I had no idea of what to expect when I first sat down to watch the video movie "Gettysburg In Miniature". After all, how exciting could it be to watch the greatest battle fought in North America with a cast of lead miniatures? I expected 46 minutes of staring at 12,000 painted miniatures with some guy moving them around a table — WRONG! "Gettysburg In Miniature" is an excellently produced video that tells the story of the Gettysburg campaign and battle in great detail via the narrator's voice and exquisitely done miniature dioramas, complete with a haze of smoke (I had to call the producer, Jeff Leighton, to find out how they got all of that smoke into the film). On par with some of the better educational tapes seen in high schools and colleges, this film includes maps with moving arrows to point the advances made by each side. Of course, the stars of this movie are its actors....thousands of well painted ACW miniatures placed amidst scenery that would make any wargamer proud. I realize that it is hard to imagine how miniatures could be used in a way that would be interesting, but these have to be seen to be believed. There are the personality figures, men marching to and fro, troops engaged in the thick of battle......all flashing before your eyes in coordination with a smooth narrating voice. Even the packaging is first class and is equal to or better than your average store bought video. This film is highly recommended for people who would like to have a visual history of the battle of Gettysburg, or those who would like some ideas for scenery and miniature painting. Certainly one will get some fantastic ideas on what can be accomplished with some steady work on terrain pieces. At $39.95, the movie is not for people who like to watch re—enacting or see lots of movement and charges. But it IS for gamers who want the best film using miniatures to date. To order, call toll free at 1—800—543—6485 to purchase with a credit card. Back to The Zouave Vol III No. 2 Table of Contents Back to The Zouave List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1989 The American Civil War Society 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