory range.

I'm going to simultaneously be working on 15mm WWII - starting with 1941/42 Russians and Germans. I'll most likely use Old Glory infantry and Quality Castings vehicles. Rules will be you guessed it- Piquet (Point of Attack - the WWII module). I'm planning on trying to do a nice job modeling this period - my pet peeve is WWII games that have little if any effort expended in making the game look nice. Also - I plan on using a fairly low ratio of tanks/infantry - I really don't enjoy seeing armor deployed hub to hub across a game table!

From Byron Champlin Concord. NH : I have begun my cycle of running games at conventions, which will wrap up at Historicon in July. As usual, I have created a scenario which I will fine tune throughout the season. It's so much easier and more efficient than trying to create a new one for each of the three conventions I attend. Plus, by the time I reach the "high pressure" of Historicon, the scenario is usually running smoothly.

Tricon, the eighteenth century convention we launched last November 5th was a great success. We had about 100 attendees and a terrific range of games and lectures. Folks went out of their way to tell us what a great time they had, and that was very gratifying. Tricon is on again this year for October 25 and 26 in Concord, Mass.

One of the interesting wrinkles we tried was to devote the Sunday of Tricon to a battlefield tour of the 1775 Lexington-Concord fight along Battle Road. We had about 40 participants, and Mark Nichipor, a re-enactor, wargamer, park ranger and good friend, gave a riveting account of the fight to our group. Mark is planning another tour for this year's convention, possibly of the Bunker Hill battlefield.

Another interesting development at Tricon was that 5 percent of the attendees were historical re-enactors who had never attended a miniatures convention before. The ones I talked to were simply blown away by the Tricon experience. One told me after playing in a game that for the first time he understood the dynamics of regimental command during the period.

A gamemaster recounted how one re-enactor pointed to a British light infantry unit on the tabletop and gleefully said, "That's my regiment!" A lot is said about recruiting new gamers from the fantasy crowd, but, frankly, I think that historical re-enactors are a more logical fit. They are certainly driven by what brought me to the hobby -- a keen love of military history and its pageantry.

From Michael Park of Farnborough, UK: One of your UK readers may already have given you an up-date on "Salute" this year but, in case not, here is a copy of the free sheet. South London Warlords, as for so many years now did a superb job as well as putting on a really good Vietnam game. The overall standard of participation and demonstration games rises year on year. I should have helped out with the VMS "Battle of Puebla" but spent too much time pattering to old pals. Tom Penn was one of the team with the VMS and it was good to hear that his "Principles of War" rules are doing so well they deserve it.

My sons are heavily into sci-fi and fantasy (hopefully they will grow out of it) and were lured by the Star Wars Game (superb scratch building) and the "Bog-a-ten" Victorian fantasy expedition, straight out of the Bmovies with teams of explorers (very well painted Wargames Foundry figures) seeking to take and escape with the idols treasure across a lake protected by dinosaurs and all sorts of water monsters. The amount of fun being enjoyed by all was infectious even to old sceptics like me! The scratch built scenery was a star turn.

I note the comments in MWAN about the reviews of wargames Foundry ranges and I totally accept your point - they are some of the good guys and great to chat with on the 'phone, ready to listen to what garners think and want. The painting guides that come free with their Plains Indians are typical of the quality of service, the figures are of the very highest quality, well researched, anatomically correct, and with a good range of figures, and they cover an awful lot of periods, not just the most popular. I was reminiscing with another "old lag" at Salute over how few figures were available 25-30 years ago (and never mind the quality) and there we were in the Magic Toy Shop with almost every kind of goodie one could wish.

One final point on Games Workshop (no, I don't have shares), I would think they were the most popular stand at Salute, well staffed and stocked, superb display cases of painted figures from the ranges, etc. The ACW range winner. I won't attempt a review as I am sure you will have samples, but they are excellent.

On what else did I overspend? Some more Celts from Gripping Beast - no excuse, just superb figures. I was also very tempted to add to my collection of their early medieval buildings but resisted. Some 10mm ACW from Pendraken, who also make a very attractive train for the period. As you will remember, it is one of my hobby-horses that this was the first great railway war but it seems impossible to get rolling stock for the period in wargames scales. I have mixed feeling on the figures: the cavalry are good, artillery and marching infantry not at all bad, but the charging infantry have rather a lot of flash, which is a major problem in such a small scale.

The final lot of metal was a box of Roundway Miniatures 15mm Marlburians from Navwar for the Retirement Project" - BIG battles circa 1700 based on "Charge" - I was very interested in Brian Carroll's article in MWAN 86. However practical units of 12 or 16 figures don't "look" right and don't give the right "feel" for linear tactics. This was very well expressed by Bill Protz in his "Drums of War Along the Mohawk", rules which I really like. The Roundway figures are just what I want although I don't like the case on flags.

The final spend was with the Lance & Longbow Society for some publications including a set of rules for Wars of the Roses "Bills Bows and Bloodshed", based on WRG Renaissance I think and they have had me digging out my Citadel (now wargames Foundry) 25mrn figures for the period after having hidden them away for the best part of a decade.

This reversion to the late middle ages resulted from the previous weekend which I spent with The Battlefield Trust, a body dedicated to reserving battle sites in Britain. Amongst other things we featured on three battles, and visited the sites of: Roundaway Down and the Siege of Devizes; Mons Badonicus, supposedly the last of Arthur's Twelve Great Battles (this was one possible site and provoked a lot of quite heated debate); and Nibley Green, a fairly minor skirmish in WoR nothing whatever to do with who should be king, but two local landowners settling a dispute over land, complete with treachery and double dealing.

Anyone who doubted the benefit of actually visiting an actual battlefield would have lost their doubts on that weekend, with really knowledgeable speakers/guides. Certainly I shall look with very great caution on any set of rules that makes it too easy for troops, whether on foot or mounted, to charge downhill. The hill at Nibley Green is so steep that even in light clothes and with shoes designed for hiking, you walked down the slope with care. For a men-at-arms in full armour it must have been a tricky process. Altogether a most interesting and enjoyable weekend.

From Kenn Hart - Editor Lone Warrior. North Yorkshire, UK. Just a quick note to let you know I am still alive and kicking! Trust you are the same.

Good to see Rich Barbuto is now doing a column on Solo Wargaming in MWAN. On our solo front we are plodding along nicely and the Magweb scheme really appears to be working for all concerned and needless to say we support Russ in his efforts. We have just got to get the hang of the new technology involved and then we wili be able to send, all of Lone Warrior on email without having to bother either the Post Off'ce or the US Mail. When I first took over as Editor everthing was done by mail supported by a few telephone calls within the UK and now we communicate on more or less a daily basis across the pond. Amazing!

Been lured back into 25mm by the Village Green Bushi/Samurai which combined with the Road to Osaka rules from Two Dragon have given me an interest in solo skirmishing Japanese style. 25mm are sure much easier to paint (using my famous 2" paintbrush) than the 1 5mm guys that usually get attacked with it.

My local club, Wargamers Of Ripon (WOR) recently had a weekend game in which 17 members took part. Where my Japanese

Bushi/Samurai went buffalo hunting in the Wild West and encounter all sorts of groups of ethnic characters. I ran the game and we had a great time but I failed in my original objective of getting members interested in Samurai warfare and they have all gone Wild West mad and have been buying cowboys and Indians! Still all is not lost we have a weekend game lined up for April and maybe if I use more samurai (as an escort) it could promote interest. Having played the-Wild West game three times, it is amazing how all characters seem to be drawn to the saloon, where there is only one bar girl (and she will be sent out of town for a rest in the next game!). Players actually; start to play poker while waiting for their turns and always with bloody results.

To give you an idea of the confusion there are three characters, minimum, per player and these characters are in various groups each with their own objectives. Groups were: Japanese (6), Cowboys (6) with cattle herd, Townsfolk (6), Law Officers (3), Outlaws (6), Sioux (IO), Apache (3), US Cavalry (5), Miners (3), Railroad Survey Team (3) and Frontier men (6) (in canoes and on a barge). There was also the Buffalo Herd, "controlled" by the Umpire (me). By the end of the game the Buffs had stomped 2 US Cavalrymen, 4 Cowboys, 1 Townie, 3 Miners (twice) and a dog! Talk about a loose cannon. Idea was based on one by David Barnes in Lone Warrior, along with a few other ideas gleaned from there. Oh! The miners got stomped twice because when a character got killed then it was resurrected later in the game starting from a completely useless, for its scenario task, location. More fun for the Umpire.

Each group has three playing cards with their names on them; the pack is shuffled and a card dealt out. That group carries out whatever it is allowed under the rules used. This system does work and allowed my Cheyenne to count coup 13 times in one game; which was amazing because usually they get gunned down before they can escape the white eyes do not play fair!

Both cattle herd and buffalo will stampede directly away from any gunfire, a rule used to some good effect by certain characters, that is loosed within 12" of them. They then have a random direction dice thrown for them Oust a die with arrows painted on it, going different ways) until they roll a "Halt" in which case they mill around until something else happens. The came need tending by a minimum of 2 mounted cowboys or they will wander off in a random fashion. In our last game the fat cattle ended up looking like greyhounds after all the running they did. The bovines look good and add a "wild" dimension to the game. I will enclose some of the scenario cards I used.

Figures:

Cowboys, Cheyenne & White eyes - Guernsey Foundry

Longhorns, Stagecoach, US Cavalry & Cowboys - Dixon

Japanese & Buffalo - Village Green

Buildings & Terrain - Scratch built by club members.

Since the last game we have been recruiting and we saw some figures we liked, by Old Glory, but they sold them in packs. So we went else where because our 10 year old club members only needed 3 mounted and 3 foot figures, which is all they could afford. My idea is to get all the club involved by keeping the groups small, so the youngsters can afford them. We could have bought packs and divided them up but why do that when other firms sell individual figures. I wonder if any other club has had this problem. Most of the youngsters have only ever played Warharnmer 40K etc and have not had a go at "HistoricaVTraditional", call it what you will. So in order to introduce them to other types of tabletop games then one must make it both enjoyable and cheap, therefore exit packs and stick to separate figure purchases. Shame, because I really admired them.

Details enclosed and now must bash a few books.

From Curtis Murff Carol Stream, ID: I am working on some interesting projects for customers and myself a town of 20 modular European buildings in 15mm scale, with ruins and lip off roofs for WWII battles, a AWI/F&IW square modular wooden stockade fort with blockhouse and buildings, 36" on a side, WWI trench modules in 25-28mm scale, a large table comer hill with a road and artillery emplacement in 25mm, 15 and 25mm entrenchments, and the finishing touches on my much too large 25mm Fort Duquesne (F&IW).

The Fort Duquesne model is based on two 4' x 8' streets, and is complete with a surrounding stockade, glacis, and ditch, with river banks on two sides. The structure is a bastioned, four square fort walled in combination with two sides earthen filled timber and two sides made of "stockadoes." One of the bastions contains the powder room. There are eight buildings inside the fort and two more on the raveling, and a small settlement of four cabins outside the stockade walls. All have lift off roofs. The fort model follows historical and contemporary drawings.

There are also two more 4' x 8' terrain squares that are used as approaches to the fort. They are designed to be used set back from the fort panels for movement access. They have a referencing system along the edge to facilitate movement from these panels to the fort panels. One of these panels has a resin cast, river/stream approximately 5' long, with a small log dam near where it would "empty" into the Allegheny river.

That was done to allow me to build a stream with some depth and some submerged logs and rocks, instead of just a babbling brook. Both panels have steep hills along the outside edge with a rough road and a few paths descending between the cliffs and steep slopes. These were made are to represent the topography of the Western Pennsylvania as it was during the F&l period, and to be also used for other areas. In the future I plan to make two more of these large panels to mate with the current ones, to use for other games in forested, rough terrain. I guess I have been breathing too many paint fumes, huh?

I can explain the depth of my interest (obsession?) only through the fact that I grew up traveled around, and know well, the area where all this history occurred (Fort Duquesne, Fort Pitt, Bushy Run, Fort Necessity, Braddock's ambush, Fort Robedeau, the Ohio River Valley, Fort Ligonier, etc.).

From Bradley H. Thunnond Greentown. IN: I had an opportunity to attend Cold Wars a couple weeks ago. This was my first opportunity at a convention of this size and I am anxiously looking forward to going again!

While I was there, I attended a seminar put on by Bob Jones for the new Piquet supplement, Archon. Wow! Have you had a chance to play Piquet yet? Its quite a game. A number of people watched the demo game during the seminar and, at a couple points, actually broke into cheers during the battle! I've never seen a rule set that produces so much tension and anticipation in the players and spectators. The battle unfolded more like a good historical novel than a dry textbook battle report. Its well worth a look.

From Kevin Tucker Harlow. Essex. UK I had to write again after receiving the latest issues of the new improved MWAN. Normally I am prompted by 1 or 2 articles to dig out games or periods that I haven't been involved in for years but there have recently been.

Chris Engle and his recruiting articles. My local club (Harrow Wargames Group) are trying to get more club members and his ideas have sparked some thoughts. Especially when added to the Foundry questionnaire results in MWAN 80.

'When We Remember To Laugh' epitomizes what I want from a club and well done to Jerry for putting it into words.

Jim Getz 'Why do we have to have..' article has set me a challenge to produce a set of rules that match his criteria. When I get them done I'll send them in. We already use a variant of drawing cards for movement and fire but Gerard Quinn in MWAN 85 has added some nice extras.

Charles Sharp and 'Juggling Tanks' is a great way of confusing and stimulating the jaded wargamer. More shock is more fun.

I'm playing an ECW campaign, based in Scotland, with a friend and we are using modified 'Declare Thee Sir' for it. We've added some siege and logistics rules and when they've been tried and tested a copy will be heading to you.

David Barnes still inspires with his figure reviews. I was re-reading some 'Wargamers Newsletters' and his enthusiasm still shines through. Well done David.

And not to forget the 'Terror in the Black Hills' article. I tried this at my local club as a multi table game with Table top Games 'Pony Wars' rules and fun and confusion was had by all.

As a general comment I am really impressed with the new format but best of all the content is still of the same high standard of old. I still read your editorial first but no longer read the contents. It's more fun to read from start to finish and to be stimulated into new thoughts as I come across them in the text.

So as you can see you have almost monopolized my gaming over the last few months with ideas and rules. What more can you do in the future. I look forward to more of the same.

One last thing that I'd like to mention as you have such a wide readership. Is there anyone out there who has a contact address for Ed Konstant formerly of the Little Soldier in Wheaton, Maryland. He produced a game called Der Fubrer some years ago and I would like to contact him about it to see if it is still available as the copy I bought around l 5 years ago is getting worn out though use.

From Brian Carroll We're having fun with the Marlburians. We are running a simple campaign based on Todd Kirschner's "Bohemian Blitzkrieg" in the Age of Reason Supplement. So far we've had two battles one a tepid, cowardly affair, the other a raging bloodbath. Another battle is coming up with the Allies planning to storm a small French army which will be entrenched. The modified AOR seems to be holding up well.

One question about your games when you play them. How do you mount your Cavalry units. Do you make them 2 figure ranks deep? I make mine I figure rank deep. I do this because otherwise, the cavalry would be too powerful; 2 or 3 squadrons could attack a single infantry battalion (even if in line with other foot units) and over run it. Forcing the cavalry to fight one rank deep essentially rules out the possibility of defeating formed foot in line from the front; I believe that's generally accurate.

Do you have photographs of your based villages? I'd love to see them. I just got my hands on the Games Workshop book on making wargames terrain. Mind boggling the things they do with cardboard and speckle make me sick. If I could see your villages, I would have an idea how to make my own. I need to be able to remove the buildings because I do let the troops occupy the village it's limited only by how many can fit. The units are so large that often, barely one battalion can bring its muskets to bear in any one direction.

I'm looking forwnrrl try the next MWAN. I spoke with Charles Sharp about his merged Fire and Fury / Age of Reason rules. He swears by them - I hope they made it into the issue.

From Brian A. Datta Charlotte, NC: I wanted to complement you on the change to the glossy cover. I'd like to see a closer look at the miniatures, but that's a minor quibble. By the way, I have just purchased my first copy of MWAN (#80) at Army Group South in Statesville, NC (plug, plug!).

I think you should have mentioned some good wargaming books. There are several very interesting and useful ones out there. I'll mention a few just to get the ball rolling. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara comes to mind immediately. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is also a very good book chock full of ACW gaming ideas. All Quiet on the Western Front has some very good WWI info. For the really dedicated the Army and Navy official histories of World War II are available. They run into multiple volumes and are a veritable gold mine of information on all facets of Army, Navy, and Marine operations during the war. Be forewarned, they provide truly exhaustive detail.

I'm glad to see someone else who is impressed by Koenig Krieg. I cut my miniature gaming teeth on that set, and I'm still happily painting troops for it years later. I just wish the time I've been painting was reflected in the number of painted figures that I have. I game primarily in 15mm, and I've always enjoyed how the battalions look as they make their stately way across a gaming

I wanted to keep this first letter short, so I'll wrap up. I look forward to purchasing more issues of MWAN, and I may even subscribe in the new year. Keep up the good work.

From William L. Hogan Tampa. FL: Read your comments on using 1/40th scale models with the new ranges of 25mm WWII figures. There are still some collectors kits out there of Revell and Renwal manufacturer. However these are few and far between and the WWII issues are severely limited. The Revell Company made an American cargo truck that may be useful but it is actually more appropriate for the Korean War. Only purists may balk at this. However I found they do not scale well with the figures and with the more commercially available Fuman 1/48, now going on sale in many places. Scrounging up a 1/40 scale model may be very difficult.

Many modelers may remember the 1/40 scale lines as most of the figures looked like they just had open heart surgery. Generally the men were cast with a huge sink hole in their chest. Usually the f it of the kit parts was bad on most of these kits. Appropriately, this scale was considered an orphan in the industry, although there were several very interesting kits made which are now really worth money on the collectors circuit.

You mentioned a concern regarding the casualty categories in skirmish gaming. You stated that you didn't like the wide range of consequences which could occur if a figure was "Hit". This is cumbersome on a per figure basis, especially when one is used to pushing hundreds of figures around a table and removing entire stands. However if you only have about 50 figures on the board you need something to fill up the time. All games do this somehow. otherwise just flip a coin to see who wins. The difference is, how much detail do you think is fun?

Even in Buck Surdu's very simplified Skirmish Rules "Beer and Pretzel Skirmish" (BAPS) he has three categories, light wound (I wound) Heavy wound (2 wounds) and Killed, this can still be considered cumbersome to some. If you figure that after a person is wounded the second time he is probably combat ineffective you could just remove him from the board.

If, as an important part of the scenario, you want wounded men to contribute to the process of disrupting the squad and further removing combat effective men from the game, leave them on the table. Because now somebody has to take care of the wounded, which leaves wounded men staggering around the battle field looking for help or the way out. The sight of wounded men may also affect moral.

In some scenarios I have medic figures. I added a red cross smock to appropriate figures and they tend the wounded. Each turn a wounded figure has contact with a medic you subtract one wound. These sub actions are some of the things which make skirmish game much more fun. It's just a different level of play.

The range of casualty consequences makes the gamer think more about the value of each figure. If you only have one team of say six figures you start to think in terms of protecting each figure not each stand. The game becomes more than just bringing everyone up to a firing line and banging away.

When you add in a lot of hidden movement, weapons variety and multiple morale categories the game gets much more complicated, and fun. Like any game once you learn it, it either becomes more fun as the pace quickens or you decide you don't like the (pick one) game, scale, period, game master, or level of play.

From Robert Kinkead: With regard to your question about 1/40 scale in the Editorial for MWAN #861 believe what you are looking for is 1/48 scale. There are a number of useable plastic models made in this scale.

The 1/40 scale does exist but is not visually compatible with 25 mm. I believe you will also find that 0 gauge (model railroad). 1/4 scale (doll house miniatures), 25 mm and 1/48 scale all correspond (1/4 inch to I foot).

From Dennis Pogek St. Louis, MO: I've been running games at GCHS, using the Volley & Bayonet system (15rmn), based upon the alter history scenario of Franco-Mexican Intervention. Many have thought of incorporating the ACW with The Franco-Mexican period. I've, however, put a twist to it.

It's 1866, the Mexican Republicans have faced many defeats, and the European presence along the U.S. -Mexican border has increased. U.S. and Imperial Mexican units have skirmished on both sides of the border. And threats and political banter have taken place on either side of the Atlantic. The English have landed a 'force' along side of French/Imperial Mexican forces defending the northern border to make a political 'show', hoping to fend off any U.S. intervention.

This is where the game starts. The U.S. advances 3 Corps upon five French/imperial Mexican divisions (4 inf/1 Cav.) and 2 British Divisions, which are on high ground with hasty works in the center (occupied by the French, of course). The British on the leR and the Imperial Mexicans are on the right The U.S. commander approached with two Corps, the third in reserve. He expected the Euro- Allies to remain defensive. He advanced forward keeping his reserve artillery in the center to pound the French. He figured that either Euro-flank would collapse.

The British commander, however, proved to be impetuous, and moved his forces forward and attacked the American flank with his two cavalry light brigades in front The U.S. Cavalry, under Elliot was smashed (Elliot killed on a saving Throw), and an entire cavalry brigade was vaporized (poor die rolls for the U.S.). Then while the U.S. was disordered the British Rifle Brigade, 2 regiments of highlanders, and 2 of guards pressed forward, with six foot regiments following.

The U.S. strategy quickly changed to deal with this maneuver. The cavalry regrouped, an infantry division turned, and: artillery was placed. A huge melee ensued shredding the two British cavalry brigades, smashing the rile brigade and effecting a retrograde upon the British. The British commander was a bit 'confused' as to his French allies lack of support on this action.

At the same time two divisions advanced forward upon the Imperial Mexicans, with: Chamberlain in the lead. It looked as if this would be the beginning of the end for the Euro-Allies, as many of the Mexican forces were pushed back in disorder. But to the surprise of then; American commander (and probably Mexican, commander as well) the Mexicans regrouped and forced the U.S. back. This systems continued for a couple of turns, the U.S.; commander could not roll LO save his life..' Although the Mexican units were close to exhaustion, they had destroyed an entire U.S. ~ ~ division and killed their commander, J.L. Chamberlain (another bad save). At this point the U.S. Army commander decided lo retire.;

The Euro-Allies suffered approximately 6,000 - 7,000 casualties (killed, wounded, missing), the U.S. suffered approximately 16,000., casualties. A special note: the French during this battle never engaged, nor suffered a single casualty. The French commander told me it, after the game that he was "more than happy I" to have his allies protect him" In reference to the British attack, he said that he thought they ~ were conducting defensive maneuvers(?).

Those who have seen this alter history scenario really like it. It plays really well, and they find the mixture of brigades and, regiments interesting. Basically I have the beginning of W.W.I starting in 1866.

Future scenarios will involve not only further action in Mexico, but battle on the seas, and maybe on the northern border of the U.S. Who will take sides? Who will join the Anglo- Franco-Mexican Alliance? Do the Prussians see an opportunity? What about the Tzar? I see a wealth of possibilities for gaming using multiple gaming systems suitable for the campaign or battle scenario.

We've played three games know, and I have a extensive army painted and based. I've use a mixture of figures: U.S.; Old Gory, Battle Honours, and a few CHOICE Minifigs. French (using Franco-Prussian troops): Minifigs (good castings only), Rank and File, and some Battle Honors (they have good ACW Zouaves skirmishing that I needed).

Mexicans: Frei Korps 15 (who actually have Mexicans for this period now), Minifigs (which are a few Crimea period French), and a mixture of ACW figures that work well for campaign dress. You really have to mix them up because of the diversity of uniforms in the units, and between the Imperial and Republican Mexicans.

British: Well the brits are hard to get right I either have to use Crimean War (1854),which are always in an old service dress that would have changed after Alma or Colonial figures, Minifigs, Stone Mountain, Rank & File. that look the part except for the Henry-Martinis and sun helmets. So I mix them. At least the Highlanders look good. They seem to intimidate the defending player a bit (Highlanders and Guards get "shock troops" bonus). I even use some mounted Boers to give the British a "campaign look" for their mounted infantry.

The next battle will really be the refined version, with all the bugs worked out. I'll send you a writeup on it and this scenario, so you can print it.

From Kirk Gustafson Lincoln. NE: I am writing to you at the suggestion of Pete Panzeri. Pete and I have been corresponding via the interact regarding war-gaming. Obviously Pete is an old hand at this stuff, and has been very patient with all of my newbie questions.

To give you a little bit of background about me, (or like I told Pete - "My Life Story - The abridged edition" ).1 am 34 years old, married and have 4 children (and obviously very little free time). My interest in war-garning is the result of one of my first vices, that being the collecting of 1/87 scale military miniatures. I bought my first ROCO pieces (which I no longer have) back in 1980 or 1981. Over the years I have only occasionally purchased other pieces of ROCO, Roskopf, Matchbox and ESCI. In the last couple of years I have found the time to dig my collection back out, and start adding to my collection again.

My oldest son Trent -age 11- is showing a keen interest in my collection and really wants to "do something" with them. A school project on WWII only served to fuel the fire more, and at his suggestion we started searching the intemet for references to military games and miniatures. It was while on one of these "fishing expeditions" that we first stumbled across Pete Panzeri and his contributions to the rec.games.military.historical newsgroup. I have looked locally for other wargamers and have not had any luck. There seemed to be lots of interest in Role Playing Games (even my younger brother is into those), but nothing in the way of war-gainers.

Pete has offered to contact the Heart of America HMGS for a member referral, and also suggested that I write to you and tell you that my son and I are "gainers in isolation". Neither my son or I have ever played in a war- game, so we really need LOTS of help to get started. Pete has offered to set us up with an appropriate set of figures and miniatures to get started. I told him that first I needed to learn more about the rules, play and strategy before having him send me his stuff. I don't want to bother him with sending it until my son and I know enough to put it to good use once that we get it.

I guess that's the reason that I have contacted you (Gosh, and I said this was going to be the abridged version??). My son and I would really appreciate you sending us a sample of your newsletter so we can begin to get an idea of what is involved in learning to war- game. Seeing how neither of us have ever seen your newsletter, it wouldn't even matter if it was an old one that you had left over. I know that everything in it is going to be new information to us.

From Scott Hansen of Warren, MI: I recently completed armies for the 1898 Spanish American using Freikorps 15 figures. We've had fun staging a Spanish ambush on the Americans in the jungle. I do not like my 6 mm Crimean War armies as much anymore. If I were to do the period now, I would do it in 15 mm. I like the look of bigger figures so much better. I do not cherish the thought of painting 2000 figures though to redo my Crimean War armies.

My current period is 15mm Garibaldi and his red shirts. I'm working on Garibaldi plus a Neapolitan army for the 1860's. Though they are wearing incorrect uniforms, I plan on using them for the battles in 1848 Rome. My problem is I'm in a painting rut. I haven't painted in over two months. I guessed I got burned out by painting 500 Spanish-American War figures in two months. As usual, Em thinking about my next period. It's either going be the 19041905 Russo-Japanese War or the Great Paraguayan War of the 1860's.

I've always have been interested in the Carlist Wars in Spain in the 1830's since the publication of articles in the Foreign Correspondent and Wargames Illustrated. I'm not aware of suitable sources of all the figures I would require. The Victorian Military Society converted figures into Carlist Rebels wearing berets using miliput. I don't cherish the thought on doing this for the 240 figure Carlist army I would want. I know Falcon Figures of the U.K. (not in the U.S.) has a figure design service. The good part is that you can use the design fee as credit to buy Falcon Figures! I plan on writing them and will let you know of the details and prices. They design figures in 15 and 25 mm.

From Roger Ince, Canada: Great gaming excitment has occurred here. For the six years my wife and I have lived here, I've been searching for a gaming partner. Lots of role playing and younger SCI-FI Fantasy gamers, but no true "Queen of the Gaming Community" historical miniatures gainers! Last month I finally tracked down a Brit who has been searching the area for eleven years! We are very happy guys! He has got me interested again in Napoleonics (25mm) and I hope to broaden his horizons with larger campaigns in ACW and ECW.

All this happened after I decided to start a small group of twelve and thirteen year old boys, Western shootist gaming! I hope that I can interest these kids in more complex miniature gaming as they get older. Hopefully now they realize that there is other fun gaming out there. Not just computer and Sci-Fi stuff. I suppose I decided to invest the time and energy to recruit because I really love the social aspect of miniatures gaming and now I have lots of interested parties. I find that as I get older I enjoy the research and backgroudn to the actual gaming more than the gaming itself. MWAN is a very large part of this end of the gaming spectrum for me!

From Charles Doggie of Arcadia, CA: If you have someone looking for 1:300 armor, have them contact me; I can throw in some freebies. I want to nominate Pharoah's Arms for manufacturer of the year. I had some packs of Burmese elephants and a DBA Army Pack with defective elephants (6 led halves; no right and misshapen heads). These were all 5/6 years old, from the manufacturer before P.A. I call him ~ he quickly sent me "FREE" 3 new elephants ~ a bag of crew archers!