Autumn (or Fall, to our North American friends) is very much here. Bare branches slice the cold October air, a stiff wind blows through their gnarled, skeletal fingers … it seems to be wailing out a message, a soft, barely perceptible sound … “Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!” That’s right, the spookiest of times is fast
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Black Seas presents an intriguing modelling challenge for those wanting to do it 'properly', what with the complexities of the sails and rigging that need adding. Here at Wargames Illustrated we wondered how much of a challenge it was to build these ships, so we threw some new boxes at
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There’s no shortage of people producing MDF terrain right now; for anyone new to make their mark it’s going to take something a bit different. Enter Brutal Cities, a relatively new company who are creating some impressive laser cut kits, themed to a cyberpunk style. We’ve got a selection of buildings
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The second wave of Order Militant models has arrived from Gripping Beast –the Grand Commander of The Order Militant leads the way and 8 Fanatics follow in support, ready to take part in SAGA: Age of Magic. These metal models are all sculpted by Wargames Illustrated favourite Matt Bickley (who has
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The Gripping Beast boys coined the phrase “Generic Hairies” when they released their plastic ‘Dark Age Warriors’ box set a few years ago and I would say this pack of six figures, soon to be released by Crusader Miniatures (October 2020), also match that description. Fitting seamlessly into several different Dark
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EDITORIAL Following several months delay caused by Coronavirus, it is with great pride that we present our free ruleset, Never Mind the Billhooks with this issue of Wargames Illustrated magazine. A fast-paced small battle/large skirmish game, ‘Billhooks’ first came to my attention when friends of the magazine Andy Callan (who first wrote
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Being the splendid people we are here at Wargames Illustrated we don’t mind giving a heads up to another, new, wargaming magazine (especially when it’s so different to our own). Blaster is a collaboration between five bright young(ish) games designers who have come together to produce what they are calling a
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BITE-SIZE BANTER One last catch up on what your fellow wargamers have been up to in lockdown. WARGAMING IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS ........ For our final edition of WittoC we hear from the Editor of this august organ about what it’s been like running Wargames Illustrated Ltd whilst in lockdown. NOT APPEARING AT
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Viva Mexico! Neil Smith takes an extended look at a new book - ideal for wargaming the Mexican Revolution. Did you know that sincronicidad is Spanish for synchronicity? Neither did I until very recently when looking for a new project and Mike Blake’s Armies of the Mexican Revolution (Partizan Press, 2020)
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When Peter Dennis isn’t supplying fantastic artwork to the biggest names in wargaming and military history he works on a series of books with Helion and Company which he affectionally calls Paperboys. https://youtu.be/kObao_ODYsM Note: The text below is the transcript of our flipthrough video (for those who would rather read than listen). I
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Godseye Games are a new company who have just released Contact Front, ‘modern warfare rules’. This is a 94-page softback book, which aims to “puts you in the shoes of the platoon commander, balancing mission objectives with the lives of those under your command”, with its main area of focus
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Since Modiphius Entertainment first gained the licence to produce a tabletop miniature game based upon the Fallout franchise, they have consistently supported it with excellent miniatures. One of the latest core boxed sets represents the mysterious Institute, stealers of people and creators of synthetic warriors. The 32mm figures inside the
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Quickly! Flip to page 36 of this magazine, then come back here…. Good, isn’t it? That’s Alan Sheward’s Stalingrad table. To coincide with this month’s Urban Combat theme Alan, with the help of buddy Adrian Deacon, took the trouble to come to WIHQ with their amazing table and set the whole
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North Star Military Figures have a couple of new packs of Spanish for their 1672 range. Pikemen and Command are joining the ranks of Musketeers. But why should we be interested in late 17th Century Spanish? And what actions were they involved in? We asked North Star boss Nick Eyre
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Buy this in Print Do you like this month’s cover mount freebie? (Prime members can find theirs here) We figured that even if you are not into naval wargaming you would like to ‘have a play’ with the great new 1/700th scale ship models designed by Warlord Games for their forthcoming
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The latest in a series of books, A Wargamer’s Guide to Making Tabletop Terrain: Tales of a Wargames Widow Vol. 2 may not be a title which slips off the tongue but functions as a useful guide for gamers. An 85-page softback book, each section outlines the process and materials
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In the great pantheon of gaming rules, it is inevitable that we’ll miss out on a few. However, Fistful of Lead by Wiley Games looks like one of those we should learn about and share. Starting life as a set of gunfight rules for the Old West about 18 years
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Attila the Hun: Arch Enemy of Rome Ian Hughes Pen & Sword Military, 2019 Reviewed by Matthew Hardwick Even today Attila the Hun occupies a unique place in the minds of modern Europeans. It is not Alaric the Goth, who actually sacked Rome, who is used as a synonym for barbarian hordes, or as
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Offensive Miniatures have a fantastic Near Future range that has been out for a while but is well worth a second look. The Rioters, Protesters and Police miniatures are pretty much the best on the market for those looking to add something extra to their tabletop. With such a wide selection
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In WI378, April 2019 we included an article in Wargames Illustrated in which regular contributor Pete Brown mused on the thorny issue of ‘taking offensive’ in our hobby. Incase you didn’t buy the magazine and see it (at which we take offence!) you will find the said article here. In WI379,
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Images of War – M1 Abrams Michael Green Pen and Sword Military 2019 Reviewed by Phillip Herbert This new offering from Pen & Swords excellent Images of War series of books focus’ on one of the most iconic main battle tanks of the last forty years the M1 Abrams. The book follows the same format
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Funky Skull Games have added more miniatures to their Street Wars NYC rules and background. After another successful Kickstarter campaign, The Mollies Gang is now available for sale. The Street Wars NYC background takes a partially fictionalised slice of life on the tough streets of 1970’s New York City. The city
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Buy this in Print FROM THE EDITOR The dust has now settled on Salute 2019, certainly the biggest wargames show of the year for the WI team. All of our staff attend, hundreds of Salute goers subscribe to the magazine and we run the world’s largest participation game at any show (see
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Bombshell Miniatures ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to re-launch their Counterblast pulp sci-fi rules in a second, enhanced edition. This 194-page, hardback book is packed with rules, background information and great artwork that not only re-introduces the game universe but does so with some style. https://youtu.be/QtChqv25Lwg The book begins with a useful
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The 1967 Aden Emergency was one of those ‘End of Empire’ wars in which many British troops served but is now largely overlooked. However, Eureka Miniatures have a range of figures for both sides in the conflict, and very nice they are too. The two packs we have for review represent
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German Destroyers Robert Brown Pen & Sword, 2019 Reviewed by Neil Smith It must be annoying when the pretty girls get all the attention. I am talking about battleships and aircraft carriers, of course, but it is the destroyers that seem to do all the work so that the sisters can go to the
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Osprey Games’ latest game is Ragnarok, which plunges players into a universe of Heavy Metal Combat In The Viking Age. This 208-page, hardback book provides rules to run a War Clan in a Viking era ‘End Times’, with the quest for godhood being the ultimate goal. This is also the
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Clash of Spears is a 101-page hardback book which contains rules for running skirmish battles with an ancient era focus. It is a self-published set of rules, that is not only very professionally produced but is also very ‘gamer friendly’. https://youtu.be/xN2bilWFizI The book begins with a useful introduction to the aims of
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Armies of the Late Roman Empire – AD 284-476 Gabriele Esposito Pen and Sword Military 2018 Reviewed by Bernd Biege Every once in a while a book comes along where I go “Wow!” – this is one of them. Mainly because of the splendid illustrations, scores of high quality colour photos of reenactors in
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North Korean Onslaught: UN stand at the Pusan Perimeter August - September 1950 Gerry van Tonder Pen & Sword Reviewed by Jim Graham North Korean Onslaught is the latest book in the Pen & Sword “Cold War 1945 - 1991” series, and is the second in their “Korean War” sub-series. Gerry van Tonder is
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