Innehållsförteckning för May 2022 från Miniature Wargames

Writing an appropriate wargaming editorial is becoming increasingly difficult, what with the world and all: one never knows what changes will be happening between when I sit down to type and when the magazine goes to press. I mean – just as I was looking forward to attending more shows – suddenly I need a bank loan to fuel a vehicle but, hey: small problems compared to some folks, I know. But – in gaming news – this is another great issue so how about a money saver? I’ll remind you all that – if you are missing the odd issue of the magazine – you can complete your collection with digital back issues at a huge discount. If you have previously purchased a digital issue, or are a current…

When I was a young Kinch, as yet unschooled in the ways of age and villainy, I made a serious error and got a four year degree in Journalism. This was paid for by my parents and while it did wonders for my alcohol tolerance, it was not exactly a sure fire ticket to gainful employment. To be honest, I’m not sure I learned very much, what I did learn was of little use and I’m not convinced my father would not have been better employed sitting out in his armchair lighting cigars with fifty pound notes while I was shipped off to learn a proper trade like plumbing, furniture upholstery or turkey sexing. It would almost certainly have been a better use of his money and my time. But…

I saw this game at Salute and asked Martin to write something about it for the magazine, and he kindly obliged. Ed. We wargamers are a fickle breed, easily distracted by the next shiny range of figures that gets advertised. It never ceases to surprise me how certain periods of military history suddenly appear popular with wargamers: suddenly they are all the rage – for just a little while – and then they disappear again, just as fast as they first appeared. The popularity of these “new” or forgotten eras is normally triggered by a great set of new rules or a fantastic range of new figures. The British involvement in India is one such period that – over the course of the last few years – appears to have grown in popularity.…

I was rereading some of the Last Word sections that a variety of contributors have written in the magazine, and it has occurred to me that they all have one thing in common. Inspiration. So what did generate interest in wargaming amongst those writers when they were younger? None have said what might, to an outsider, be ‘obvious’. No one has stated “I really like war” so much that they want to portray it on the table top with small models. What they tend to nominate are works of fact or fiction – cinematic or literary – that made them think something to the effect of “that sounds exciting: I want to replicate that”. As a youngster I certainly watched a lot of films and read a fair number of books.…

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC Aztecs, Conquistadors, Italians & Germans Wargames Atlantic have lots of new releases – out now and coming soon. Already in the US – and soon in the rest of the world – are Aztec Warriors (30 figures) and Conquistadors (24 figures), while, in the UK, the Italian Infantry (32 figures, heavy machine gun and pith helmet options); and the Panzer Lehr that we previewed a couple of months ago (30 figures with lots of weapon and equipment options) are now available at their regular £25 a box price. Remember that you can also multi-buy boxes to save money: three for £70 (with free postage). Going SF, there’s also an extra sprue for Death Fields with a separate weapons selection: £4.50 buys Pickelhaubes; gasmask heads (with separate air…

This is the first of what is planned to be a three part article on a return to the War of 1812 with scenarios to come and downloadable content. And yes I know the musical pun in the sub-title is not apposite so no writing in, please… Ed. INTRODUCTION I am a big fan of Little Wars TV, the YouTube channel, and have watched nearly every episode. The enthusiasm shown by these guys is contagious and they have become the benchmark for wargames videos. Recently they have tried to recruit new people to the hobby by issuing a free set of Dark Ages rules and scenarios, as well as “how to” demonstrations and sample game turns. Christmas 2021 showed the team attempting to raise money for the American Battlefield Trust. This organisation is a non-profit…

Each Command Decision aims to offer a series of playable options in timeless military scenarios. Command Decision is designed so you can read the situation and figure out your own command decisions if you were leading the troops on the ground. You can either work through the various options or use the mechanics to create the precise circumstances of the table top engagement. The scenarios may have particular historical themes and settings, but you can easily adapt the mechanics to suit your own preferences and collections.. SITUATION REPORT The Paraguayan president Francisco Solano Lopez has just declared war on Argentina. He has ordered two columns of troops to launch an invasion. Colonel Estigarriba, at the head of 10,000 men has moved down the Rio Uruguay, taken Sao Borja and then…

Kevin Dallimore has had three previous outings in Miniature Wargames on this subject: fast building forces for a Lord of the Rings themed army for use with the very popular Oathmark rules, published by North Star and Osprey. So far we’ve had Wargs, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs (and their various permutations) and last time – in issue 465 – he fast painted the Undead Oathbreakers. This time it’s Tom, Bert, and William… Ed. TROLL TOE IN THE WATER If you haven’t been following my fast painting lockdown and post lockdown escapades you won’t have a clue what this is all about, but I’ve been creating – in 'covid-dom' and beyond – of some Lord of the Rings armies for Oathmark. But, despite what I had achieved so far, I did think that there was something missing: I realised that I was waiting for……

I took a trip to Hammerhead 2022 in March and great fun it was too. Sure, I originally thought I’d be there a year ago but… well “slips happen” (or words to that effect). What was fantastic was that – despite the travails of the last two years, and other shows still being cancelled (in the last few months we’ve certainly lost Cavalier and Salute from the itinerary) – what is nowadays probably my favourite show was back on the wargaming calendar. And it was going great guns! TRADERS Spread over the two halls – the capacious main George Stephenson Hall and the Gamer’s Lounge – were 55 traders. Well almost (sadly there was the odd cancellation but nothing like Salute had experienced six months before). There was a good…

This is a scenario using Hell and Uncivil Disorder rules but could be adapted to any other WWII rules that may well be preferred or suitable (or even some other periods). These are written by Mr Webster and have been previously reviewed in this magazine. Ed. THE SIEGE OF BUDAPEST This siege – which took place during the winter of 1944-1945 – was one of the longest and bloodiest in the Second World War. Depending on how it is measured, it lasted 102 days. Prior to the siege both sides had suffered considerable casualties and were running short of manpower. So for the Germans, 18th SS Panzer Division had only 1000 men supported by sixteen tanks siege and assault guns. Other units had seen similar levels of attrition. On the Soviet side, 44th…

This month’s tutorial is a little different from my usual layout as it details three similar builds rather than just one. The inspiration came following a number of e-mails between the editor and myself where I had requested some guidance as to future article themes and subject matter. In one of the replies, John suggested I look at producing a piece of ‘scatter terrain’, themed around Oathsworn, Frostgrave, or Stargrave. I thought the suggestion was well worth pursuing but doubted that a single model would be enough for the standard nine steps, three page format. However, I thought that three separate builds with three steps each could work. I searched the internet for suitable pieces of terrain and eventually decided on a trio of pieces of scatter terrain. These were…