Books by Old Mates

With Pike and Musket
Making Model Soldiers

by Don Featherstone

It is with great pleasure that I review two books written by wargaming friends of long standing whom I have faced over many wargames tables and for whom I have a great respect both as men and now as writers. Charlie Wesencraft has already written a fine "thinking" book PRACTICAL WARGAMING in which he displayed a writing ability that I had no idea he possessed! His latest book WITH PIKE AND MUSKET consolidates that reputation, being a very readable and well written manuscript, displaying considerable originality and a great deal of thought. Wargamers invariably display a marked disinclination to accept rules other than those formulated by themselves and Charlie is no exception but in his case he displays the ability to discard the nit-picking attributes displayed by many of our colleagues as he suggests aspects which are workable and probably approaching originality as much a~ one can in this enforcibly restricted field.

With Pike and Musket

His latest book WITH PIKE AND MUSKET (reminds me of one of those glorious boys books by G.A. Henry!) considers that fascinating and colourful period fast gaining popularity amongst wargamers when the gunpowder weapon was superseding the bow and arrow and the pikeman was an important feature on the battlefield. The book deals with weapons; the organisation of Elizabethan, Irish, British and New Model Armies; the preparation of battlefields and figures; the effect of weather; movement; personalities; rules and conditions governing firing, melees and casualties and a battle record chart. At the end of the book there is a summary of the rules of play but for the most part, its pages covers reconstructions of twenty-seven battles beginning with Pinkie 1547 to Worcester 1651. Many of these battles are small and little known affairs which provide considerable interest but, in a sense, the title of the book is a misnomer because unfortunately Charlie has completely omitted all those wonderful battles of the French Religious Wars and numerous other Continental actions in favour of almost exclusively considering battles of the English Civil War. The course of each battle is described all the numbers given together with a scaled-down wargames requirement; a map is provided and historical and chronological factors of each game are detailed. In the light of my personal aims in writing them, BATTLE NOTES FOR WARGAMERS and the new series of wargaming various periods of history, I am of the opinion that Charlie, rather than enabling accurate historical reconstruction to take place is presenting an opportunity for but a "nominal" reconstruction with a terrain & armies that are historically accurate but with permissible subsequent events that possibly bear little or no resemblance to what actually occurred. Nevertheless, this is a good and interesting book and a very worthy addition to the fast growing library of wargaming literature - I can see I shall have to watch you, Charlie!

(8 3/4" x 5 3/4" 192 pages; 9 pages of photographs; 20 sketch-maps. Elmfield Press - £ 5.50p).

Making Model Soldiers

MAKING MODEL SOLDIERS by Michael Blake. Best known for his sterling work as a co-founder of SKIRMISH WARGAMING involving individual personalised table-top combat, Mike Blake is also a highly competent model maker and converter, a fine organiser and a stimulating writer. To those qualities he now adds a surprising knowledge of the practical aspects of making model soldiers revealed in tn. latest book. As I recommended to the publishers that Mike should write the book, I am more than a little interested in the completed work. Armed with this book, even the most ham-handed novice can achieve a considerable amount of satisfaction by his end results. It covers the transformation of the soldier from a toy to a military miniature; tells how to get started; lists the tools and accessories - the basic equipment, adhesives and modelling materials, the paints and brushes; tells of painting techniques; assembling and animating; converting in polythene plastic, polystyrene plastic and complex conversions. Then it goes on to that fascinating but difficult subject (both legally a: practically) of making, moulding and casting; considers displays and dioramas and stimulates the imagination by a final chapter "Finding Out for Yourself". Its appendices give valuable information of makers' names and addresses; specialist suppliers; Societies and Libraries; magazines; further reading, with an inevitable note on wargaming. The many photographs are excellent and Mike's great talent with the pen and pencil is ably revealed in the numerous drawings which grace its pages. Even though I have written two books on exactly this subject and have another one in the course of preparation for a well-known publisher, I can say without any hesitation that Mike Blake's MAKING MODEL SOLDIERS is as good as anything that has come out on the subject and I wish it every success.

(8 3/4 X 5 3/4" 144 pages; innumerable photographs and line drawings. Stanley Paul - £ 3.60p).

Book Reviews

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© Copyright 1976 by Donald Featherstone.
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