Innholdsfortegnelse for WSS 128 i Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy

— Mark Twain The career of Napoleon Bonaparte is a fascinating one. How a gifted artillery officer rose to become the Emperor of France and then went on to dominate Europe is a question many (many, many) books over the years have tried to answer. Indeed, Napoleon’s life is so exceptional it feels almost too strange, even for fiction. Napoleon at his height of Empire and during his fall are topics we are sure to cover in the future. In this issue however, we’re focusing on his early career, from the battle of 13 Vendémiaire (1795) to Caldero (1796) and Arcola (1796). Space prevented the inclusion of Toulon (1793), but we will return to this in a future issue of WS&S. Readers who are interested in Toulon should track down…

By Paul Howells (Pandyman Games, 2023) £50.00 (Starter set) or £5.00 (PDF) D6, Randomised initiative I first encountered Trench Offensive as a demo game at Partizan back in 2023. At the time, I was really impressed: the Pandyman demonstration set-up was an absolutely beautiful 3D section of World War One trenches, measuring (I believe) roughly 33×13” and about 4” deep. It was decorated with debris, puddles, craters, trench rats, the front corner of a wrecked tank, and the footprint of long-since-destroyed brick walls. The 3D-printed Great War soldiers being moved about within it were really decent sculpts: clean, crisp, well posed, characterful, and well detailed. It was, in short, impressive. In good news, the starter set comes with not only six of these figures (three German, three British; all with…

'Wargamer's Journal: The Perfect Notebook for Wargaming' By J.S. Morgan ISBN: N/A (Bare Beast Books, 2023) - £11.99 For me, one of the most diverting aspects of this hobby of ours lies in the record-keeping. This may not seem particularly exciting to many hobbyists, but it can make a real difference to the long-term experience. As a determinedly fastidious note-taker, I love recording the trials and tribulations of my forces in each engagement, sketching out new ideas or lists, and being able to refer to previous meetings with a forthcoming opponent. I also make notes on scenarios where I want to try and record the progress of my modelling and painting. …All of which leads neatly to this new product from J.S. Morgan and Bare Beast: The Wargamer’s Journal is…

THEME THE METEORIC RISE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE Born in 1769 into relatively impoverished Corsican nobility, and after receiving a French military education, by the beginning of the Revolution Napoleon had become a junior officer of artillery. He witnessed the chaotic mob rule when the Tuileries Ralace was attacked in 1792, but was wise enough to build political connections with those in power during the crucial year of 1793. He came to the attention of Robespierre, who recognised his talent and promoted him to senior gunner and commander of the artillery at the siege of Toulon, where he arrived in September 1793. Napoleon first made his mark designing a strategy to capture key forts that overlooked the harbour. Once these were under French control, they could attack any ship in the harbour…

First, to provide context. I own and operate McDougall Designs LLC, an independent retailer and 3D printing service. I have been printing for hobbyists as a business for 3 years now. Full disclosure - for a significant chunk of those 3 years, my printers have been inoperative due to a variety of personal and business factors. There are two main types of 3D printers in use by hobbyists. Resin printers and FDM (Filament deposition modeling) printers. Resin printers have a vat of liquid resin that sits on an LCD screen and selectively solidifies the liquid resin with light based on the files you print, layer by layer, upside down. FDM printers heat a strand of plastic up and extrude that heated material through a nozzle, printing upwards from a bed-plate.…

By Nigel Emsen (Helion and Company, 2023) £25.00 D6, Card-driven initiative The gaming world is filled with both beautifully painted troops for the American Civil War (ACW) and many piles of underpainted figures. To sit alongside these miniatures are dozens, if not hundreds, of rule systems to allow a player to command a brigade, a division, or even a corps. Often the rules are figure agnostic, allowing a gamer the ability to reuse their collection across multiple systems. Muskets and Springfields allows a player to do this while in command of a corps or army. The rules use a card-driven activation system. Based on the card pulled from a standard deck, the player has the ability to move several brigades depending on the card. Confederates activate on a red card…

By John Winton ISBN: 978-1800555099 (Sapere Books, 2022) - £18.99 When one thinks of World War II in the Pacific, they think of carriers - the Enterprise or the Essex. There are the battles between warships north of Guadalcanal: Japanese and American vessels duking it out in nightly battles. There are US Navy submarines and US Army Air Corps B-29s strangling the logistics of the Japanese islands. But where is the Royal Navy in this history? For most armchair historians, if you think of the Royal Navy in the Pacific, your thoughts go to the battleship Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser Repulse that were lost in 1941. For most, the war in the Pacific is an American War. This book, The Forgotten Fleet The Story of the British Pacific…

A REPLY TO PRIESTLEY AND ST PAUL I enjoyed Rick Priestley’s article on “Where have the Toy Soldiers Gone?” Being of likely the newest wargame generation, I thought I would share with you how I came to the hobby. After watching a rerun of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles on History Channel (it came out in the early ‘90s before I was born) I became obsessed with World War I. I had never heard of Wargaming, only model making, but I wanted something more interactive. It being the recession of ‘08, we did not have much money for models, so I built ships out of Legos using Osprey books from the bookstore as guides. I had quite a surplus of Lego figures hanging around, so I began to use them…

Our basic rule set is perfectly good for a game at home or with our chums at the club, but as a commercial venture, it is lacking in the style or sparkle that will make it attractive enough for people to put their hands in their pocket and hand over hard-earned cash. It is a matter of fact that, if we are to create a set of rules that is to gain traction, we need to add something to the mix that will be different from what has come before. Something that will entertain and inspire the gamer and make for a pleasurable experience. Having said that, new ideas are good, it is worth very quickly adding that this is not carte blanche to create something where every game mechanism…

The First Coalition failed to destroy France, if anything it was left stronger and more emboldened. The new Revolutionary armies were inspired by Nationalist fervour and beat the armies of the old powers of Austria, Britian, Prussia, and later Russia time and again. Many minor states were also involved. Moreover, it set the stage for one man to rise to power in France. With guile, charisma, and force, Napoleon became First Consul and was then crowned Emperor. This review looks at suitable models for the French Revolutionary armies and its enemies. What follows is a brief guide to the models available. As usual, space and time prohibits us from covering every single manufacturer, and we are using what has been kindly supplied in time for our deadline. We have included…

Scouts Out Expansion By Chris Kelley (Scouts Out/War Department, 2023) $21 for the PDF D6, Initiative-based alternate turn just like the war that everyone thought would be over by Christmas and went on and intensified, so does this set of skirmish rules. The original had just started gaining a following, and BANG! Chris adds a raft of new additions to expand and enhance them even further. This expansion is concentrated on trench raids and reconnaissance gathering raids in the First World War. This includes how to build your raiding party and new rules for various weapons and add-ons. The standard game is played on a 3-foot square table and has 250 points per side. The choice of raiders is up to you, but keep in mind the enemy selects their…

By Hugo Nivesse and Samy Maronnier (Studio 6201 and Studio Tomahawk, 2023) £20.00 Any even-sided dice, Card activation Mars Code Aurora by Studio 6201 is yet another miniature-agnostic sci-fi skirmish game. This seems to be quite commonplace in our hobby these days. The book is a good-looking publication and the background story, although not too deep, has enough to ‘set the scene’. It also differs greatly from the likes of Xeno Rampant and Stargrave. First, this is not a new system. It was originally published in 2020 in French, and now has only recently been translated into English and published by the well-known Studio Tomahawk (SAGA, Muskets & Tomahawks). This is also a system that encourages you to be very narrative. From the forces you choose, and the layout of…

By Douglas Miller ISBN: 978-1804512029 (Helion and Company, 2023) - £29.95 I was going to start this review with an overused ‘The peasants are revolting’ joke but thought better of it. This is a period I know next to nothing about, but that has now changed. The German Peasants’ revolt is considered the most important popular uprising in Europe of its era. It took place during the Reformation and the technological, economic, and political upheaval of the sixteenth century. The author describes the situation and changes, with the peasantry at the time having to bear more than their share of the burden. That a rebellion happened is no surprise given the circumstances. Warfare at the time was evolving. The prime days of the armour-clad knight were coming to an end.…

I have been busy basing 25mm figures and constructing buildings for a 1885 Riel Rebellion game. I find that styrene sheets a good material for bases, especially helpful in trying to achieve the “old school” look (smooth surface, sans flocking). It is easy to cut and has a clean finish. However, I sometimes find it hard to draw a straight line, let alone cut one with a knife. The solution was found six feet away from my hobby bench: a rotary paper cutter. The cutter makes it easier to measure and “square” bases. Now my bases look as good as “store bought”. Do you have modeling tips or wargaming ideas you’d like to see featured in Parting Shots? Send them to: editor@wssmagazine.com…

With all this wet weather, I have had a few people contact me about white mould growing on their MDF kits and bases. MDF, like paper and cardboard, is hygroscopic; it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. Prevention is always easier than cure, so it is best to seal any MDF all over. Paint inside, underneath, and the edges to fully seal the wood. This seal can be a spray primer, household emulsion paint, or even a coat of PVA. If you had not sealed fully and damp has developed into a white bloom mould, wipe clean with an anti-bac cloth. It does seem odd adding yet more moisture to a damp model, but cleaning and killing off any spores is the objective. Put the model in a warm place or…