Innehållsförteckning för September 2022 från Miniature Wargames

ROME ◗ lucideyepublications.com ◗ £6 - £9 Lucid Eye Publications have recently produced a new range of 28mm, Republican Roman forces for their Rome and the Wars of the Middle Sea range. All in metal, I’ve seen a few samples and they are proportionately sculpted in 32mm ‘scale’ by Steve Saleh. Prices are generally £9 a pack of four identical infantry (unless I say otherwise). I was sent some Velites. There are four different types (I saw ones in wolf skins) advancing with a spear. I also saw some Phalangites with spear and shield. The shields (and spears) are all separate and those come in three different packs to make up into blocks with their weapons held at Low, Mid and High to assemble a nice, dense block. I was…

When I started my Samurai Armies project, the main decision was which figures to use, however I came across the Steve Barber Models 40mm range while web surfing. I have a addiction to 40mm figures, perhaps as they have more of a table presence, so the figure size choice was made. The scheme for the project would be that the bulk of the armies would be my own home-made figures, with the main command figures sourced from Steve Barber Models range. While I was sculpting and casting up the two opposing armies I worked on accumulating all the scenics I would need for games with small and large forces. To keep my focus on that part of the project I decided on a target scenario to get everything ready for,…

This particular model has taken sometime in the planning and execution. Back in 2020, John (the Editor) had suggested that I produce a Sci-Fi themed piece of terrain and… well I had many false starts: the most recent was a modified Gum Ball dispenser/habitat dome which was commandeered by the Grandchildren for use as a marble storage container (it may still be the basis of a future magazine article). However, what I came up with was this: the Ruined Crawler was built as a weekend project employing a well-used mechanised tractor unit and a scratch built cab mounted on to a small diorama base for use with the Osprey Publishing game Stargrave. Construction started by filling the many sliding sections of the main tractor unit and building the Star Wars…

After last month’s Last Word I thought I’d keep the ball rolling for a subject close to all of our hearts (and before we slip into more lockdowns…). This time we hear about the trials and tribulations of running the SELWG openday. Ed. Following the massive disruption that COVID-19 brought to our hobby, I thought it would be interesting to write a little about the challenges we faced relocating our show during the pandemic: perhaps other show organisers might benefit from our experiences. It’s probably worth a short history of the show itself. The SELWG club was established in 1971 and we held our first open day in 1973. From those humble beginnings the event metamorphosed into a muchloved and well-established fixture at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. Unfortunately, the…

BOXER REBELLION Primers Caliver have produced two new books in a limited run on the Boxer Rebellion. Written by Mike Blake they are copiously illustrated. Each are around 200 pages long and available for £39.95 each. The first covers The Boxers themselves; The Imperial Chinese Armies and Navies; The British; Civilian Volunteers, Volunteer Corps and the Church Militant. It also details operations on many events (mostly) up to 1900. These include the Boxers Attacking Foreigners and Fighting Chinese Imperial Troops; the Boxers Fighting Chinese Imperial Army Troops; the Taku Forts attack; the International Relief Expedition and clashes between the Imperial Chinese Army and Resurgent Boxers, 1900-14. The second volume has detail on more forces with The Japanese; British Indian Army; French; Italians; Austro-Hungarians; and Australians. There are more operations detailed…

Living in the “COVID Times” (or, as the Kinchlets call it, “The Big Sick”) has found me watching even more YouTube than I do normally, and this led to me discovering some excellent wargaming channels, most notably Little Wars TV. It was on Little Wars TV that I came across American wargamer Mark Fastoso while they were reviewing his free set of Western gunfight rules, Ruthless. I was impressed with these, but I knew the name rang a bell. RULES MEISTER It was weeks later when I realised that this must be the same Mark Fastoso who was associated with the Colonial Campaigns series of scenario books, most notably his book on Ethiopian campaigns of the 1890s. Mark has had a varied wargaming career, writing a set of Company Level Second World…

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 – or, as in this case, a fantasy theme – but you can easily adapt the mechanics to suit your own preferences and collections. SITUATION REPORT Following the Purity War fifteen years ago, the border region between the fast growing human settlements and Wildlands of the Old Folk has seen constant skirmishes, incursions and raids. In the north,…

I have a 15mm Japanese army for World War Two and I built up a small British force to oppose them, since I wanted a change from the run of the mill Western European or Russian fronts. Having these units more or less dictated that I base my game in Burma but I was struck by the scarcity of suitable terrain. Peter Pig do have a small but limited selection of buildings and other manufacturers have one or two suitable offerings; however, none of them really sparked my interest and I set out to make some of my own. Although my purpose was to produce a small village for Burma the buildings can easily be transferred to other settings including island hopping in the Pacific Theatre of World War Two,…

This is a change of scale and period for Dave Tuck and his chums. Ed. GO BIG OR GO HOME Ever since the day I walked into Peter Gilder’s Wargames Holiday Centre near Scarborough, I have always been a fan of the big game. Unfortunately, I do not have a building that will accommodate a pair of 24’ by 6’ tables with a 3’ shelf behind each of them. Still, having said that, I am very lucky, having access to a 12’ by 6’ table, and this – together with the use of 15mm figures – still gives scope for large battles to be fought. What is a big game? My definition is one that takes several hours (at least six) to conclude, involves at least half a dozen players, and…

A couple of issues ago in issue 469 we mentioned a game Maharatta at Salute run by Martin Gane. The rules for the game were written specifically by Brian Cameron and I asked him to share his thoughts on the subject. The rule system is available as a download from the TTG website along with the Quick Play Sheet. Ed. DESIGNERS NOTES For this article I’m going to consider table-top battles with model soldiers which may involve two or more people and/or may be played solo. I’ve previously described my way of playing games solo (see issue 449. Ed.) so I’m not going over that ground again. Many of my games are table-top battles with model soldiers which may involve two or more people and mainly set in the ‘horse, musket and artillery’ period which I enjoy…