By Hal Thinglum - 15mm Gladiator Games ECW From Regal Miniatures - Regal Miniatures, 1116 Broadway, Polk City, Iowa 50226 (515-984-6470) sent along the latest releases from the Gladiator Games 15mm ECW line. I've got a lot of these figures in my ECW/TYW collection and I like them even if they are a little larger than Essex/Minifigs/etc. measuring about 17/18mm from the top of the base to eye-level. The entire ECW line presently has 42 packs with the latest addition of 15 packs! These include levy foot w/assorted weapons (all foot are $4.25/10 figures) and it appears as though there are two different poses; Dragoon command (mounted standard bearer w/separate horse, standard bearer on foot, drummer, and officer with sword and musket for $2.75); dismounted dragoons (4 standing firing, 4 loading); Scottish foot command ($2.75/5 figures including 2 standard bearers, drummer, and two officers); Scottish musketeers firing (5 standing firing, 5 loading), marching (5 w/bonnets; 5 w/o); Scottish pikemen standing, actually leaning forward a bit; Scottish horse trooper w/sword (5 troopers w/seperate horses for $4.25~ some have sword on shoulder, some have sword across body); Scottish lancers; Irish Musketeers advancing (actually there are firing, advancing, and running figures in this pack); Highlanders advancing w/mixed weapons (swords, axes, shields); artillery crew (6/$4.00); light artillery piece (one gun/$2.00); heavy artillery piece (one gun/$2.00). The guns only need the wheels and barrel to be glued on. The figures are nicely done with a lot of character. I've found that they paint up very well, though again, they are bigger than the average 15mm figure and I wouldn't mix them with other manufacturers within the same unit. Highly recommended! I really like their character! By Hal Thinglum - 20MM FIGURIES, ARMOUR, ARTILLERY NEW WWII ITALIANS 28MM SPANISH CIVIL WAR - Figures, Armour, Artillery, 17 Oakfield Drive, Upton Heath, Chester CH2 ILG, UK (01244-379399) has released 20mm WWII Italians (1939-44) consisting of nine packs: Platoon command, NCO's, Riflemen (2 packs), LMG moving & firing, 45mm Mod35 Mortar team moving & firing, MMG/crew firing Mod37 Breda MMG, gun/mortar team, command post, and engineers including flamethrower. I like FAA's approach to releases as their range of packs include everything you'd need for units. When I was doing 20mm WWII Eastern Front, I used many of their figures and likely them very much! They are always cleanly cast; in good poses; and in a wide variety of poses. Prices are 1.55 pds for four different figures or three specialists and 2.00 pds for five figures/four specialists. In the US, they are carried by Brookhurst Hobbies, 12188 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, CA 92640 (714-636-3580). The platoon command has three running figures, one with pistol, another w/rifle. The NCO's have one SMG and two rifles (one is kneeling pointing in soft cap while the other two have helmets and are advancing). The two packs of riflemen (five figures each) feature one in soft caps, the other in helmets and are standing/kneeling firing/on guard(kneeling) or running/advancing. I've always liked the way FAA handles heavy weapons as they have one set "moving" and the second firing(prone). Well done figures! Same with the mortar team; one figure is sitting with legs on the sides of the mortar (separate head) while the loader is kneeling with a mortar shell. The "moving" figures are advancing with one having the mortar strapped to his back and the loader carries the ammo boxes. The MMG pack has the firing figure molded to the same metal base as the tripod of the MMG and has a separate upper body. In addition, there is a loader and a spotter, both kneeling. The gun/mortar team has four kneeling figures. The command post pack has two standing officers and two kneeling figures (one on the radio and the other writing on a pad of paper). The engineer pack features and advancing flame throwing figure, one carrying a mine in each hand; a kneeling figure either laying mines or removing them; and another kneeling figure. All in all, good stuff! It's hard to find WWII Italians in the "true" 20mm scale! Highly recommended! The 28mm Spanish Civil War line looks very interesting! Thus far, there are seven packs of figures available: Moroccan regular infantry and command, Foreign Legion infantry and command, Assault Guard infantry and command, and FAI Militiamen. Prices are 5.00 pds for eight figures; command are 3.50 but there is no mention of how many command figures are in a pack. They also mention they will soon be releasing a Bilbo armoured car, militia armoured lorry w/turret, and Renault FT tank, all for 12.50 pds each. The Moroccan regular infantry pack of eight figures was included for review and consists of beautiful castings without any flash and greatly detailed and animated! Excellent stuff! My goodness! They are in shirtsleeve and light equipment. The figure standing pointing appears to be an NCO and there are two firing figures (kneeling/standing) as well as one loading or checking his weapon, two advancing (different poses), and two running (different poses). I would have to recommend these figures very highly to you as they are simply outstanding. I think this would be a fascinating period of history to build armies in! I would base them individually; with vehicles soon to be available, this should be a popular period to build a "smallish" army! Good work, John! John reports " The initial listing covers the period at the very start of the civil war, with the arrival of the Army of Africa under Franco into Southern Spain, and the spontaneous response of Spain's working class forming 'Militias'and 'Columns'to rush off and fight the Fascists. This is a largeproject and Paul (Barnshaw) is already working on Nationalist regulars and the Popular army (of the Republicans)." If that doesn't get your blood boiling, I don't know what will! If anyone out there does Spanish Civil War, please consider doing some articles on it! By Hal Thinglum - COLORED FLAGS BY OUTLAND GAMES - Chris of Outland Games, 1061 Bertram Ave., Dayton, OH 45406 (513-276-2336) has released more of his excellent color flags! I have a number of his SYW flags in my armies and like them very much! First of all, there are flag sheets in 15mm. for the Imperial Army of the Thirty Wars (10 different infantry and six different cavalry); Marlbarian War (Sheet #2) for the French with 15 foot and four horse standards. In 25mm, he has released a Turkish set of 21 different infantry and cavalry standards; a sheet of fantasy flags with I I different standards; Flag Sheet #I for "Various clans and army banners (Sashimono) for the Murakami Clan with 27 different flags(!); and Norman, Saxon & Viking Banners with about 39 different flags! I don't have prices for any sets except the Norman, Saxon & Viking set which runs for only six dollars (how can you go wrong: 39 flags for six bucks!). Very good color/detail covering subjects/periods which are hard to find flags for. Send an SASE to Chris for a complete listing of his flags and prices. Very highly recommended! Good work, Chris! By Hal Thinglum - FRONTLINE WARGAMING 25MM/20MM NEW RELEASES FROM RLBPS - RLBPS, 4827 Treeview Terrace, Rockford, IL 61109 (815-874-5351), carries the complete line of FRONTLINE WARGAMING from the UK and was kind enough to send along a number of samples of their excellent new releases! First of all, 20nun WWII resin vehicles: TRI 2 Opel Blitz Lorry ($7); TR13 Fiat 621 Lorry ($7); AFV23 Panzer IV (Short 75mm) ($7.25); and AFV24 Panzer IV Late (Long 75mm gun)($7.25). I very much like these resin cast models; they are, as you can tell by the prices, considerably less expensive than the metal, detail is good, and they would assemble very quickly. For example, the two Panzer IV's each have four pieces: turret, main body, and two tracks. The two trucks have the main body and four wheels. Outstanding value and good quality; Highly recommended for the 20mm WWII gamer! Secondly, some fascinating pieces: 25mm "African" resin case terrain items perfect for GUERNSEY FOUNDRY'S new 28mm "Darkest Africa" releases! FC I African Princess team Boat ($19) measures 2" X 8" and has a separate boiler, roof and supporting sides. FC2 Dugout canoe ($4.75) 1 1/4" X 6" and is a hallowed out canoe; FC3 Circular Tribal Hut ($9.50) is a two piece 3" in diameter and 3" high - comes with separate thatched roof. FC4 Thatches two room bungalow ($32.50) is a beautiful two-piece structure (4" X 7 1/4" X 3" high) that could double for Rorke's Drift in a pinch. Very well done separate thatched roof (do you have any idea how hard it is to make something look like a "thatched" roof?) with two room interior as well as a front porch and five windows. Excellent structure! Could also be used for WWII Pacific. FC5 Flat-roofed adobe with side stairs ($25) is a two piece structure which could be used India, NWF, Sudan, Africa, etc. I really like this one as well. Measuring 3" X 6" with separate roof with raised sides and a stairway on one side leading to the roof top. These resin buildings would paint up beautifully; give them a black primer and then apply your main coat of paint so that some of the black primer shows through. Highly recommended and great value! By Hal Thinglum - NEW RELEASES AVAILABLE FROM BROOKHURST HOBBIES As usual, Brookhurst Hobbies, 12188 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, CA 92840 (714-636-3585) sent along a number of new releases from the UK. Thanks very much! FIGURES ARMOUR ARTILLERY WWII 20MM - FAA, 17 Oakfield Dv., Upton Heath, Chester, CH2 I IG, UK continues to release great 20mm WWII items from armies which just a short time ago, were unavailable. From the "Britain Stands Alone 1940 Range, is BSA7 "Stay Behind Party" ($4.40/4 figures) consisting of a kneeling demolitions expert, a kneeling riflemen with what I believe is a rifle grenade, standing civilian w/semi-automatic weapon, and a prone sniper. From their "Gallant Belgium 1939-40" range is BEL I Infantry platoon Hqers ($3.40/3 figures) with officer in greatcoat & helmet w/pistol, and two apparently NCO's w/slung rifles. From the "Romanian infantry 1941-45" is ROM6 Gun Mortar crew ($4.40/4 figures) with two kneeling figures firing and two upright figures "moving". ROM9 is the tank-hunters pack ($4.40/4 figures) with two different teams of "tank-hunters", one of which has a separate arm with satchel charge. As usual, very high quality, which is what we would expect from FAA. Figures are well proportioned, animated, and have no flash. Highly recommended for the WWII wargamer! PETER PIG 15MM AMERICAN WILD WEST and WWI 1914 RANGE - Peter Pig, from the UK, produces a wide variety of high quality 15min figures for a wide range of periods. Samples this time are from the American Wild West range and consist of 15-65 Supply Wagon ($7.65) with four walking harnessed horses, driver, and covered wagon (great for ACW as well), 15/69 Priest and Donkey from their "character" range ($2.40) which has a standing donkey, "casualty" priest lying on his back, standing priets in robe w/weapon, and a riding priest w/weapon. 15/94 Kid Craig, another "character" has the same thing: casualty, standing, and riding on a running horse. If you are doing skirmish game, having three variations of the same figure is a great plus! The Peter Pig figures are always done very well - high quality! Lastly from PP is 16-22 Belgian Minerva armored car ($7.65) which comes with three figures (all waist-up figures; meaning the bottom half of the figure is just a metal sprue). One is firing a machine gun, while the other two consist of a driver and perhaps an officer pointing. The car itself is well cast and comes with four eparate wheels and a spare tire. Looks as if it would be easily assembled! Good stuff from PP and highly recommended! B&B MINIATURES 20MM WWI ALLENBY'S WAR - B&B Miniatures seems to produce periods which are not in the "mainsteam" and certainly Allenby's War (WWI) qualifies for this. This is a very extensive line and quite interesting, I think! It would also have applications for other periods of history; I'm thinking that a number of the figures (British and Indians) could be used for Northwest Frontier actions in the 20's and 30's. Anyway, samples include: AW11(w) Arab regular open face camel riders w/walking camels (8 mounted/$23.98) which is a well-done camel with lots of flash between the legs and a separate sitting rider w/separate sword arm. AW-27 British soft cap limber and crew ($14.98); six limber horses w/three riders w/different head positionings; and a limber with five separate pieces. I am partial to artillery and limbers, I will admit. I definately do not like the B&B approach to packaging limbers as I don't see any reason - aside from dioramic - for a wargames manufacturer to sell six limber horses with a set. That's far too many limber horses; I've rarely seen more than two on a wargames table and including six just drives up the price too much, in my opinion. That aside, there's no getting around the good quality of the B&B stuff. AW-33 British Pith Helmet 13/18 pdr gun/crew ($9.98) w/ three crew figures (one kneeling w/shell and two sitting). Nice looking gun - I myself would appreciate an "assembly" sheet so as to know how to assemble the gun. AW-34 British Pith helmet limber and crew ($14.98); again six limber horses, three riders, and limber in five pieces. To me, there is no doubt these figures could be used for the NWF in the 20's/30's for some interesting games. AW-34(2) Indian Turban Camel Riders w/walking camels (8 mounted for $23.98); camel, again with quite a bit of flash between the legs though this is easily removeable, and rider w/separate arm w/slung rifle. AW-76 Turkish Krupp 77mm gun/crew ($9.98) w/three differently posed gunners (two kneeling, one standing) and four piece gun w/shield. Guns and very nicely cast with no flash; figures also have no flash. In closing, I would have to recommend B&B Miniatures highly; I am not crazy about their packaging re limber horses, but they do offer a very wide variety of figure packs in non-mainstream periods and deserve a lot of credit for this approach to the hobby. I'd have to recommend them highly! If anyone does any wargaming in this period, please consider doing a piece for MWAN. By Hal Thinglum - 20MM ITEMS FROM MERRIMACK MINIATURES - Merrimack Miniatures, 1524 Lois Drive, Shoreview, MN 55126 (612-786-6799) has some new releases in 15mm. First of all, there is a Christian Galley ($20.00) which comes in five resin pieces, two wooden dowels for masts, and a pack of MINIFIGS Renaissance 15mm figures as crew members (12 crew and one gun). Joel reports that he has redone the Lepanto gallies and created three new forecastles and three new aft-castles and six sets of galley sides; thus a total of 27 different galleys can be made by switching the pices around! He also included a painted model which is quite beautiful. I am not sure how the picture of the galley will turn out, but I hope you can make it out as it is a nice model! Also included for mention was a 15mm balloon kit for the ACW that was used along the James River. It comes with a sytrofoarn "balloon" with netting, cloth, and string. Also comes with a resin ship in two pieces: the deck and a small housing on the deck. Cost is $20.00. When I did my 15mm ACW collection years ago, I was looking for a balloon and finally found the plastic kit one. This one looks better to me! The third kit is a 15mm ACW Mortar Schooner/Confederate Privateer. It comes with a mortar to use as one of Porter's Mortar fleet and a large deck gun to convert it to a Confederate Privateer/blockade runner ($25.00). This is my favorite; comes in three resin pieces including the "deck" cannon. There are another four metal guns with carriages in the kit. This would look very good put together and painted up! I like this one the best! All of the kits come with assembly instructions. Highly recommended! There are a total of 21 ACW kits available. If you are doing Western ACW scenarios, you could use a few gunboats, couldn't you?! I am very impressed with these models. All of them come with guns. I know that Minifigs, as well as other companies, offer an extensive line of 15mm ACW crew figures and Marines. I'm going to try and do the photos of the Balloon kit and the Mortar Schooner on the next page. They are very well done and deserve to have their pictures in the column! I would like us to know that he 'has new Cogs as he has redone the medium and large Cogs, plus added a two masted Spanish Cog. The cobs can also be used supply ships for the Lepanto period. By next year, he is hoping to have several more large gallies like the 36 gunner so that a person can do the Armada battles and some of the age of expansion battles between the Dutch and the Spanish. By Hal Thinglum - J&T MINIATURES 25MM CONNOISSEUR NEW RELEASES - J&T Miniatures purchased the 25mm Connoisseur line done by the late Peter Gilder and they have added to the line. From their Napoleonic line - I purchased literally thousands of these some years ago and painted them all (French) - there are 13 Prussians (Landwehr, Uhlans, and Dragoon, as well as a Prussian casualty); three French (~ Polish drummer, light infantry in 3 poses, and Mameluke with two new variations); and a Nassau line officer, Bavarian limber rider, pair of Bavarian riders and a Saxon Hussar. From their Colonial line comes an Egyptian lancer, and two personality figures: Kitchner and A.P. Hill with standing horse. Individual figures are $1.00 with individual horses going for $1.45; however, if you purchase figures by the bag, they come much cheaper! You get 24 foot ($20.00) or 6 cavalry w/horses ($12.00) or three guns w/ 12 crew ($22.00). The samples which were included are very good indeed and would fit perfectly with Peter's earlier work! The Bavarian limber riders are cast together and neatly done; one figure has his arm around the figure sitting by him on the limber! The Prussian casualty is sitting wounded. Very good figures at excellent prices if you buy them by the bag. This figure line is still "state of the art" as far as I am concerned! Highly recommended! By Hal Thinglum - 25MM REDOUBT ENTERPRISES NEW RELEASES - Redoubt has added two new types of 25mm ACW figures to their already extensive line! There are skirmishers/scouts advancing, rifles held casually (ACW 73 through 76) a n d skirmishers advancing crouched or bent double under fire (ACW77 through 80). Each set has figures in shirts, shell jackets, sack coats and frock coats. They have also added new heads including the Texas slouch and kepi. All packs are 3.60 pounds and include six figures in different poses. They come with separate heads and some of them have separate arms for weapons. Excellent stuff and highly recommended. This has to be one of the finest and most extensive ACW 25mm lines which has ever been done! No flash on figures; lots of character and animation; a wide variety of poses in a variety of uniforms; in general, a great line! By Len Brewer - PLANET MODELS MILITARY MODELS - STURMTIGER 1/72ND SCALE RESIN KIT - I have mixed feelings about this kit; scale-wise, it fits in very well with Britannia Miniatures 20mm kits and Skytrex 20mm kits. There are only four pages of instructions with this model and in the model that I purchased, the instructions were printed very lightly on the pages making them difficult to read. All of the wheels are made in a resin and the utmost care must be taken when cutting them from the sprue, otherwise, you will have some wheels that are flat on one side. You will have to drill the center of the wheels to fit on the model. The tracks are made from black vinyl which look very good. The main problem with this is that the tracks are close to 2 1/2" too long. Once again, care must be taken when cutting and shaping them. The kit goes together very well after you make these small changes. Once this was finished, primed and painted, it was worth the trouble that I had with it. If you want another piece of heavy selfpropelled artillery which is different, then you should look at this model. The kit is made in the Czech Republic and is available for $23.96 from The Squadron Mail Order Shop, 1115 Crowley Drive, Carrollton, TX 75011-5010. By Len Brewer - RENAISSANCE INK FLOCKING GELS - I recently purchased a set of the blocking gels and they work very well. These gels are available in one, two and four ounce jars and available in a coarse, medium, fine and extra fine textures. They can be used as is, or after drying they can be painted, or you can mix these with some paint and add other features to them after they have dried. I use the medium texture gel and mix some brown paint in it and apply it to the bases of units. After drying, I highlight them and then I add a small amount of grass to the base. These gels offer a very nice addition to the basing options that are currently available. They are available from Renaissance Ink, 335 Torrance Ave., Vestal, NY 13850. If you like good terrained bases for your figures, then you should check this line out! By Len Brewer - MURFF-TURF CUSTOM MADE TERRAIN - I recently got an island landing beaches in 20mm scale made by Murff-Turf This set consisted of four two by two pieces of terrain. The four pices are joined together by some small boards and the edges are also supported. The beacliftont ranges from one-eighth inches in height to two inches. Along with the basic island, I received a total of 12 different hills, some of which have firing positions available for the defenders and a very nice bunker. The beach head is in a three color scheme, with some foxholes built in. The possibilities are almost endless since you can place the terrain in a different position every time you use them. If you are considering some custom built terrain, then you owe it to yourself to contact Mr. Curt Murff, 20028 Pinegrove Drive, Mokena, IL 60448. By Hal Thinglum- GREAT NORTHERN WAR AND SPANISH WAR OF SUCCESSION BOOKLETS AVAILABLE FROM PAT CONDRAY - Pat Condray, 2225 S. Gulfwater Pt., Crystal River, FL 34429 offers an extensive line of booklets for the Great Northern War and the Spanish War of Succession. First of all, the Great Northern War has three such booklets available: Swedish and Russian Armies of the Great Northern War (Condray; 46 pages), Swedish Colors and Standards of the Great Northern War (Dan Schorr-, 46 pages), and The Saxon Polish Army During the Great Northern War (Dan Schorr; 18 pages). These little gems offer a wealth of information which would otherwise be very difficult to locate! Now for the Spanish War of Succession, there are I I booklets: Wargarning the Age of Marlborough (Condray; 10 pages) which includes provisions for the Great Northern War; A Wargamer's Introduction to the Age of Marlborough (Condray, 3rd edition; 48 pages), which I found very interesting and helpful in learning something about the period~ Colors of the French infantry Under Louis XIV 1638-1715 Book I (by Pierre Foure; 32 pages with the front and back covers containing lots of color flags); Material on the War of the Spanish Succession: The Arinies of the Palatinate and Cologne (by August Kuhn; 33 pages); Material on the War of the Spanish Succession - Book II - The Armies of the Imperial Circles of Swabia and Franconia As Well As The Bishopric of Wurzburg and the Margravate of Ansbach (by August Kuhn; 40 pages; $6.00) Danes, Bavarians and Prussians (Condray; 18 pages)~ The Hanovarian Armies During the War of the Spanish Succession (August Kuhn; 19 pages)~ The Military Forces of the Duchies of Schlesswig-Holstein-Gottorp and the Military States of the Upper Saxon Circle (by August Kuhn; 23 pages); The Portuguese Army During the War of the Spanish Succession 1704- 1715 (Condray; 25 pages); The Spanish Army of Philip V (by James Hinds; 26 pages); and Ferenc Rakoczi II and His Kuruzzenannee: The Revolt of the Hungarian Confederation 1704-1711 (by August Kuhn; 17 pages). I don't have prices for any of the booklets except the one I listed. Very helpful material and highly recommended for the wargamer interested in this period of history! By Hal Thinglum - RENAISSANCE INK PAINTING SERVICE - I recently received some 15mm English Civil War figures painted by Renaissance Ink, 335 Torrance Ave., Vestal, NY 13850 (607-748-4665). They have two levels of figure painting for l5mm: Level A which is color, black lining, shadow, highlights, fine detail, and clear coat ($2.70/foot; $5.20/mounted). I elected for Level B which is color, blank lining, moderate detail, and clear coat ($1.60/foot) $3.00/mounted). I sent six ECW foot regiments of 27 figures each and was very impressed and pleased with the results. I felt the painting detail was terrific for Level B. Figures had their collars painted as well as buttons when they could be seen; there were different colored hats and trousers within a regiment and all belts and leather equipment was done as well as belt buckles! Mustaches were done on figures and weapons were outlined very nicely, with pikes having a silver tip to them. Excellent work and I can highly recommend this fine service. Back to MWAN #97 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com