Innehållsförteckning för July 2023 från Miniature Wargames

So… what do we have in this issue, dear readers? Well, there’s the conclusion of the Nihon Shugi (the Sino-Japanese War) piece with a scenario; another foray into the new Tales of Myths & Monsters game with a Greek setting (and shots of the Salute game) with a scratchbuild to suit; A Desert Raid DAK ATTACK scenario; more Indian Mutiny scenarios; plus a scenario for The Men who would be King; an intriguing Napoleonic introduction to the Valkryx system for the Battle of Waterloo and a Partizan show report. As the summer weeks bring better weather, I’m looking forward (fingers crossed) to more gaming. As The Old Crow Medicine Show sang: “So, while you sit and whistle Dixie with your money and your power I can hear the flowers a-growing;…

“There is nothing heroic about the commissariat, there is nothing glorious about the transport, but brilliant victories and desperate defeats not infrequently owe their origin to these less imposing but vitally important and integral portions of modern campaign organisation.” Indian Frontier Warfare: A Tactical Treatise by G.J. Younghusband INTRODUCTION There are a lot of things that I find frustrating about the 21st century. But amongst the many fat headed things that people believe in these enlightened modern days is that the campaigns of the Empire in the 19th century were easy. This is usually combined with a belief that the senior leadership and regimental officers who fought for the Empire were somehow simultaneously blimpish and blinkered buffoons who crushed all before them. I call this Schrodinger’s Colonel: the man who is…

HORSE ARCHERS & LATE ROMANS ◗ victrixlimited.com◗ £30 - £36 Victrix have sent a couple of recent releases in for review. Late Roman Armoured Infantry and Ancient Horse Archers. All are manufactured in hard plastic and feature ‘self’ bases (an oval base – sometimes called a ‘puddle’ base – usually by people who like thicker slot bases…) but that’s good: those that want a self-base have them and those that don’t can hide them on a slot base. What they remind me of (in a nostalgic kind of way) are Airfix figures, and them being supplied in a thick plastic bag (with a zip closure) and a printed card to with an instruction sheet included just adds to that rose-tinted vision. Of course, being modern plastics from Victrix they are…

I have been watching with keen interest the development of a new gaing system by Valkryx (you have probably seen their adverts in the magazine). What I hadn’t realised is the huge scope of the project with many periods catered for including historical. Read on. Ed. INTRODUCTION It cannot come as a great surprise if “…the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life” turned out differently on the day, with catastrophic repercussions for Britain and Europe. Students of Waterloo will identify a long list of errors and lost opportunities that led to Napoleon’s defeat. If either Ney had supported his cavalry with infantry, or Grouchy had marched to the sound of the guns, the outcome may well have been different. Without doubt it is the knife edge nature of the battle…

CRETE A Rapid Fire scenario book The Rapid Fire team (Colin Rumford and Richard Marsh) have released a new scenario booklet aimed at – not surprisingly – Rapid Fire rules. Covering the WWII campaign featuring the German Air Assault on Crete, after a brief introduction and some scene setting, the publication details four ‘waves’ of the battle and these are presented as a quartet of linked scenarios: Maleme Airfield; Prison Valley; Retimo; and Heraklion. The 32 page, A5, soft booklet is in full colour and has maps and illustrations (mostly diagrams of troops) and includes some inspirational photography taken specifically for this volume. The booklet ends with sections on Special Rules for the scenarios (unusual elements like the De-Gerat rocket launcher), and small sections covering Paratroops and Gliders, Luftwaffe Ground…

I reviewed Mr Wheatley’s rules a few issues back and Dave Tuck and crew produced a scenario in the last issue so here is a tase from the rules author: Go to dakattackgame.blogspot.com or Offensive Miniatures for more info. Ed. INTRODUCTION I’m pretty sure many of you have been watching the TV series Rogue Heroes the story of the S.A.S. [Special Air Service]. There has been much said about the series in terms of what is true, what is false and what has been exaggerated purely to make good viewing. I will state here and now that I have no intention of getting involved in that debate. However, one of the main themes in the first series was the relationship between David Stirling who is credited with the creation of the unit and one of…

This is going to be a short article that mostly lets the pictures do the talking but there are quite a few things worth a mention. The show was located in the now customary (for both Partizans and Hammerhead) venue at the Cedric Ford Pavilion at the Newark Showground. For those that haven’t been, it’s a big shed-type building, but is quite a comfy one and has catering facilities and seating on site and – effectively – unlimited free car parking. Entry was £5 (or less with a concession) and the show had a good atmosphere and was very well attended. So: hopefully the ‘panic’ is over (see my Last Word in this issue) There was a good selection of traders (about 46 of them with a decided historical bent)…

BANZAI! This month we spoke to David. How did you get started, we asked? “Well, I had some friends who were quite big into Warhammer, and they encouraged me to try it. I really enjoyed every aspect of that hobby, with the building, painting, lore reading, playing the game itself with friends and meeting new people all the time. But I realised that Warhammer is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to model making, and I began to get into building and painting scale models from companies like Airfix and Tamiya. I find it an amazing hobby that not only is an absolute blast but teaches good qualities like patience!” “The picture I sent in is a snapshot of Okinawa in 1944, when Japanese soldiers relentlessly advanced…

Following on from last months background piece, this is how Mr Kersey made a game of it! Ed. GAME PROCESS My aim with Pyongyang was to present this as part of an ongoing series of games looking at the Nihon Shugi period. Lately my show games have three very simple precepts: ◗ Based on a 6x4 flat board with stylized, simple scratchbuilt or commercial building terrain pieces etc. This I like to think of as a “Hornby trainset wargame” so it’s something that folks could do at home with little resources. ◗ Presentation influenced by period model theatres. By this I mean likened to the model theatres popular in the 19th century and early 20th century which would be contemporary with the events depicted. A strong nod to this is the…

This would fit in very well as scenery for the Dog of Two Head Greek Myths and Monsters game on page 12 Ed. I suppose that I should start this article with an apology, as I have in the past produced a similar scratch built shine for this magazine, (see the Slaine: Kiss my Axe article) but I thought the inspiration and planning of this particular model was worth recording. Sue and I were visiting a National Trust house and – as I always do – I browsed the second hand book stall (most NT houses or gardens have one) and found a children’s illustrated book showing a beautiful Celtic stone shrine. I made a simple sketch of the shrine and later tried to find the same illustration on the internet. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful…