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Anglo-Zulu War
British Line Infantry

WHAT IF?
Changing history on
the wargames table

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Issue 405
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september 2021
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VICTRIX NORMANS RAID ON FIERY CROSS

A painting guide Covert action in the South China Sea

PLUS: THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR * KITBASHING YOUR FREEBIE FIGURES AND MUCH MORE
 wargames illustrated issue WI405 september 2021
FEATURED
THIS MONTH

from the editor

If you can play the guitar, music can become interactive. You are no longer just listening to
music, you’re taking part in it. If you play a wargame, you can make history interactive. You
are no longer just reading about it, you’re re-enacting it, and at the same time wargamers are
seeing and manipulating what might have been. Rarely do players choose to refight a carbon
copy of a battle, which means just about every wargame ever played is a ‘what if’, making
this month’s theme content very easy to compile, but tricky to introduce, beyond the obvious
“all games are ‘what if’s so away you go”.

OBERVATION POST ................... 14 We decided that for our introduction to ‘what if’ (see page 32), we would ask several
different gamers what ‘what if’s mean to them and how they go about choosing them and
turning them into gameable tabletop actions.
That introduction is accompanied by several articles with a ‘what if’ angle, taking you from
the streets of medieval Paris to the South China Sea in the 21st Century. We are also pleased
to present several excellent painting and modelling articles this month, covering big guns,
French Railway Stations, Normans, and this month’s freebie figures.
Happy reading and rolling.
Dan Falconbridge
Editor and Owner

Cover Artwork: Steampunk Redcoats by Neil Roberts.

WELCOME TO ‘WHAT IF’S ........ 32
Below: The Leper Terrorists of France. Turn to page 50 to see what that is all about!

BUILDING A FRANCO-PRUSSIAN
WAR RAILWAY STATION .......... 42

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contents theme:
STORMING THE DANEVIRKE ........ 60
QUIcK FIRE! .......................................... 8 Colonel (Retired) Bill Gray returns to the
Your fellow wargamers tell us about their duchies of Schleswig and Holstein and
recent hobby projects. ponders a ‘what if’ that was mere hours THE LEPER TERRORISTS
away from happening. OF FRANCE ....................................... 50
OBSERVATION POST ........................ 14
News and reviews of new miniatures, BLAM! BLAM! AARGH!
models, and more. SNATCH! .............................................. 68
Did last issue’s free rules leave you
RELEASE RADAR ................................. 24
hungry for more grid gaming action?
In our new regular feature Dom Sore
Have no fear, Daniel Mersey is here,
tells us about the exciting new hobby
with a new scenario for his game of
releases that have made a big blip on
Blam! Blam! Aargh!
his Release Radar!
COVER mount FOCUS:
FULL PAPER JACKET ......................... 28
KITBASHING YOUR REDCOATS .... 72
What new book releases have piqued Neil
We rummage through the bits box,
Smith’s interest this month?
wield the scalpel, and apply some
theme: green stuff and paint to this month’s
WELCOME TO ‘WHAT IF’S ............... 32 cover mounted figures. STORMING THE DANEVIRKE ..... 60
Folks from the wargaming world throw
theme:
‘what if’ gaming randomicity your way!
“THE OUTRAGE AT JEDDO” .......... 78
BUILDING A FRANCO-PRUSSIAN Pete Brown presents an unusual samurai
WAR RAILWAY STATION ................. 42 skirmish game involving those sneakiest of
Tony Harwood brings half a century spies and assassins - the ninja!
of model making experience to the
ENTRENCHING A BIG GUN ........... 84
pages of Wi with a build of Courcelles
Barry Evans takes a Victoria Miniatures
railway station.
artillery piece and adds an impressive
theme: THE LEPER TERRORISTS trench emplacement to create a vignette.
OF FRANCE ......................................... 50
theme:
Dr Steve Tibble introduces us to a tale
RAID ON FIERY CROSS ..................... 92
of medieval madness, moral panic, and
Bob Giglio and Dennis O’Toole put forth
great ‘what if’ gaming potential set in “THE OUTRAGE AT JEDDO” ....... 78
a hypothetical raid on a Chinese military
14th Century Paris.
facility in this modern ‘what if’ scenario.
PAINTING VICTRIX’S
NEW NORMAN INFANTRY ............ 56
This article inaugurates Wargames
Illustrated’s new in-house painter Marc.
Before his first ‘cuppa’ had even brewed,
we plonked some plastic Norman Infantry
on his desk and he created this handy
painting guide.

ENTRENCHING A BIG GUN ......... 84

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 QUICK FIRE!
Short, quick-read posts from Wi readers about their hobby projects, notes, news, and observations.

A HALF-BAKED IDEA!
By Bill Witthans

As someone likely to starve without my good wife watching over I spent a few days on other projects, but in the back of my mind
me, you can imagine my wife and daughter’s surprise, several I wondered about a new way to apply the filler. Then, bingo! I
years ago, when they caught me watching the Great British thought back to the show and how they used icing bags when
Baking Show! [AKA The Great British Bake Off - Ed] decorating cakes - would it work with wood putty?
I found the show fun to watch, interesting to see how these A quick trip to the market and I had a dozen plastic ‘icing cones’
baked works of art were created, and frankly I could listen to the for $6 US. I mixed up a fist-sized batch of filler, scooped it into
dictionary being read to me if it was done with an English accent! the icing bag, rolled and clipped the bag end closed, cut the other
Little did I know that I would learn some things I could use in the end off, creating about a ¼ inch hole, and I was ready to go.
wargaming world …
To apply it you simply point the open tip where you want filler
I make a lot of terrain. While making a damaged Sphinx model for and squeeze the bag! Wow, just like a tube of toothpaste, it
a friend, I thought about what a pain it was to spread out filler onto worked better than I had hoped.
the base while creating the underlayment for the drifting sand. I use
Who would have thought that watching The Great British Baking
Durham’s Rock-Hard wood putty often; it can be messy and a bit
Show would make one a better model maker? It just goes to show,
troublesome when trying to apply it quickly in a controlled manner.
you never know where that next cool trick will come from!
It spreads well when very thin, gets into cracks, but won’t hold
shape or stay put. When its thicker it is hard to spread out evenly,
retains brush marks, and starts to set.

Tips for using an icing bag wiTh filler:

• Varying consistency of the mix, thicker or
thinner, helps in control and flow.
• Roll from the “fill” end pushing material
towards the tip. Like a tube of toothpaste!
• Small clips are useful to close each end.
• A few soft flat brushes and water can help
in moving or smoothing out applied filler.
• A small amount of PVA wood glue added to
the mix makes the putty even harder!
• Bags are reusable when cleaned out quickly.

8
28MM POCKET ARMIES
By Norm Smith
For too long, I have been torn between enjoying the aesthetic of Grouping these into a line of three melee bases, with three missile
the 28mm figure, but having a table that at its most extended is bases out in front, together with an extra element of support such
just under 6' x 4', making a smaller scale the more sensible choice. as a spear / pike unit, artillery, or mounted sorts, makes for a
Perceived wisdom is that on the kitchen / dining table, 28mm nicely sized formation that has enough presence to bring out some
best serves skirmish games, with smaller scales serving anything tactical nuances. With three such formations per side, giving a
that we might think of as a ‘bigger battle’. However, my interests centre and two flanks, the armies sit neatly within the limitations
straddle that divide, perhaps formed in those teenage years when of the dining table.
Airfix armies quite happily roamed the domestic table, fighting the
At the moment, I am using Sword & Spear rules by Great Escape
‘small big battle’.
Games, which recommend around 15 such bases per side on a
I have always enjoyed the look of the Impetvs style basing, though standard 6' x 4' table or eight on a 4' x 3'.
it is generally applied along the lines of 120mm bases for 28mm
figures and 80mm bases for 15mm.
I have already turned some attention to the Napoleonic era, with
two 80mm bases forming the battalion. Each base has two rows of
A few years ago, while at the Phalanx wargame show, the five figures, so there are a total of 20 figures to the battalion.
Liverpool Wargames Association put on a demo game covering
Having two bases allows the formations of line, assault column,
the battle of Hastings. It was set out on a 4' x 3' table, units were
and square to be easily represented. One limitation is that units
based on 100mm bases and a DBA type variant was in play. It
will always be visually the same size, so for those who want their
looked beautiful, ticked all of my boxes, and I was sold!
Austrian, Prussian, or Russian units to look bigger, this will not be
After some pondering, I took the plunge; so far, the effects the ideal solution, but my intention is simply to mark such units as
and gaming realities have been quite pleasing. The 80mm base large and accord them the various advantages that brings, usually
still looks quite ‘unit like’, but also fits with the description of more staying power.
‘element’ for those that prefer that label. For the first outing, the
I won’t be applying an 80mm standard to all of my armies, for
80mm scheme has been applied to 28mm Wars of the Roses
example my ACW regiments are formed from three 50mm bases
armies, with bases at 60mm depth for the melee troops and 50mm
with 18 figures double ranked, but overall, I am aiming to collect
depth for the missile troops and skirmisher types. Cavalry are on
80mm square bases. Generally, nine or ten infantry figures go
several 28mm ‘Pocket Armies’ from different periods of interest,
with unit frontages that have been tamed to work within the home
onto a melee base in a slightly unformed style, eight or nine on a
setting; at the moment, it is working for me.
missile base, and three light cavalry or four heavy cavalry on their
respective bases.

9
 A SHOWCASE OF 60MM MACEDONIANS
By David Lycett

In 2016, quite by accident, I saw some 60mm

figures on a forum and enquired about them.
They were made by Expeditionary Force of
Singapore, and as they were Macedonians (I’m
a fan of Alexander) I bought a couple of boxes
just to see what they were like!
The rest is history. I was hooked and have spent
the last 5 years building up a Macedonian and
Persian army. 2021 has seen my dream come to
fruition and the results of my labour are shown
in the photos.
I was also fortunate in meeting Simon Miller
and Andrew Brentnall of To the Strongest fame
and have joined in their participation games
at the Partizan shows, which are always an
inspiration and great fun.
So, I have the figures and the rules, though the
photos of a game in action here are actually of
a battle played using the Bello Ludi Ancient
rules by Peter van Dop - another enjoyable set
of rules.

So, why 60mm? Well, apart from

enjoyment of the period and the
excellent quality of the figures, I think
the photos show the size and spectacle
one can achieve with 60mm figures. I’m
also lucky in that I have a permanent
10’x 6’ wargames table. I can just about
fit all the figures on it!
So, with these done, no more projects …
But wait a minute, Expeditionary Force
do some lovely Mediaeval figures, as
well as Romans and Celts, and later this
year are set to produce some Biblical
Wars figures - all in 60mm. Oh dear!

10
MORE QUICK FIRE! PLEASE!
Send us your Quick Fire! pieces and
get yourselves a FREE magazine or
Giants in Miniature figure.
Please get in touch with a photo or
two and less than 500 words of text
about anything similar to what you
have seen in this column. So that’s
painting or modelling projects,
rules, wargaming notes
and observations.
Send your emails to:
[email protected]
Use the subject title ‘Quick Fire!’.

11
 OBSERVATION
NEW AND FORTHCOMING ‘WARGAMES STUFF’
YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

RULES, SUPPLEMENTS, & FIGURES

ARK ROYAL MINIATURES - MID-LATE 17TH CENTURY SHIPS

Barry Hilton of Warfare Miniatures/The League of Augsburg has expanded his 17th Century passion from land to sea over the last
12 months. First came a ‘trial version’ of a new set of naval rules, Mad for War, and now we have an impressive release (14 packs)
of 1/1200 scale metal ships for the mid-late 17th Century, covering the Anglo-Dutch Wars.
With ease of assembly an obvious goal,
the smaller ships come as one-piece casts.
The larger flagships and warships have
their mizzenmasts and jib sails attached,
but the mainmasts and foremasts require
assembly - you’ll need to plug and glue
them into place on the hull.
The models we have for review include
the first two English flagships: Sovereign
of the Seas and Royal Prince, the latter Above: The Royal Sovereign in component Above: Metal base and very neat brass etching
being the world’s first three-deck fighting form. It comes with two longboats, which can are added extras.
ship. Both are sold together in a ‘ship be fitted to the hull or pulled at stern.
pack’ priced at £21.50 ($32 US).
Smaller ships, like the pictured 38-gun
Indiaman, Crompster, and Dutch Fluyts
come in packs of three to eight. Again,
these models come in ‘ship packs’, priced
at £21.50 ($32 US), with the option to
purchase ‘squadron deals’ of three ship
packs for £56.00 ($96 US).
Fine sculpting, casting, and historical
accuracy are on display across the range. Above: Prince Royal - looking ship shape! Above: Sovereign of the Seas.
It also includes some nice optional extras
in the form of ratlines and shrouds made
of etched brass sheeting, and it is made
to measure. Sculpted metal bases are also
available.
The market for 1/1200 scale ships of
this period isn’t exactly crowded, so the
introduction of a promising new range
is very welcome, particularly one that is
price comparable and has launched with
so many available options. Above: Dutch 38 Indiaman. Above: Dutch Crompster.
The models are being marketed under
the moniker of ‘Ark Royal Miniatures
by Warfare Miniatures’ and are available
from the Warfare Miniatures UK and
US website.

Right: Dutch Fluyts.

14
OFFENSIVE MINIATURES – “JEDBURGH” TEAM

New from Offensive Miniatures, an addition to their Elite catalogue, is a “Jedburgh” Team. This set of four figures joins the
Offensive Miniatures British Paras range and represents the teams of specialists who parachuted into France during WW2. Over 90
‘Jed’ teams joined the fighting in Normandy in the later stages of the war, and Jedburgh Teams are an HQ choice in the recent Bolt
Action Campaign book D-Day: US Sector. This is a timely release then!

Included in the set are three men in action and a

radio operator. They come at 28mm scale and look
realistic, with well-proportioned details and slender
weaponry. They’ll fit in nicely with figures from
other 28mm ranges, and should you want to match
them up with Bolt Action figures, they sit well
alongside them. There are slight discrepancies in the
scale of some weaponry, but only the most obsessive
will even notice it on the gaming table!
The ‘Jed’ teams typically consisted of three
men - commander, executive officer, and non- Above: The full four figure “Jeburgh” team.
commissioned radio operator - so here we get a
bonus model to offer some extra variety.

The casting is pretty good, but there’s a strange taint to the colour of
the metal on some figures - a rather unsightly brown. It is particularly
noticeable on the radio operator who is so ‘browned’ that he looks like his
nerve has failed him on the battlefield! This, of course, will not be visible
once figures are painted, but it makes for miniatures that look a bit lower in
quality when fresh from the blister. There’s fine detail and a distinct lack of
flash or mould lines on the casting, so it is a shame that the discolouration
is present to give us slight cause for concern about the actual metal quality.
Looking specifically at the figures, they are a characterful bunch. They’re
hefting a good bit of kit around, which is just right for their behind enemy
lines infiltration. Weapons included offer up a good mixture - there’s the
standard-issue M1 carbine and holsters for their Colt automatics, but there’s
also a Thompson and a Sten gun resting next to the radio.
Though they’re in the British Paras range, the Jeds were a mixture of
military personnel from Britain, Canada, France, and the US and they
were involved in operations in the Netherlands and South East Asia too -
you have a good bit of potential to work these into your force. If you play
Bolt Action and want to focus on France and the Resistance, then these
will be a way to bring an elite aspect to your otherwise rather rag-tag
group of Partisans.
If we ignore the ‘soiling’ present on his uniform, the radio operator is a
very cool figure. He’s squatting down and using the Type B Mark II radio
(also known as the Jed Set), which has been recreated with a good bit of
detail. These sets, a means of communication with Special Force HQ in
London, were essential in the Jeds’ war efforts; you’ll probably want to use
this figure when using the Bolt Action ‘Supply Co-ordination’ special rule
to boost the firepower of your Maquisards.

15
 THE PLASTIC SOLDIER COMPANY – RUSSIAN GAZ TRUCKS

A nice little set from PSC here - this box contains six plastic
Russian GAZ trucks at 1/72 scale. The price averages out at just
£5 ($7 US) each, so quite a bargain per model. Included in the box
are six frames (actually three frames but split in half) that contain
all of the parts you’ll need to construct three GAZ-AA trucks and
three GAZ-AAA trucks.
Each half-frame contains all the parts you need to make
a truck, and assuming you want each truck to have a
canopy and spare wheel (these are optional), you’ll use
every part. When constructed, these are mighty fine-
looking little vehicles and they’ll not only fit in well in
any 1/72 army you have (Soviet primarily, of course) but
can be used as a part of scatter terrain and obstacles for
larger-scale gaming as well.

building a gaZ-AAA
Step one - the cab
We built the GAZ-AAA first; despite
the assembly instructions on the
back of the box being so tiny that we
required a magnifying glass to read the
order in which parts should be fitted
together, we managed to build it quite
quickly. The main area to watch out
for initially is that the cab roof should
be attached after all the other cab parts
have been put together.

Step two - the wheels and axles

Fixing the bumper, front axle, and wheels comes next; that’s not too complex either. If you decide to keep the wheels separate from
the axles during the build, in order to speed up painting as sub-assemblies, then we suggest that you glue the double rear wheels
together with several dots of glue then push them onto the axle to ensure they match up perfectly. Pull them off the axle immediately
(by the back wheel) to ensure a rogue bit of glue doesn’t stick them to the vehicle.

16
Step three - the truck bed
The last stage of the build is making the rear truck bed. The long sides have a right and wrong way round so watch out for that or
they won’t line up properly. Again, to make painting easier, we left this truck bed separate and unglued. The canopy is optional;
we’ll probably mix things up on our trucks as we’ll be using them as terrain.

The finished GAZ-AAA looks mighty fine - a great recreation of these Ford Model AA knock-downs, built by the Soviet funded
NAZ (eventually renamed GAZ) factories. The solid windows do make for less overall realism than some of the other ‘blank’
window kits that PSC have released, and this might make them less appealing to scale model enthusiasts. For gamers, they remove
the need to build an interior or driver, which has undoubtedly kept the price down (fewer parts are needed) and will speed up the
build and painting process no end.

With our AAA building

experience, we moved to
the GAZ-AA; going from
parts on the frame to fully
built and ready for priming
took just ten minutes.
Even less experienced kit
builders should be capable
of building the full set of
six trucks in just a couple
of hours.

This is a great value box set that

has all you need to build six varied
vehicles with a good level of
detail. Even if you don’t have a
Soviet WW2 force in 1/72 scale,
you’ll be able to decorate a Bolt
Action (or similar) tabletop with
these vehicles (potentially in
different states of destruction) to
act as terrain and cover in many
battles.

17
 SARISSA PRECISION – MDF RIVER PATROL BOAT

Joining over 40 boats already available from Sarissa Precision, the River Patrol Boat
is a flat pack, three sheet MDF kit modelled on the PBRs used in the Mekong Delta
and on the Saigon River during the Vietnam War by the US Brown Water Navy.
Having recently constructed his first ever Sarissa buildings, for the
Outrage at Jeddo article in this issue, Editor Dan’s now an MDF
aficionado. How will he get on building a vehicle? Over to Dan:
Dan: “I was put into my comfort zone by the familiar charred
wood smell of laser-cut MDF even before taking off the
packaging! The model comes with the usual construction guide,
showing accurate step-by-step illustrations of the model. I tend
to find the illustrations easy to follow and pretty much forgo the
written text when building Sarissa kits.”

1. MDF and 2. Some hobbyists use

instructions superglue as their adhesive
ready to roll (or of choice, but I prefer fast
float!) Note that setting PVA glue for my
one of the sheets MDF models.
is cardboard.
Here the hull base is
I’m generally
constructed and the
not a big fan of
cardboard surround has
the cardboard
been fitted in place. The
components,
gap between front and
although I do
back surround was an
appreciate they
unwelcome feature of
are a necessary
my construction skills - I
‘evil’ for areas
should have done better
that need to fold
with the fit!
or bend.

3. The cabin is 4. As usual with Sarissa

also mainly made kits, the parts ‘pop’ from
from cardboard. the frames easily and fit
It fits together snuggly. There is some
neatly and fiddly fitting required,
securely. namely the cabin frame,
but all-in-all the River
Patrol Boat is quite a
basic construction.
In hindsight, my main tip
is take your time over the
hull surround and get it
fitting as tightly
as possible.

My build time was around 1hr and 15 mins in total.

Comparing this kit with the other 28mm PBRs on the market
(made from resin and metal), this one is both good value and a
good size when it comes to accommodating based figures easily.
What you don’t get, however, are any deck mounted guns - you
will need to hunt for your own weaponry. Other than that, this is a
good kit, which when painted will look great patrolling the rivers
of your Nam tabletop.

18
PERRY MINIATURES - PRUSSIAN INFANTRY COMMAND AND FRENCH CHASSEURS À PIED

prussian infanTry command

Hot on the heels of the plastic Prussian Infantry box set (see our in-depth feature in Wi404), we’ve snagged a pack of metal
‘generic’ command figures from sculptor Michael Perry that’ll be an excellent accompaniment to your troops and can represent
officers, or even a commander.
Five 28mm metal figures are included, four of which are on foot, and they fit in with the various options included in the plastic kit.
It’s worth noting that a command frame comes in both Prussian Infantry variant sets (advancing and skirmishing), but these metal
figures offer pose variation that would only be possible if you did some serious repositioning and sculpting of the plastic figures.
Three of the figures on foot wear Pickelhaubes and, as with the plastic kit, the 1860 model is
represented as well as the 1867 version. The model in
the more ‘bling’ heavy 1860 version of the Pickelhaube
carries an officer’s sword, has his greatcoat rolled over
his shoulder, and looks suitably commandeering with his
fine curled moustache. This chap, with his earlier helmet
(strap up), would work nicely in battles against the
Austrians and Danes too.
The other two are in the 1867 helmet type, and the one
pointing directions has his strap up, while the other is
drawing his blade on the advance, Pickelhaube firmly
fixed by the strap under his chin, and with an officers’
sash over his shoulder instead of a greatcoat roll.
The final model wears an officer’s cap and is in quite a dramatic pose, firing his revolver.
Details here are great and this figure feels like it is telling a little story all on its own; his
sword scabbard gripped in his left hand with his sash flowing behind as he shoots.
The final figure in the set is an impressive mounted model, wearing the ’67 Pickelhaube, with
greatcoat rolled, and a fine-looking cavalry sabre slung to his side. He will make for a fantastic
commander, calming the men.

french chasseurs à pied

Elite Light Infantry are next - two packs of Chasseurs à Pied, each containing six metal figures.
These are differentiated from the Line in a great many ways, but let’s start by looking at the uniforms. They wear short, double-breasted,
piped tunics rather than the long capote of the Line regiments. They also have kepis and epaulettes, worn throughout the campaign,
unlike the Line. These details are all nicely represented and the figures showcase the accuracy you’d expect from a Perry Miniatures
figure. That level of detail is then greatly enhanced by the sheer amount of gear that they are lugging around.

One code’s figures are all busy in

various stages of firing their 1866
Chassepots, with curved bayonets
removed - two of these figures are
crouching. These skirmishers are
weighed down with all the gear they
can practically carry, including tent
poles and a mess tin on top. Michael
has also promised us that further
codes are coming; it sounds like an The command code offers some
‘advancing’ one is ready for casting. differentiation with its two buglers
(great figures, these ones!), two
officers carrying minimal gear (one
does have his greatcoat rolled over
his shoulder), and a colour sergeant
who is carrying the porte-fanion
they’d use for recognition in the
field. The final figure is gesturing
to the others in a suitably dramatic
pose, and rounding out an excellent
group of figures that add more
variety to an already exciting new
range from Perry Miniatures.

19
 WARLORD GAMES - JAGDTIGER

We’re examining, building, and painting an impressive Bolt Action Built on the chassis of the heavy King Tiger tank, the kit is a
Jagdtiger as a part of our new mission to bring hobby guides for great recreation of the Jagdtiger, including its fearsome 128mm
selected new releases into Observation Post. This Jagdtiger - one PaK 44 anti-tank gun. This weapon decimated Allied tanks
of less than a hundred that entered combat, if you’re keen on at long range, and in your Bolt Action games it suffers no -1
keeping things historically accurate - is an impressively detailed penalty to penetration when firing from a distance.
and suitably large 28mm scale model and a great choice to pass to
The kit offers an appealing combination of detail and build
our new in-house painter Marc. Check out his insights on the build
simplicity; for such a large miniature, there are remarkably few
and painting processes and improve the finish you get on your
parts to fix together, and as you can see in these images, it looks
own scale version of this 71 ton hunting tiger!
fantastic with a good paint job applied. It’s not a cheap bit of kit
This Jagdtiger model was originally produced at 1/72 scale by at £27 ($38 US) but for such an iconic tank we think it’s well
kit maker Italeri; Warlord Games have retooled the kit to use in worth the investment. Now, over to Marc to hear how he found
games of Bolt Action (or your 28mm WW2 game of choice). the build and painting processes.

Left: Captain Tom stands

next to the Jagdtiger to
show off its size (and
perhaps sabotage it!)
- both models painted
by our in-house hobby
expert Marc.

The build
Marc: I was really impressed with how clearly labelled the components were on the frames and in the build manual. Critically, all
the numbers correctly correlated with the intended parts (we have all had builds where this is not the case, resulting in time wasted
scouring the sprues for the required piece). I am a big fan of kits that give the option of adding side skirts to a tank and that’s a
feature of this kit. I typically add them as I love the aesthetic that it creates. There are optional guide holes that you will need to
drill through if you fancy adding the skirts.
A slight negative comes with the track components. These have feeds to them that
face outward, and therefore, they require the careful removal of any plastic sprue
parts with a sharp knife. Caution had to be taken to ensure that any visible details
of the track were not damaged. This issue could have been removed had the tracks
been attached to the sprue using the alternative side. A track positive is that fixing
them in place, with each side coming as only four separate pieces, doesn’t take
long once you have the knack of placing them. The build guide fails to describe
the easiest order of construction - I recommend starting with the bottom track
first, then adding the additional wheels before adding the top section of track.
With all that done the side pieces can be fixed.

20
 dealing wiTh small plasTic pieces
There is little worse than a small component pinging
across the room and getting lost in carpet for eternity
after you clip it from a frame. To avoid this fate, press
any small parts (such as piece 52 in this kit) into a larger
piece of Blue Tac before you trim it from the frame. This
will ensure that if it does get dropped, it will be easy to
retrieve from the deepest pile grey carpets!

painTing The JagdTiger

Marc: I chose to paint the tank in the yellow/desert scheme shown in the build manual, developing the highlights along the uppermost
parts of the armour panels to create the impression of depth. An airbrush makes this job incredibly simple, but it’s just a tool and the
same results can be achieved with the humble paint brush too.
The size of the Jagdtiger results in it having several large smooth surfaces. You could use the decals provided provided in the box set,
but I wanted to use these areas to show off some chipping and weathering effects.

1 2

2. Cover the rust-coloured paint with chipping fluid

1. Paint the whole tank in a rust colour (I used Vallejo Model Air: Hull Red, - a specialist product that is aimed primarily at the
Armour Brown, First Light, and Light Rust), graduating the tones to create scale model market.
realistic highlights and shadows. This will be your underlying colour and
Airbrush the armour colour on top (I used Ammo by
what any chipped areas will show.
Mig: Dunkelgelb Shadow, followed by Dunkelgelb
Base, with a Dunkelgelb Highlight, finished with an
airbrush filter using a highly thinned yellow ink).

3 4

3. When that has dried, it’s time to chip away some of the outer coating. 4. To make the chips appear natural I used AK
Wetting the paint on the model then rubbing a Sniperbrush from Ammo by Interactive weathering pencils to create the
Mig (above left) over the panels and edges, begins to reveal the rust colour impression of rust stains on the armour panels.
beneath. The large surfaces of the tank provide an excellent canvas on which Again, these large surfaces are a fantastic place on
to practice this technique; if you have been contemplating giving it a try, I which to practice this effect.
highly recommend attempting it on this miniature. Refer to photographs of
real military vehicles to ensure you get chips in the right places and don’t
take things too far.

21
 RELEASE
RADAR
New regular columnist Dom Sore tells us about the
exciting hobby releases that have made a big blip
on his Release Radar!
DOM TALKS ABOUT DOM
WORLD WAR II APLENTY
I’ve been a gamer for longer
Early War Miniatures than I care to think about
(earlywarminiatures.com) have
and consider myself a hobby
five new releases in 20mm.
Vichy French cavalry are a niche butterfly; no single period, game
addition but could be converted to system, or scale can contain my
cover a number of other nations’ flitting! You may have noticed
cavalry around WW2. Supporting an article or two from me in
the cavalry is the French FT17, a
this esteemed publication over
small and ineffective tank by the
time the war started, but with the years - now I get to ramble
a charm all of its own. Speaking about new models every month.
of ineffective tanks, there are Above: L6 Semovente I’ll highlight new releases that
two versions of the Italian L6 Comando Compagnia.
appeal to me and will try and
tank: Comando Compagnia and a
standard autocannon armed one. show off some of the more
The Comando has two crew and unusual options out there.
a dummy machine gun, although
the aerials give it away. Finally,
there is an Mk4 AVRE Churchill;
marrying the massive 290mm
spigot mortar with the Churchill
makes for one of the most effective Left: L6 tank with autocannon.
of Hobart’s Funnies. It has options
for open or closed hatches and
four different crew members to Getting smaller, because who needs eyesight, we enter
foolishly stick their heads out! the realm of 6mm and three new offerings from Baccus
These all are produced in EWM (baccus6mm.com): a Challenger, Achilles IIC, and a Sexton.
Supercast, part of the growing The amount of detail Baccus gets on such small figures
range of ‘plastic resin’ offerings always astounds me, and I will scratch that micro-armour
from many companies. itch one day if I ever decide on an army to do.

Above: Challenger. Above: Achilles IIC.

Left: Sexton.

Above: Mk4 AVRE Churchill.

24
CARTOONS AND FLYTRAPS
I said I was a hobby butterfly - let’s

RELEASE
flit! Oakbound Studio (oakbound.co.uk)
had a successful recent Kickstarter to

RADAR
produce the Dreamstone miniatures game
and RPG. Dreamstone was an early 1990s
cartoon series that had a soundtrack,
including Ozzy Osbourne and Frank
Bruno on the same song (check it
out on YouTube if you don’t believe
me!). Oakbound have now marked the
game for general release. I backed the
Kickstarter and I am impressed with
the casting and the figures. If you want
something a little different, or liked the
cartoon, give it a look - it’ll be great for
the younger gamers.

Giant Venus Flytraps. From cartoons, we move to 10mm Fantasy with Pendraken
(pendraken.co.uk) bringing us some new Fantasy
monsters. I won’t list them all, but there are three
different bird types, flying snakes, giant Venus flytraps,
and giant tortoises. I am not sure the word giant applies to
10mm figures, although the Venus fly traps are 35mm tall
and have a Little Shop of Horrors vibe. There are also some
new Dark Elf Spider Riders and an Undead Coach. I am
very tempted, but I am not sure what rules I would use for
them (I never played Warmaster).

PLASTICATING AND D-BALLING

Moving away from figures for a moment, Ammo by Mig Jimenez
(migjimenez.com) have released a Plasticator; if you are wondering
what that is, their guide can explain it and its uses better than me
(https://bit.ly/3gEuWmQ). It comes in a thick and a thin version
and is used as a sealant for porous materials like keying plaster. This
acrylic, water-based compound could help with detailing your MDF
buildings. Let’s not start the debate about whether you need to prime
MDF or not though, eh!

We all have static grass in our basing supplies, up your balls [Stop sniggering at the back - Ed].
and sometimes, as you know, it clumps together. But what to do with all that grass? WWS have
War World Scenics (wwwscenics.com) have recently released a pack of 20 sheep that could
produced a solution to that annoyance and munch it. Produced for railways enthusiasts
called it … the D-Baller. While it sounds like in OO Gauge, there is no reason you can’t add
a playground insult, this MDF construction is them to your 20mm / 1:76 / 1:72 bases to add
actually a strange looking sieve that will break some variety.
WE APPROVE
OF THIS FINE,
DELICIOUS GRASS!

25
 FIERY PIGS AND FIRING ARTILLERY
From sheep to pigs. These ones are from Jumping forward to the Napoleonic era, Avanpost
Stronghold Terrain in Germany (stronghold- Miniatures (facebook.com/groups/avanpost.
terrain.de) and, unlike the peaceful grazing miniatures) have some new artillery, specifically
sheep, these porcine figurines are on fire and the British 9-pounder in 28mm with crew. These
causing a palaver! They have stopped me are resin figures rather than metal, so should
wondering how I was going to model them for make that artillery battery a bit lighter to carry
my own SAGA force. Joining them are a mounted around. There are options to have the gun firing,
Roman Consul and a mounted Roman Tribune being loaded, or being aimed; variety is always
along with a rather nice-looking Hannibal welcome and adds interest.
Barkas. Produced in 28mm metal, these are
welcome additions to the ancient offerings.

Burning pigs. British 9-pounder in 28mm with crew.

FROM ANCIENT GODS TO

MODERN SARACENS Below: Persian Chariot.
Footsore Miniatures
(footsoreminiatures.co.uk)
have added to their Mortal
Gods range. My favourites
are the Persian Chariot and
Hercules. Both are large in
their own way. Hercules
comes in at 40mm foot-
to-eye and looks suitably
imposing. The Persian
chariot has two horses
pulling a two-man chariot
Above: Hercules. with a lethal looking blade
projecting in front of
the horses.

Going from two horsepower to something nearer

160bhp, it’s a 28mm / 1:48 Saracen armoured fighting
vehicle from Empress Miniatures (empressminiatures.
com). Mainly made in resin, with some white metal
details, this is a hefty piece of kit and useful from the
early 1950s through to modern conflicts. It will be an
especially useful addition to something like the Winter
of ‘79 ruleset. They have also released a 28mm WW2
British 3" mortar and their German foes’ equivalent
8cm Granatwerfer. These are excellent incorporations
to a WW2 army; the British one might end up with my
Home Guard / BEF.
That’s all the newness I can handle this month, I need
to go and give my butterfly wings a rest. Until next
Above: Saracen. time, fare thee well, and happy gaming!

26
 BOR
FULL PAPER JACKET
Book PREVIEWs for the Discerning Wargamer
WAR TO
GAM
E
N

By Neil smith
Every month when I am rummaging through the new books, I try to find the quirky and
off-beat for new projects or unfamiliar takes on old ones. The stranger the action, the more
I want to try it on the tabletop. But I guess there is something to be said for the old staples,
the Caesars, Vikings, and Stalingrad. Stuff you have read before, so why not read it all over
again? I think I have found room for both approaches this month.

ANCIENT Medieval
Let’s start by rolling our sleeves up and Whatever happened to the Dark Ages?
getting ready to fight. You have heard Yes, they were not actually dark, but
of Sparta, of course, “This is Sparta!”, it was cool to associate Vikings with
Greece’s greatest warriors, Gerard Butler darkness because it added to their sense
oiled up? Well, stand by, because Myke of menace. Anyway, now it’s the sanitised
Cole has news for you in The Bronze Lie: Early Medieval Period. Bridging these two
Shattering the Myth of Spartan Warrior concepts is the subject of Don Hollway’s
Supremacy (Osprey). Cole is having none new book, The Last Viking: The True
of it, noting that the Spartans suffered Story of King Harald Hardrada (Osprey).
many losses that were swept under the This narrative rattles along, taking
rug as they propagandised their victories. Harald from his first mention in history,
They also led all Greeks just once and emerging from a proper Dark Ages Viking
that was temporary. Cole therefore digs battle to become a great warrior king who
deep into Sparta’s military culture and travelled to Byzantium and ended up dead most famous of them in More furies than
finds it wanting. Is it time to rethink these on an English battlefield. That sounds like men: The Irish brigade in the service of
invincible warriors? Maybe. The wise men fun! Vikings tend to be monolithic on the France 1690-1792 (Helion). Wherever the
down the club will say they knew this all wargames table - get them into melee fast French interests lay during this period,
along, but we still add +1 to the Spartans in seems to be just about the only order you you could find the Irish Brigade at the
combat, right? need - but there was more to them than sharp end. In Flanders for sure, but they
that and reading this biography might also served the Jacobite cause in Scotland,
I would find it hard to believe that the
help clarify the nuances of Viking warfare. and they starred at the Battle of Fontenoy
greatest general in history was not an
Harald’s career was also one that might in 1745 but paid a heavy price that diluted
admirer of the Spartans. The Roman
be worth following for a campaign game their effectiveness thereafter. Coudray
commander Julius Caesar certainly gave
and certainly will provide different explores the nuts and bolts of this unique
that impression as he led armies against
scenarios from endlessly stealing sheep fighting force and explodes some myths
all-comers across the Empire, including
off hapless monks before the Anglo-Saxon along the way (it seems to be the month
the most famous Romans of his time who
militia arrives. for that!). This has to be one of the must
thought they could squash this upstart. But
generals do not win wars on their own, and Never mind when the Medieval military have units for 18th Century wargamers,
historians have re-evaluated great armies era begins, when does it end and where? and 1745 seems to be the best version of
and how they worked as war-machines. There are many candidates for when with them to paint and fight. That said, maybe
Raffaele D’Amato and Francois Gilbert are some going back to the end of the Wars reading this book will highlight other
now part of that historical tradition with of the Roses, while some dip our toes conflicts for consideration.
their Armies of Julius Caesar 58-44 BC into the argument with the Italian Wars There is one war in the 18th Century that
(Osprey). They bring us a different analysis as the transition. But where brings into probably deserves a category of its own:
of Caesar’s army, a much more diverse question the wars on other continents. the American War of Independence.
body of men than the monolithic army of Maybe we need to know more about It was the same as European wars but
traditional histories. Does that mean we them first, and that is where the prolific different, and that’s what makes it so
need to alter our wargaming perceptions Stephen Turnbull comes in with his new interesting: conventional mixed with
of Caesar’s army? Maybe, but I suspect the book, The Ōnin War 1467-77: A Turning elements of asymmetric and guerrilla
results will be the same. Point in Samurai History (Helion). I won’t warfare. Robert Dunkerly examines the
even try to give you a synopsis of events, war in the northern revolutionary hotbed
suffice to say it is complicated. But there of New Jersey in Unhappy Catastrophes:
are some interesting features to this for The American Revolution in Central
wargamers, notably urban warfare and the New Jersey, 1776-1782 (Savas Beatie).
importance of fortified mansions. This war One reason why wargamers should be
also led into the “Age of the Warring States”, interested in this book, other than just the
which would qualify for consideration as a pleasure of reading, is that the war in New
transitional period. There is lots here to get Jersey had everything you could want. You
your teeth into. have proper battles at Trenton, Princeton,
18th Century and Springfield, and lots of ambushes,
raids, and skirmishes. If you want to
There is no questioning the impact of the throw in some RPG action, Dunkerly
Irish on warfare in just about any era. describes some sneaky espionage for your
Pierre-Louis Coudray follows some of the entertainment.

28
 WWII Forczyk gets into the claustrophobic
and lethal world of urban combat, and
As usual, our cup runneth over when it
Stalingrad is still the epitome of that kind
comes to World War II publishing, so
of warfare. Forczyk describes the intense
finding just a couple to bring to your
fighting in such iconic locations as the
attention when there are so many to get
Steel Plant, Grain Elevator, and the Tennis
excited about is not easy. Let’s do some
Racket. Now you might roll your eyes at
early war stuff, beginning in the snows of
the thought of another book on Stalingrad,
Finland in The Finnish-Soviet Winter War
but bear in mind that for some readers this
1939-40: Stalin’s Hollow Victory (Osprey)
might be their first; go easy on them, then
by David Murphy. This was ignited by the
direct them to Beevor’s brilliant narrative
Soviet pre-emptive strike against Finland
of the battle. The good news on refighting
in November 1939 to protect its flank. But
aspects of Stalingrad is that you don’t need
any planned walkover soon fell apart as
many figures; the bad news is accumulating
the Finns doggedly resisted against their
ACW the buildings you will need to recreate the
more numerous Soviet foes. If there is an
full effect.
Turning to another American war for honourable defeat in war, this was it. For
some unconventional action, what about wargamers, break out the ski troops - I’m
reading Caroline Janney’s Ends of War: sure you can repurpose your German ones
The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army after if you don’t want to go the whole hog,
Appomattox (The University of North and a white sheet with some trees and
Carolina Press)? Popular myth has it that rocks should keep the thing cost-effective
when Lee surrendered, that was the war - because there are many interesting
over for the Confederates, but for nearly scenarios to play for this war.
18,000 of them it was far from it. The
Staying in the same time-frame but on
Union sent Provost marshals out to bring
a different front, Thomas Anderson is
them in, sometimes willingly, sometimes
embarking on a multi-volume adventure
not so much. This inability to tamp down
in tanks with Panzer Commander:
the embers of rebellion led to Federal
Volume 1: 1939-40 (Casemate). Anderson
occupancy throughout the South and with
has hit the motherload of sources -
it more violence. I don’t think I need to
after-action reports written down to
spell out the potential for skirmish actions
the individual tank commander - and
here using any skirmish rules from the
has compiled them to create a new
ACW through to Dead Man’s Hand with a
reconstruction of German operations in Modern
couple of tweaks.
WWII. This volume covers the invasion of
WWI Poland and the assault on France. I can’t The Vietnam War is probably another
wait to get hold of it because I like the war that needs its own category because
I have room to slip in some eye-candy, if there is so much literature on it. I will
small panzers over the later big cats, a war
that is the right term, for the Great War. close this month with two new ones that
of manoeuvre over power. I don’t know
Michael Neiberg’s The Western Front piqued my interest. The first is standard
how Anderson’s work will affect the rules I
1914-1916 (Amber) is a broad survey fare with David Doyle’s US Marine Corps
play with, but I am keen to find out.
chock full of photographs, detailed maps, in Vietnam: Vehicles, Weapons, and
and box-outs on key events, weapons, And if you have panzers, you need Equipment (Schiffer). The Marines served
and personalities. His narrative covers the panzergrenadiers. The obviously in Vietnam throughout the war, featuring
major engagements of the Marne, Mons, industrious Thomas Anderson has you in such major battles as Huế and Khe Sanh,
Ypres, the Somme, and Verdun. Obviously, covered here too with his Panzergrenadier though they did lots of routine grunt-work
this is for the big battle warriors among our (Osprey). These soldiers accompanied along with every other frontline soldier in
readers for 6mm or 10mm, but it is also the tanks, doing the detailed groundwork Vietnam. That makes for solid wargaming
useful background reading for newcomers that the panzers couldn’t, but they did material, but you will need to know what
and a great jumping-off point for further not receive their official designation as the Marines had and how to paint and use
research and reading. panzergrenadiers until 1942 - they were them. Doyle will help you out with that.
known as Schützen before then. The
difference between them and ordinary One reason the Americans lost Vietnam
infantry was that these were mechanized was that they could not control the
to keep up with the panzers, though most borders. They tried hard enough and
rode in trucks not the ubiquitous half- Kenneth Conboy’s Spies on the Mekong:
tracks we often see on the table. They CIA Clandestine Operations in Laos
were also formed into their own powerful (Casemate) examines one effort to do so.
divisions. This Osprey book traces the Laos was a melting pot of factions and
development of the panzergrenadiers and nefarious superpower activities, many
surveys their vehicles and equipment. If of which will provide useful off-the-wall
you intend to wargame WWII Germans, skirmish scenarios with perhaps an RPG
you probably need to know all this. element to them. This book certainly has
me intrigued.
And where did panzers and their
grenadiers end up, some of them anyway? And that’s your lot for September. If you
Stalingrad, as described by Robert Forczyk enjoyed these previews and want to read
in Stalingrad 1942-43 (2): The Fight for up-to-date reviews of books suitable for
the City (Osprey). This is the second of his wargaming, check out my Full Paper
three books for the Stalingrad campaign, Jacket Facebook page.
but for me the most interesting because Happy reading and gaming!

29
 www.hindsfiguresltd.com
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 WELCOME TO
‘WHAT IF’S
Folks from the wargaming world “That’s no way to game. It’s not even wargame … unless we hang out in that
throw ‘what if’ gaming randomicity playing a game! I think they were using Stoke basement, referring religiously to
your way! DBM, but without some player agency our BOOK!
you may as well just be reading about the
“I think my worst wargames experience HISTORICAL GAMING
battle rather than pushing models around.”
ever (and to make matters worse I was TO INFINITY
a spectator) was when I was 16 and Despite the baptism of drudgery that
headed to my local wargames club in my Every alternate dice rolling possibility
Mark Latham describes above, he
hometown of Stoke to see how historical creates a multiverse of gaming
thankfully found alternative historical
gaming to enjoy; he is now a prolific
wargames worked. It was in this massive outcomes. Every wargame has a nearly
old building; in the basement, they had infinite number of ‘what if’ moments
game desginer and created the legendary
a 15mm Napoleonics game set up on a within it. In one game, the valiant charge
‘Legends of’ series for Warhammer
gigantic board. The terrain was modular of Marlborough’s cavalry was a glorious
Historical along with many other
and correct and they had a BOOK - a success at the Battle of Blenheim; in
systems. This Old West historical
play-by-play account of the historical another, the players had decided to
game inspired many a ‘what if’, with
battle it was based on. make the Nebel stream difficult terrain,
its between game tables for injuries,
bogging down the cavalry squadrons
experience, and more.
“The players were genuine when they and sealing their doom. Elsewhere, the
told me ‘You’ve come at a very exciting What makes Mark’s and any well players’ earlier campaign actions led
time, this is the fourth week we’ve been designed wargames fun are the systems to the Duke of Tallard convincing his
playing and we’re finally getting to the that allow for player interaction and fellow players, the Count of Marsin and
first skirmish.’ They had been moving, inventiveness and bring elements of Maximilian II, to hold and resupply, and
exactly matching the historical records, chance to a historical framework. the battle never happened.
for three weeks. Now it was time for the Through these - be they command
fighting, but even here they compared phases, dice rolls, card draws, formation
Never Mind the Billhooks creator Andy
stats on a big chart, calculated damage, Callan says: “It seems to me that all
options, rules for different terrain,
and worked out who was victorious. historical wargaming is based on ‘what
campaign systems, and much more - we
if’s, or counter-factual history, otherwise
are always using ‘what if’s when we

32
Wellington would win every re-fight
of Waterloo, whereas in my experience
- and I have re-played it several times -
Napoleon tends to have the edge.” ?
So that’s it? This month’s theme

WHAT IF
essentially covers all historical
wargaming? Well … yes … but there’s
much more to it, so please do bear with
us! In this intro article, we’ll look at
some of the ways wargaming notables
(as well as Wi’s dolts, Dan and James)
approach ‘what if’ options to diversify
their own gaming.
IMAGI-NING HISTORY THAT
NEVER WAS WITH THE
FAMILY GRANT Above: The Battle of Blenheim from Wi133, as staged by John Tuckey at Kelham Hall.

A great jumping off point for ‘what if’

gaming is ‘imagi-nations’. Though the
exact origins of the term are a little murky,
and will, as with most things related to
wargaming, be discussed and disputed
over a pint or two, it’s hard to separate the
legendary Charles Grant from the concept,
and he was using it before many of us had
even pushed a regiment of Airfix models
across the tabletop!*
Imagi-nations is essentially a way for
players to generate their own ‘historic-
like’ army, and associated background,
nation, internal and global power structure,
etc., to bring about all manner of ‘what
if’ potential. The joy of imagi-nations is Above: The flags of the different imagi-nations, as devised by Charles Grant.
you can take the period, army, and area
of the world you are most familiar with,
cherry pick elements that fascinate you, period of defence along its borders; if’ adjacent rather than an actual ‘what if’
bring in and create as many narrative combine that with the presence of a great on its own. Well, imagi-nations creations
justifications as you desire, and develop inventive mind in your nation’s ruling are at their best when driven by very real
a new nation that answers a great many class or government who uses the right possibilities - ideas that could have played
‘what if’ questions. These ‘what if’s can resources to push the development of out had nations put their focus on different
be things that you might be harder pressed advanced weapons a decade or two earlier products, trade routes, areas of expansion,
to bring to your standard historical gaming than would otherwise be appropriate, and etc. - and that sounds pretty ‘what if’ to us.
but will feel just right in a different nation. you’re all set to have fun testing the big
If you’d like to get a better idea of imagi-
Perhaps you always fancied bringing a guns out on the tabletop with a narrative
and pseudo historical justification.
nations, you can’t do much better than the
vast amount of artillery to battle but just article by Grant seniors’ son, Charles S
couldn’t justify it within the limitations Some may argue - probably with the Grant, found on page 20 of Wi340. It talks
of your period or army? Then tweak excuse that they can do so over a pint or about the adventures his father, son, and
a nation’s history to include a lengthy two! - that imagi-nations is actually ‘what he had developing and playing out imagi-
nations over the decades.

BRITISH INTERVENTION IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

Regular Wi contributor Pete Brown picks this as the ‘what if’ that
he really wants to play: “The Perry’s British Intervention in the
ACW would look great and it is fascinating stuff, but I fear it is a
bit too fantasy for the chaps at my club!”
Wi Editor Dan’s also a fan of the possibilities here and gets into it
in some detail: “The accepted ‘what if’ goes along the lines of the
British sending forces to aid the South and thus protecting their own
financial interests, particularly in ‘King Cotton’. Despite much ink
being spilled over the subject, personally I don’t think it ever came
close to happening - there is no way that a nation that ran the largest
anti-slavery operation in the world (The West African Squadron)
would simultaneously offer military support to a slave trading state.
However, it makes for a great ‘what if’ both in terms of one-off
games and campaigns. Stretching reality even further, the French
could fight alongside the Brits and Confederates.”

* It would be rude to leave Brigadier Peter Young DSO MC out of the picture, so we mention him here; he didn’t fit so neatly into the father and son(s) specific title, but is also
an important imagi-nations element!

33
 FROM SOLID BASICS A
GREAT ‘WHAT IF’ IS BORN!
Pete Brown has written many Wargames
Illustrated articles with a simple ‘what
if’ at their core. What’s his advice for
doing it yourself?
“So long as the ‘what if’ in question is
plausible then it is no different from most
games we play - e.g. the Montcalm battle
I created for “Too great a gamble” in
Wi404 could have occurred; the forces are
historically accurate and only one or two
actual decisions need to be changed for it
to have happened. Made up games - e.g.
Napoleonic Hussars charging Zulus - need
not apply! My advice is to keep it real.
The closer to actual history the better,
using troops that were in the campaign
and drawing on historical fact as much as
possible. If you’re adding Elefant Tanks Above: A scene from “Too great a gamble”. Wi404.
to WW2 encounters they didn’t feature in,
for example, examine how they performed
historically and work it into new battles
rather than upgrading the tanks themselves
into killer weapons. Do the latter and your
scenario will be dull for the allied player
and feel uncanny.”
Mark Latham offers the sage advice
that you shouldn’t go overboard in your
early ‘what if’ gaming: “Pick scenarios
and situations where the smallest change
would make the biggest difference and let
your strategy and luck of the dice decide
what happens. Then in the games that
follow, extrapolate out what might have
happened next.”
DON’T FEAR THE FANTASTICAL -
GIVE FICTION SOME FOCUS
The alternate history posterboy of wider
‘what if’ing in fiction is steampunk. This Above: Artizan Designs Sky Pirates and other Thrilling Tales adventurers.
sci-fi sub-genre has become arguably the
most played kind of weird-wars gaming The Frame Focus article on page 72, and cogs can be gifted to your command
since it became widely popularised in the and this issue’s wonderful cover art by figures to convey the correct atmosphere.
1990s and 2000s. Though there are many Neil Roberts, show that Warlord Games’
ranges and games that specialise in specific British Line Infantry Regiment are but
The possibility space is far broader than
a few minor modifications away from
steampunk miniatures, there is an extra difference engines, cogs, arclamps, and
draw for us historical gamers; many ranges airships over London though, when it
becoming a steampunk air defence corps!
from the colonial period fit neatly into the comes to ‘what if’ fiction. Mark Latham
Many of the figures could remain factory
“imagine if some sort of ‘computer’ arrived doesn’t just design games, he’s an author
standard and still work in a steampunk
game; Tesla coil rifles, wind up limb
a century or so earlier” idea with minor too, so who better to check in with? “I
modifications, or even as they are. replacements, and the ubiquitous goggles
think all historical gaming is based on the
question of ‘what if’ to an extent. When
we line our armies up to fight, we’re not
usually looking to replicate a real battle,
but to see if we could do it differently, or
bring characters into play who weren’t
present. Bernard Cornwell always does
this sort of thing in his Sharpe novels.
As a writer, it’s pretty much the same
principle, I write speculative fiction,
which is sometimes defined as ‘the
fiction of what could be or might have
been’, so I guess I spend most of my days
pondering the ‘what if’ question to some
degree.” No wonder it plays a part in his
games! But what about a designer who
is less keen on these fictional ‘what if’
Above: Redcoats in Space. From North Star’s Steampunk range.
options?

34
 Inspiration doesn’t just have to come
from fantasy fiction. Mark Miodownik,
a Professor of Materials and Society,
may not seem like an obvious inspiration
for any historical ‘what if’ gaming, but
his book Stuff Matters: Exploring the
Marvelous Materials That Shape Our
Man-Made World, was in James’ reading
stack recently. He’s now not only got
a deeper appreciation of the properties
and history of concrete, but he keeps
threatening us with an article promoting
‘concretepunk’ - just how different might
history have been if the Romans had
worked out how to properly reinforce the
concrete that they used? There is, clearly,
such a thing as taking it too far!
So, read, read some more, and consider
diversifying that reading! Still feel like
historical is the only ‘right’ way to do
Above: The ‘Battle of the Bastards’ offers some gritty Wars of the Roses type action despite being
a part of the fantasy series Game of Thrones. things? Well, while he wasn’t a fan of
historical fiction (preferring primary
Despite insisting he has no interest in returned to the world, and Egypt is the sources) the rightly lauded and much
unhistorical ‘what if’ing - “the sort global power. Djinn exist in an at times missed Uncle Duncan was a devoted fan
of thing that used to happen 40 years uneasy balance with humanity; Ifrit, of fantasy. He loved The Lord of the Rings,
ago with WRG Ancients, where it was Marid, Ghouls, and more play their part including the films, Russian folklore, and
routine to have battles between Mongols in the story, and the author teases a wider
and Spartans and the like, or with world of intrigue when leaders from other
technological ‘what if’s, where the Old nations make cameos at a peace summit,
Guard has machine guns or flying ships including Kaiser Wilhelm II with a goblin
or whatever” - Andy Callan can still king literally sitting on his shoulder and
recognise the potential: “I guess I’m out advising him. How can one read that and
of line with mainstream tastes, because not want to explore a WWI where these
‘Wars of the Roses with Dragons’ has been elements play their part? I can already see
a major success for George R R Martin in a very different front line and all manner
his A Song of Ice and Fire books and the of new tactics impacting this alternate
Game of Thrones HBO show. Mind you, reality. Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange
the TV series I have most enjoyed recently & Mr Norrell offers similar inspiration for
was The Terror - basically, Alien on Ice [a the Napoleonic Wars, and there’s loads
figure skating show we want to see! Ed] more out there!”
- But somehow I just can’t bring myself
to wargame that sort of thing.” Even with
his avoidance of unhistorical options,
Andy couldn’t help but get excited about
a fantastical possibility inspired by a
different author: “I have always thought
the apocalyptic battle at the end of Mark
Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee at the Court Shieldwolf Miniatures’ pack of
of King Arthur might make an excellent Djinns might soon make their
way onto James’ hobby desk!
display game at a show!”
Wargames Illustrated’s Project Manager,
James, discovered wargaming through
Games Workshop and his historical
games still get influenced by fantasy and
sci-fi ideas at times: “Most of my best
ideas for ‘what if’ gaming come from a
non-historical element. They’re rarely
even ‘my best ideas’ as I unapologetically
nick them from whatever good things I’m
reading at the time!
“I recently finished P Djèlí Clark’s A
Master of Djinn and, although the novel is
essentially a police procedural, the unusual
setting captivated me. It will work its way
into my gaming, and you’ll probably see
an article based around it in a future issue
of Wargames Illustrated. It features an
alternate 1912 Cairo, where magic has

35
 was partial to the occasional Buffy the Vampire
Slayer binge. So, be like Mr Macfarlane; take
in a wide range of genres, make sure you add
notes to your books (be they fact or fiction),
and keep an open mind in order to expand
your wargaming ‘what if’ potential.
ON CAMPAIGN
“I think campaign play is where ‘what if’
gaming really comes into its own”, says Mark
Latham, who has been bringing between-
game campaign tables and events to his
rulesets from the beginning: “An upset in one
scenario can impact the next. For example, in
my Napoleonics game, Waterloo, I presented
the Hundred Days campaign as a series of
linked scenarios; players could use historical
OOBs, or forces of their own choosing. If,
for example, the Prussians won against the
odds at Wavre, they no longer needed to fight Above: Campaign effect rules. As
at Plancenoit, you skipped that scenario and seen in Waterloo by Mark Latham.
instead picked a couple of Prussian battalions
to turn up early during Waterloo.”
This is an incredibly simple way to add a
‘what if’ element to your games and perhaps
different to how many approach campaign
play. There’s a tendency to treat the historical
events as ‘the way things should be’,
providing the complete narrative arc and
dictating the battles. What happens in a game
will then affect troop availability and quality
in the ‘next’ battle. Instead, consider the
historical events as the campaign’s historically
accurate opening paragraph and let player
decisions (in battle or out of it) dictate the rest
of the story, even if that means vastly altering
huge events. Few umpires would be bold
enough to note that the Siege of Harfleur was
over particularly quickly in a Hundred Years’
War campaign, leading them to skip the Battle
of Agincourt altogether. It would make for a
rather unexpected and memorable end to that
INVASION FICTION AND THE BATTLE OF DORKING
chapter of a campaign though!
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT Late 19th Century Britain saw a literary craze for what later became known as
‘invasion fiction’, with the release of several books and magazine articles featuring
“It’s always tempting to pick the big, stories in which England was attacked by aggressive forces from France, Russia,
epoch-changing moments that could change Prussia, and even Mars. War of the Worlds comes from a chap you may have heard of;
the whole course of human history”, Mark his Floor Games featured its own ‘what if’s in the island countries HG Wells’ creation
Latham enthuses: “What if Hannibal had used, and if anyone argues you shouldn’t be ‘what if’ing, tell them that the originator
crushed Rome? What if the British had was okay with it.
won the War of 1812? What if Archduke The Battle of Dorking was one of the most memorable encounters to come out of this
Ferdinand hadn’t been assassinated (my glut of ‘what if’ wars. Featured in a novelette, the story of the battle was told through
personal favourite thought experiment)? the reminiscences of a veteran soldier who volunteered to help defend his country
when it was invaded by a Prussian army fresh from their victory over the French
“I think I find these ideas fascinating on during the Franco-Prussian War.
various levels. In a fictional setting, it’s great
The figure on the left is a Prussian
to explore those ‘butterfly effect’ moments, ‘Deaths Head’ Hussar, from North
while on the gaming table we focus purely Star’s 1866 range - he’s just the sort
on battles. It always makes for an awesome of cad who would be terrorising
discussion afterwards when Marshal Ney England’s green and pleasant land
successfully brings home the bacon at during the invasion featured in the The
Waterloo, or the Romans crush the Germanic Battle of Dorking.
tribes at the Teutoburg Forest, or King Harold Wargames Illustrated ran an excellent
wins the Battle of Hastings, etc.” article - ‘When England Slept …’ by
That butterfly effect is something James has
Steve Blease - all about wargaming
Victorian and Edwardian ‘invasion
been considering while researching the Battle fiction’. Check it out in Wi382 via the
of Agincourt: “Even if you ignore obvious Wargames Illustrated Vault.
‘what if’s raised by the many disputed
elements of the battle (‘small’ details such

36
 FAULCONBRIDGE, HARDY, AND NAPOLEON’S 1804 INVASION OF BRITAIN

Wi’s editor looks to the work of Thomas Hardy for some invasion beacons are lit (in what turns out to be a
literature inspired ‘what if’ gaming: false alarm).
“Thomas Hardy is probably my favourite author. The “Hardy’s research for the book was extensive and
plot of one of his less critically acclaimed books: The included talking to Napoleonic War veterans; he
Trumpet-Major, revolves around a predicably Hardyan accurately describes the sense of tension and detail in
tragic love triangle, but unusually the backdrop to the some of the localised preparation for invasion. Reading
affair is the Napoleonic Wars, specifically Napoleon’s The Trumpet-Major left me in no doubt that Napoleon’s
rumoured 1804 invasion of England. Hardy paints 1804 invasion of England would make for a great
a picture of rural England in a state of panic, with a wargame in which some colourful English county units,
comedic ‘dads army’ of ill-prepared reservists whose not often seen on the tabletop, could be used. Many of
only weapons are vegetables and pikes with which to these are produced by Trent Miniatures, as it happens.
fight off the French.
“Warning: The Trumpet-Major ain’t no Bernard
“To be fair, the real army is never far away in the form Cornwell novel, it’s mainly about simpering maidens,
of the Trumpet-Major’s regiment, and there are also confused young men, and 19th Century decorum.”
yeomanry and fencibles on hand to meet Bony when the

A small section of the huge 600th anniversary Battle of Agincourt display table made for the Royal Armouries.
as the number of troops involved or the
actual location it took place!), and the
CENTRE OF THE WORLD? fact that first-hand reports are incredibly
There’s a very Anglo, European, or Western sparse and clearly unreliable, there
focus in wargames. Even when venturing are still loads of Agincourt ‘what if’s
further afield, particularly with colonial
to explore. These can start before the
period wargaming, things are Eurocentric
when it comes to the forces involved. Other English arrived on French soil: what if
nations not only get short shrift in the armies Henry V hadn’t successfully accumulated
and specific rules they have available, but the level of funding that he did to pursue
sometimes in the ways they are generalised his 1415 expedition? What if there was
about and represented too. more volatility at the borders? The more
A big part of this - and something we struggle ambitious gamer could even explore
with when sourcing minis to show in articles Above: Tlingits featured in Wi399. the ‘what if’ of how things may have
about ‘less popular’ conflicts in world history transpired had Henry IV lived and
- is figure availability. Thankfully, many Perhaps this is where we can apply a ‘what if’ reigned for another decade. Any of these
contemporary manufacturers are interested in a slightly different way and open ourselves three questions could drastically alter the
in diverse periods and locations, meaning up to the new perspectives, lifestyles, and Battle of Agincourt or remove it from
previously unavailable peoples from around experiences that cultures very different to our
own provide, if we take the time to investigate
history altogether.
the world and throughout history now have
ranges of figures dedicated to them. Who’d their stories. What if we take an interest in “Moving into France, what if the bloody
have imagined American Pacific Northwest them culturally, rather than through the lens of flux had struck the English army even
Coast Tlingits in wooden armour available warfare? Can we then change the way we think
more severely during their stalled siege
about some of our gaming, particularly the
at the click of a button a decade or so ago?
at Harfleur, causing more casualties
Well not us, but the more variety of figures colonial and post-colonial impacts, and better
available, the more we can game ‘what if’ the world of wargaming for all? to dysentery? What if they had made
scenarios that bring a different perspective to the bold choice to march straight past
our tabletop. Harfleur? What if the English had not
captured the French relief caravan of
This is where historical records and written
supplies before that siege? What if Henry
history enters the picture. Most wargamers
read history in one of the western languages V had left more than a single garrison in
of the colonial powers, yet that the town before marching on?
Left:
leaves many cultures and their Chinese “Even the night before the battle and
wars beyond our understanding, Pirates.
particularly if their history is oral events when things were underway can
and not written. raise questions on the tabletop. What
if English camp discipline was less
rigorously maintained? What if alternate

37
 strategies were chosen? A battle biggie: Photos on this page show Bolt Action models in
what if it hadn’t rained? Another battle Operation Sea Lion and Operation Downfall action.
biggie: what if Henry hadn’t executed
the prisoners taken in the first wave of
the attack? There are hundreds of other
points where things could have changed.
Who could resist trying out some of these
variables? Certainly not me! And this is
just up to the Battle of Agincourt: what
if things went differently there, with a
French victory? What ‘what if’s might
have come next?”
WHY THE SEA LION?
It hardly seems fair to the narwhal
(nature’s awesome flabby unicorn) that
the sea lion (a seal that’s slightly better
at waddling) is the wargamer’s favourite
seaborne mammal! We can only assume,
from our admittedly tiny sample size of
wargamers asked, that it’s got something
to do with the ever-popular WW2 ‘what
if’ of Operation Sea Lion. Pete Brown’s
all excitement when we ask him about
it: “If it had happened and succeeded the
world would be a very different place -
more so than most other ‘what if’s.” But
Sea Lion’s been talked about plenty, so
let’s look at some other WW2 options.
Wi’s James suggests the other WW2
‘what if’ that almost was as a good Sea
Lion alternative: “I think wargamers
relish the camp appeal of Dad’s Army
(‘Don’t tell him, Pike!’) and Allo Allo;
maybe that’s why Sea Lion always
ousts the Pacific’s end of war ‘what if’:
Operation Downfall. The Allied plan
would have been the largest amphibious
operation ever, but it would have lacked
the bumbling fun of classic British
comedy, especially when you consider

38
 WAKE ISLAND IN THE ROARING ’20S

Wi’s Editor Dan looks to a WW2 ‘what if’ with a difference - Wake Island 1920s. “Set twenty years prior to the real Japanese amphibious assault
of the American held Wake Island in World War II, this ingenious ‘what if’ game was the brainchild of Adrian Shepard - famous for his early 20th
Century demo games at Colours - and was played out at Michael Perry’s Wargames Room.
“This version of the assault on Wake Island used a similar configuration of troops to the original battle, with US marines, sailors, and civilian
construction workers facing a landing force of the Imperial Japanese Navy, with a few special characters thrown in for good measure. The re-fight
concluded with the game imitating life; the Japanese taking the island following a dogged defence by the Americans.”

what a brutal battle of attrition was expected. Some sources

claim that around 500,000 Purple Hearts were produced in
anticipation of losses before the bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki brought about Japan’s surrender.
“But those words - largest amphibious operation ever - surely
tantalise your gaming tastebuds. Despite this (unless memory
and The Vault’s search are failing me) we’ve never actually run
an article exploring Operation Downfall or Japan’s opposing
plan, Operation Ketsugō. I’d like to take this moment to remind
our readers that we welcome article contributions; I’d love
an excuse to put a load of WW2 landing craft on the desk of
new painter Marc and play out the possibilities of Operation
Downfall!”
There is also a chance to bring in some weirdness! “What I do
love, and this is a massive tangent from history, I know, is when
we blur the lines of fantasy and reality a bit”. Mark Latham
enthuses. “What if the Nazi pursuit of supernatural power was
real (Indiana Jones, Achtung: Cthulhu, Konflikt 47, Wolfenstein,
et al), or the lines between alternate realities/timelines blur (The
Man in the High Castle)? Then we’re into the realms of history,
fiction, and fantasy gaming, which ticks all the boxes for me!”
Quite right Mark! We’ll leave our whistle-stop tour of ‘what if’
possibilities there with the hope that it inspired you to jot down
some scenarios; fire up your imagi-nations; tinker with your
orbats; add some variables to a battlefield’s terrain and weather;
explore some fantasy worlds; or just get into reading a good
book. If you engineer an entertaining ‘what if’ of your own, we’d Above: Konflikt 47 brings all sorts of
love to hear about it. Perhaps you can feature in Quick Fire in a supernatural weirdness and advanced
future issue of Wargames Illustrated. technology to an alternate WWII.

39
 BUILDING A FRANCO-PRUSSIAN
WAR RAILWAY STATION

Tony Harwood brings half a century of model making experience to the pages of Wi with a build of Courcelles railway station.

INSPIRATION AND PLANNING

Some time ago I was looking for
inspiration for my next terrain building
project and enquired on my Blog -
dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com - as to
what I should build next. I have to admit
that there were a number of unusual
requests, but one that stuck with me was
to build a Franco-Prussian War railway
station in 28mm scale.
The suggestion led me to search for
suitable images and I quickly found a
black and white sketch of the railway
station at Courcelles drawn in the
‘French School style’, which I thought
was perfect. I decided that my first
tutorial for Wargames Illustrated should
be a scratch-built model based on this
image and started to work out how I was
going to build it.

42
My initial plan was to scratch build the whole
structure, but I found what I thought would be ABOUT THE AUTHOR
the ideal donor building online - a Northern
I’ve been a model maker for over 50 years, cutting my teeth on the early Airfix
European three-storey house from Sarissa
kits sold in Woolworths and developing these skills to produce a variety of
Precision. When the model arrived, I was a scratch-built models. Some time ago I started building my own terrain for

Modelling
Painting &
little disappointed - the three-storey house was wargaming and have since written three self-published books, two published
much smaller than I had thought, more like by Pen & Sword, and over 100 articles showing how I build terrain. I would
a 15mm scale building. This left me with a describe myself as a model maker first, a figure painter next, and only then a
dilemma; should I return to my initial idea of gamer. I believe that building wargaming terrain can be a hobby in itself and
scratch building the railway station? In the end, it has given me tons of satisfaction over the years. In semi-regular articles for
I compromised and used the doors and windows Wargames Illustrated I hope to pass on some of the skills that I have learned and
show that building your own wargaming terrain can be simple and fun.
from the Sarissa kit but built the walls and roof
from scratch.

BASIC CONSTRUCTION

2. The four walls were all built from the 3mm thick plasticard,
1. Using a scaled-up image of the Courcelles railway station, and here you see the edges held together with blue masking
the Sarrisa MDF kit, and some 3mm thick plasticard I set tape. It was imperative that all corners were square and that
about building the main railway station facade. I took into consideration the thickness of the plasticard when
cutting out the walls and window openings.

4. The decorative pillars and framing (a noticeable feature

3. I used the Sarissa laser-cut MDF windows and glued them seen in the original sketch) were constructed from strips of
in place behind the main window openings. I used superglue 3mm thick plasticard. Once again, I used superglue to glue
to hold the window frames in place and made sure that the them in place. The upper windows were basecoated with a
frames were square in the openings. Superglue was also used neutral grey acrylic paint, which was also used to paint the
to glue the walls together. interior as I did not want the stark white plasticard to be the
interior colour.

43
 5. The lower windows and doors also used parts from the 6. I used card and some eggbox carton card to build and
Sarissa kit, but these were modified. I trimmed and glued decorate the window lintels. These were glued in place with
parts together to make the larger downstairs windows and the a mixture of superglue and PVA glue. Notice how I have
single layer of windows above the main double doors. included these decorative features on all wall segments –
even the ones where there are no windows - a feature I have
I have not included an MDF window frame in each of the
seen on many UK buildings.
wall segments. Why? The honest answer is that I didn’t have
enough large windows in the Sarissa kit and I also thought The front porch was constructed from a block of balsawood
that having some plain areas might give the walls and model covered in and decorated with plasticard and given a pair of
some additional interest. carved lintels.

7. I added a lower shelf or lower wall trim from 3mm thick

8. I used a mixture of sieved sand, fine stones, and acrylic
plasticard and based the station onto an off-cut of more
medium to further texture the groundwork. In addition, I
3mm thick plasticard. This base was then built-up with DAS
glued down some resin and metal luggage and sculpted a
modelling clay applied over PVA glue (to make sure that it
couple of sacks from DAS, as seen in the initial sketch.
sticks).

44
THE TILED ROOF

1. The hipped roof was built from thick card and more 3mm
thick plasticard. The roof was modelled with a large overhang 2. I further clad the roof with strips of torn newspaper glued
on the front and sides. in place with PVA glue, then started to build up the lower
roof edge with strips of plain card. This additional card
First the plain, untilled roof was strengthened by running hot helps to define the shape of the lower edge prior to the start
glue along the internal joints and later with a coat of dilute of the tiling.
PVA glue to the outside surfaces.

3. The very distinctive diamond shaped or fishtailed tiles were

constructed from strips of packaging card cut with ‘Pinking 4. The tiling begins at the lower edge and continues up the
Scissors’. The initial zig-zag was too small to use, so I cut roof, making sure to align each layer of tiles with the one
back every-other ‘V’ with a new scalpel to make the tiles below to give the distinctive diamond effect I was looking for.
larger and more in-scale.

5. The roof flashing was done with

more card, and the two chimneys were 6. The whole building was
constructed from balsawood scraps with basecoated with neutral
thin card detailing. Any gaps were filled grey acrylic paint. I added
with DAS. very fine marble dust to
this, to add subtle texture
The whole roof was then further textured (and hide joins) on the
with a mix of ready-mixed filler, PVA glue, walls. The roof was also
and acrylic medium, which was painted on basecoated with neutral
with a large hogshair brush. This coating grey and then test fitted
adds both texture and strength to the roof onto the station building.
and ‘seals’ the card tiles prior to painting.

45
 PAINTING THE BASIC STRUCTURE

1. At this point the original black and white sketch was of no use. I
searched the internet for images of similar railway structures and
decided on a pale cream or yellow ochre base with darker columns
and framing.
This basecoat was further refined by drybrushing and blending lighter
cream colours across the main wall sections.

2. The pillars were painted in a chocolate brown colour - I have no

firm evidence that this is the correct colour, but based on the original
sketch it is my best estimation. The brown areas took some time to
apply correctly.
The windows and doors were also painted in a chocolate brown
colour, although as you will see this was later changed.

3. Further detail painting added highlights to the doors and painted

the main step and awning roof grey.

4. There was just something about the

lower windows that didn’t look right to
me. So I trimmed the lower horizontal
window frames from the MDF blanks
to give a larger lower section. Once
the window frames were sanded
smooth, I re-painted them with the
chocolate brown colour.

PAINTING THE ROOF TILES

1. After masking off the painted

chimneys and lower facia, I painted
the whole roof with a dark brown/
black mix. The roof was then
drybrushed with some mid-grey
acrylic paint, which highlighted the
distinctive tile design.
Various tiles were then picked out in
different colours - the more random
the design the better.
2. The roof was then given a dark wash
to tie everything together.

46
3. The whole roof was then given
a ‘spattering’ of different coloured
4. The finished roof with, mould,
paints. The spattering was done by
lichen, and bird droppings applied
flicking different watered-down acrylic
with just simple colour application,
paints with a tooth brush and cocktail
this time in a more controlled way.
stick - the effect is very impressive,
but messy! 5. Adding the roof to the building
walls (but not gluing it in place)
allows you to check everything looks
FINAL DETAILING as it should in the complete build.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing … I had seen that many

French railway stations were painted with pale blue woodwork.
I’m not sure if this was correct at the time of the Franco-
Prussian War, but I thought it would make a great addition to
this model, and after seeing everything together I decided to
repaint wooden areas blue.

The groundwork was painted in my usual Citadel Snakebite Leather colour,

highlighted with yellow and white, then individual stones picked out in grey (mixed
from black and white). The flag was another feature I had seen on the internet. I had
noticed that French railway stations would often have huge French flags mounted
on the roof or hanging from angled flagpoles.
The flag post was constructed from a piece of radio control servo rod, which had
the finial built up by dipping the rod end into superglue before applying accelerator
until a bead shape had been produced. The flag was made from two self-adhesive
paper labels painted with acrylics. Once the labels had been stuck in place around
the flagpole, I wrinkled the paper flag and applied some painted highlights.
The finished flagpole is just a push fit on the model and can be easily removed if
needed. I had thought that the flag looked a little large, however there are many
illustrations showing that these huge flags were a common feature on French
railway lines of the period.

The items of luggage have

been painted in a variety of
different colours and finishes.

The final detailing was adding

some flocking and static grass
to the base, and posters or
information leaflets to the walls
(a feature seen on all railway
stations throughout time).

47
 SCALE CREEP!
This image includes sections from the original Sarissa Precision
MDF kit and clearly shows just how small the laser-cut kit parts
are when compared to the finished model I made.

The finished Franco-Prussian railway station is 200mm wide

x 150mm and 250mm tall. It is mounted onto a 3mm thick
plasticard base that is 220mm x 180mm.

MATERIALS USED
• Sarissa Precision 3 storey house
• 3mm thick plasticard
• Card
• Eggbox card
• Balsawood
• Newspaper
• DAS modelling clay
• Sand
• Sieved stones
• Powdered marble dust
• Ready-mixed filler
• Metal rod
• Sticky-back plastic/labels
• Resin and metal castings

Left: The finished model in situ

with a 28mm miniature alongside
it and shown for scale.

I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to reproduce the original artwork showing the Courcelles railway station, but I admit that this
was never intended to be a 100% copy but more of a generic wargame structure. While I felt that the Sarissa kit was too small to be
used alongside 28mm figures, it did supply a number of key features for the model.
The Franco-Prussian War railway building took nearly two months of quite ‘laid-back’ modelling, which was intermingled with other
projects. Most of the tedious modelling was confined to cutting out the tiles and building the roof, but I am always willing to spend
time detailing roofs; these are the feature that we as wargamers spend most of our time looking down on!

48
 THE
LEPER TERRORISTS
OF FRANCE

BIO-CHEMICAL WEAPONS
AND THE CONSPIRACY OF 1321
Dr Steve Tibble introduces us to a tale imminent threat of contagion. Dusk leather pouches containing chemicals
of medieval madness, moral panic, and was falling in the alleyways around that would enable them to contaminate
great ‘what if’ gaming potential set in the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. water supplies and kill thousands of
14th Century Paris. The five deformed men and one woman innocent Parisians.
carried with them the usual weapons
The leper terrorists of France were a The lepers moved painfully, laboriously
of that place and time, 1321. All were
dangerous and repulsive group in their towards the well in an alley around the
armed with daggers and one or two had
own right. Their very presence made back of a local hostelry, no more than
short swords barely concealed under
people back away in disgust and fear.
their filthy rags.
100 yards along from the cathedral. Their
mission, like that of twelve other terror
But this evening they were indeed armed
Even more worrying, however, they also cells in Paris that night, and upwards
with more than just bad breath and the
carried weapons of mass destruction: of thirty terror groups across France as

50
a whole, was to carry out a

?
massive attack. In one fell
swoop they would kill the
complacent, cruel citizens
who had made the lives of the

WHAT IF
lepers even more miserable
than they already were.
Their objective was not
merely revenge. It was simple,
but also breathtakingly
ambitious in its scope. With
the healthy inhabitants dead
or dying, the shadow world
of the leper could come out
into the light. No more hiding.
No more cruelty or torment
just for being different. And
no more debilitating, grinding
poverty. A single night of
coordinated terror attacks
could bring all their suffering
to an end. The lepers would be
able to create a new society,
one in which they would be more than
anything else you might find in Paris The lepers movement rate should be
just tolerated: they would be the new
circa 1321. The only specific stipulation less than that of the guards, and they are
masters of a new kingdom of disease
is that the lepers’ objective, a well, should armed with much cruder hand weapons.
and putrid decay where they alone
be placed near one table edge, whilst
would rule. Give the lepers the element of surprise
they begin the game anywhere (and not
at the beginning of the game, with the
History tells us that the lepers’ plot failed necessary together) along the opposite
guards not able to attack until they have
(more on that later). But it makes for an table edge.
line of sight.
interesting, and very different, medieval
The guards should begin in the middle of
skirmish. My intention here is to provide NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH?
the table. Initially, there should be fewer
you with the background for a simple
guards than lepers, about half as many, In the event, the brutal and desperate
‘starter’ scenario, and you, the player, to
but the guards can shout for back-up, mission of the lepers that night was
run with it and see where it can take you.
with reinforcements arriving on a D6 thwarted. The king’s officers and
THE SCENARIO roll of 5 or 6. On a score of 1 however, a local inquisitors were actually able to
random leper arrives to aid his comrades. pinpoint the ringleaders just before the
One player takes on the role of the Leper
plot was due to take place. Under their
Terrorists, the other the Kings’ Guards To win the scenario, the lepers will need
less than gentle questioning, the lepers
(an early and far darker prototype of The to get to the well and release their toxic
were encouraged to confess to their
Three Musketeers) or City Militia. payloads into the water.
schemes, to name other conspirators,
The action should be played out on a
small board - anywhere between 2 x 2
and 4 x 4 (depending on the rules you are
using). Much of the playing area should
be covered in medieval buildings and

We played our Leper Terrorist game on a 4' x 2.5'

board, covered with a Deep Cut Studios mat. The
buildings were mainly Tabletop Workshop, the
scatter is by Debris of War and the figures are by
Gripping Beast and Foundry.

51
 As with the suppression of the Templars,
the response of the French crown to
the new ‘conspiracy’ was to deploy
the full range of powers at the disposal
of the state - legal, military and local
resources all marshalled, in a major case
of overkill, against the leper communities
of France. The crackdown was wide-
ranging and shockingly swift. Lepers in
the Périgueux region were accused in the
spring of 1321 and rounded up en masse
on 16 April. By the middle of May, many
of these poor souls had been tortured
into giving detailed and imaginative
‘confessions’. They were then burned.
But there were other profitable
opportunities to be seized, and other,
and to implicate those who had financed thus infected, would become lepers, or wealthier, minorities to be investigated.
and organised the plot. One of the most die, or almost die, and thus the number By the middle of June, lepers tortured
audacious terrorist outrages in European of the lepers would be increased and the and prompted by the king’s men had
history was thwarted at the last moment. healthy decreased.” begun to incriminate members of other
This whole story is, strangely, both PSYCHOLOGICAL GYMNASTICS French minority communities; the ‘usual
simultaneously true and entirely false. suspects’ of medieval society when things
The extent of the psychological started to go wrong. The new victims
It is ‘true’ in the sense that this was what gymnastics involved in trying to explain were mainly Jews. Under torture - of
the King of France’s secret police and the motives of these leper-terrorists, course, always under torture - a leper
lawyers found out in the course of their or even to invent the plot as a whole, was encouraged to say that a rich Jew
brutal investigations. Thousands of lepers was extraordinary. The best the crown had given him money to place powdered
did indeed confess to the plot and to the could come up with, in their bleakly poisons into public water supplies.
part they were ready to play in it. Like the unimaginative way, was to suggest that
Templars just a few years before them, the lepers wanted higher status, a bigger An association with witchcraft and heresy
when the order was dissolved because of house, a better job-title, just like everyone was inevitably only a few confessions
its alleged predilection for devil-worship, else - “They aspired to the lordship of away from this already heady mix. A
the conspirators were eager to confess to towns and castles,” wrote the cheery female leper was caught with a bag that
a wide range of seemingly bizarre, almost Bernard, “and had already divided among contained “the head of a snake, the feet
implausible, crimes. themselves the lordship of places, and of a toad and hairs of a woman, having
given themselves the name of potentate, been mixed with a certain black and fetid
But there was a good reason why so liquid, so that it was not only horrible
count or baron in various lands, if what
much of it sounded implausible: there to feel, but also to see”. To any normal
they planned should come about.”
was not a shred of truth behind any of it. observer, this sounds like the kind of
Men under torture will say almost
anything to make the pain stop. And,
again, like the Templars before them, the
WHERE TO FIND 28MM MEDIEVAL LEPER TERRORISTS
lepers of France had been brutalised into
confessing to everything their inquisitors You won’t be surprised to learn you won’t find them ‘off the shelf’, but what you can
had suggested, or even hinted at, no use for your lepers (rather cruelly) are Zombie or Revenant figures. We used Gripping
matter how fantastical. Beast Revenants (Dark Age undead) for our terrorists, as seen in the photos. However, not
content with the lack of filthy bandages on the models, Marc was on hand to roll some
A greedy monarchy wanted money, and greenstuff and splash some paint about to create that fashionable 14th Century leper look
a fearful, superstitious population were in 28mm (see later boxout).
all too willing to believe whatever stories
they were fed. Each deserved the other.
And the stage was set for the ‘Leper
Conspiracy of 1321’.
Bernard Gui, the Inquisitor at Toulouse
from 1307 to 1324, who was present at the
‘questioning’ of many lepers, wrote that:
“There was detected and prevented an
evil plan of the lepers against the healthy
persons in the kingdom of France.
Indeed, plotting against the safety of
the people, these persons, unhealthy in
body and insane in mind, had arranged
to infect the waters of the rivers and
fountains and wells everywhere, by
placing poison and infected matter in
them and by mixing [into the water]
prepared powders, so that healthy men
drinking from them or using the water

52
potion or ointment that the desperate
lepers might use to alleviate their SIMPLE GREENSTUFF ADDITIONS
suffering. But, twisted and exaggerated, it Sculpting SkillS tutorial
could also be made to look like witchcraft
In-house putty pusher Marc shows us how he made the bandages for the showcase Leper
or satanism.
Terrorists seen in the article.
CASTING THE NET FURTHER
The monarch; King Philip V, ‘the tall’,
was extremely superstitious. He needed
little additional incentive to draw ever
more mad conclusions from the febrile
investigations of his minions. On 21 June,
lepers all across France were rounded up
and arrested.
The punishments inflicted on them were 1. Two roughly equal segments of epoxy 4. A sharp craft knife was used to cut fine
harsh in the extreme. All lepers were to greenstuff were cut. The contact point ribbons/strips of greenstuff. These will be
be tortured, and once they had confessed, between the two compounds was trimmed used to sculpt the impression of bandages on
burned at the stake. Pregnant lepers away as this will have started to cure. the lepers.
were allowed to give birth, but after the Vaseline was very carefully applied to the
baby was able “to live and feed without blade of my knife to limit the chances of the
their help”, they too were burned. In greenstuff attaching to it.
the unlikely event that torture failed to
produce a satisfactory confession, the
few survivors were sentenced to life
imprisonment.
Interestingly, as in the case of the trial of
the Templars, superstition, credulity, and 2. The two halves were then rolled together
sadism were combined with greed. These to produce a smooth, evenly coloured ball.
were not mutually exclusive motivations. Had I found hard lumps within the ball, this
On the contrary, they all merged together would have indicated that my greenstuff
may be out of date with it having cured 5. Fine tipped tweezers were used to
with easy familiarity. The lepers did not carefully lift the ribbons from the plastic
prematurely.
have much, but it was decided that what surface. As with the knife, the ends of the
little they had should be confiscated “and tweezers were covered with Vaseline.
placed and held in [the King’s] hand”.
Once the fun started, everyone wanted a
piece of the action, and events became
hard to control. Local people began
to pre-empt the king’s justice, and,
incidentally, to relieve the lepers of their
meagre possessions before they fell into
the king’s hands. In Rouen, for instance, 3. The ball was first squashed as flat as
enthusiastic townsfolk started freelancing, possible using my fingers. It was then
placed on a smooth plastic surface that 6. The ribbons were lifted into place using
burning their leper neighbours of their
had been prepared using sculptor Vaseline the tweezers, carefully fixing one end
own accord - executions were said to be
(regular Vaseline will suffice). It was then in place gently, using a free finger when
carried out “more by the people than by rolled flat using the handle of a round necessary. The tweezers were used to
secular justice”. scalpel, which had also been liberally manipulate the ribbon around the limb.
slathered with Vaseline. This step was repeated, building up the layers
But it continued to get worse: “In many
places, in detestation of the horrible I aimed to spread the greenstuff out so that of bandages. The bandages were tidied up
it was little more than a pin-width deep. I using a rubber-tipped sculpting tool.
act [of supposed biological terrorism],
the lepers, both men and women, were tried to not press down too hard to avoid the The greenstuff was left to cure fully
shut up in their houses with all their greenstuff adhering to the plastic. overnight, then washed in hot, soapy water
things, [and] fire having been applied, to remove any resiudal vaseline.
they were burnt by the people without
TIP!
any judgement.” The count of Flanders
made the morally correct but unpopular To smooth the
decision not to join in the leper-burning. surface, wait a
The arrested lepers in his lands were couple of hours for
the greenstuff to
freed without charge, which, depressingly
semi-cure. Now, take
and predictably, “displeased not a few a finger dipped in
people”. Life was hard, people were Vaseline and gently
superstitious, and unimaginable cruelty wipe along the
was always close to the surface. surface. Apply very
little pressure, simply
Thousands of lepers were burned alive stroke the material.
in the aftermath of this fiasco, and just
as bizarrely, so were the ‘go to’ victims
of medieval Western Europe: hundreds
of Jews.

53
 EXPANDING THE ATROCITIES that the terrorist plot was done by the Perhaps appropriately, lepers were also
encouragement and the incitement of the tortured and prompted to incriminate
The king did not specifically include the
Jews. Perhaps not surprisingly, given Muslims in the terrorist outrage - and
Jews in the crackdown of 1321, but
the madness sweeping across France, why not when all the other hated
local people, many of whom were
the Jews in some parts were burned minorities were being blamed? These
in their debt, were keen to get them
indiscriminately and especially in accusations posed some practical
involved. Regional chronicles noted
Aquitaine. In the summer of 1321, problems, however, even for the most
for instance, on just one small devoted of Philip’s servants because there
island in the Loire valley beneath was the minor detail that no Muslims
the town of Chinon, about 160 lived in France at that time. The Islamic
Jews were burned. net therefore had to be cast a little wider.
The King of [Muslim] Granada and the
Once again, money and
Sultan of Egypt were said, even more
madness went hand-in-hand. The
implausibly than the other accusations, to
richest Jews in Paris were arrested
be fronting the plot.
and imprisoned. Their debts, assets,
and income were assessed. The King Finally, and for good measure, the
of France then took huge sums of old-fashioned spectre of witchcraft was
money from them before burning also raised. The lepers, despite being
or exiling his unfortunate victims. Christians, were accused of satanic
The full extent of the antisemitic heresies. One tortured prisoner told
atrocities, either centrally or in the his inquisitors that at the next ‘leper-
regions, is unclear, but snippets of meeting’, they were all going to “spit on
the horror emerge. We know that the cross of Christ and upon his body,
in Vitry alone, for instance, 40 and also that the body of the Lord and his
Jews were imprisoned and died cross should be trampled underfoot”.
at the royal prison.
All the elements of the Templar trials
The remnants of the tiny were there, and they made a heady
Jewish community in France cocktail of Jews and Muslims, terrorists
were next forced to pay the and heretics, fear and jealousy, hysteria
French crown a fine of 150,000 and calculation, superstition and greed.
livres for their imaginary role It was a winning formula, rolled out for
in the imaginary plot. In 1322, the profit of the king and the applause of
the vast majority of the surviving the crowd.
French Jews left the country once
again, just five years
Within a few months, the whole ghastly
affair had blown over. The following
after they had
summer, the surviving lepers were
returned.
effectively put under house arrest,

54
“enclosed in places from which they HYSTERIA AND CONSPIRACY
could never come out, but wither away THEORIES - A HEADY MIX
and languish in perpetuity, so that they
These mad outbursts in France were
would not harm or multiply, men being
clearly a function of a society on edge
completely separated from women”.
and ill-at-ease with itself. Interestingly,
How did this deranged fiasco ever and perhaps a warning for our own times
happen? It should go without saying that of pandemic, the bloodthirsty hysteria
the entire plot was fabricated, or imagined, of 1321 was just a taster for what was to
or both, and this multiple pogrom took come: the horrific pogroms that followed
place without a single person having died the Black Death. When bad things
of poisoning from the public water supply. happened, someone had to have sinned
and somebody had to pay.
The Jews, as the traditional medieval
victims, were an obvious target. Theft Society occasionally needed outsiders -
and the cancellation of debts were the often conveniently labelled as ‘heretics’
predictably venal reasons to exploit - to take the blame. Sometimes the
them, alongside the usual religious and sick, the disabled, or vulnerable foreign
racial prejudices. communities could be fitted up to take on
that role. In the sad case of the Templars,
The lepers seem to have had little even crusaders in the wrong place and at
connection with the Jews, either the wrong time, they could be heretics.
in reality or even in the folklore of
prejudice that predated the mad outburst And just in case we get too complacent,
of 1321. But they were feared and we do not have to look too far back in our
segregated because of their condition, own history to see the same sad formulae
and the costs of supporting them being played out.
provided a financial reason as to why
I hope this article has provided you
local communities might feel they were
with enough information to expand the
better off without them.
gaming potential of the leper conspiracy
Medieval societies were certainly capable way beyond the simple scenario I have
of rational thinking and planning; far suggested and into other areas of France
more so, in fact, than we often give them (or the world!) and other scenarios or
credit for. But they were also capable of campaigns.
the opposite, using superstition, greed,
Happy wargaming!
and hysteria to achieve their goals.

55
 PAINTING VICTRIX’S
NEW NORMAN
INFANTRY

This article inaugurates Wargames Illustrated’s new in-house painter Marc. Before his first ‘cuppa’ had
even brewed, we plonked some plastic Norman Infantry on his desk and he created this handy painting guide.

56
STEP ONE - COLOUR BLOCKING
The miniature is primed in black before the different areas are painted with their basecoat
colours. The reason I do this ‘blocking’ is to get a solid notion of how the miniature will
look when finished. It also allows me to check that the colour combinations work before I 3

Modelling
Painting &
put in extra painting time refining one area that might later not work cohesively. 6

I decided to start with muted tones; to make the model look period appropriate and to
provide me with the opportunity to push contrast later in the painting process.

1
BASE COLOURS USED:
2
1- Padded gambeson: Vallejo Model Color, Flat Earth
2- Brown leather: Vallejo Model Color, Chocolate Brown 4
3- Steel: Vallejo Model Color, Chainmail Silver
4- Blue cloth: Vallejo Game Extra Opaque, Heavy Blue
5
5- Beige leggings: Vallejo Game Extra Opaque, Heavy Brown
6- Skin: Vallejo Game Extra Opaque, Heavy Skin Tone

STEP TWO - ADDING DEFINITION TO THE GAMBESON

In this stage, I start to refine the padding, initially creating depth with a wash of one drop
of Vallejo Game Ink Sepia and three drops of water. This covers the entirety of the material
and where it pools in the recesses it gives the impression of shade.
Ensuring the wash is fully dry, it is then time to add highlights. Each highlight is stippled
onto each diamond, initially in Vallejo Model Color Flat Earth with increasing amounts of
Vallejo Model Color Light Brown mixed in, building towards Vallejo Model Color Off-
White. Highlights are focused on the top half of the diamonds and those which would be
exposed to a top-down light source.
To tie the stippled highlights together, I apply a glaze made from one drop of Sepia Ink and
four drops of water over the whole gambeson.

In this main photo Victrix Normans

clash with Gripping Beast Saxons.

57
 STEP THREE - DETAILING THE
STIPPLING LEATHER
It may seem counter intuitive to ‘stipple’ The brown leather gets a black wash made
when trying to apply fine detail and it from one drop of Vallejo Model Color Black
certainly takes a little practice. Rest your and four drops of water. Once it is dry,
painting hand against the hand holding stippling and edge highlighting techniques
the figure or figure holder, but instead of bring the detail and definition. Combining
making smooth strokes use that contact stippling and traditional highlighting
area as your pivot point, moving the wrist
brushstrokes gives a surface the appearance
up and down small amounts to apply a
pointillism style to the model. of texture and slight weathering.

This gradual build of tiny stippled dots I start with a stippled layer of Vallejo Model
creates more texture and, though in this Color Orange Brown, three drops thinned
case we want things to look a little torn and with one drop of water, and this covers
ragged due to the damage, it can ultimately approximately 40-60% of the leather surface,
be taken back and forth with different tones focused on the most exposed areas.
to create very smooth blends.
The next stippled layer, covering less of the
Check out the work of fantasy painter surface, is one drop of Vallejo Model Color
David Soper to see the true potential of Orange Brown and one drop of Vallejo Model
stippling - almost everything he paints has
Color Buff, thinned with one drop of water.
been done with a variation on the stippling
technique. A final edge highlight, three drops of Buff
thinned with one drop of water, makes
it really pop.

STEP FOUR - AND I’M FEELING BLUE

The blue clothing is first highlighted with one drop of Vallejo Model Color Royal Blue
mixed with one drop of Vallejo Model Color Off-White and thinned with one drop
of water. Focus your highlights on the raised parts of the clothing, such as folds, with
a light edge highlight focused on the edge of each part of the clothing. A blue wash,
made with one drop of Vallejo Game Color Ink Blue with two drops of water, applied
after the highlights have dried, smooths things and adds a little extra saturation.

STEP FIVE - BEIGE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE BORING!

The beige leggings are painted in a similar way to the leather and padded gambeson.
Highlights are stippled on, focusing on the areas most exposed to a top-down light
source. I start with one drop of Vallejo Game Color Extra Opaque Heavy Brown mixed
with one drop of Vallejo Model Color Ger. C. Beige WWII and thinned with one drop
of water. Cover approximately 70% of the leggings with this, leaving the foundation
coat visible in the recesses.
Two drops of Model Color Ger. C. Beige WWII are thinned with one drop of water
to establish the more refined spot highlights. The final highlight is one drop of Model
Color Ger. C. Beige WWII mixed with one drop of Vallejo Model Color Off-White
and thinned with one drop of water. This is applied sparingly to make the edges of
folds pop.

58
STEP SIX - HEAVY METAL STEP SEVEN - FACE FOCUS

The steel gets a liberal black wash, thinning There is very little skin visible on this miniature, but I wanted it to appear
one drop of Vallejo Model Color Black quite pale and stand in contrast to the rest of the miniature. I apply a warm
with four drops of water. Edge highlights of skin tone glaze over the whole surface of the skin, using one drop of
Vallejo Game Color Chainmail bring volume Vallejo Model Color Brown Rose thinned with four drops of water.
and realism to the metal. A final, fine edge Once that is fully dry, I apply a second cool glaze of one drop of Vallejo
highlight of Vallejo Game Color Silver is Model Color Neutral Grey with one drop of Vallejo Game Color Extra
used to really pick out edges, and it also Opaque Heavy Skintone and thinned with eight drops of water; in this
applies a few scratches and marks along the instance, application was limited to just the deepest recesses.
blade and helmet.
I prefer to paint the eyes next rather than after I have developed the
Finally, a blue glaze is applied, focused highlights on the skin. It means that if I make a mistake painting them,
towards where the steel would be in the I only need to refine a basic skin tone, rather than matching varying
shadows. This glaze is one drop of Vallejo highlight tones. Ensure your paint is a thin consistency and your brush
Game Color Ink Blue and four drops of water. has a good tip. If you need some visual assistance you might want to use
a magnifier such as an OptiVISOR
to get the figure’s eyes just right
without troubling your own!
With eyes done, the highlights
are emphasised and focused on
the raised aspects of the face: the
cheek bones, chin, and lips. These
highlights begin with two drops of
Vallejo Light Flesh thinned with
one drop of water. They are taken
further with one drop of Vallejo
Model Color Off-White added to
the mix whilst maintaining the
fluidity by adding more water.
Increasing amounts of Vallejo
Model Color Off-White join the
mix until pure Off-White dots the
sharpest highlight areas.
Finally, a fine glaze of one drop
of Vallejo Model Color Brown
Rose thinned with four drops of
water is carefully applied to tie the
highlights together.

STEP EIGHT -
FINISHING TOUCHES
To finish, I painted the
base and applied some
static grass. A shield, with SEE MORE:
a freehand design and SHIELD
battle damage finishes PAINTING
things up. I really enjoyed
working on the shields TUTORIAL
for the figures I painted,
and as a result, I felt
compelled to produce a
second tutorial!
Prime members can
already access this online
- head over to our website
to check it out!

59
 STORMING THE
DANEVIRKE

THE ALMOST BATTLE, 6 FEBRUARY 1864

Colonel (Retired) Bill Gray returns to “Only three people have ever really The Danish victory in the First Schleswig
the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein understood the Schleswig-Holstein War upheld this status quo via the
and ponders a ‘what if’ that was mere business - the Prince Consort, who is dead London Protocols, but by 1864 Danish
hours away from happening. - a German professor, who has gone mad - progressives were moving the country
and I, who have forgotten all about it.” towards a constitutional monarchy
‘What ifs’ have a special place in the
with the hope of formally annexing
hearts of historians and wargamers alike. Very briefly, the issue centered on the
Schleswig-Holstein. Schleswig was
What if Lee had won at Gettysburg, independent duchies of Schleswig
more or less accommodating to change
Napoleon at Waterloo, or if the Germans and Holstein (the latter including the
as her population had Danes and North
took Bastogne during the 1944 Ardennes tiny Duchy of Lauenburg) and their
Frislanders in the majority. Holstein, not
offensive? But very few ‘what ifs’ came relationship with Denmark. The two
so much. Holstein was almost completely
as close to actually happening as the duchies were technically not part of
German, governed by a conservative
probable decisive battle of the 1864 Denmark, but the King of Denmark was
aristocracy under ancient Salic law (which
Second Schleswig War. simultaneously the Duke of Schleswig
among other things, prohibited female
and the Duke of Holstein. By the Treaty
Where some battles that ‘might have rule, so if a Danish queen took the throne
of Ribe in 1640, the Danish crown’s
been’ call for a general marching his …) and in fact desired total separation
claim to both was validated under the
men for a few more days, getting a new from the Danes. Indeed, as a German
condition that the two duchies would
weapon in the arsenal early, or changing state, Holstein already held membership
never be partitioned or treated differently
a strategy at a turning point, here we in the Federal German parliament
in their relations with Copenhagen.
are talking only a smidgen of hours and although ruled by the Danish king.
armies separated by barely a kilometer.
An abortive Union Constitution failed
So, who’s ready to rumble? The time In 1459 King Christian
king of Denmark.
the protectorate of
I was crowned
With that title came
both Schleswig and

as a solution in 1858, so when King

Holstein. However
Christian
EIN WAR differently
over the two areas I’s rights

ESWIGHOLST
were interpreted

THE FIRST SCHL

under the law - Schleswig
remained a fief under

is 4am on 6 February 1864 and we’re WARGAMING with the King acting
the Danish Crown

FOREVER
as his own vassal.
But as Duke of Holstein,
invasions

the King also

Christian IX signed the new November

became a vassal of
the Holy Roman
Emperor. Christian
I ruled the Duchy,
not as king and not but
as part of Denmark.

sleepily looking out over the Danevirke

UNDIVIDED!
This worked more
or less until 1848,
when, against the
backdrop of nationalist
revolts breaking out
across Europe,

fortified line on the Jutland Peninsula.

Constitution in 1863, pens dropped
Denmark crowned
a new king. King
Frederick VII had
no children and when
looking to the line
of succession, the
nearest heir and next
ruler would be
female via his niece
Louise of Hesse.
This had been legalized
by Denmark in
1846, but Holstein’s
German state, was
Law which mandated
rule. To Holstein the
When Frederick VII
government, as a
based on ancient Salic
only males could
solution was simple.
died,
Prince of Noer Frederick another Fred;
Emil August
DENMARK

and armies marched. The constitution

von Schleswig-Holstein-Sond

IT’S COMPLICATED! Augustenburg (say

without stopping)

proclaimed Schleswig
would
erburg-
that three times
Duke. Given the Treaty become the next
of Ribe (1460)
and
inseparable, both would Holstein
then become
left Holstein exactly the way it was,
independent of Denmark.

but created a combined parliament for

SCHLESWIG

“For
much such an obscure
wargaming topic,

Let’s take this quiet moment to try and Bill Gray presents
set the scene for
Colonel (Retired)
a brief guide to
the later, better
a complicated war,
known conflict
of 1864.
mini-series 1864),
of the color from
this war retains
Napoleonic times,
to support
too small
features armies neither combatants
nor too it are
easy to find … if
figures
reasonably
you are
Denmark and Schleswig and revalidated
unpack this frankly baffling conflict’s
boasts
which helped to
large to model and
generals andwilling
armies
In the middle of
19th Century,
the
in the
of equal size, with
, toting weapons to fudge a bit.” HOLSTEIN
itself caught up of equal competence
Denmark found Europe. By and effectiveness.
bevy of rebellions
plaguing of equal technology bit of political
to contain insurrection with aDenmark
1848, as if trying Garnish this buffet actionsaid
and no, interpreting the
of Schleswig and Holstein
intrigue and potential navalprovision So
to mean Holstein could
same
in the duchies wargaming feast.

the controversial rights of succession

found itself you have the perfect leave Danish authority as it not
wasn’t enough, Denmark of the Federal would
invaded by both
the armies why not partake? require Schleswig
to do likewise.
Austria
mighty Prussia. Holstein appealed
German Diet and terie to help with IT’S COMPLIC
ATED to the Federal

background. I already discussed the

German Diet, gained
even sent a Raketenbat the smoke finally First Schleswig their support
when
the festivities. Yet
on theand,
nt When speaking so emboldened, Prince
and to the astonishme Minister Lord Frederick
cleared in 1852, War, British Prime marched to havea said,
gaggle of students
known and the 5th

for the Danish throne. The Federal

was victorious. Palmerston was Lauenburg Jaegerkorps into the
of many, Denmark have ever really fortress
Holstein War, “Only three people Holstein
This, the First Schleswig- icts most have understood the Schleswig-
best confl
is another of the less Consort, who is
business - the Prince THE who has gone

“you can’t make this up” politics behind never wargamed.

obscure offspring
War (undoubted
Unlike its slightly
the Second Schleswig
ly helped by the
Danish
dead - a German
mad - and I, who
professor, FS-HW À LA VICTORIA

it.” It was most confusing

forgotten all about
haveFriends
evenofin day
thehismagazine
and Malc Johnson
Dave Tuck
N STEEL

Left top (and above):

North Star Danes
and
and indeed, the politics

Hopefully, what followsThey

behind the war have loads of photos
as the conflict itself.
and information
remain as intriguing Schleswig-H
used
online about their
First
will help.olstein War gaming project.
parliament declared this to be a violation
the Schleswig Question in Wargames Prussians from their their Victorian Steel rules
of figures Duchies
southern by Redoubt Enterprises
of and
1864 range. Many
this
Whether the two ACW from their
the figures from (about 1/3 German) range,andfor the Danes, and
Schleswig Americanwere legally Mexican-
later war are usable German) range for the Holstein

of the London Protocols, and a Saxon-

Holstein (entirely Check ancient

Illustrated 381; suffice it to say that

in 1848. See page
78
was an out the question.
Lead Adventure Forum
army.
part of Denmark victorian-ste Emperor and
for more info. Holy Roman
However, in 1422 el.com for more info
to permanently and pics.
Left bottom: Danish Sigismund was asked in 1424 since
return to He ruled
soldiers decide the issue. spoke Danish
Copenhagen in 1849 the people of Schleswig
by Otto Bache (1894). Danish customs, the Duchy
followed

Hanoverian corps occupied Holstein on

and
to Denmark. One
rightfully belonged
one to go.
duchy down, and
73

British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston

WI381 First Schleswig-Holste
in War.indd 3

Christmas Eve 1863. German Chancellor

30/05/2019 10:02
72

wasn’t kidding when he wrote:

You can read about the First Schleswig- Otto von Bismarck cared little about the
Holstein War in Bill’s Wi381 article,
available in The Vault online.
60
grievances of the Holsteiners, seeing
this as the perfect pretext to mobilize,
invade, and annex territory in his drive
for German unification. So, with the
Austrians by his side, on 1 February
?
1864, the Prussians invaded Schleswig

WHAT IF
and the war was on.
THE BATTLE THAT WASN’T
Christian IX immediately evacuated 1

Holstein and pulled back all Danish

troops into Schleswig, evidently hoping 5 4 3
2

to diffuse the situation. It didn’t happen,

so overall command of the Danish army 6

was entrusted to Lieutenant General 7

Christian de Meza, a hero of the previous 9

10
war, and the army deployed to its
traditional defensive positions around 13 11
14 12
the city of Schleswig. One of the army’s
8
three infantry divisions would defend 15
the unfordable waterway known as the
16
Schlei Bay, which stretched from the
Baltic some 20 km to Schleswig. The 17

army’s other two infantry divisions, along 18

with most of the cavalry and artillery,

would defend the Danevirke, a lengthy
fortification system that stretched from
21 19
20

Schleswig westward. All in all, de

Meza could count on about 35,000 men
to defend the Danevirke, a job which Above: The location of the various Redoubts on the terrain - Redoubt 14, which has been
actually required 50,000. reconstructed at the Danervirke Museum (see over the page) is circled with red.

The terrain in the area bolstered the Gablenz to contest the Danevirke. Thus, it was decided to advance on the Danes early
defense of the position, which was pretty on the morning of 6 February, between the towns of Overselk and Jagel. Evidently
flat but contained fields bordered with Baron Gablenz, as de facto field commander, never seriously considered swinging
movement degrading “knicks” (three- west through the Friedrichsheide because, although it was cold and snowing, he had no
foot-high earthen berms with a dense guarantee the swamp would freeze over.
hedge on top). More important was the
River Rheider and the Friedrichsheide Meanwhile back at Danish HQ, de Meza had no guarantee the swamp would not freeze
that surrounded it. This latter piece of over, so he called a council of war recommending immediate evacuation. His artillery
real estate was a heath and swamp combo commander, mortified at losing so much heavy artillery, loudly protested, but in the end
nasty enough to digest a Volkswagen, and (after de Meza cut the telegraph line to ensure Copenhagen’s ‘approval’), the Danes
the fact that it secured the western portion packed up and without even waving goodbye, slipped away the night and morning of
of the Danevirke nearly to the sea meant 5 and 6 February.
that this area could be an acceptable risk
and lightly defended. The only problem 1st Bde
Reserve 4th Drag
would be if it froze over.
N
froZen friedrichsheide?
Kroy Husbye
Of course, Mother Nature did her thing, Ellingstedt Gd Hussars
and over the afternoon and evening of 5 virke
6th Drag Dane
February, the temperature plummeted and
2d XX
it started to snow. And snow. And snow.
Da

3d XX
nev

And then snow some more.

Rothenkrug
irk
e

Meanwhile, on the other side of the virke

Dane
field stood the not-so-loyal opposition, Churburg
River
nominally commanded by the geriatric Rheide
and decidedly cautious Prussian Field Dane
virke
Marshal Friederich Graf von Wrangel.
His Prussian I Corps (Prinz Friederich
Karl commanding) had been given the
18th & 19th Jaeger
task of forcing the Schlei, but was now Gross
in a holding pattern after receiving a Rheide
Austrian
bloody nose at the hands of the plucky Entry
Zone
Danes near Mysunde on 2 February. That Klein Prussian
Rheide Entry Zone
left the Prussian Combined Royal Guard
Division (lead element of Prussian III
MAP KEY
Corps) under Lieutenant General von der Deployed Danish Artillery Batteries Troops
Mulbe and the Austrian VI Corps under Redoubts (with Artillery Batteries deployed inside) Cavalry
the very pugnacious Field marshall Baron Prussian Field Redoubt (with Artillery Battery deployed inside)

61
 When the Austro-Prussians
walked in, completely
unopposed, army command
was absolutely dumbstruck
and general officer “Gott
im Himmel”s flowed
more freely than beer at
Oktoberfest. Their first
question was why the
Danes relinquished such
a choice position, but
perhaps more importantly,
how did they pull it off
without anyone detecting
it? Regardless, the
war proceeded to the
fortifications near Dybbol,
and although modern
historians universally agree
he made the right decision,
de Meza was relieved
from command.
But what if had stayed
and fought? Above: Bruce Weigle’s 6mm Danevirke game, played about 15 years ago with his 1864 rules on his fantastic
snow terrain.

TO THE TABLETOP, MARSCH! the kepi color changed from medium blue to dark something.
The exact color of the kepi along with its matching tunic (double
The armies
breasted, red collar with red piping to cuffs, shoulder straps and
The Austro-Prussian forces at the Danevirke are simply the flap) and greatcoat has long been a subject of discussion, but
armies of the 1866 Seven Weeks War two years early, though a it seems the best description would be Navy, defined today in
white over black German Federal bi-color was carried. Figures many armies as a shade of black. White NCO chevrons were
in multiple scales, and uniform and other information abounds, displayed on both upper and lower sleeves with officers having
so there is little need to discuss these lads here. The Danes silver or gold shoulder straps and kepi band. Trousers were light
are a different matter, but fortunately dress was simplicity blue (Navy with red stripe for the artillery, whose guns sported
personified, and if you ever had a crush on the Brunswick medium grey-green carriages and black iron work), while all
Black Corps of 1815, you are going to like this army. belting was black leather, plus a brown cowhide knapsack and
linen haversack with a black leather cover. The greatcoat was
At this time, Danish infantry and artillery wore the Model 1855
universally worn as the outer garment for this campaign and
uniform, which was essentially the Model 1848 uniform with

62
 THE DANEVIRKE
Legend suggests the Danevirke was originally ordered
built by 10th Century Queen Thyra Dannebod, to
protect her people from German incursions from
the south. From that point on it was continuously
expanded and modernized with 1850 and 1861 seeing
extensive reinforcement. And although they were not
the massive structures depicted in British tabloids of
the day, the Danevirke was no pushover. The entire
complex consisted of lines of tall earthen embankments
interspersed with artillery redoubts and lunettes.

Below: When entering the rear of Redoubt 14 by

foot, the impressive defensive height is apparent. Above: An aerial view of Redoubt 14, recreated at the Danevirke Museum.

Today, the Danevirke Museum has actually reconstructed the

position’s Redoubt 14, and it serves as a pretty good example of
what an invading army might have faced in 1864. According to
the study, Der krieg gegen Dänemark im jahre 1864, this five-
sided redoubt had upper parapets 175 paces (Schritten - 24 to 28
inches) long on top of a 24 pace high embankment, which was
20 paces deep. The trench surrounding the redoubt included a
parapet 80 paces long in a ditch 10 paces wide and 8 paces deep.
An oblique wooden palisade was dug into the trench escarpment
and the fort held two magazines, an 84-pounder smoothbore
cannon, five 18-pounder smoothbore cannons and two 6-pounder
smoothbore cannons.

there seems to have been no distinctive dress for drummers. Hussars again wore a similar uniform including light blue pants
Swords had silver hilts and scabbards. The red and white with white stripe and a light blue dolman trimmed in white lace.
Dannebrog was carried on a brown varnished staff with a gilt The pelisse was red with white lace and black fur, the black
head. Kepi roundels were white within red. shako trimmed in silver with a black hanging plume. The saddle
blanket was red with white trimmed medium blue Van Dyke
Danish dragoons wore an identical uniform to the infantry, but
edging. Sabre hilts and sheaths were in silver metal.
with tunic, greatcoat, and pants all light blue, the latter with a
red stripe. Head gear was a black, metal trimmed Grecian helmet Finding companies that produce 1864 Danes is a little tricky; I
(similar to that worn by Austrian cavalry), saddle blankets were managed to locate just two options. There are some in 15mm
light blue trimmed red, and belting was white leather. The Guard from the US firm Old Glory 15s. Their Rank & File product

63
 line includes seven different packs, with The figures seen throughout this article
Danish infantry in kepi and greatcoat are from North Star’s 28mm 1864 range.
advancing amongst them. North Star
Military Figures produce 1864 Danes too,
this time in 28mm. This line is particularly
well done. All twelve sets, including
cavalry and artillery, are sculpted in
greatcoat, and Danish fortification guns
are included. As an extra bonus, the
Danish 18th Infantry Regiment, which
still wore the older pattern black shako,
is depicted correctly. Unfortunately, the
line does not include hussars - if this
article causes a rush of 1864 Dane orders
then maybe we can push for those getting
added. Who’s with me!?
The Table
Surprisingly, the unique thing about
recreating this battle on the tabletop is not
the Danevirke, but the sheer size of the
battlefield. The armies are relatively small,
with the Danes fielding only 35,000 men,
but the length of frontage they had to defend
is daunting. Most tables max out at six feet
deep to ensure players can reach across to
the center, but with a scale of one inch =
120 yards and covering turf from the west
of Schleswig to Redoubt 21, you are talking
at least an eight foot table representing close
to six and one half miles. This of course
works for 15mm or smaller scale play, but
28mm may require some creative solutions.
Perhaps you can use a croupier stick to push
and pull units from afar, war room style!

Above: Bruce Weigle’s 6mm terrain allows for this large battle to take place. He describes the action: “This is the final Austrian assault,
directed squarely at the center of the Danish line, which coincided with the village of Str Dannevirke. Also shown (barely) are a few
elements of the Prussian Combined Guard Grenadier Brigade, which has just broken through on the left (western) wing of the Danish
position, at Lle Dannevirke. Besides the locals’ houses and the incomplete line of fortifications, the landscape is littered with knicks - the
Danes’ miniature hedgerows - and the other terrain features you’d expect to find in this wintertime agricultural setting: streams, a few
copses, water obstacles, and of course a few ancient berms originally designed to keep out 9th century Germans.

64
The ground is flat, under snow, and more
or less frozen over. Fields should be
edged by “knicks” (and a slightly later
map from the David Rumsey collection
actually details all individual fields for
those so inclined). The Danevirke should
be treated as heavy field fortifications
for redoubts, dropping to medium for
embankments. The railroad traversing
the area was laid on top of high
embankments, such that they can also
provide cover, concealment, and melee
benefits for units directly behind. Rivers
and streams are frozen over and urban
areas are of solid masonry construction,
but the road network provides no increase
in movement due to the still falling heavy
snow. Woods are open and provide only
light cover.
The Friedrichsheide is where the game
Above: This miniature recreation of Redoubt 2 from the Danevirke Museum can serve as great
can become a lot of fun; I suggest inspiration for your terrain making.
some sort of roll for any unit beginning
movement in this morass. A high range scenario seTTing and deploymenT within reason. Historically, only elements
of numbers will allow normal movement of the 4th and 6th Regiments held the
for the entire turn because the nearby This tabletop battle begins just before
extreme western portion of the Danish
terrain is frozen over, but a lower range dawn with a freezing chill in the air and
defense line.
of numbers will reduce movement by concludes just after dusk with snow
half, and perhaps especially low will also falling. The ground is snow covered Prussian and Austrian forces enter the
disorder the formation. Should another throughout and while this does not board on the first turn from their historical
unit begin their move in the same area as degrade cross country movement per se, deployment areas with the objective to
one that has rolled already, you should road movement has no advantage because smash the Danish army so severely that
probably apply the same result to them. they are also buried with snow. it will either be destroyed or forced to
retreat. The Danes must prevent this and
This might encourage a change in tactics The Danes set up first, to defend the
and overall spacing of the troops. hold the Danevirke line at all costs.
Danevirke, and can be placed anywhere

Above: How did Bruce create this impressive terrain on the tabletop? Well, there’s a full article in Wi329, but he also gave us some specific details:
“All of my boards are styrofoam sculpted with a hot knife and covered with fabric, which is then painted as appropriate. Fortunately, there’s much
less to paint when using white fabric for a snowy board! The Danevirke board required the addition of some field works and ‘earthen’ redoubts
(which I can now reveal were actually just carved balsa wood), the knicks (strips of felt), and the usual straight pin-and-steel wool winter trees. As
the snow cover on 6 February was reportedly slushy, it had to be dirtied up a bit too. Pristine white battlefields are rare!”

65
 AusTro-prussian forces
In the game, the Austro-Prussian forces are not a
whit different than in 1866, though Field marshal-
Lieutenant Ludwig Baron Gablenz (the only Austrian
commander to beat the Prussians in battle in 1866), as
de facto field commander, should rate at least Good on
a competence scale of Poor-Average-Good-Excellent.
The Prussians have their needle guns, of course, but
the new-fangled breech-loading Krupp rifled artillery
should be handicapped. In 1864 the Prussians were
loath to risk these weapons being captured; thus, they
were not deployed forward as aggressively as in 1870
against the French. A slow and cumbersome resupply
process also hindered them, so perhaps a one turn
forced withdrawal if out of ammunition, under fire, or
within enemy charge range might be appropriate.
The Austrians are bound by the bayonet happy tactics
of the day, advancing in mass formation and thus
enfiladed by anything that shoots at it. There should
be a requirement for Austrian line infantry to attack
any enemy unit that comes within charge range or
withdraw immediately. On a Conscript-Regular-
Elite effectiveness scale, all Austro-Prussians (Guard
included) count as Regular. An exception is made
for Austrian Feldjaeger - they are Elite and can also
deploy into extended order. Unlike at Dybbol, and
to the delight of the Danes, no Austro-Prussian siege
artillery is available.
danish forces Above: Colonel Max Muller by Otto Bache 1886.

The Danish are rated Regular, with perhaps the enfiladed) they did not have a field doctrine requiring charge regardless
1st and 11th Infantry Regiments excepted. These of circumstances. There were no light infantry units as these had been
two formations formed the 7th Brigade under the dissolved in 1860 in favor of expanding the regular infantry.
notoriously ‘bat-shit-crazy’ aggressive Colonel Max
ruleseTs
Muller, so deserve an Elite rating. General de Meza,
though perhaps not as bellicose as Gablenz, was I could only find two sets of rules that specifically cover the Second
nevertheless an experienced and capable commander Schleswig War, one being my own Revolution 1848 Age of Valor
and should also receive a Good designation. variant to Age of Eagles II. The other is the 1859, Grand Tactical Rules
Danish infantry weapons included six types of rifled
for the Second Italian War of Independence and 2d Schleswig War
muzzle loading muskets, to include Minié rifles,
rules from Bruce Weigle’s top notch and well-respected 19th Century
converted Minié rifles, and the homegrown M1848
product line. You can get my rules as a free download; both rulesets
actually include hypothetical scenarios for this specific battle.
pattern. Artillery included the M1863 83 mm rifled
4-pounder cannon, while the rest were smoothbore, Otherwise, any set of rules that cover the 1866 Austro-Prussian War
the most common being the M1834 infantry and (and there are several) will work just fine. Simply treat the Danes as
cavalry 12-pounder. Again think Austrian in 1866, but Austrians but without a mandatory bayonet charge against enemy units
though the Danish infantry attacked en masse (and thus that come within a certain distance of friendly infantry formations.

66
furTher reading and references If you’re not such a keen linguist, there are at the people involved, particularly the
two readily available books - Kindle and common soldier. And in case you’re
print - that should fit the bill. The first is
As for references, my Age of Eagles
wondering, yes, this was the book on
Website provides a free public portal to
Mike Embree’s Bismarck’s First War, the which the famous Danish television
a OneDrive folder where public domain
Campaign of Schleswig and Jutland 1864, mini-series 1864 was based. On that
flags, images, maps, and documents can
published by Helion & Company in 2006. note, if you do nothing else after reading
be downloaded. Many are general staff
It’s a good, very detailed, and extensively this article, watch episode seven of
studies and are extremely detailed, with
referenced tome, with good maps and 1864, concerning the Prussian attack on
order of battle and similar information
lots of order of battle data. The second is the Danish Dybbol entrenchments and
tailor made for wargamers. The bad news
Tom Buk-Swienty’s 1864, the forgotten subsequent Danish counterattack. If that
war that shaped Europe, first published doesn’t convince you to get some figures
is that most are in German or Danish …
maybe take them as an opportunity to
by Denmark’s Gyldendal in 2008. The on the tabletop, perhaps with this ‘what
learn a new language!
history is just as solid as Embree, but this if’, then nothing will!
highly readable tome takes a deeper look

On Outpost Duty 1864 by Vilhelm Rosenstand.

PRIME MEMBERS
CAN DOWNLOAD
THE ORDERS
OF BATTLE ON
THE WARGAMES
ILLUSTRATED
WEBSITE. JUST
SEARCH FOR WI405.

67
 On the mean streets of Super Megalopolis,
criminal gangs clash with the forces of order!

ADA
DADDADD RAT-TAT-TAT!

BLAM! BLAM! AARGH!

SNATCH!
Did the free rules given away with the last issue leave you hungry for more grid gaming Action?
Have no fear, Daniel Mersey is here, with a new scenario for his game of Blam! Blam! Aargh!

BACKGROUND Superheroes, and many others can German Action movie The Commander.
be used - whatever takes your fancy. In this instance, a ‘dead Hostage’ means
The background for this scenario is
The Wi team have raided their figure that the gadget has been damaged
simple: watch the climax of almost any
options and mixed some of North Star’s beyond repair or data retrieval.
low budget 1980s straight-to-video
Fistful of Kung Fu figures with modern
Action movie and there you have it - an TABLETOP LAYOUT
military options. The Hostage here
attempted snatch!
is a gang kingpin who the ‘SWAT-ish’ Intel and eyes in the sky have located
In this scenario, the attacker must rescue team are trying to snatch up and use as the Hostage’s whereabouts, secured in
a Hostage - intelligence and surveillance an informant. The crims are trying to a small building on the centre spot of
teams have done their jobs well and have prevent it from happening. the board (in the central area). You need
identified where the Hostage is being to place a building there to represent
The squads I’ve suggested for this
held. Negotiations have failed, so it’s this, ideally single-storey. If your only
scenario are a good example of Blam!
time to send in a snatch team. building options are taller you can ignore
Blam! Aargh! squad building - they’re not
the higher storeys for this scenario, or
• The attacker must rescue the Hostage built to equal points values; instead, they
fight your way to the upper floors using
and remove them from the table. are designed to create an interesting
floor plans.
interAction on the tabletop and generate
• The defender must prevent this from
an exciting game. With squads such as The Hostage’s building counts as cover.
happening.
these, it’s a nice idea to play the scenario The attacker must enter the area at some
• If the Hostage is killed, both sides lose. twice, with each player controlling each point to release the Hostage (see the
side once. Rescue Action, detailed later).
This scenario can easily be switched
to any genre setting, but I’ve chosen You could, of course, change the Hostage Other terrain layout depends on your
a modern/near-future world and to a gadget, code-breaking device, or setting. Denser terrain gives a very
presented two squads for this setting. (my personal favourite) a ‘floppy disk’, as different game to open terrain, so try
Old West, WW2 commandos, Sci Fi, rescued by Lewis Collins in the Italo- both. One player should lay the terrain,

68
 Hiding out in Jane’s
Diner, the main

BLAM! BLAM!
objective building

AARGH!
in this game, the
crims protect the
kingpin.

We’ve put loads of

crims in to make
for a dramatic
image. In game no
more than two may
be in this area.

and the other player then chooses NEW ACTION: RESCUE does not get to carry out the same
whether to play as the attacker or Action: when the attacker chooses
Rescue can only be used by the attacker,
the defender. Rescue, the defender cannot take
and only if both of the following
any Action.
Once attacker and defender are decided, circumstances exist:
the defender places their models as VICTORY
1. The attacker has at least one Non-
they wish on the tabletop. There must
Stun Token model in the area where the The attacker must rescue the Hostage
be at least one but no more than two
Hostage is held. and remove them from the table. As soon
models in the Hostage’s area. You’ve seen
as the first attacker model is placed on
the movies; these Hostages are never 2. The defender has no Non-Stun Token
the table, the Hostage rescue has begun.
guarded as well as they should be! models in that area.
They must keep at least one (living!)
The attacker does not place any models There is no dice roll required - the Rescue model on the table at all times until the
until the first Phase’s Blind Bidding Action automatically succeeds as the Hostage is escorted from the table.
has taken place. Whoever wins the first rescuers have done this before and came
• The defender must prevent this from
bid must choose the Move Action; the well equipped! This frees the Hostage;
happening. Once the attacker enters
attacker uses this to start moving models that model may now be moved by the
the table, the attacker must have at least
onto the tabletop into any edge areas attacker as part of any future Move
one model in play until the Hostage is
they choose. Action (see the previous section).
removed from play - if this is not the
SPECIAL RULES This is chosen in the same way as any case at any point, the defender wins.
other Action, except that only the
The Hostage • If the Hostage is killed, both sides lose.
attacker may choose it - they must win
Represent the Hostage with a suitable the Initiative to use it. The defender There is no time limit on operations.
model, which starts the game in the
central area. The Hostage only moves
when controlled by the attacker.
The Hostage may never be moved by
the defender and cannot be deliberately
targeted by either player.
The attacker may only move the Hostage
once they have been freed with a
successful Rescue Action (see below).
Select one attacking model in the
Hostage’s area and move the Hostage
along with that model whenever it
moves (the Hostage’s movement is free
and costs no additional activation). The
attacker is aiming to move the Hostage
off the table.
“Caught in the crossfire” - After the
Hostage has been freed, any Shoot
Actions into the area containing the
Hostage model may result in the
accidental death of the Hostage. If any
Shoot Action rolls more 1s than it rolls
total hits, the Hostage is gunned down.
Neither side wants this, so be careful! Instead of using a SAW, our crim Hard Case has magic that we are treating as
functioning in exactly the way that a semi-automatic weapon would. It fits the
The Hostage is not affected by Fight look and feel of the figures far better!
Actions.

69
 ATTACKER SQUAD: SWAT - 15 IPs
FIGHT PROTECT MORALE
KEY MODEL ID SHOOT DICE SPEED SPECIAL RULES
DICE DICE DICE

1 Leader
SMG
Advanced Handgun
3 1 4 1
Leader
Back Up Weapon

2 Sniper
Advanced Bolt
Action Rifle
2 1 3 1 Good Shot

3 Shielder Advanced Handgun 2 1 3 1 Ballistic Shield

4 Grenadier Advanced Carbine 2 1 3 1 Grenades

5 Scout
Sawn Off Shotgun
Advanced Handgun
4 1 4 1
Camo
Back Up Weapon

6 Gunner
SAW
Advanced Handgun
2 1 3 1 Back Up Weapon

7 Trooper 1 Advanced Carbine 3 1 3 1

7 Trooper 2 Advanced Carbine 3 1 3 1

7 Trooper 3 Advanced Carbine 3 1 3 1

For balance, you may wish to boost the attacking squad beyond the defending squad as they’ve got a tough job to do; extra firepower
will help. This will be particularly true in low terrain setups.

DEFENDER SQUAD: CRIMS - 15 IPs

FIGHT PROTECT MORALE
KEY MODEL ID SHOOT DICE SPEED SPECIAL RULES
DICE DICE DICE

1 Leader
SMG
Advanced Handgun
4 1 4 1 Two Guns at Once

2 Hard Case 1 SAW 4 1 4 1

3 Hard Case 2 Advanced Carbine 4 1 4 1

4 Crim 1 Advanced Carbine 2 1 2 1

4 Crim 2 SMG 2 1 2 1

4 Crim 3 SMG 2 1 2 1

5 Crim 4 SMG 2 1 2 1

5 Young Punk 1 Advanced Handgun 3 0 2 1

Agile
Bloodthirsty

5 Young Punk 2 Advanced Handgun 3 0 2 1

Agile
Bloodthirsty

5 Young Punk 3 Advanced Handgun 3 0 2 1

Agile
Bloodthirsty
70
 2

3
1 5
6
4

ATTACKER 7 7 7
SQUAD: SWAT

Most of the figures seen in this article are

from North Star’s A Fistful of Kung Fu range.

DEFENDER SQUAD: CRIMS

5 2 3 4 4
5 5 1 4 4

71
 KITBASHING
YOUR REDCOATS

In-house hobbyist Marc builds some ‘what if’ steampunk creations

from the British Line Infantry frame that comes free with this issue.

You might already have plans for this month’s fine Warlord
Games freebie - perhaps the British will become part of a ‘what if’
campaign, where all three British columns make camp at Isandlwana
together (you’ll need a few more figures, of course!) and you’ll see
how the Anglo-Zulu war goes from there. If, however, you want to
try a different kind of ‘what if’, you could take your inspiration from
Neil Robert’s incredible cover art and build some steampunk models;
that’s what we did!
EXAMINING THE INSPIRATION
The British Line Infantry were Neil’s starting point for his fine
artwork; he’s added all kinds of steampunk extras - advanced
weaponry, extra kit, clockwork parts, and more. The beauty of
steampunk is that there’s a huge possibility space to explore and
play around in - flip through the barmy mix of companies in the new
edition of In Her Majesty’s Name and you’ll see everything from
military units and advanced technology to horror and the occult.
We followed Neil’s lead, bringing tubes, valves, pistons,
mechanisms, and some wild guns into the alternate Victoriana
mix! The dirigible in his art, that this steampunk company rides
in, is clearly high above the smog of London because the skies
are blue. We imagine that if it dived lower, closer to the factories
burning fossil fuels to power the massive machines and advanced
difference engine driven technology, things would be far greyer
and grimmer. This smoggy atmosphere justifies a plethora of
breathing masks and goggles on the folks that populate these
fictional worlds, so that’s something to consider too. A big
steampunk top tip - fight the urge to just stick a cog on it and call it
done! A circuit board in the hat band of a character doesn’t make it
sci-fi; therefore, a large cog shoved onto a pith helmet won’t make
these historical figures steampunk!

72
KITBASHING AN ARMOURED RIFLEMAN
PARTS USED
To make this infantryman appear more heavily armoured than his
Warlord Games: Anglo-Zulu British Line Infantry - Body
compatriots (and those shown in the artwork) we added a suitably
(torso removed) and head.
scaled, armoured upper body. The piece we used is pure hard sci-fi from
Wargames Atlantic’s Iron-Core range, but as you can see in the finished Wargames Atlantic: Eisenkern Stormtroopers - Upper body.
and painted photos, works just fine.

frame
focus
Games Workshop: Skitarii Rangers arms and rifle.
1. The British Line Infantry body has its torso clipped away, after which a
sharp craft knife cleans and smooths the area. This allows the replacement
of the original upper body with his new WA armoured torso.

1.

2.
2. With the new torso, we now have a new arm fitting challenge. Thankfully, the Games
Workshop ones we’ve picked were quite a close match and only required a small amount
of greenstuff under the right armpit to fill a visible gap. We already knew this would work
because (and you should do this with your own kitbashing) we had already done a ‘dry
fit’ where we Blu Tacked bits together first. The smoothness of this fill was not a concern
as it would get hidden beneath piping later in the build, and you can see the start of
pouches too, made at this point because we had some spare mixed greenstuff.

Hiding Hobby sins (again)

If you recall our last Cover Mount Focus, from Wi403, we mentioned that the joy of creating a Turnip28 miniature is that you can hide
some of the kitbashing-created gaps and misalignments with liquid greenstuff, using it to replicate mud splatters, fungal growths, and
so on. That kind of organic splatter is not possible when it comes to the generally cleaner nature of steampunk miniatures. Therefore,
alternative approaches are needed. You can add extra armour plates, tubes, fabric hangs, and more; Perry Miniatures frames can be great
for this, with all sorts of fine spares found in their 100 Years’ War options, for example.
Adding pouches can not only hide gaps, but also rebalance a figure if it appears top or bottom heavy. You’ll find pouches on frames
(North Star’s new Stargrave sets have good ones with curved backs, meaning they fit many different figures and surfaces) or you can
make your own; there is a section in this article that deals specifically with that. On this figure, pouches go on both legs, one replacing
the bayonet detail. A large pouch on the back of the miniature hides the unsightly area between the two components.

3. Sometimes a fit won’t be so perfectly, with this head, a neck section had to be built
from greenstuff to fix onto the torso. Elements like this take a little more experimenting 3.
than the ‘out of the box’ fit of standard miniatures, but as long as you keep the neck
thinner than the head and leave chin definition, things will be fine!
Once fixed in place by adding a small drop of superglue to the torso, then fixing
the greenstuff neck to it for a stronger bond, very little of the neck is visible on this
miniature, but it is still important to have the head at the right height and angle.

4. Tubes get one end fixed to the torso

(again using some superglue) and the other 4.
into the neck, representing breathing aids
as the soldier is not wearing a mask. These
tubes hide the messy join between the
torso and the arm.
6.
5.

5. Once the pouches were cured, I added flaps.

6. Here you can see the finished miniature.
Ultimately, we decided to replace the head with
one without a moustache, and added additional
piping. The great thing about kitbashing is that
you can let your imagination run amok; it is
completely down to you when your figure is
actually finished, though we recommend that you
don’t go too over the top. Less is more!

73
 OTHER AIRBORNE INFANTRY
The artwork behind this project has two infantrymen at the fore, along with a commanding officer, so we
couldn’t just kitbash one of these options; the rest had to join the crew!
anotHer infantryman
The first challenge to overcome was that the second infantryman needed a head with a breathing mask;
Wargames Atlantic’s Death Fields: Les Grognards sci-fi figures provided the solution!
This figure’s gear - his rifle and backpack - came from an alternate Les Grognards set (the Command and
Heavy Support frame) and these were a serendipitously fine fit, but things became a little trickier with the
head. We combined the lower part of the Les Grognards head and the Warlord Games pith helmet.

1. 1. Remove the Warlord Games helmet first, 2.

using clippers, then clean away any jagged
edges with a rotary tool, file, or sharp blade.
The aim is a perfectly smooth finish with only
the helmet remaining.
2). Detach the gasmasked half of the Wargames
Atlantic head. A rotary tool made a clean
surface along the cut, filed so the curve at the
top matched that of the curve at the bottom of
the helmet.

3). The parts are glued, and any gaps filled with greenstuff. Once in place, tubes connect the gasmask 3.
with the backpack. Final touches were to add a Tesla coil element to the rifle tip and aerials to the pack,
all snagged from our bits box.

CLOCKWORK CO
Our focus on the commanding officer turned to his bionic or clockwork arm. We needed to locate an option to build this with,
and as it went into the realm of grimy sci-fi rather than the cleaner style, we looked to Games Workshop’s Adeptus Mechanicus
range. These figures are a treasure trove of bits; the Sicarian Rust Stalkers frame is loaded with bionic limbs and deadly looking
weaponry. The only problem is that the hands come in the
shape of claws, but this can be resolved by cutting the tips
away and filing them smooth. The spikes on the guard of
the sword that the arm holds were also removed - GW loves
spikes!
The British Line Infantry frame does not include a raised arm
to attach the Ad Mech bionic bit to, so we sculped one with
greenstuff. A cuff sculpted on top hides the join.
The important thing here is to try and get the length of the
limb just right. It doesn’t matter how well you match parts,
if one arm or leg is a little too long or short your final model
will look strange. The merest millimetre of inaccuracy is
amplified massively due to the small scale that we work in, so
take care here!
With everything in place, tubing was added to give the
miniature a more steampunk feel and to further replicate the
cover art.

GARNET WOLSELY - CONVERTING A GIANT IN MINIATURE

Who can lead the steampunked British infantry? How about Sir Garnet Wolseley from Wi’s own Giants in
Miniature range?
The challenge here is adapting a different material. Metal is less forgiving and tougher to cut, so we found
quick fixes to bring a steampunk feel. A quick weaponswap, tubing added, and an antenna fixed to the top of
the helmet covered all that was required. However, this left Wolseley staring directly through the antenna, so
we twisted the head’s direction with a pair of pliers wrapped in soft material to protect the miniature.

74
 CONNECTING THE DOTS - MAKING AND ADDING TUBES

Tubes can
bring a sense of
cohesiveness to
the parts you add,
connecting a weapon
to a pack, or a shield
generator to a power
source, for example.
Basic greenstuff
sausages do a decent
job of this but ribbed
textures look more 1. Cover the sides of your roll maker 2. Place the other ridged side on top 3. Carefully remove the now grooved
impressive. You’ll with sculpting Vaseline, make an and move it gently back and forth. sausage with tweezers, grabbing it
need a roll maker to even diameter sausage shape from Barely press down just enough to feel from the end, and leave to partially
create these - ours greenstuff, then place it on one of the a slight tension and resistance. cure for about an hour. Cut it to length
was from Green roller’s ridged sides. (it will remain pliable) and you’re
Stuff World. ready to fix it to your figure with a
blob or two of superglue.

THE JOY OF PAINTING

One of the most rewarding things when kitbashing figures is when you splash on the paint work. Your brushwork will bring the
disparate parts together and, like magic, turn a figure made from random bits into a miniature that is complete and shows no evidence
of the mishmash of parts.
Our figures retain some historical accuracy, taking the inspiration for colours from the cover art, which follows historical reference
but with added steampunk flair. The metallics are quite heavy and allude to the more mechanised life these soldiers experience
compared to their historical counterparts.

MAKING POUCHES TO HIDE GAPS AND CREATE BALANCE

After putting the British parts together, the

figures all looked a little top-heavy. To counter
this, I added pouches to their lower halves.
Many box sets have various sized spare plastic
gear in them, and you can use those to add bulk
and cover joins.
If you want to, you can create very simple
pouches of your own with greenstuff. Apply a
basic greenstuff shape to the model, then use
a sharp-edged modelling tool to slice away
the edges, creating the pouch shape. Once
that is cured, add a flap with a small amount
of flattened greenstuff on the upper half of
the pouch. Cut the edges with a blade into
shape, then finish things off with a small dot of
greenstuff for a button.

75
 MEDIEVAL WWII
FANTASTIC PLASTIC
Here you can see some weird WWII kitbashes that we couldn’t help
Games Workshop pioneered plastic miniatures that offered plentiful playing with:
spare parts on their frames, but other manufacturers have more than
caught up in recent years. Perry Miniatures, Wargames Atlantic, armoured marine
North Star, and a great many more usually have far too many heads,
This build combines WWII US Marine parts from Warlord Games
weapons, and more included in their box sets. Use these parts to
and Agincourt English Men at Arms bits from Perry Miniatures.
start up (or add to) your own ‘bits box’. As a rule, never throw away
Removing the neck and much of the chin from the US Marine’s head
anything! Organisation is key here; we recommend lots of sealable
to ensure that the fit was perfect, was done very gradually. Another
bags labelled with a marker, so you can quickly find your bits.
challenge was adding some armoured shoulder pauldrons, to give the
miniature a little more balance (initially, it looked light around the
shoulders).
execuTioner
AFROFUTURISM AND ALTERNATE HISTORY?
This build started with a metal Hexencutioner from Gripping Beast’s
Afrofuturism is at a very condensed level an Afro-centric look SAGA: Age of Magic range. A period accurate helmet and WWII
at sci-fi possibilities. More than this though, it can also be weaponry is all that’s needed to really change the feel, period, and
applied to earlier periods. For our models, we have considered even genre of this figure!
an alternative African history, which still shows elements of
African culture by envisioning a possibility space where the
progress of these nations has been less decimated by the spread
of colonialism.

AFROFUTURISM MAHDISTS
Perry Miniatures’ plastic Madhist Ansar are the basis for a force
that opposes the British. The goal here was to retain the general
feel of the original Perry models whilst giving them a sleeker
more steampunk adjacent feel. Researching afrofuturism online
provided many images for inspiration; Marvel’s Black Panther
currently reigns in the Google search results, but the afrofuturism
aesthetic is as broad, exciting, and visually spectacular as the
African nations that inspire and inform it.
A collection of Wood Elf (now known as Sylvaneth) Sisters
of the Thorn components provides the extra bits for these
conversions. The parts look minimalist, organic, and sleek while
presenting some bold design and technologically advanced lines. PARTS USED
The conversions are quite simple; essentially a basic weapon Perry Miniatures: Body, arms, and head from Mahdist Ansar box set.
and shield swap with the addition of flowing capes. The most
Games Workshop: Shield, cape, and spear from Sisters of the Thorn/
complicated aspect was that the capes needed much of their Eternal Guard box set.
thickness filed away with a rotary tool. The time and care
required here was worth it, allowing them to fix seamlessly to the
Mahdist miniatures. A little greenstuff work will hide any areas
that are not seamless joins, such as the hands.
The elven hands were a little larger than
those on the Perry figures; this is something
you’ll encounter when mixing Games
Workshop’s 32mm heroic scale parts
with more accurately scaled historical
figures. Happily, hand size discrepancy
barely registers on the finished models.
If poses and arm positions are natural,
people won’t even notice the slight
differences in the size of
parts when you
get gaming.

76
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 “THE OUTRAGE
AT JEDDO”

THE ATTACK ON THE BRITISH

LEGATION IN TOKYO, 1861
Pete Brown presents an unusual relative stability, but this was shattered French minister was attacked and his
samurai skirmish game involving in 1853 with the arrival of American servant killed in 1860, and in January
those sneakiest of spies and assassins, warships, led by Commodore Perry, 1861, Henry Heusken, a Secretary to the
the ninja! that effectively forced Japan to open its American delegation, was ambushed in
ports to European traders. A series of the street and murdered by assailants
Ah, the life of an Ambassador: top
unequal treaties with Western Powers dressed in black and wearing facemasks.
quality accommodation in the swanky
followed, and whilst there were those Indeed, a foreign visitor was killed every
end of town, Chauffer driven cars
within the Japanese Government who month throughout 1861, with the United
and endless Black Tie parties where
welcomed trade and the opportunities States legation being attacked and set on
they serve gold wrapped chocolates in
that contact with the West brought, there fire in 1863. It is against this background
neatly stacked pyramids. But it was not
were just as many who opposed it and that we now move to the British legation
always so. In fact, the life of a British
felt that Western culture was a corrupting in Edo. Here, the Tokugawa Government
Diplomat during the mid-nineteenth
influence. To be fair, diplomats like has guaranteed the safety of the British
century could be downright dangerous,
the British Ambassador, Sir Harry ambassadors sent to negotiate trade
as the Empire expanded rather too
Smith Parkes, did not help matters, as agreements and placed guards on their
quickly and often into countries that did
they adopted a very arrogant attitude legation compound to protect them.
not always welcome Queen Victoria’s
toward their Japanese hosts. One British
rule with open arms. Japan, one might A STAB IN THE DARK …
contemporary described Parkes’ interview
have thought, would have been one of
with the Tokugawa Shogun as: “A most On the night of 5 July 1861, a group
the safer countries to be sent to, but, as
stormy, badgering style of interview, I of assassins arrived outside the British
always with the mysterious East, things
can tell you. Parkes is not overburdened legation. Numbering about twenty, the
were not what they appeared.
with politeness to the Japanese. I almost New York Times described them as Ronin,
SETTING THE SCENE fear he will goad them too far…” implying that they were unemployed
soldiers, or masterless Samurai, who had
For most wargamers, our interest in The desire to drive out Western culture
taken it upon themselves to avenge the
Samurai era Japan tends to wane after led to a number of attacks on European
wrongs being inflicted on Japan by the
the extensive civil wars of the sixteenth sailors and traders in Japanese ports,
as well as on Japanese officials who
Western powers. Who actually ordered
and seventeenth centuries. The Tokugawa
the attack was never established, mostly
Shogunate had provided a period of supported Western intervention. A

78
because the British had done a good job
of upsetting just about everybody in town
and the list of suspects was too long.
Initially, an unknown number of the
attackers climbed over the legation wall

colonial
and approached the gate, where they
killed the guard and opened the doors
for the others to enter. Once inside the
compound, they split up and began
to search for the British delegation,
encountering a cook and a local priest,
who they killed straight away. Hearing
the disturbance, Lawrence Oliphant,
the legation secretary, got out of bed,
and armed only with a riding crop, went
into the hall, where he was immediately
confronted by a sword-armed assailant.
His attacker swung his blade several
times overhead, but on each occasion
Oliphant was saved by a wooden beam
on the low ceiling which blocked
the attack. On the last attack, he was
Above: The outrage on the British Embassy at Jeddo, Japan: Attack on
relieved to see George Morrison, Her MESSRS. Oliphant and Morrison. From The Illustrated London News (1861).
Britannic Majesty’s Acting Consul
at Nagasaki, lean past him and shoot
This was taken away and his room cleared, but it was not until the next day that he was
to find the missing head under his sideboard.
his assailant in the chest. The attacker
reeled back, but then retreated outside.
Morrison later found the bullet flattened AMBASSADOR, YOU ARE REALLY SPOILING US …
on the floor, and assumed that his
This incident seems to have all the hallmarks of an excellent skirmish game, with
attacker must have been wearing armour
assassins attempting to get into the complex, carry out their deadly mission, and
under his clothes that stopped the bullet!
escape before the guards are alerted and come charging to the rescue. The presence of
Morrison and Oliphant were now Victorian British Ambassadors provides an interesting alternative faction in what would
attacked by another sword-armed otherwise be a fairly straightforward Samurai skirmish game.
assailant who cut Morrison in the
Alright, I admit that the historical accounts of the incident describe the attackers as
head and injured Oliphant’s wrist and
being Ronin and the images that subsequently appeared in The Illustrated London News
shoulder before being dispatched. The
were of partially armoured Samurai attacking the plucky Brits. If you prefer, you can
third member of the delegation, Sir John
use miniatures of Ronin or other lightly-armed and armoured Samurai to represent the
Rutherford Alcock, joined the others and
assassins, but I thought this was too good an opportunity to miss and wheeled out my
gathered in a bedroom at the end of the
ninja miniatures! Now I know their historical authenticity is questionable, but come on!
corridor. From here, they could hear the
Its assassins! Attacking a delegation of Victorian British ambassadors in Nineteenth-
attackers ransacking their bedrooms in
Century Japan! This has Hollywood ninjas written all over it. My ninja miniatures are
a desperate attempt to find them. The
from Warlord Games, but I think there are a few from various Samurai ranges as well
British armed themselves with swords,
as a couple of Fantasy ranges. What can I say? I like ninjas. Plus, they are pretty easy to
pistols, and any other weapons they could
paint compared to Samurai.
find before once again venturing out into
the courtyard.
By now, the Guards, who should
have been looking after the legation
compound, had been roused and
charged into the courtyard to engage the
Assassins. A general free for all ensued,
with wounds being given and received on
both sides. When the attackers eventually
retreated, they left behind three dead
along with one assailant mortally
wounded. Four of the attackers were
cornered in a teahouse and surrounded,
at which point they all committed suicide
by seppuku rather than be taken alive.
Although they had not managed to kill
any of the British delegation, they did
kill three guards and seriously wounded
another twelve before being forced to
flee, so these were no slouches when it
came to swordplay.
When it was all over, Morrison returned
to his bedroom where he found the Above: The outrage on the British embassy at Jeddo, Japan: midnight scene in
headless corpse of one of his attackers. Mr Alcock’s room at To-Sen-Ji, Jeddo. From The Illustrated London News (1861).

79
 BRITISH
LEGATION

For the British delegation, you are

spoiled for choice as loads of companies A CLASH OF WORLDS
now produce Victorians with guns for
Steampunk games, Darkest Africa, and When Commodore Perry of the USA with such things and sought to maintain
any number of other Victoriana ranges. arrived with a four-ship armada in 1853, as much independence as possible. They
Japan had already resisted more than one also wished to retain the values and way
The problem you might have is in
attempt at foreign access to their shores. of life that was unique to Japan. A number
only choosing three! The Guards were However, the Tokugawa Shogunate (or of Samurai clans tried to maintain their
all standard Ashigaru types, so I used Edo Period), after managing to maintain traditional ways and strove to bring back
miniatures from my big battle games, some form of peace in the country the dominance of the Imperial Court
as I had lots of these and I could keep after the turbulence of the civil wars, rather than the parliamentary reforms that
bringing them on the board to force the was entering a period of decline. The saw the bakufu, a council of daimyos and
attackers to flee rather than hope to defeat shogunate’s national power was on the elected officials, in charge. This conflict led
the Guards in battle. wane, whilst the daimyo’s and regional ultimately to such Japanese resistance as the
power was rising. Japan was also trying Anglo-Satsuma War of August in 1863 and
Terrain for this encounter is relatively to modernise its industrial base and the Boshin War of 1868 - 1869, which was
simple. For the compound, I placed a create a modern navy and army. A series a civil war between conflicting ideologies.
wall with a gate in it along one board of trading and diplomatic treaties were Eventually, a compromise was found, with
forced upon Japan by the USA, and other Japan continuing to revere the Emperor as a
edge of a 4' by 4' board. Everything
foreign powers began to encroach. This ‘living God’, using the most militant aspects
inside the wall was considered to brought in cheap foreign goods, which of the Bushido code to guide much of
be the inside of the British Legation wiped out some areas of Japan’s products, Japanese life, and continuing to modernise,
compound, which amounted to a 3' by especially the cloth industry. which ultimately led to a desire to gather
4' playing space. I then placed a number access to greater resources and a cheaper
As a consequence of increasing foreign
of buildings within the compound, labour base. The concept of a modern
dominance of trade and modernisation of Japanese Empire created through military
including the main house where the the nation, many Japanese were dissatisfied conquest was born.
British ambassadors had been staying
historically, and the teahouse, where
some of the assassins had been cornered
at the end of the attack. I also scattered
some carts, barrels, and ornamental ponds
around to provide some cover for the
skirmish to come.
I used the Ronin skirmish rules published
by Osprey, which I picked up from North
Star miniatures. Other skirmish rules
are available, but this particular ruleset
caters for man-to-man combat rather than
groups of figures or warbands, which I
thought suited this encounter best.

80
 NINJA: FROM REALITY TO FANTASY

During the long feudal wars in Japan, the ninja (also known as
the shinobi) did indeed exist, acting as a form of secret agent or
mercenary. They specialised in spying, deceiving, and launching
surprise attacks. Grouped into their own clans, they were
considered dishonourable by the various Samurai clans, but
were still employed by them for their skills. Most notably used
as spies and assassins during the Sengoku period from the 15th
to the 17th Century, the end of the Shogun Wars and the peace
created by the rise of the Togugawa Shogunate saw the need
for ninja / shinobi-type operatives decline, resulting in the idea
fading into history.
However, following the restoration of Imperial Power under
Emperor Meiji in 1868, the role of the ninja / shinobi as spies,
assassins, and elite warriors entered into popular fiction and
myth. Becoming more legend than history, the ninja became
a being who could become invisible, move without sound,
control the natural world, and even walk across water without
leaving a trace. Over time, the historical reality of the shinobi
during a turbulent time in Japanese history was superseded by
their perception in popular culture, appearing in fiction, TV
shows and movies as elite, often principled warriors or evil
assassins for hire.

THE GAME’S AFOOT! The attackers all begin within 6" of the British Ambassadors with revolvers and
gate to the compound. They start with the swords, although you could give one a
rifle instead. Rules for modern firearms
Begin by asking the British player to
initiative, if using Ronin rules, or they get
to go first if using other rulesets.
place his three characters in rooms within
are on page 59 of the rulebook. The stats
any of the buildings on the board. He can
for the British are rather beefed up, but
place them anywhere, but they must all At the beginning of every turn, the British
they need to be able to survive against
begin in different rooms. The player may player should roll to summon the Guards!
the odds for a couple of turns before the
choose to put them in adjoining rooms Roll a D6. On a roll of a 5 or 6 they turn
Guards turn up. I have provided one set
of the same house, or different rooms up. In the next turn, the player needs a 4,
of stats for the attackers if you want them
in different houses; the choice is his. 5, or 6, and the next turn a 3+ and so on.
to be Ronin or unemployed soldiers. I
The aim here is to force the Assassins Start the Guards next to the gate on the
have also included stats for ninjas, who
to search the compound for the British turn they arrive and they may move and
are by far the harder opponent for the
Ambassadors at the start of the game, act as normal in that turn.
British and who are more than likely to
which they had to do historically. If
complete the mission, killing one if not
placing the figures in the houses makes
The stats provided below are for Ronin.
This rule set personalises each combatant, all of the Ambassadors. It might be fun
their location obvious to the attacking
allowing you to arm them as you wish to play out the scenario with one group
player, note their location on a piece of
and give them special abilities that turn of attackers, then swap sides and play it
paper instead. Should the British player
each one into an individual character. again with the other set just to see how
wish to move any of the Ambassadors,
For such a small skirmish as this, they you get on.
they must place the miniature on the
are an ideal set to use. I have armed the
board and move it as normal in their turn. If the assassins kill two or more of the
British ambassadors, they win. If the
British can keep at least two ambassadors
alive by the end of the game, they will
win. The game is best played whilst
sipping sake and eating Ferrero Rocher,
just to get the best of both worlds.

FIGURES AND TERRAIN

The figures seen in this article are Warlord
Games Warlords of Erehwon Samurai
and Copplestone Castings Adventurers.
The ponds and bamboo are by Two Sheds
Fred, and the trees are by Debris of War.
The Gaming Mat is from Gale Force Nine.
The buildings are Sarissa Precision MDF -
airbrushed by our in-house painter Marc.

81
 THE ATTACKERS (RONIN OPTION)

Type Rank CP Initiative Fight Shoot Armour Points

Leader 2 3 3 3 2 Medium 22

8 x Ronin 1 2 2 2 1 Light 16

Weapons: Katana and Yari

Attributes: Leader is a “Commander”

THE ATTACKERS (NINJA OPTION)

Type Rank CP Initiative Fight Shoot Armour Points

Chunin 4 4 3 4 2 Light NA

5 x Ninja 3 3 3 3 2 Light NA

Weapons: Katana and Shuriken

Attributes: Acrobatic and Kenjutsu.

82
 THE DEFENDERS

Type Rank CP Initiative Fight Shoot Armour Points

Morrison 3 3 3 3 2 None 26

Oliphant 2 2 2 3 1 None 24

Alcock 2 2 2 3 1 None 24

Guards 1 2 2 2 1 Medium 18

Weapons: All the British Delegation have a revolver and sword each. All the Guards have Katana and Yari.
Attributes: Morrison is a “Commander”. Oliphant is “Tough”, whilst Alcock has the “Intuition” skill. All three should be treated
as if they have the Kenjutsu special ability. The Guards are Ashigaru.

83
 ENTRENCHING
A BIG GUN

Barry Evans takes a Victoria Miniatures artillery piece and adds an impressive trench emplacement to create a vignette.

I have always liked WW1 artillery pieces, especially those Looking through the Victoria Miniatures catalogue, their
protected by a trench wall or emplacement of soil and sandbags. Heavy Mortar and Gun Crew with accessories was the perfect
With that in mind I set about creating a vignette display of my choice for the figures. Although there are a number of artillery
own, one that conveyed the drama of an entrenched big gun but emplacements commercially available, I decided to make my
used 28mm heroic scale miniatures, rather than the standard own from scratch.
historical ones.

BUILDING THE SCENE

PLANNING AND INITIAL LAYOUT
I sketched out my initial
ideas before placing
the figures on the base
area. The crew, gun, and
stowage pieces were
fixed with Blu Tack so
that I could work out
the exact measurements
for the front trench
emplacement.

84
 PREPARING RESIN MINIATURES
The miniatures are made from resin, and therefore need degreasing and any mould lines or bits of flash removed before painting. Scrubbing
with a toothbrush and washing-up liquid removes any possible casting release agent. Once dry, you should remove as much of the mould lines
and flash as you can with a scalpel. Be sure to wear a mask if you file off elements - resin dust is extremely toxic.

Modelling
Painting &
Finish off your prep by priming. I use Halfords grey primer to give a
good key (surface) for further painting.

TRENCH WALL AND BASE CONSTRUCTION

The base is made from hardboard, cut to size, with a separate piece
of foam board glued to its upper surface. The trench wall is created
by using a piece of packaging foam cut to fit and enhanced with extra
components - wooden planking and some corrugated sheeting supported
by posts as well as a small viewing platform. The planking and ladders
are made from balsawood strips, the corrugated sheeting is sweet
packaging leftovers, the posts were made from plastic strips. The small
viewing platform was made from balsa then glued together and tested to
ensure the rangefinder figure was at the right height.

The base is a combination of wooden planking,

soil, and two plastic pieces representing metal
plates in the ground. All of these were glued
into position and a visual check was made
using the artillery piece.

85
 MAKING GREENSTUFF SANDBAGS

1. Cut roughly 50% blue and 50% yellow from your strip and gently knead together.
2. Roll out the greenstuff to form a long sausage.
3. Flatten the green stuff sausage on the top with a wet knife.
4. Cut the sausage into the lengths you require and create texture by pressing a textured cloth
onto the surface.
5. Move the sandbag to its resting place and create a fold line along the length of both sides of
the bag. You can then add folds to the surface with a toothpick or sculpting tool.
6. The sandbags are placed individually onto the top of the trench while still damp and left to
cure over a few hours.

BASE GROUNDWORK FIRST STEPS PRIMING

PVA glue followed by Serious Play’s ground scatter were The trench emplacement was then primed using a Halfords
applied to the surface. Once dry, any loose scatter was brushed black primer and left to dry for about an hour.
off. The base was ready for priming.

PAINTING THE SCENE

THE TRENCH BASE AND SANDBAGS

1. The trench base was first painted with a mixture of

2. Once it had dried, I drybrushed Citadel Base Mournfang
Crafter’s Choice Earth Brown paint plus a little Vallejo
Brown over it.
Black, applied as a drybrush.

86
 4. The next stages of the groundwork were a drybrush of
3. While waiting for this to dry, the base colour for the
Citadel Base XV-88 followed by a drybrush of a mixture of
sandbags was applied in Vallejo English Uniform.
Citadel Base XV-88 plus Citadel Ushabti Bone on all.

PLANKING AND CORRUGATED SHEETING

1. All the planking and corrugated sheeting were drybrushed 2. The large metal iron sheets on the ground were drybrushed
lightly with Vallejo German Dark Grey. with the new Ammo Gun Metal DIO drybrush paint.

3. Army Painter Soft Tone Quick Shade was then applied to

all the metal parts. The wooden planking received a further 4. A mixture of Army Painter Quick Shades was applied to the
drybrush by adding a small amount of Vallejo Off White to planking and posts to give a weathered look using Military
the previous Vallejo German Dark Grey. Once dry, all of the Shader, Green Tone, and Strong Tone. Everything was then
metal parts were drybrushed with a Vallejo Burnt fixed with a coat of matt varnish.
Sienna Pigment.

87
 GRASS AND WEATHERING

1. PVA glue was applied to all the areas where grass was 2. Weathering was applied using pigments from MIG and
needed, then static grass and grass tufts applied. AMMO MIG - Dark Earth and Kursk Sand.

3. A quick visual check was then made placing

the Howitzer model on the vignette, and
everything was looking good.

PAINTING THE FIGURES

HOWITZER CREW

The crew were all painted with similar techniques to the one shown here; I wanted to give them a French WW1 feel. Although a
lot of Citadel colours and washes are used, you can substitute them for alternative colours and washes from other manufacturers by
using one of the many conversion charts available online.
1. The main areas of the clothing were blocked in as a basecoat 2. To add shadow to the figure, washes were applied to the
over grey primer. Vallejo German Black Brown was used for the different basecoat colours. Citadel Nuln Oil was applied over
hair, Warlord Brown Leather for the straps and boots, Citadel the trench coat and hair, Citadel Reikland Fleshshade over
Dark Reaper for the trench coat, Citadel Deathworld Forest for any flesh areas, and Citadel Agrex Earthshade over any brown
the trousers, Vallejo Black for any metal areas, Vallejo US Field areas, including the ammo box and gaiters.
Drab on the ammo box and gaiters, and Vallejo Tan for the face.

88
3. Once the washes were dry, all the base colours were then repainted on the raised areas of the figure. Further highlights were added
to the high areas by adding a small amount of a Vallejo Off White or Citadel Ushabti Bone to the basecoat paint. You should always
leave a small amount of the previous layer showing with the exception of the metal areas, which have Citadel Leadbelcher applied.
This was followed by a top highlight of
Ironbreaker. The brass areas were painted
with Vallejo Brass. The inside of the goggles
was painted with a Vallejo Bark Blue and
a highlight reflection added by mixing the
blue with white.
To complete everything, a dark outline was
painted between key surfaces to visually
enhance each area. I think this is essential
at this scale to make the figure really pop. A
matt varnish seals everything in place.

AIRBRUSHING THE HOWITZER GUN

1. The gun was assembled and primed with Halfords Grey 2. With the base created, I re-applied the basecoat of Vallejo
primer, but I decided to leave the wheels off as a sub-assembly Sombre Grey and added successive small amounts of Vallejo
to aid airbrush painting. Paint was applied to the gun via an 2nd Light and White on each layer, building up to the final
airbrush using Vallejo Sombre Grey and White, primarily highlight. I also applied the same technique to the stowage
spraying from above to create a realistic looking light source. jerry cans and armaments.

BRUSH PAINTING AND WEATHERING THE HOWITZER GUN

1. With the airbrushing 2. Citadel Ironbreaker was the basecoat on metal

complete, the next parts of the gun and Citadel Base XV-88 used as a
stage was to paint edge basecoat for any wooden handles on the extras. A
highlights and any lighter colour was mixed in with the base coat for
nuts and bolts on the the highlights.
gun. The final airbrush
highlight colour was
mixed with a little
white and applied to
the edges to make the
gun stand out.

3. It was now
weathering time,
but first the gun
needed a satin
varnish. Weathering
as simulated with
oil washes from
Abteilung 502 oils.
This was applied
with a brush onto
the gun to achieve
the desired result.

89
 4. With painting complete, the Howitzer Gun was placed and
tested on the completed trench emplacement. So far so good!
The rangefinder figure was also placed onto the emplacement.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Using my initial sketch and preliminary photos as a reference, I glued the gun, crew, stowage, and shells (these were painted in a similar
way to other elements on the model) into place. A camo net was added to the oil drum for extra decoration, completing the project.

90
91
 RAID ON FIERY CROSS

COVERT ACTION IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

Bob Giglio and Dennis O’Toole put forth a hypothetical raid on a Chinese military facility in this modern ‘what if’ scenario.

“The South China Sea islands have been China’s territory since ancient times. It is the bounded
duty of the Chinese government to uphold China’s territorial sovereignty and legitimate maritime
rights and interests.” Excerpts from China’s President Xi’s speech at
the National University of Singapore, 2015.

This is a hypothetical modern scenario Malaysia, and the Philippines, each Several of the islands serve as bases
of a covert raid. A Special Operations claiming their national rights for the legal for surface-to-air (SAM) systems and
Force of unidentified origin (American, 200-mile access/ownership. The United ground-launched cruise missiles. These
German, French, Australian/British/ Nations has not made a stand, and the missiles serve to make the SCS deadly
Canadian, Taiwanese, Russian, Indian, complainant countries have filed suit with for foreign ships and aircraft that do not
etc.) assault a Chinese military facility the World Court. have stealth capabilities or that do not
located on a man-made island in the enjoy a layered air-defense system. The
China has established numerous military
South China Sea. While this ‘what SAM installations, buoyed by networks
installations in the SCS, primarily in
if’ action has not, to our knowledge, of radars, can effectively limit the ability
the Spratly and Paracel Islands. In the
occurred yet, given China’s continued of enemy aircraft to enter their lethal zone
Spratlys, China has built airfields at
building of man-made islands, it could be without significant electronic-warfare
assistance. The Chinese fighter aircraft on
Subi, Mischief, and Fiery Cross islands,
a real near-future possibility and makes
along with potential missile, radar,
for an interesting thought and gaming the larger islands serve to make the skies
and helicopter infrastructure at several
experiment. over the SCS even more dangerous than
smaller formations. In the Paracels,
they otherwise would be. Foreign ships
BACKGROUND China has established a significant
are also threatened at distance by cruise
military installation at Woody Island,
Since 2015, the People’s Republic of missiles based in the SCS.
as well as radar and helicopter facilities
China (PRC) has created over 3,200
in several other areas. China continues The islands of the South China Sea
acres of islands out of coral reefs in the
construction across the region, meaning are conveniently located for China,
South China Sea (SCS). These islands
that it may expand its military presence but do they really represent an asset to
are then converted to military airfields.
in the future. The larger bases (Subi, China’s military? The answer is yes, but
in an actual conflict, the value would
It is easier to maintain and harder to
Mischief, Fiery Cross, and Woody Island)
sink an island than an aircraft carrier!
have infrastructure necessary for the dwindle quickly. There is no effective
The Chinese Government states it has
management of military aircraft including natural cover on the islands that China
fighters and large patrol craft. These
historically used the SCS as a trade route
has created, and even man-made
and fishing grounds. The militarization
missiles, radars, and aircraft extend the defensive installations may not survive
of Spratly Islands has become the main
lethal reach of China’s military across the a coordinated attack. The durability of
an airfield depends on the immediate
point of contention with Vietnam,
breadth of the SCS.

92
 ?

WHAT IF
availability of materials and equipment in of island warfare, and the nature of these undersea resources (the latter of which
order to execute repairs after an attack. It specific island formations, could make it have been destroyed in the process
is not obvious that the islands China has difficult to keep installations in service of island-building!). Militarily, they
created in the SCS will be robust enough for anything but the short term. represent a thin layer on China’s air
to continue to operate after missile defense system. Under certain conditions
and bomb attacks. Although the larger The islands of the SCS have some
this layer could disrupt freedom of action
islands have aircraft shelters, it is an open military relevance but are more important
for foreign government ships, at least for
question as to whether these shelters as a political claim to waterways and
a while.
could long survive a concerted attack.
The most important contribution that the
SCS islands may offer to the Chinese
military is through the radar installations
that China has established on many of
them. These collectively enhance the
lethalness of China’s defensive networks
by helping to provide a much fuller
picture of the SCS than China would
otherwise enjoy. That said, the radars
themselves are individually vulnerable to
a wide array of attacks, including kinetic
methods such as missiles launched from
submarines, stealth aircraft, or other
platforms, electronic warfare, cyber-
attacks, and raids by special forces. In a
conflict, China could quickly lose access
to its established radar network. Still,
the network offers China a relatively
low-cost way of complicating the job that
foreign military forces face in penetrating
the SCS.
All the military capabilities of China’s
SCS islands depend upon secure
communications with mainland China.
Most of the islands constructed by
China cannot support extensive logistics
stockpiles or keep those stockpiles
safe from attack. In a shooting war, the
need to keep the islands supplied with
fuel, equipment, and munitions would
quickly become a liability for presumably
hard-stretched Chinese transport assets.
Unfortunately for China, the very nature

93
 THE GAME • The raid occurs during darkness. The Chinese will have
the aid of searchlights to increase their range beyond
The Chinese do not know which ‘foreign invader’ has sent
normal effective 18", but the Special Operations Force
forces, so this should be kept secret unless the Chinese can
have night vision capability, therefore their effective range
inspect a dead body or take a prisoner. Of course, the foreign
is the entire table.
invader will endeavor to try to prevent that, even retrieving any
dead, to help keep deniability, as governments do. • Chinese military has had some trespass attempts by local
fishermen and commercial shipping passing through the area;
• This game must have a referee, due to the nighttime and
although told to be on alert for military action, there has been
hidden movement aspects, plus any special circumstances
no obvious display of aggression from any attacker.
that may arise (i.e., shooting at fuel tanks, generators, lights,
etc.), and to go over the layout for the foreign invader • Foreign invader has initiative for turn 1, then roll each turn
forces prior to their planning of the raid. thereafter as ruleset dictates.
• Scenario is designed for Force-on-Force (FoF) rules, and • Game duration is eight turns after the alarm is raised
all statistics given are for FoF rules, but should be easy to (i.e., when shooting starts), then the foreign invader must
modify for the ruleset chosen. automatically withdraw (for fear of Chinese response from
other islands).
• Number of figures to number of real men is a 1:1 ratio.
Referee’s Eyes Only: There has to be an overt attack at some
• The Special Operations Force can be from any
point. Either the foreign invader team is discovered, or the tech
huts are destroyed and a fight occurs while attempting to exit
government: American, German, French, Australian/
British/Canadian, Taiwanese, Russian, Indian, or for
the island.
whichever there are modern figures available (should be in
black scuba gear if possible).

SPECIAL RULE - NIGHT COMBAT:

THE FOLLOWING IS FOR FOF RULES
• Foreign invader teams are using suppressed weapons and may be
hidden.
• Chinese can only see beyond 18" if the area is illuminated with
searchlights or other illumination.
• Chinese can attempt to spot within TQ range (Optimum Range)
beyond 8" only if the area is illuminated as noted above.
• Searchlights are at sentry posts (illuminates a 2"-wide zone across
the entire table).
• Lights are on tall immobile poles illuminating a 60-degree arc up to
24" range.
• Referee determines when hidden figures are within illumination,
which allows better chance of being spotted.

94
FOREIGN INVADER FORCES
briefing
Fiery Cross Island is 27 acres in size, a runway is being
built, and it appears that a communications array will
be completed within months. Because the South China
Sea is an area where your government - and many others
- wants to maintain an influence, an attack based on
Communist Chinese ‘bullying’ of the weaker local nations
is important. Your ‘public’ purpose is to demonstrate that
China’s attempt to establish control in International Waters
will not happen without confrontation. Your elite force is
combat proven with deployments in recent combat zones
and is skilled in the use of advanced combat technologies.
Destruction and mayhem will help to conceal your actual
mission, which is to acquire the cryptological information
stored in the Communications Buildings (‘Tech Huts’).
mission and VicTory condiTions Above: A member of a US Overwatch Team (far right)
crouches in cover as a Chinese patrol moves past.
• Aerial surveillance has allowed you to discern the forces
various buildings and geographical features on the
island (the referee will go over the layout before you Two squads, each of eight members, with each squad divided into
plan the raid), with the most important being the two three teams: Overwatch, Support, and Mission:
‘Tech Huts’. • Overwatch Team: Sniper and spotter, each with suppressed
• Enter the two Tech Huts and remove/download from sniper rifles.
the encrypted hard drives: 2 victory points per • Support Team: Four members, each with suppressed assault rifle
hard drive … and grenade launcher.
• … Then destroy the buildings and electronics, to • Mission Team: Three members, each with suppressed
conceal the theft: 1 victory point per destroyed submachine gun, shotgun, and explosive package or electronic
Tech Hut. copy device.
• You must engage the Chinese defenders to confuse • All members have communication with other teams, night vision
the actual objective. (NODs), suppressed assault weapons, demolition charges, and
• In order to conceal which government forces were heavy body armor (two defense dice).
involved and allow for deniability, do not leave any • Each team has four actions/reactions, but only one move per turn
casualties (killed or wounded), or it will be a substantial unless pulling back.
point gain for the Chinese.
• Statistics: Tactical Quality D12, Morale Quality D10.
• When you withdraw, all figures must leave via
the sea. • All teams may go on waiting/overwatch unless in low morale.
noTes
• Initiative: Roll a D12 per active
SPECIAL RULE - HARD DRIVE REMOVAL
team for total number of dice
Each Tech Hut requires three successful TQs to gain entry. Then roll a D3 to determine the for initiative.
number of hard drives available once inside. Achieve one TQ to remove/download each
hard drive. Each team member may roll an attack for each separate hard drive. Once the • Movement: Tactical 12” and +1
hard drives have been removed or downloaded, then destroy the Tech Hut. To destroy a TQ die. If moving over 18” then
Tech Hut takes six successful TQs. Each team member may roll an attack against the same considered exposed and +1 die for
Tech Hut simultaneously. enemy to spot and hit.
• Advanced Medicine: Upon
Checking a Casualty, roll a D6: 1 =
Dead and Dependant (tactical move
only and -1 firepower dice), 2 =
Critical Wound and Dependent, 3-4
= Light Wound, 5-6 = OK
iniTial deploymenT
• Overwatch Teams start turn 1
anywhere on table as desired.
• Support and Mission Teams enter
turn 1 anywhere from sea as desired.
• All units are considered hidden
until spotted, and locations and
entry points must be noted on the
map for the referee prior to the start
of the game.
Above: A support team equipped for night fighting moves up under cover.

95
 CHINESE DEFENSE FORCES
siTuaTion
Your Force is on the newly constructed Fiery Cross
Island, 27 acres in size, which has been formed
from the coral and sand in this atoll. A landing
strip suitable for Supply and Fighter aircraft is
being built as well as support structures. Your
platoon is guarding this Chinese island. This part
of the Pacific Ocean is recognized in all languages
as the South China Sea, and therefore belongs to
China. To date, while these new islands have been
bothered by local fishermen trespassing in the
waters nearby, a few shots across their bow have
driven them off. International commercial shipping
continues to pass close by and occasionally at
night, despite complaints of illegal trespass by your
Chairman. Although told to be on alert for military
action, there has been no display by any country Above: To represent our labourers we used Gringo 40s Viet Cong figures.
thus far. Therefore, threat level is currently low and
the need for more skilled troops is negligible.

mission and VicTory condiTions noTes

• Each enemy KIA but body not recovered by Chinese: 1 victory point. • All sentries, whether in their post or on patrol,
will respond to an alarm.
• Each enemy KIA and left on field: 3 victory points.
• All Chinese are well-supplied for ammunition
• Each enemy captured alive: 5 victory points.
and have communication capability with
Locations to defend are the administration building, barracks, fuel depot, other teams.
HQ building, and the two Comms Stations (‘Tech Huts’).
• All Chinese have two actions/reactions per
forces team/squad per turn but cannot spot hidden if
unit moves over 8".
There are two officers, two sentry post teams, two patrol teams, and
six squads: • Cannot shoot at hidden units until spotted
by team.
• Two Sentry Teams: four figures each, and each with a DShk heavy
machine gun and powerful spotlight. • Initiative: Foreign invader has initiative turn 1.
Turn 2 and thereafter, roll a D8 per active team
• Two Patrol Teams: one NCO, one RPD/LMG, one RPG, and one
for total number of dice for initiative.
infantry with AK-47.
• Movement: Tactical 12" and +1 TQ die (if
• Six Squads: one NCO, one RPK/LMG, and four infantry with AK-47.
moving over 18" then considered exposed and
• Tactical Quality D8; Morale Quality D8. +1 die for enemy to spot and hit).
Chinese Labourers and Technicians: • Basic Medicine: Upon Checking a Casualty,
roll a D6: 1 = Dead; 2-3 = Critical wound and
• Two D10 labourers, armed with assault rifles. dependant, 4-5 = Light wound, 6 = Ok.
• Technicians are unarmed and numbers available are outlined under iniTial deploymenT
initial deployment.
• Sentry Teams start in the sandbagged (improved
• Tactical Quality D6; Morale Quality D6. cover) sentry posts (takes 1 figure to work the
searchlight, which illuminates a 2"-wide zone
across the entire table). Each sentry post may
sound the alarm on their phase if they spot
the enemy (sounding the alarm is by shooting
DShK or using communications).
• Patrol Teams are deployed as desired, walking
the island, but each must start at least D3x12"
from each other and from any sentry post.
• Six Squads and two officers start in barracks.
• Chinese labourers are housed in the
administrative building; they will only deploy if
under command of an officer, but their morale
quality will always remain D6 (i.e. not affected
by officer).
• D3 Chinese technicians start in each Tech Hut
(Chinese Army forbidden to enter these).
Above: A patrol team cautiously moves out having lost contact with a sentry
team on the other side of the compound. Figures from The Assault Group.

96
 8 7
4 6
N 9
5
3 10

2
1

9
BEACH
SEA

TO AIRFIELD

Table Key
1 - MeTal sea conTainers 6 - Tech huT (x2)
2 - fuel TanK 7 - hQ building wiTh anTenna and radar dish
3 - propane TanK 8 - sandbagged senTry posT (x2)
4 - rocKy ridgeline 9 - lighTpole wiTh generaTor (x2)
5 - Two-sTorey admin building 10 - barracKs building

97
 TERRAIN • The HQ communication building is a small, round, one-
storey construction with one-door access and windows. [Ours
Reference the map for the basic setup. Distances between
is different to suit our terrain collection - Ed.] It has a large
buildings can vary depending on space and terrain available.
antenna with one or more satellite dishes on the roof.
Likewise, the shape of the buildings also depends on types
available. The runways (under construction) are off-board to • The fuel depot is a large gasoline tank located near the
the north. You can change the terrain, depending on items in administration building at end of the runway with gasoline
your collection, and/or add more items, but the key is that you drums. A smaller propane tank is near the administration
must have the two Tech Huts, two sentry posts, administration building too.
building, two light poles, and barracks.
• Two tall immobile poles, each with two lights that
ground coVer illuminates a 60-degree arc up to 24" range feature on
the tabletop. At the base of each light pole is a wheeled
• The entire surface is beach and coral, with solid beach
generator that provides electricity for the lights.
running 3" wide along the sea, so sandy colored tablecloth/
boards for a 6'x5' table is recommended. • Two sandbagged (improved cover) sentry posts each house
a DShK Heavy Machine Gun and a Powerful Searchlight
• The ridgeline is 2" high and rough with two footpaths (half
(illuminates a 2"-wide zone across the entire table).
movement unless traversing via the footpaths).
• Two large metal storage containers are on the board-edge
buildings and oTher coVer
near the off-board runway to the north and contain items
• The administration building is a two-storey modern that need protection from the elements.
building used by administration and construction personnel
• The Tech Huts are two one-storey communication
(non-combatants) as well as a few technicians.
buildings, each circular in design with one-door access
• The barracks is a large one-storey building. and no windows. [Our ‘Tech Huts’ look like ‘Lack of Tech
Huts’. Again this is down to the scenery we had in our
• Pipes, wood, and other objects (whatever you have terrain-
collection. Maybe the Chinese have disguised them! - Ed.]
wise), and other items that do not need to be protected from
the weather, should be scattered around the tabletop. • Miscellaneous stationary construction vehicles will add
flavour to your board.

The figures seen in this article are by Empress Miniatures,

Gringo 40s, and The Assault Group. Most of the scenery is by
Sarissa Precision and the battlemat is from Deep Cut Studios.

HOW IT PLAYED
Force on Force rules were used for the playtest with our gaming group, The Colonial Boys Club. We have plans to run the game at an
upcoming convention so needed to put the scenario through its paces. In our game, the Foreign Invaders managed to achieve a major victory
and all casualties were rescued.
Special thanks to The Colonial Boys Club members that were involved in the various playtests and their recommendations: Robert Giglio, Steve
Hanson, Jeff Hobbs, Dennis O’Toole, and Jeff Roncone.

98
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NEXT ISSUE
Wargames Illustrated 406, October 2021.
Hitting stores late September.

For our next issue we’re going out on a limb with the theme ‘Just
add Fantasy’. We have several contributions from wargamers who
play historical as the mainstay of their hobby, but they are providing
suggestions on how to make fantastical tweaks to your tabletop games
to add a splash of magic. We also have a special treat for you in the form
of a showcase of figures painted by the godfather of Games Workshop
iconography, John Blanche, not seen anywhere in the last 30 years!

Above: Ancient ‘unseen’

Above: Our forthcoming GiM John Blanche paint jobs.
Dante, in the Inferno.

Non-fantasy Saxons, along with historical articles on the Franco-Prussian War, Zheng He, and painting and
modelling guides will ensure historical purists are also well catered for in the October issue.