I'm really excited about this issue. There are a lot of products that 'have been sent in to be reviewed, which just shows us that the hobby is alive and vibrant with creativity. My opinion is that the last five years of the hobby can be considered the Renaissance of miniature gaming. I've been in the hobby, mostly as a gamer/consumer, for over 25 years, and I've never seen as much offered to the hobbiest before. Note the many scales (2, 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 25 & 28mm) there are just in our ACW period, let alone the amount of manufacturers for each scale. I'd heard that at Historicon 2000, there'll be near 100 vendors/manufacturers! I remember the (pre-Fantasy) Gen Con of the 1970s/80s where you could count the vendors on both hands. Then again, like the devil's advocate that I can play, so many items in so many scales can be a detriment, but that I'll leave for another issue to explain.

Leading off the parade of articles is Jim O'Neil's background to an ACW scenario based on the Battle of Salamanca. Space prohibited including the scenario, but it'll appear in issue 53. Jim lives in Papua, New Guinea, and I can't help but imagine him in a hammock, sipping a tropical fruit drink and feeling the breeze, as he creates a scenario. Anyone for an ACW gaming convention in Papua?

Next in line is Mr. JR 1, 2 & 3, John Hill, and his review of some great 10mm resin building from OLD NORTH STATE FIGURES COMPANY. If these don't make you convert to 10mm, what will?

Right behind John is ZOUAVE veteran contributor Doug Kline. Doug, who makes great terrain through his BATTLEFIELD TERRAIN CONCEPTS company, shows us how to make our toy soldiers' flags look more 'realistic'. What an 'arteest' he is, and we thank him for imparting his wisdom on us 'green' types.

Ok, FIRE & FURY gamers, next up is a scenario from Jerry Eberling for the cavalry battle at Gettysburg. Not a very large battle, but an arguably important one it was. I'm looking forward to seeing more from Jerry's creative mind.

In my lead paragraph I mentioned the great variety of products and scales, and the next article is a good example of it. It is a review by your's truly of 15mm naval products for both land, river and sea from MERRIMACK MINIATURES, manufactured by J&T MINIATURES.

Steven Kamm isn't a manufacturer in the hobby, but does show us how to modify a commerciallyavailable model building. Part of the fun of this hobby is recreating in miniature what we've either seen pictured in the history books or viewed on the battlefields.

Curt Campbell, our loyal, hard-working reviewer from the great flatness up north comes through again with his eagle eye reviews of more 'reinforcements'. Once more the products that he brings to our attention underscores what I said earlier about the variety to choose from. What I neglected to say, though, at the beginning is that the quality today is outstanding than ever before. REDOUBT, THOROUGHBRED, etc., and a new 'kid' on the wargaming block from Australia, MARK FENLON MINIATURES. He is another 'Maltida' in a new wave of excellent quality figure & terrain manufacturers coming from the land of Oz. Huzzah, Mark!

That's it for this issue. Coming up in the next issues will be JOHNNY REB scenarios on Bull Run and Chantilly by Scott Mingus, FIRE & FURY scenarios for the great cavalry battles by Roxanne Patton, more JOHNNY REB scenarios from Bill Miller, BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER articles/scenarios from Lee Barnes, Joel Gregory, Roxanne Patton, and more. Once again, I want to thank all of the above for contributing to the magazine, and I hope that they'll inspire more of you dear readers to send in your articles.

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