HOW TO A BARNSTORMING SCRATCHBUILD!

OCTOBER 2023 ISSUE 486

ALIEN 10

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INVASION
THE AZTEC PERSPECTIVE
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WELCOME THE DOGS OF WAR
T
his issue has a selection of rather longer
pieces that I have been trying to fit in
for some time. The Aztec ‘Alien
Invasion’ approach is something
I’ve been aching to include plus
the Lacewars piece reminds me
nostalgically of casting figures over
my kitchen stove using Prinze August
moulds, boiling lead and motorcycle
gloves. Remember children, safety
first... Jon Sutherland gives us some
excellent gaming advice; Mr Kinch supplies a
Command & Colours Napoleonic scenario plus
we have a Dragon Rampant (always tricky)
and we build a Stone Barn. As Dave
Gilmour sang (in a Momentary Lapse
Of Reason): “Steps have been taken, a
silent uproar has unleashed the dogs
of war; you can’t stop what has
begun: signed, sealed, they deliver
oblivion”. And – on that cheery
note – happy gaming!
John Treadaway
Editor
MINIATURE WARGAMES
EDITORIAL
EDITOR John Treadaway
MiniatureWargames@warnersgroup.co.uk
HEAD OF DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Lynn Wright
DESIGN Mike Carr
COVER: Aztecs by Wargames Atlantic
ADVERTISING TO ADVERTISE PLEASE CALL
COMMERCIAL MANAGER Alex Lyon
01778 391129 | alex.lyon@warnersgroup.co.uk
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER Nicola Glossop
01778 392420 | nicola.glossop@warnersgroup.co.uk
MARKETING EXECUTIVE Charlotte Bamford
01778 395081 | charlotte.bamford@warnersgroup.co.uk
IN THIS ISSUE
04 FORWARD OBSERVER
With the latest news items.
07 SEND THREE AND
FOURPENCE
The Battle of Montereau 1814 is a Command
& Colours scenario using 20mm figures from
Konrad Kinch.
13 LACE WARS IN TIN
An in-depth guide into casting and wargaming
with 40mm Semi Flats using Prinze August
rubber moulds and figures you no longer have any
use for!
22 DEFENCE IN DEPTH
With the latest figure and rules reviews.
26 THE PERFECT SCENARIO
Command Decision looks at the process of
designing a perfect scenario as an introduction to
Get in touch creating the perfect game. But that’s next month...
tabletopgaming.co.uk COVER
MiniatureWG FEATURE 32 ALIEN INVASION
Have you ever wondered what a few
MiniatureWargames Conquistadors landing on your shores would
look like from the perspective of the indigenous
miniature_wargames_magazine
population? Well, wonder no more...
MARKETING 43 THERE BE DRAGONS...
MARKETING MANAGER Sophie Thornton
How do you set about slaying a dragon? Well, you
01778 395092 | sophie.thornton@warnersgroup.co.uk
might try using Dragon Rampant rules for a
PUBLISHED BY
PUBLISHER Claire Ingram start and this scenario...
claire.ingram@warnersgroup.co.uk
Warners Group Publications PLC The Maltings, West Street, 53 RECCE
Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH | 01778 391000
A crop of reading material to grace the
NEWSTRADE DISTRIBUTION wargamer’s book shelves.
Warners Group Publications Plc 01778 391150
57 SCRATCH BUILD
Jazz up your plain MDF kits with this
The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the in-depth guide.
publishers. Every care is taken to ensure that the content of this magazine
is accurate, but we assume no responsibility for any effect from errors or
omissions. While every care is taken with unsolicited material submitted for
publication, we cannot be responsible for loss or damage. While every care is
taken when accepting advertisements, we are not responsible for the quality
and/or the performance of goods and/or services advertised in this magazine.
62 LAST WORD
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) exists to regulate the content of Matthew Vernall, Editor of our sister magazine TTG.
advertisements. Tel: 020 7429 2222 © Warners Group Publications PLC, 2023
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 3
 FORWARD OBSERVER
News, previews and community submissions from the wargaming world
IMAGI-NATION
RUNS RIOT
Martinstaat 1744
Gladius Publications is the producer of
material from the pen of the erstwhile
editor of this fine magazine. Henry
Hyde has long been a champion of
‘Imagi-Nations’ style gaming – where
fictitious (usually 18th century)
countries take part in quasi-European
conflict which does many nice things
with lots of colourful uniform options
(restricted only by your eyesight and
your gag-reflex) whilst deftly side-
stepping all that real, euro/colonial
unpleasantness. Martinstaat is a manual
for campaigning in this environment
WWI 15MM
More 3D Brigade releases
Brigade Models have released some
new ‘direct’ 3D prints. That is to say
that they are sent straight to the gamer,
fully built and ready to paint with no
‘runner’ removal (or even any wheels
to stick on!). As per their recent releases
these are WWI AFVs but in 15mm. As
4 Miniature Wargames October 2023
based on an old background that Henry
concocted with a gaming friend (Guy
Hancock). In this 100 page hardback
(or softback or ebook) you get a
background to the campaign and its
forces (Faltenland and their opponents)
plus a week-by-week breakdown for
the spring offensive of 1744 in this
imagi-nation. There are loads of very
pretty maps including larger hex maps
and smaller, ‘single hex’ blow-ups with
vast detail. It is spattered with uniform
details, colour photos and scans of the
original notes (that might be easier to
read on something one could magnify).
Hard copies via Amazon for £35 (27.50
softback) and pdf on Wargames Vault of
Payhip for $30.
such, some of them are truly tiny! They
include the US Jeffery Armoured Car (a
double turreted vehicle) and a Jeffery
Quad Truck, the tiny Ford 3-ton Tank
M1918 tank. Also in the range is the
British Mk.IV. Prices range from £3 for
the 3-ton tank t £10 for the Mk.IV. Go to
brigademodels.co.uk.
LORDS OF THE ISLES
Caledonian flare in 28mm
Antediluvian Miniatures have some
new releases in 28mm metal: three packs
of infantry and some impressive leaders
on horse. The first two infantry packs
are the Early Islesmen with Bows and Early
Islesmen with Axes. Each pack has four
figures, all unique, and – as one might
suppose – the chaps described with bow
are all armed thusly, and the fellows
with axes are all equipped with long
axes and wearing chain mail. All are
sculpted in simple helmets whereas only
half of the bowmen are decked out with
them. Next are four Highland Caterans:
these come with a selection of shields
to stick on (all small and round), and a
mix of armour types. Lastly are a fine
pair of mounted commanders: The Bruce
and Douglas. One is carrying his helmet
and the other pointing with an axe and
are full of character. All are cast in white
metal with small integral bases, 30mm
to the top of the head, well detailed
and realistically proportioned. Go to
antediluvianminiatures.wordpress.com for
more info.
 WWII... WITH AN APP
Victrix creates a unified experience
Victrix have been involved in a new project: Company
Commander is a World War Two themed ‘app’ for your
smart phone. Utilising ‘augmented reality technology’ the
app enables you to track turns, distances and damage all via
your mobile device, obviating some of the spade work of
measuring, record keeping and what-not,
and yet you still get to play with toys on
the table! Obviously the system is geared
to work directly with Victrix own 12mm range (although they aren’t the only
manufacturers in this scale) but you can investigate the system at victrixlimited.
com or their facebook pages.
ADEPTUS TITANICUS
COMMUNITY CORNER
This month in Community Corner we met
with Ian Porter: quality assurance analyst
by day, all-round gamer and, in his own
words, ‘sarcasm enthusiast’ at any hour.
“I was introduced to miniature gaming
at secondary school in the nineties,”
says Ian. “There were a few people who
played Necromunda and Battletech
after school. Things developed from
there, with Games Workshop’s 40K and
Battlefleet Gothic being my main games
as a child.
“I got into Adeptus Titanicus back
in late 2019. The main paints used are
a combination of GW/Citadel paints,
with the primary colours being Khorne
Red and Zandri Dust. As I was painting
a canon Legion, I wanted the colours to
be “right.” I’ve also used some Vallejo
metallics – I find them some of the best
paints out there for the grimier, dirtier
If you’d like to submit
something for Community
Corner, contact
MiniatureWargames@
warnersgroup.co.uk
aesthetic I want on the skeleton of the
titan. I mostly layered the paints with
some edge highlighting, but recess
shading/pin washing with Citadel
washes really made the models pop
for me. I’m most proud of the stripes
on the shoulder and knee of Ferro Igni.
These were done via very careful use of
Tamiya painting tape.
“I love being able to add a little
humour to the battlefield, such as
hiding jokes in the names for my titans.
For Titanicus, most of the engines are
named in Latin(ish), so I have Ad Quos
Spectat for the Warbringer, which loosely
translates as ‘to whom it may concern.’
“Rather than offering just one piece
of advice, here’s two tips that go hand
in hand for me: paint it your way, and
have fun with it! It’s a hobby, not an
obligation, and if it’s not fun, why are
you doing it? Use whatever colours
and techniques you like: they’re your
models, so show your style off!”
If you wanted to see the models
yourself, they’re currently on display
in the 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in
Scunthorpe, as part of their Art in
Miniature exhibition, which aimed to be
the first exhibition of fantasy miniatures
held in a mainstream public gallery. The
exhibition is running now until 28th
October 2023.
October 2023 Miniature Wargames
SHOW & TELL
FUTURE WARGAMING EVENTS
SELWG
Sunday 15th October
Lee Valley Sports Centre
61 Meridian Way
Edmonton,
London, N9 0AR
selwg.org
PARTIZAN
Sunday 9th October
Cedric Ford Pavilion,
Newark Showground
NG242NY
partizan.org.uk
WARFARE
Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th
November
Farnborough International
Exhibition & Conference Centre
GU14 6TQ
wargamesreading.co.uk
THIS MONTH
IN HISTORY
AGINCOURT
25 OCTOBER 1415
On Saint Crispin’s Day the
battle is well documented by
at least seven contemporary
accounts, three from
eyewitnesses. After failed
negotiations with the French,
the English (with numbers
depleted by disease) tried to
withdraw to English-held Calais
but found their path blocked
by a large French army. Despite
the numerical disadvantage
with 10,000 French men-at
arms plus half that number of
footmen, archers, crossbowmen
etc versus around 1,500
English men-at-arms and 7,000
longbowmen spread across a
750-yard defile, the battle ended
in an overwhelming victory for
the English. Immediately after
the battle, Henry summoned the
heralds of the two armies who
had watched the battle together
and they settled on the name of
the battle as Azincourt, after the
nearest fortified place.
5
 FEELING THE PINCH?

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SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE
THE BATTLE OF
MONTEREAU 1814
A Command & Colours Scenario
Words and pictures by Conrad Kinch
very so often a book comes along
E and hits you right between the
eyes and stops you in your tracks.
Like most wargamers, I am a
man of many projects. I have a Rangers
of Shadowdeep project that I’ve been
meaning to finish off for over a year now
I have unpainted armies for an 1859
invasion of Sicily project that are calling
out for the airbrush. Meanwhile my
Pacific War Japanese and US Marines have
stalled completely having been thrown
over for my 19th century Abyssinians.
The only thing I’ve definitely committed
myself to is organising an eight player
Stalingrad game in October. I’ve got
the snow mats ready, my terrain maker
Capability Savage has been doing some
interesting experiments in painting
Sarissa kits in greyscale and I’ve just
about got the troops together, which is
why this column is about a battle in 1814.
For you see, man plans and God
laughs. I was on holiday in England
a few months ago and had wandered
into an Oxfam shop in Leamington Spa
with the Kinchlets while Mrs Kinch did
some shopping. The Kinchlets conned
me into some 99p Ladybird books,
but while I was there I came across
ABOVE: Austrian hussars clash with Imperial Guard
Chasseurs.
Napoleon 1814; The Defence of France
by Andrew Uffindell, published by
Pen & Sword. Competitively priced
Napoleonic history always has a place
in my wallet.
I cracked it open on the ferry
home and I’ll be honest, the shrieks
of the children from the soft play
area vanished into the background
as I became totally immersed in the
intricacies of the campaign. I had read
about these actions before in Chandler,
but that had been only as a chapter in
a much larger volume and I think that
obscured the brilliance of the campaign.
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 7
 SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE
ABOVE: Surviving Wurttemberg cavalry fleeing the
vengeful blades of the French cavalry. Paper terrain
by Peter Dennis.
THE OPERATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT
After Napoleon’s disastrous campaign
in Russia, followed by defeat at Battle
of Nations at Leipzig, the Allies drove
him out of Germany in 1813. By 1814
the Allies had invaded France and were
driving for Paris. Napoleon raised new
armies and embarked on a lightning
campaign taking on a central position
from which he launched multiple blows
at the Prussians under Blucher and the
amalgamated allied army Hauptarmee
under Prince Schwarzenberg. This
series of battles known as the Six Days
Campaign was fought from the 10th to
the 15th February. Napoleon inflicted
four swift defeats on Blucher and was
following up when the Hauptarmee
began advancing on Paris.
Paris was both a wellspring and a
millstone for Napoleon. Because he was
operating so close to that base, he had
access to reinforcements, supplies and
could send his artillery there to keep it
from harm. But because the loss of Paris
would mean the end of the regeme he
couldn’t ignore threats to it.
Prince Schwarzenberg’s move on
Paris, meant that Napoleon had to
forsake his plans to follow up and crush
Blucher, and turn to face the advancing
Austrians. Pausing only to destroy an
isolated Russian Division at Mormant
near the outskirts of Paris on the 17th
February, he made a beeline for the
Austrians. Schwarzenberg having
learned of Prince Blucher’s defeat made
to withdraw, but left a rearguard under
the Crown Prince of Württemberg to
hold Montereau.
8 Miniature Wargames October 2023
ABOVE: A very elderly figure of Napoleon Bonaparte
leading his troops. Figure by Hinton Hunt.
THE BATTLE
Prince Frederick William’s Corps
was made up of three Divisions, two
infantry Divisions, one Austrian and
one Wurrtemberger, and a Division of
Wurrtemberg cavalry. He was directed by
Prince Schwarzenberg to hold the town of
Montereau until the evening of the 18th.
The town is on the Seine and Yonne rivers
and is dominated by a large plateau on the
north bank. This ridge which overlooks
the southern bank (which is quite flat)
had a chateau, Surville, in the centre and
a village, Les Ormeaux, on the left. Prince
Frederick William deployed the majority
of his men on the ridge, anchoring his
defence on the two built up areas. There
was a large forest to the northwest of the
Allied position through which ran the
road to Paris.
The first French force to arrive was
a group of several thousand National
Guardsmen under Pacthod and Cavalry
under Pajol at around 8am. These failed
to evict the Wurrtembergers. They were
later joined by the Divisions of Chateau
and Duhesme, part of Victors Corps,
who mounted an attack on the village of
Les Ormeaux, but were driven back by
massed cannon fire and cavalry charges.
The French fell back into the woods and
awaited reinforcements from Gerard’s
Corps. Napoleon was outraged and
replaced Victor with Gerard.
Gerard pressed the attack with the
remains of Victor’s Corps and his own,
but multiple attacks up the heights
were driven back by the allied army.
The artillery did particular execution.
Later in the day, the Imperial Guard
artillery arrived and Napoleon was able
to bring more guns to bear. At 3pm,
he launched a three pronged attack
targeting the allied left at Les Ormeaux,
the centre at Surville and the allied right
along the river Seine. The allied troops
had been engaged for about six hours
now, they were tired and their muskets
were fouled with constant firing, while
Napoleon was able to throw fresh troops
into the fray, fielding 30,000 Frenchmen
against 15,000 allied troops.
 Les Ormeaux was overun and Surville
was taken. Pajol launched a cavalry
charge that smashed into the Allied left
and kept on going. Pajol attributed this
in part to the inexperience of his hastily
recruited troopers, who were so green
that they could not stop their mounts
from charging. The Austrian attempted
to form a rear guard, which was effective
for a while, but the steep slope and
the broken ground made it difficult to
keep their order. Discipline began to
disintegrate and soon the allied infantry
were caught trying to cross the bridges
over the Seine. Napoleon ordered several
batteries onto the heights from where
they could fire down into the struggling
mass of fugitives. It is said that Bonaparte
personally sighted some of these cannons.
Pajol’s cavalry crashed into the
fleeing soldiery and managed to seize
the bridge over the Seine and later the
bridge over the Yonne. The town of
Montereau was quickly cleared and the
allies retreated in disorder.
Napoleon had secured yet another
victory.
ORDERS OF BATTLE
While the “game” dispositions are
depicted on the map, I include this
order of battle for those who don’t play
Command & Colours Napoleonics.
This has been taken from the Greenhill
Napoleonic Wars Data book by the
redoubtable Digby Smith. No home is
complete without one.
French Forces - 25,000 infantry, 5000
cavalry and 70 guns
General Napoleon Bonaparte
commanding Victor’s II Corps, the Paris
Reserve (General De Division Gerard),
the Divisions of Chateau and Duhesme
and the Imperial Guard in reserve.
Forces actually engaged;
◗ Imperial Guard Cavalry
◗ Chasseurs a Cheval
◗ 2e Chevaux Legers Lanciers
◗ Foot and horse artillery
◗ 4e, 11e, 15e, 15e, 24e, 26e, 29e
Regiment Infanterie Legere
◗ 4e 18e 19e 20e 32e 46e 58e 72e 134e
Regiment Infanterie de Ligne
◗ 18e, 25e Regiments de Dragoons
◗ 7e and 9e Chevaux Legers Lanciers
◗ 9e and 22e Chasseurs a Cheval
◗ 2e, 3e, 7e Hussars.
Austro-Wurrtemberg Forces
◗ 11,000 Wurrtembergers, 4000
Austrians, 26 guns
◗ IV (Wurrtermberg) Corps, Army
of Bohemia, Crown Prince of
Wurrtemberg commanding.
◗ Infantry Generalleutenant Baron von
Koch: GM von Stockmeter,
◗ Jager Regiment Number 9 Number 9
(2bns)
◗ Line Infantry Regiment Number 10
(1 bn).
General Major von Doring;
◗ Line Infantry Regiment Number 2, 3, 7
(2bns each).
◗ General Major Prince von Hohenlohe-
Kirch-berg:
◗ Line Infantry Regiment Numbers 4
and 6 (2 bns each);
◗ 2 x 6pdr Foot Artillery Battery
◗ Cavalry: Generalleutenant Prince
Adam von Württemberg:
◗ General Major von Walsleben:
◗ Jager-zu-Pferde Number 2 (4sqns)
◗ Dragoon Regiment Number 3 (4sqns)
◗ 1 x Horse Artillery Battery
◗ General Major von Jett:
◗ Jager-zu-Pferde Number 4 (4sqns)
◗ 1 x Horse Artillery Battery .
Austrian Troops;
General Major Schaffer:
◗ Infantry Regiment Zach Number 15
(3 bns);
◗ Infantry Regiment Gyulai Number 21
(2bns);
◗ Infantry Regiment Esterhazy Number
32 (2bns);
◗ Infantry Regiment J Colloredo
Number 57 (2 bns);
◗ Hussar Regiment EH Ferdinand
Number 3 (6 sqns)
◗ 2 x Foot Artillery Battery.
Commander:
◗ Allies: 5 cards
◗ Commander: Crown Prince of
Wurrtemberg
◗ French: 6 cards. Move first.
◗ Commander: General Napoleon
Bonaparte
◗ Tactics cards (if using Exp.5 Marshalls
& Tacticians):
◗ Allies 4 Tactician cards, French 5
Tactician cards.
Victory: 5 Banners
SPECIAL RULES
Any ordered Allied unit (regardless
of strength) that exits the battlefield
from the bridge hex will count as a
Victory Banner for the Allied Army.
Exited leaders do not count for Allied
Victory Banners.
Allied units cannot exit off the bridge
hex when forced to retreat due to
ranged or melee combat. Units must
halt or remain on the bridge hex and
lose one block for each retreat hex
that cannot be taken. If the unit is
eliminated, the French player receives
one Victory Banner.
Delaying Action:
The Allied forces are playing for time.
The Allied player may play a single
Scout card, so long as he holds one of
the three advanced built up areas, Les
Ormeaux, Surville or Courbeton. He
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 9
 SEND THREE AND FOURPENCE

ABOVE: Austrian hussars charging downhill to throw

back French Dragoons.

may not activate a unit or draw two Inexperienced French Troops:
cards as normal, but may claim one Both Pajol cavalry and the French
Victory Banner for doing so. National Guards under Pacthod were
inexperienced. To represent this, the
A Ticking Clock: cavalry’s strength has been reduced
French Reinforcements by one. Pacthod’s troops have been
The French player rolls a die at the start represented as militia for visual clarity,
of his turn. If no Flag symbol is rolled, but don’t use the standard militia
increase the Ticking Clock by one. rules. Treat them as standard French
Once the Ticking Clock reaches seven, Line Infantry, but who do not get the
French reinforcements arrive. The French standard French bonus in melee.
player must set up his reinforcements in
any base line hex at the start of his turn. Sudden Death:
Units which can either not be deployed If Napoleon is killed, the French player
because of lack of space or because the automatically loses the game.
French player does not wish to deploy
them, may be deployed on later turns. MINIATURES
Reinforcements may then be ordered There are plenty of figures available for
as normal using command cards. the period. I myself used my standard
French reinforcements (may be deployed French forces: a mixture of HAT, Italeri
in any order) and Newline designs figures. The
Austrians were equally simple enough,
◗ Leader (Napoleon) HAT do a fairly extensive range in
◗ Leader (Gerard) 1/72 and that’s where I got most of
◗ One Light Infantry my Austrian forces, supplemented
◗ Three Line Infantry by Newline and SHQ metals. The
◗ One Foot Artillery Württemberger posed a bit of a problem
◗ Leader ( Limeritier) however. One of the things that gave me
◗ Two Guard Light Cavalry a little shove in the direction of tackling
◗ Two Guard Heavy Cavalry this battle was the discovery that some
◗ One Horse Artillery kind soul had thrown in some painted
◗ Leader (Oudinot) Württemberg figures with an eBay win.
◗ One Old Guard Infantry HAT do three sets of Württemberg
◗ Two Young Guard Infantry troops (infantry, cavalry and guns)
◗ Guard Foot Artillery wearing the Raupenhelm, a type of
crested helmet associated with the
The Seine: Bavarians. Newline do some packs of
The River Seine is impassable except at Line Infantry as well. A very ambitious
the bridge. company called Piano Wargames do
sets of Wurttembergers in 28mm, both
Württemberg Forces: in metal and as downloadable STL files
Use the Prussian rules for the for 3d printing. These come with guides
Württemberg units. No Iron Will Markers. on printing the files in 15mm and 20mm
and include a comprehensive collection
of infantry, jaegers, cavalry, guns, etc.
However, the Raupenhelm was
abandoned for a shako by the
Wurttembergers in 1813 around the time
they defected from Napoleon’s Empire
to the Allies. So all the figures currently
available that I can find are suitable
for the period up to and including the
1812 campaign. Whether you want to
complete headswaps (the shako was in
the Austrian style) and paint an entire
army suitable for the two year period
between 1812 and 1814, I shall leave to
your best judgement.
Myself, I decided that it was highly
likely that the transition between
Raupenhelm and shako was slow and
that it was highly likely that there
would still be some units in the old
kit, so I used what I had. Secondly, I
don’t actually have enough figures to
field a complete Wurttemberger army. I
substituted Prussians (wearing a shako
and in dark blue) where I had to and got
on with the game.
TERRAIN
I’ve rarely strayed outside the
Peninsula, the Belgium or Russia for
my Napoleonic adventures, so my
terrain collection is mainly aimed those
those areas. France has a different feel
and just popping some of my Spanish
buildings on the table and squinting
a bit just wouldn’t cut the mustard.
I was close to throwing in the towel
(don’t ask me why I can use Prussians
as Wurttembergers, but cannot stomach
using haciendas as chateau... I am not
a particularly rational man), when I
found a book that I had picked up some
time ago.

10 Miniature Wargames October 2023

EUROPEAN BUILDINGS
These are 28mm Paper Models for 18th
and 19th Century Wargames by Florian
Richter and Peter Dennis. This is a
collection of houses, churches, watermills,
etc suitable for the period. The book itself
is available from Helion for £20 or for
£10 as a series of downloads. While the
author advises cutting the buildings out of
the book, I colour photocopied mine onto
standard printer paper and they seem
perfectly serviceable. While scaled for
28mm figures, they look just fine next to
my 20mm lads. A morning spent watching
The Jungle Book with the Kinchlets and
a sharp knife and some Bostik gave me
a reasonable crop of buildings in jig time.
I was hugely impressed with these and
will be doing some more work on paper
terrain in future.
DESIGNERS NOTES
Initially I tried having both the Yonne
and the Seinne on the table, but that
simply took up space and made life even
more difficult for the poor old Crown
Prince of Wurttemberg. I’ve abstracted
things quite a bit to make a game of it
and I’ve probably over inflated the size
of the allied force slightly.
Based on five playthroughs as is, the
advantage seems to be with the French.
They’ve won three out of the five games
BELOW: Wurtemberg gunners fire grape into an
advancing battalion of French National Guard.
fairly handily, but lost two. From the
French perspective, he who hesitates
is lost. While he doesn’t have an initial
quantitative advantage, he does have
a qualitative advantage, though he
does have to do the attacking, which is
always tricky. The temptation to wait
for the high quality reinforcements is
there, but a canny Allied player will use
that time to rack up Victory Banners
using the Delaying Action special rule.
The Allies have the advantage of the
defensive terrain, but a concentrated
attack properly supported will pay the
French player.
The Allied player has a trickier
time of it. Not only is he facing the
fearsome Bonaparte himself, he is also
facing (eventually) superior numbers
of superior troops. His line of retreat
is constrained and time is absolutely
against him. A good Allied player will
make sure to make good use of his
artillery and try to channel the French
into attacks on the built up areas. His
watchword is delay, delay, delay. Stack up
some Victory Banners using the Delaying
Action rule and keep an eye on his
weakened units. Pulling weakened units
out of the line and retreating them off the
bridge before they could be destroyed
were key to both Allied victories.
That said this scenario is definitely
slanted in favour of the French, but
the battle of Montereau was not
known as a famous day for Austrian
or Wurttemberger arms. I like to
think that I’ve managed to reflect the
historical situation while giving the
allied player a shot at success. I would
be delighted to hear how it goes for
you if you play it yourself and I can be
reached at conrad.kinch@gmail.com or @
aquestingvole on Twitter.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data
Book, Digby Smith
Napoleon 1814, Andrew Uffindell
The Campaigns of Napoleon, David
Chandler,
The Napoleonic Source Book, Philip
Haythornthwaite
French Order of Battle for Montereau,
by George Natzinger
web.archive.org/web/20111208060722/
cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/814BDI.pd
I only became aware of this last
web resource after I’d finished play
testing the scenario and
it doesn’t agree with
Digby Smith exactly,
however for players DOWNLOAD
THE SCENARIO MAP
wishing to adapt the tabletopgaming.co.uk/
scenario, it might information/downloads
worth looking at. ■
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 11

Wargaming & Casting 40mm
Semi Flats
Words by Steve Metheringham. Photos by Author and Editor
ver the last few years, I’ve been working with
O the company Prince August in developing a
range of moulds for home casting 40mm semi-
flat figures to represent soldiers of the Seven
Years War (1756-63). Unlike Prince August’s previous
ranges these have been designed with wargamers in
mind. The 7YW range now has moulds to cast most
troop types in the Prussian. Austrian, Russian, and
French armies: there are still a few gaps in the cavalry
moulds available and – so far (and as of June 2023) – no
British – but we are getting there. Developing the range
has been a long process and has been helped by input
from gamers via my ‘Lace Wars in Tin’ blog; this article
is a brief summary of how the range has developed.
‘KARROLINER’ ARMIES
My decision to collect armies of home cast 40mm semi-
flats was not due to a particular liking for either larger
scale figures or home casting, but a desire to go ‘Old
School’. At the Partizan wargames show back in 2006,
a group going by the name of ‘The War Gamers’ put on
their excellent Sittangbad game, which recreated one
of the battles included in Charge! – Or How to Play
War Games by Brig. P. Young and Lt. Col. J. P Lawford:
ABOVE in my opinion possibly the greatest wargames book of
A shot by the
Editor of the
Battle of Prague
game using the
Author's 40mm
semi flats at
Hammerhead
all time. After seeing the game, I realised I ‘needed’ an
Old School project; however, I wanted to try and avoid
adding to my mountain of unpainted lead figures and
old unused armies which I had so lovingly amassed
over the years.
2022. My first thought was to go for 25/28mm figures in
the slender Old School style (I’m not a fan of ‘heroic
scale’ 28mm miniatures) such, as those produced
by RSM95 in the USA, and more recently those of
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 13
 LACE WARS IN TIN

RIGHT Minden, Fife & Drum and Crann Tara Miniatures.

Front & rear Another option was home casting, which I had not
views showing
semi-flat really done before, using the Prince August 40mm
proportions, semi-flat moulds, I was attracted by the idea of doing
figures are from something a bit different, so decided to try and recycle
the new SYW
range. my unpainted lead, and old figures (nothing classic)
into an Old School army.
BELOW RIGHT Prince August’s (PA) original range of 18th century
Mould PA3105
used to cast 40mm moulds were designed by Holger Eriksson,
Austrian infantry, who was also the sculptor of many of the Spencer
showing Smith range of 30mm figures, which adorn the pages
separate heads
and arm for the of the classic books Charge and The War Game, so PA’s
march attack moulds ticked quite a few Old School boxes.
figure, and
also the recess
where the PTFE CASTING AROUND
insert is located. If you have not come across PA’s moulds before, it’s
worth a few words to explain what is meant by ‘home
BOTTOM
RIGHT casting’ and ‘semi-flats’. Home casting is carried out
Karoliner figures using simple gravity fed moulds, with the metal is
(PAI903 & 904) melted in a small smelter or pan and then poured into
painted as Wild
Geese infantry in the circular ingate at the top. Gravity does the rest with
French service. the metal filling in the figure. The moulds generally have
space to accommodate either two foot figures or a single
mounted figure. The casting process is relatively simple,
but too involved to discuss in this article, for details visit
the PA website where there are several tutorial videos. It’s
worth noting that, I have a lot of wargaming friends: all of
them used to have a lot of old figures – both painted and
unpainted – which they had no plans to use or sell. Well,
they don’t have them any longer... They have all been
melted down and recast into my Seven Years War armies:
my bit for recycling! I suspect perhaps 75% of my 40mm
armies are recast from old unloved figures.
Semi-flats are perhaps better described as ‘half-
‘scrap’ lead. I found some of the Holger Eriksson range
quite hard to cast, and the resulting castings often needed
a lot of cleaning up; also detail is low profile, which is not
surprising as the master figures were carved out of wood.
This meant much of the detail needed to be painted
on without the benefit of raised features, so – although
having the right Old School feel – I decided it would be
too much work to use them to build whole armies.
The later Karoliner range, which was sculpted by
Chris Tubb (the magazine did an interview with Chris in
issue 421. Ed.) who is working on their current ranges,
are in many cases updated versions of the Holger
Eriksson figures, so retain much of the charm of the
older figures – and although still semi-flat – are a little
more rounded, better detailed, and easier to cast and
paint: I went for those.
THE RANGES
Both ranges represent early 18th Century Swedish
armies, with waist belts worn outside of the coats. These
uniforms are also close in style to those worn by mid-
18th century French, so PA also sell the Karoliner range
as ‘French Regiments of 1750’ and ‘Irish Wild Geese’;
however, they are just the same moulds in different
packaging. Wanting something mid-century I set about
building myself a French army using the Karoliner
range, and to oppose them, a Prussian army using the
same moulds, accepting that figures with belts outside
the coats were not correct; but the best available.
Between seeing the the Sittangbad game in 2006
and 2013, I put together a large collection of 40mm

round’: they are far more substantial than the old

German flat figures, but still noticeably flattened. The
flattening is primarily to help both the mould making
and the home casting processes, both of which need
to avoid significant undercuts. Odd as it might sound,
after a while you probably won’t even notice that they
are not fully round, but they are imposing!
I took the plunge, purchased a few moulds from both
Prince August’s original Holger Eriksson and more recent
Karoliner ranges and cast some test figures using my

14 Miniature Wargames October 2023

semi-flats, which were regularly used for wargaming,
including contributing to a well-received group display
game at the 2012 Sheffield Triples wargames show.
BOYS FROM THE BLACK STUFF
In 2012 PA added some new moulds to the Karoliner
range. It was good to see the range extended, but many
of the new figures were in poses which would not fit
very well into wargaming units. In the hope of steering
PA towards the types of figures I wanted for my personal
use I contacted them, suggesting they were be missing
out on sales to a significant wargaming market. I also
asked them to consider adding moulds to fill the gaps
in the range, by adding figures such as Austrian Grenz,
grenadiers in bearskins, and Prussian fusiliers in their
distinctive mitre caps... even if just a moulds to allow
casting some extra heads to allow collectors to cut off the
old heads and replace with the missing troop types.
I was surprised when Prince August replied to me
with the welcome news that they were planning a new
range of 40mm semi-flats specifically covering the Seven
Years War. I was also asked if I would be willing to
make suggestions as to what figures to produce and
give advice on their uniforms etc; I selfishly saw this as
an opportunity to get the figures I wanted, so jumped
at the chance! I’m still working on the range over ten
years later I did not realise just how much time and
effort it would entail!
THE SEVEN YEARS WAR RANGE
The troops which took part in the Seven Years War
(7YW) wore a wide variety of uniform styles; so,
clearly it’s not viable for PA to produce – or for
wargamers to – buy separate moulds for every different
combination of clothing, headgear and weaponry.
From the onset the aim of the range has therefore been
to produce a relatively small range of moulds which
ABOVE would allow casting of a wide enough range of figures
Display game at to assemble most 7YW wargames armies, without
2012 Sheffield
Triples Shown getting too concerned about minor detail such as cuff
mostly Karoliner styles, which can just be painted on.
figures.
BELOW INFANTRY
Prussian The chosen way forward was to ‘mix and match’ the
infantry figures, so although (for marketing reasons) a mould
(PA3101) with
interchangeable might be labelled ‘Prussian Officer’, the intention is
heads, showing that it be used in other armies; this approach is based
location of PTFE on two concepts:
former to make
socket for head.
◗ The lower parts of all the infantry bodies are
sculpted with the legs in a similar stance, allowing
figures to be swapped between units and still
maintain a uniform Old School marching style.
◗ The heads are interchangeable, allowing the same
basic infantry bodies to be used for more than one
type of infantry. For example the Prussian infantry
bodies can be assembled as musketeers, fusiliers,
grenadiers, guard etc. This is achieved by inserting
re-usable PTFE rods into the moulds to form a socket
in the body to accept the peg on the head.
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 15
 LACE WARS IN TIN

In the past PA has not considered wargamers as part RIGHT

of their target market: many of their older figure poses Prussian
grenadiers,
– although individually attractive – do not fit neatly again same
into units for use on the wargames table. In contrast, moulds (PA3101,
the poses of the new figures have been designed with 3102 & 3103);
painted as
wargamers as their main users, whilst hopefully still Prussian guards
appealing to their traditional market. (2nd battalion
To make the figures wargame friendly, all the IR#15) so that
I could give
infantry figures are sculpted to neatly rank up on them a flag,
20mm wide x 30mm deep bases (which is what I as grenadier
had used previously). The poses chosen for the first battalions did not
carry them.
infantry releases were based on the advancing infantry
in the Irish Wild Geese range (I-903 & I-904), which
was the figure I used most often in my Karoliner RIGHT
Prussian march
armies, but now with the musket held at a steeper attack infantry
angle so that they are not at risk of bayonetting the (PA3102, 3103 &
troops in front in the back of the head. 3104) painted as
Prussian Guards
(1st battalion
IR#15) with
Grenadier Guard
(IR#6) alongside
- who could
resist?

LEFT
Prussian
musketeers
advancing
(PA3101, 3102 &
3103). Unfortunately, the resulting figure is too tall to fit
in a mould, so the musket and left arm must be cast
separately: assembly is quite easy, so well worth the
small amount of extra effort.
Next came the Austrian fusiliers; to minimise the
LEFT number of moulds needed, ‘Prussian’ moulds are
Prussian
fusiliers, using used for the command figures, with Austrian heads
the same moulds substituted. Unlike the Prussians, the Austrian fusiliers
(PA3101, 3102 & did not carry a sword, so a new mould has been provided
3103).
for the rank-and-file figures, this has both the advancing
BELOW RIGHT and march attack poses, plus the heads needed both for
Austrian these and to convert the command figures.
fusiliers;
rank and file The sequence adopted above for the first five releases
cast from demonstrates the approach taken to maximise the
the Austrian use of each mould. At the time of writing (June 2023),
infantry mould
and command there are now about twenty infantry moulds available,
from ëPrussianí which allow the casting of ‘close order’ infantry units
command for Prussia, Austria, Hungary, Russia and France.
moulds (PA3105,
The first three moulds to go on sale (PA3101, 3102 3101 & 3102) with
& 3103) back in 2014 were Prussian infantry, these replacement
contained six figures to allow casting of an officer, heads.
standard bearer, drummer, non-commissioned officer
and two rank and file figures. Below are photos of a
units cast from these moulds, with different heads
fitted to represent musketeers, fusiliers, and grenadiers.
After releasing the first three moulds, it was decided
to add an infantry figure in the march attack pose;
you couldn’t really have 7YW armies without infantry
striding out with shouldered musket. This figure has
the same leg position as the earlier figures, so the same
command figures can be used.

16 Miniature Wargames October 2023

BELOW Moulds are also available to make light infantry such
Austrian as pandours, frei korps and jager. The remaining major
Dragoons
(PA3126) gap in the infantry moulds is for the British, which
hopefully will be added in the future.
CAVALRY
Cavalry from the various nations was mostly equipped
in a similar manner, the main types being cuirassiers,
dragoons and hussars. Although nations had similar
types of cavalry, there was quite a lot of variation in
uniform, particularly in the styles of head dress; to
minimise the number of moulds needed, the mix and
match approach was used again.
Each mould has only, space for a single mounted
figure, making it more difficult to add variety. For the
cavalry units, it was decided to include figures for an
officer, a standard bearer, a musician, and troopers.
Separate heads are again provided: I find the heads
included in the dragoon moulds to be on the small
side, so I use heads from the infantry, with which they
are interchangeable. There are separate right arms to
allow the use of outstretched arms in various positions
(in a one piece castings these would not be robust
enough for the mould making process), and carbines to
give the option of carrying them or not.
The use of multiple parts does mean the models
need a fair bit more assembly time, however the
results are worth the extra effort. Using separate
right arms also allows the same horse and body to be
used for more than one purpose: for example in the
dragoons the trooper and standard bearer are the same
basic figure but with different arms.
As an example of how the mix and match approach
can be used, the dragoon figures can be used to make
horse grenadiers. The head with bearskin is the most
obvious change, but also they had a trumpeter rather
than the drummer of the dragoons. This is made using
the dragoon officer and the arm from the cuirassier
trumpeter, the alternative arm position (which I much
prefer), also uses an arm from the cuirassiers.
There are also generic hussars and Austrian
cuirassiers available. Unfortunately there is an issue
with the large size of the cuirassiers, which do not fit
in with the rest of the range, hopefully Prince August
will be rectify this in the future.
ARTILLERY
A single artillery set is available. The basic model is an
Austrian 6pdr gun, but to increase the usefulness of
the set additional barrels are provided for an Austrian
7pdr howitzer, a Prussian light 12pdr gun and a
Russian 12pdr unicorn; all of which were
mounted on similar size carriages. There
is also a smaller gun in the Karoliner
range which can be used as the smaller
calibre battalion guns.
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 17
 LACE WARS IN TIN
ABOVE In order to avoid the need to represent the different
Gun with barrel uniforms of all the different nations it was decided to
for a Prussian
light 12pdr model a generic crew for the artillery in shirtsleeves,
(PA3117) and along with heads for the main nations, including
shirtsleeve crew bombardiers in Russian and Prussian service (I am
(PA3118 & 3119).
still trying to convince PA to produce another generic
RIGHT set dressed in full coats, which again will only be
Austrian dragoon
(PA3126) and
distinguished by their head types).
Karoliner cavalry
(PAS931) painted FUTURE PLANS
as a Russian The range now includes moulds to cast most of the
cuirassier; with
the replacement troop types from the armies of Prussia, Austria/
SYW head they Hungary, Russia and France, although within these
now mix pretty ranges there are still a few types missing, such as:
well.
◗ Prussian cuirassiers: however, there are figures
available in the older Rossbach range which look
fine with a little conversion work to give them new
heads.
◗ Russian cavalry (belts outside coat): this time a head
swap for cavalry from the Karoliner range does the
job.
◗ Artillery crew in coats rather than shirt sleeves.
Hopefully Prince August will fill these gaps in the
future. Currently there are no dedicated British figures,
however – at the time of writing – Prince August
have just started sculpting these, starting with some
highlanders.
MIX N’MATCH
Can you mix the new SYW figures with PA’s older
ranges? The new Seven Years War range are in general
slightly larger and a little more ‘rounded’ than the
older ranges, however not so much that they will not
mix with some of them. The SYW range has been a
long time in the making, and is still incomplete; so,
over the years I have converted some of the older
figures to fill in the gaps, this has particularly been the
case with the cavalry.
A good example is the Karoliner charging cavalry
figure (PAS931), which was the mainstay of my older
Karoliner armies, the size is similar, but the rider’s
heads are very different, the new 7YW heads are much
18 Miniature Wargames October 2023
better detailed and slightly larger. Swapping the heads
is not a major task, just cut off the old head, drill a hole
and slot in a new one; the resulting figure – although
not as well detailed as the new range – still fits in
nicely, and is useful for cavalry such as the Russians
(which had waist belts outside their coats: a troop type
not currently available in the new range).
WARGAMING WITH 40MM SEMI-FLATS
Can you game with these figures? Of course:
ORGANISING FIGURE UNITS
It might be thought that these 40mm figures need a big
table to play on. That isn’t really the case, but I think
a large table full of them does look rather splendid.
The figures are semi-flats, so the width of the infantry
figures is no more than full-round 28mm figures, and
the cavalry is less, allowing 20mm wide bases to be used
for both infantry and cavalry. The bases do need to be a
bit deeper than for 28mm, though: I’ve found 30mm for
infantry and 60mm for the cavalry to work well and – as
discussed above – the figures are designed to fit neatly
into units on these base sizes. This is a period of linear
warfare, so even with the deeper bases the units are only
60mm deep, so it’s not usually an issue with rule sets.
After a lot of soul searching, I decided to organise
my infantry so that they could be used either as a
single 32-figure regiment, for use to Old School rules
such as Charge and The War Game, or as two 16-figure
battalions for use using more recent rules, which is
how they are mostly used . The cavalry is in 8 figure
units with the same frontage as the infantry, which
keeps things nice and neat.
PAINTING & BASING
As can be seen from the photo of the artillery crew,
these figures can look very smart if painted using
multiple highlights and facial details, however that
is not the route I have taken in my armies, for three
reasons:
◗ I wanted to keep the project Old School and shiny.
◗ I did not want to spend too much time on individual
figures.
◗ I can’t paint that well anyway!
 I generally went for a very basic painting scheme
with just block colours and a high gloss finish. The
two-coat gloss finish comprised a first coat of sprayed
gloss (car paint), which I find prevents the runs which
sometimes occur with a first brush on coat of varnish,
and then a second brushed coat of Tamiya gloss (I am
told yacht varnish works just as well and a lot cheaper,
those little jars don’t go all that far on these figures)
– which really puts a shine on them! I do however
cheat a little and apply a wash (Winsor & Newton Peat
Brown) over a few small areas, just the faces, hands,
and metalwork on the mitre caps to bring out the detail
in these areas.
Having gone for a simple paint system on the
figures, I use an even simpler basing system: just green
emulsion paint (Dulux 77YY13238), which has the
advantage that it can also be used for the games table
and the terrain. There is however a real downside to
this method: the bases to the figures are exposed, so
any miscast bases will really stand out. This means that
any figures with a miscast base must be thrown back
into the melting pot and recast: miscast bases are more
noticeable than imperfections on the figures. Also –
with the bases exposed – then misaligned bases really
stand out, so I made a template to align the figures.
I’m very happy with the way it has all turned out:
When we put on a participation game at the 2022
Hammerhead show it was very well received. There is a
YouTube video of the game on the following link: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL4RiFlOq3k
I generally use the same terrain as for my 25/28mm
figures. For the Hammerhead show I 3D printed some
German/Austrian buildings at 28mm. They look fine as
they are: adding an additional 40% to scale them to 40mm
would make them impractical for gaming purposes.
WHICH RULES DO I USE? BELOW
It varies depending on the plan... Another shot by
the Editor of the
Battle of Prague
OLD SCHOOL WARGAMING game using the
The new Seven Years War range are a development of Author's figures.
the Holger Eriksson’s semi-flats. His Spencer Smith
figures 30mm figures feature prominently in the
classic wargames books (Charge and The War Game
etc) so Old School was my original plan. The rules are
still available in paperback reprint, but – if you don’t
mind the extra cost – treat yourself to a second-hand
hardback: they look so much better on your bookshelf!
The rules in both books use large units, which
certainly look very impressive, however – to get the
benefit of the large units – you do need a big table (as
you would do with 28mm figures!). We dallied with
Old School rules for a couple of years, but found them
‘hard work’, needing a lot of time to play, and we
rarely finished a game. As a result we don’t use them
much now. The thing is, I really want to make them
work, but... perhaps – now I’m retired – I just need find
likeminded opponents who also have lots of time on
their hands?
MORE RECENT RULES-SETS
Having given the Old School rules a fighting chance
I decided to go for more recent sets. As a wargaming
‘butterfly’, I seem to flit around a lot with the rules,
any of those suggested below give a good game, and I
am sure there are many more out there. All the rules I
currently use have much smaller units, typically based
around four stands to a unit, so my units are organised
with 16 figures in the infantry and 8 in the cavalry.
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 19
 LACE WARS IN TIN
Field of Battle 3
By Brent Oman; FoB3 is an interesting set of rules based
on the Piquet rules system. They use a card driven
variable move sequence, the card system does not
restrict players to moving single units at a time, instead
allowing actions such as moving, firing or rallying
across the whole army, which means they work just as
well with multiple player games as they do with a one-
to-one match up.
Maurice
by Sam Mustafa, Maurice are an enjoyable set: Again
the action is card driven, however this time activation
is by groups of units rather than the whole army, so
I feel they are better suited to one player per side
than multi-player games. They also contain a simple
campaign system. A ‘lite’ version of Maurice is
available for free download from his website.
A Gentleman’s War
AGW by Howard Whitehouse is another card driven
set. They are primarily aimed at the late 19th century
period, but also contain also 18th century rules. They
are card driven with activation based on groups of
units rather than whole armies, so again work better
with just one player per side. They are however really
good fun, so if you have a group who don’t mind
waiting their turn to move, give them a go. For the
multi-player participation game at Hammerhead in
2022 we used these rules, but replaced the card driven
sequence to a simple alternate move system, which
worked well.
20 Miniature Wargames October 2023
King of the Battlefield
Ian Godwin’s KotB is another really good – and fun – set
of rules. If you want to fight a big multi player battle
quickly, these have a very streamlined combat system
which combines all firing and morale onto a unit into a
single roll of the dice, making the game very fast moving.
Commands and Colors (it’s American)
CoC by Richard Borg are hex based board games which
translate very well to figure based games. I recently
put on a participation game based on the Commands
& Colors Napoleonic set, using a mat marked up in
180mm hexes to suit my 160mm wide units; the only
significant changes I made were to give infantry in
line a better chance of standing up to a cavalry charge
without the need to form square, and limited the
abilities of artillery – it worked very well. (Conrad Kinch
is a champion of these rules in his Send 3 and 4 Pence
column: see previous issues. Ed.)
CONCLUSION
The Seven Years War range now includes the moulds to
cast figures for the majority of the troops in the armies
of Prussia, Austria, Russia and France. There are still
a few gaps, but hopefully these will be filled by future
ABOVE releases. Alternatively fill the gaps using conversions
A shot by the from Prince August’s older ranges. Although 40mm
Editor of the high, these are semi flats, and will fit on the same base
Author's 40mm
semi flats at widths as 28mm figures, meaning they can be used
Hammerhead with the same table size and rules as would be used for
2022. ‘normal’ 28mm games.
There are now a lot of moulds in the range and more
to come, so to buy them all would be a significant
outlay. If you want to give it a try I would suggest start
small with just a few moulds. Three moulds would
allow casting of the infantry your chosen nation, with
moulds for Prussians, Austrians, Hungarians, Russians
or French currently available, and if you fancy
‘imagination’ armies you could make do with just that
one set to do the lot. If you decide to progress further
then adding the dragoon and the artillery moulds you
can put together a couple of good starter armies.
If you have not cast before I would suggest you visit
the Prince August site and look at the helpful videos to
see what equipment is needed, and how to safely cast
the figures, you must remember that you are working
with molten metal.
Details of the 40mm SYW semi-flat ranges can be
found on Prince August’s website: princeaugust.ie
The website also has full details of the Karoliner and
Rossbach ranges, some of which can be used alongside
the SYW moulds, plus videos showing how to safely
cast your own figures.
And finally, if you are interested in learning more
about this project, there is a fuller history of how this
range has developed, and future plans, then please visit
and comment on my blog. lacewarsintin.blogspot.com ■
 8 YEARS
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PENINSULAR 10MM
◗ pendraken.co.uk
◗ £3.20 - £6
Although they make models in a
few other scales – 6mm 15mm and
28mm specifically – it’s fair to say that
Pendraken have rather made 10mm
their ‘thing’. On that basis they have just
released some new Napoleonic Peninsular
figures in that very 10mm ‘scale’. As
I’m a bit of a stickler for measuring
things (moving on...) the models are
consistently 10mm to the eyes making
them 11mm to the top of their putative
heads and generally 12mm or so to
the top of their varying hats and so
they are pretty consistent. I would say
that they also fall into a good spot for
‘caricaturing’ by which I mean that –
unlike a lot of 6mm figures – their heads
are not egregiously huge yet they are
still big enough to paint and – in this
respect – they are as good (or maybe
better) – than some ‘15mm’ figures
(which we all know are really 18mm
nowadays...)
As to the actual figures themselves,
they come in packs with a varying
size and mix so (for example) a British
Light Infantry, firing including a small
command pack has 16 figures with 13
foot (in two poses), 1 officer, 1 musician,
and 1 standard for £3.20 whereas a
Portuguese Line Infantry in Barretina pack
has 30 figures in two poses and costs £6.
There are lots of Brits and Portuguese to
chose from plus a similar mix of Spanish
and Brunswickers. Detail is very good
and price is excellent. Maybe a real
‘sweet spot’ for small armies can be
found with Pendraken’s 10mm ranges.
Highly Recommended.
DESERT DWELLINGS &
CLASSICAL ROMAN
◗ brigademodels.co.uk
◗ £2 - £4
This time we have some small buildings
from Brigade Models in two different
genres and scales. We’d normally want to
put these in Quartermaster but... well space
and layout constrains are what they are.
First off lets’ look at some Roman
buildings from their Small Scale
Scenery range which is in about 1/1000
(and often used with their 1/1200th
Aeronef range). There’s a handsome
one piece Roman Baths Complex, based
on a reconstruction of the ones in
Weißenburg in Germany. It has the
distinctive vaulted roofs and a circular
laconicum. This is about 70mm wide
and cast in cream resin. Next is the
Mausoleum (or ‘Rotunda’) of Galerius
from Thessaloniki, Greece. Lastly the
Porta Nigra, or ‘Black Gate’ from Trier in
Germany was built as the largest of the
four gates in the city walls. This would
go well with walls that Brigade already
make in this range. All are £2 to £2.50.
Going up in scale and changing to
(maybe) Tatooine (or similar) we have
three Desert Domes in their 1/300th
range. The tallest is the Medium Domed
Tower (£2.50): a squat domed structure
at 45mm tall and 40mm wide at the
buttresses. The Open Roofed Dome (also
£2.50) is about 65mm wide and has a
low roofless dome and two smaller (and
one taller) towers. Finally the Warehouse
Dome (£4) is an 80mm wide oval dome.
All are well sculpted and cast in one
piece in cream resin. Recommended.
22

A WARGAMING RETROSPECTIVE
◗ caliverbooks.com
◗ £26.50
This new release from Caliver is called
A Wargaming Retrospective and is
subtitled From Pre-WW2 Onwards and
– in a world that contains the phrase –
“it does exactly what it says on the tin” I
could almost leave the review there. But
– of course I won’t...
As Mr Grant says in the forward, the
book contains the reminiscences of his
late father, Charles Grant, their friends
and memories. It is copiously illustrated
with photos of both people and ‘toys’ in
varying quality as – what with the passage
of time – one would surely expect.
The book begins its 140 or so pages
with the Foreword and Introduction
and then a piece on Mr Grant’s Father,
Charles Grant (Senior) and includes a
piece on the interaction with the Callan
TV show. The next chapter – entitled
Teddy Bears or Soldiers? – deals with the
choices of a young Charles growing
up and the following chapter – Short
Trousers – continues that theme. The next
chapter – Sandhurst – followed by the
three chapters from the 70’s to the 90’s
– covers wargaming (especially for Mr
Grant) as the century progressed.
The next four chapters are entitled A
Selection of Big Battles, A New Century -
“The Noughties”, Small Actions, and 2008
Onwards - Changing the Guard and cover
a number of topics including skirmish
games and Charles use of Imagi-nations.
The final chapters are a rather
sweet inclusion of his grandson and a
round up plus a bibliography. Highly
Recommended.
TALES OF DERRING DO
◗ caliverbooks.com
◗ £27.50
Caliver have yet another new set of
rules out from – again – the prolific
pen of regular contributor Chris Swan,
although he had help from Mike Blake
and Ian Colwell. Tales of Derring Do is
a set of rules aimed at adventuring in
a Pulp World (gleaned from magazine
and dime novels etc).
Starting with the format, it’s a ‘bigger
than A5’, soft-back in full colour and is
illustrated with lots of pictures (some
of which I er... recognise so they are
obviously good!) and
illustrations from pulp
comics which is highly
evocative of the general
feel of the product. It’s over
180 pages long including
the play sheets in the
back. It’s worth noting
that Caliver also offer a
Support Pack of 36 pages
with more characters and
settings; Pirate and Cowboy details;
extra adventures; Solo and Collaborative
play rules; plus the Quick Reference
sheets and copies of the main Card set
(which is printed in the book) but on
actual card which is a great idea. But I’m
getting ahead of myself so back to the
main book...
Split into seventeen main chapters
plus 40 odd pages of add-ons, we
start with Chapters 1 and 2 covering
an Overview and the Basics. Like all
of Chris’s rules (as far as I remember)
they use a D10 system. The next four
chapters cover Movement, Actions,
Observation, Shooting and Fighting along
with their effects.
We then have Examples of Play
(with the ‘Tales of Jack Hazard’) and a
selection of Stock Characters. Next we
have Equipment; Planes Trains and
Automobiles; Animals; Exploration,
Gadgets; The Occult; Superpowers
(varying types of classic powers, all with
a ‘weakness’) and Characters.
The last main section covers settings:
Savage Lands (think King Soloman’s
Mines); The Mysterious
Orient (lots of Fu Manchu);
Lost Civilisations and Other
Worlds (with a sprinkle of
Ming the Merciless types);
The War against Crime (Mob
Mosses abound); The World
at War; and Creatures from the Shadows.
It’s a rule set with a lot of flexibility
and I’m hoping to have an example
scenario from Chris in the magazine
soon. If pulp is your bag (maybe you
enjoyed and want to play out the first
three or four Indiana Jones films...), this
covers a lot of ground. Recommended.
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 23
 REVIEWS
ELDER SCROLLS
◗ modiphius.net
◗ £39 - £43
Modiphius have sent in four boxed
sets of Elder Scrolls models for review.
All are in their usual flexible grey resin
(some in multiple parts) with bases in
32mm, with proportionate physiques
and highly detailed sculpting. All come
in nice boxes and are designed for
the Elder Scrolls rules (based on the
computer game of the same name) but
are suitable for any high fantasy genre.
First up are the Tyhalmos Patrol
(£43). There are six figures in the box
with an Interrogator and a wizard, two
Justicar archers and a pair of Justicar
warriors. The chaps in charge are
fairly sinister looking fellows in long
hooded cloaks whereas the four person,
back-up security team are in very
fine, full armour (some with helmets)
with heavily textured weapons and a
surfeit of surface detail, fluting etc. The
armoured figures are very pretty.
Next up are the Thieves Guild (£43).
24 Miniature Wargames October 2023
Again there are six figures: led by Mercer
Frey, assisted by Delvin Mallory and
Brynjolf they are a devious looking bunch
with a mix of sexes, some double armed
and most wearing light armour. They are
backed by Vex (a lockpicking specialist),
Niruin the archer and the outcast Karliah.
The animation of these models is simply
excellent: the crouched archer and the
chap on one knee preparing to throw a
dagger are superb and some of the facial
sculpts are stunning.
Third box in this release is the
College of Winterhold (£43). Another
half dozen of models feature a
collection of wizarding types. Led by
their master of magic Savos Aren, the
mages of the College include Mirabelle
Ervine, who assists her fellow mages
with her teaching. They have several
students including J’zargo and Colette
who specialises in healing rather than
fisticuffs. With Ancano the Adviser and
Faralda, the College Guardian these make
an interesting team. I’ll confess that I
don’t know the ‘lore’ that underpins the
story line for Elder Scrolls but – judging
from the models – these do have a heavy
flavour of almost cos-players meet Harry
Potter... The Cat headed creature and
the female figure with twin pony-tail
hair kind of adds to all of that but I guess
it’s quite representative of early D&D
games and they’d make great figures for
that. Some of the models feature spells
‘in action’ (plasma balls and what-not to
paint) which is fun and should challenge
the brush skills of the owner.
Last box in this review is the Draugr
Scourges (£39). This Five figure box has
three powerful Draugr Scourges which
serve as the elite foot soldiers of their
master, the Draugr Scourge Lord. Reigning
over all of them is the Draugr Death
Overlord: most powerful and dangerous
of all Draugr in their easy-to-understand
power structure. I would describe these
figures as ‘half armoured’: some have
elaborate horned helmets and all are
heavily armed with axes and bows.
sometimes slung as a back up weapon.
All of these models come with well
detailed, sculpted circular resin bases.
Highly Recommended.
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 COMMAND DECISION

COMMAND DECISION

THE PERFECT
SCENARIO
Game creation for any
time period
Words and pictures by Jon Sutherland

This month Command Decision takes a different turn ABOVE frustrating. In my Command Decision articles I’ve
and ponders on how to create the perfect scenario for your The Battle always tried to come up with some imaginative games
of Hastings
valuable gaming time. largely set up mechanics to set up and run the game and give players
historically. a chance to re-run the scenario several times with
Players had to

O
ver the course of writing over a hundred
Command Decision articles, I’ve often pondered
on what it takes to create the ideal scenario. No one
wants a slow moving game with minimal movement,
lack of opportunities to shoot up the enemy and disrupt him. If
you are playing a game in a particular historical period, you also
want it to look and feel like the real thing. Equally if you into are
fantasy or science fiction gaming you might want to emulate
the world you set your games in, whether that’s Middle Earth,
Donaldson’s The Land or Klendathu, or the Arachnids’ home
planet in Starship Troopers.
It’s not easy to get the balance right. Sticking to
realism doesn’t mean the game has to be slow or
different challenges each time.
place order chits
beside each unit
at the beginning HISTORICAL IS BEST...
of the turn ...well maybe? As a new wargamer in the ‘70s, I was
committing them
to a particular guilty of having an Allied WWII army consisting
action. entirely of Pershing and Sherman Firefly tanks. How else
was I going to challenge my opponents’ armies stuffed
with JS2 or Tiger 2 tanks as we battled on the carpet in
my front room? It’s really little different from what DBA
players have been doing for decades when they use
their New Kingdom Egyptians in a competition game
against a Burgundian Ordnance army. Within reason,
non-historical wargames are much more practical for

26 Miniature Wargames October 2023

the wargamer with little time to spare. The “on the
hoof” scenario doesn’t need any background ready and
waiting, or any preparation made and you can use the
figures and vehicles you’ve managed to get painted up.
The trouble is, of course, that having lovingly created a
1939 Polish 74th Upper Silesian Infantry Regiment you
find yourself facing elements of the 1944-5 II SS Panzer
Corps. A nasty surprise indeed.
Being practical, even modern-ish battles are difficult
to research in terms of numbers, capabilities, timing
and terrain. The further you go back in time, the less
likely that any of the details are better than a guess or
a hunch. It does make historical games difficult to get
right. After all, why did a commander attack there,
stop here, dig in along there, or fall back to here? What
did they know that you don’t know? And – more likely
– you know more than they did.
KEEP IT MOVING...
...perhaps? We’ve all played games where we’re
expected to sit tight and shoot the hell out of an on-
rushing enemy. It’s not a lot of fun. If the attackers can
dart from cover to cover, even the shooting isn’t very
satisfying. All that the defending player needs to do is
to roll to hit: few decisions are necessary.
At the other end of the spectrum is the encounter
fight. Theoretically this has got it all: movement, fire,
more movement and some ebb and flow. This is the BELOW
true art of manoeuvre. The trouble is that one force The height of
the battle at
often has a huge advantage and can grab the objectives Rourke’s Drift,
and the best terrain because they have Greyhound there are clear
Armoured Cars, a troop of Dragoons or a clutch of winners and
losers here, but
skirmishers. These encounter battles can quickly success can still
descend into a frontal assault with the slower side, be measured in
lacking the superiority in numbers it usually gets in a degrees.
frontal assault, being decimated by an enemy hiding
behind the best defensive positions. The loser of the
race can pretty much see the writing on the wall as
soon as the enemy grabs that dominant hill in the
centre of the table.
EQUAL POINTS...
... a simple solution, right? Equal points means balanced.
It means no advantages, and it ultimately means a
stalemate. It’s reasonable to assume that equal points
battles will eliminate an arms race where the faster
painter gets the advantage on the table just because
he’s got more units finished. I don’t like points based
battles: I have to say that some of the most turgid and
predictable wargames I’ve ever played were competition
games using WRG Ancients, Tercio Renaissance rules or
some of the early Newbury rule sets. It’s a bit like only
having a hammer to do every DIY job in the house or
having to play a round of golf with a single club.
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 27
 COMMAND DECISION

I’m a big fan of asymmetrical wargaming. Unbalanced ABOVE to encourage the players to move and manoeuvre; we
forces are a lot of fun. Each side has different sets of This is an want them to flip the axis of attack or to refuse that
unusual sight in
victory conditions. The larger force might be focused Darkest Africa obvious line of attack flank. I’ve played several games
on grabbing key objectives and destroying the enemy’s as German when players have refused the same flank and the
rearguard. The smaller force might be satisfied with Schutztruppe whole battle shifts forty-five degrees and the straight
accompanied
getting away intact, having delayed the larger force for by a steam tank lines of fences and hedges running along the length of
as long as they dare. scare off a pair the table now become a defender’s nightmare.
When I create a scenario I try and give both sides of giraffe. A Each terrain obstacle, should you choose to use it,
small command
a set of conundrums. Often they might be given with a clear can be mitigated by a little flexibility. If you only have
contradictory objectives, such as ‘take the village, but list of goals one bridge model, scatter some little stones somewhere
don’t lose any of your infantry regiments doing it’. I and objectives else on the river and call it a ford. Even better, negate
can get into a
like to build in vulnerabilities. What fun can you have lot of mischief
if you face a wall of determined enemy units and have if you make
no room to get around them? I often give the players several players’
objectives
fewer units than they are comfortable with to hold a similar or
line or launch an attack. It forces them to move units opposing.
around to cover the ground, inevitably there will be
ABOVE RIGHT
tempting gaps for the enemy to try and exploit. This is a French
Splitting the axis of attack is another way to keep fort somewhere
players on their toes. You can start the game off with in Canada.
Having a variety
one of the players on their back-foot. Try positioning of focal points
part of one player’s force “behind enemy lines” with the scattered
objective of helping them break out and make it back around the table
will keep players
to the base line or for the rest of his force to re-establish on their toes,
the line incorporating the position that was cut off. The distracted by
alternative is to position the lead elements of one player’s enemy moves
and wary of
army deep into enemy territory with instructions to being cut off
reinforce and deepen the breakthrough. The other player from supplies
has to then carefully execute their counterattacks. and a safe
haven.

TERRAIN...
...that’ll will sort it, right? Terrain can be a bane, because
– if we’ve got it – we tend to plonk it on the table. I
don’t advocate playing your games on what resembles
a cricket pitch or a child’s sand pit, but we often
unintentionally funnel our games into frustratingly
boring encounters by splitting the table in half with a
river and one or two bridges. Dominate the bridges and
you dominate the game. What’s the point of covering
your table with trees when both armies deploy dense
units of infantry or are cavalry-heavy armies?
To keep things fun, flowing and intriguing we want

28 Miniature Wargames October 2023

the value of the river by placing it further back towards BELOW
one side of the table and allow the player on that side A classic
scenario in
to have already crossed it. the American
If you want to use trees on your table, pepper them Civil War with
around the table just for aesthetic reasons and don’t converging
lines of infantry
count them as cover or obstacles. If you want to use supported by
trees as integral terrain items then have clearly defined artillery fight
boundaries. I find that an irregular flat shape with trees it out in the
countryside.
on it does away with arguments about whether units Here, the
are in or out of the trees and whether the tree model (as focus of Union
opposed to the extent of the woodland) is blocking line attention is a
salient that has
of sight. The simple expedient of plonking more trees developed in the
on one of these shapes indicates a thickly wooded area Confederate line.
and fewer trees open woodland.
Hills are often the cause of great debate and
consequent argument, so – in consequence – many
wargamers will opt for a fairly flat tabletop. Reverse
slopes can be handy to hide from an enemy with a lot
of artillery. A dominant hill covering a major objective
can become the focal point of the action. A hill covered
with trees is largely useless to both players and is
reduced to being an obstacle that all the units have
to move around. Again, aesthetically, hills make the
tabletop more interesting to look at: I often break up
otherwise flat terrain with little low rises that play no
real part in the terrain make-up of the table.
KEEP PACE OR...
...the ticking clock? We’re always a bit too optimistic
about how many turns we can fit in and are overly
confident about getting to a point where it is obvious
who has won or lost. Experience with a rule set should
inform you (to some extent) about how long it takes
per turn. I often find that setting a specific turn limit
rather than a time limit is more effective. Turn limits
focus the players’ minds because they know to win
they have to achieve particular goals within a certain
number of moves, not just to hold on until there’s only
ten minutes before you have to pack up for the night
and can call it a draw. A good trick is to force the pace.
Set the players a series of objectives: Take the village by
the end of turn 5; cross the bridge by turn 8; exit your
cavalry using the road on the left flank by turn 12.
I would also advocate a forward policy for scenario
design. Too many games are played with the players
spending the first four or five turns advancing onto the
table, grabbing the odd objective, but rarely seeing – let
alone firing – at the enemy. Start the armies in more
advanced positions, or at least double the movement
rates for the first couple of turns, it speeds
things up and means
the real ‘meat
and potatoes’
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 29
 COMMAND DECISION

ABOVE are delivered up far sooner without all the faff and
Games where disappointment of a garnish getting in the way.
alliances and
loyalties change
can create some RULES...
interesting ...well there’s just too many of them? In the quest for
situations. In
this case three a set of rules that allows you to recreate the precise
pirate captains conditions at Azincourt in the County of Saint-Pol,
combine to Northern France on St Crispin’s Day 1415, three hours
attack a French
pirate chasing after sunrise of course (and in the original spelling! Nice.
frigate. Dividing Ed.), you might be tempted to settle for something
up the spoils
rarely ends well...
laden with special rules, conditions and sub-clauses IN CONCLUSION
resembling one of the many EU Directives jettisoned The quicker you can get your army into combat the
ABOVE RIGHT by the UK. I’m a rules skimmer: if I can’t pick up the better, that’s what tabletop wargaming is all about
Two (Theo and gist of the mechanisms after a pretty cursory look, then and not faffing about with pre-deployment this that
Danny) of the
eight players it is consigned to a growing pile of hideously expensive and the other. It’s also the case that players will have a
deploying their mistakes... New rules can be unfamiliar enough tendency to do their own faffing about when it comes
forces in a huge without the added pain of working through pointless to setting up the game. Hesitation is an art-form. If you
Darkest Africa
game (note the mechanisms claiming to be historically accurate. I hang back for a minute or two your opponent might
Zeppelin). As for one don’t want to have to factor in the state of an plonk down their prize military asset and, forewarned,
well as having English archer’s digestive tract when calculating his you can set up to avoid it. A clear cut scenario with
to traverse the
table to reach accuracy on the battlefield. pretty precise deployment deals with all of that: neither
objectives, they The learning curve can be sharp if you are starting side will get what they want from deployment and
have traditional a new period with new toys like tanks or aeroplanes: the game will be richer as a result. The alternative is
enemies
(other players) that’s the sort of detail and unfamiliarity that is the make the more experienced gamer deploy first or,
and umpire acceptable... to a point. Introducing these new-fangled historically the better general on the day (now that
controlled native contraptions little-by-little eases the pain and makes the opens a big can of worms, doesn’t it?)
forces and
animals. scenario playable. You can also return to the scenario at Next month we’ll move towards actually playing a
a later date when you’ve got the hang of the rules. game and see how that goes! ■

30 Miniature Wargames October 2023

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 hey destroyed civilization –they landed in BELOW It sounds like the plot of a new Hollywood

“T huge vessels with strange powers. They looked

like us but were more pale and some had four
legs and two heads, with one of the heads
growing from a body in the middle of the back although
some said they were two separate beasts and the one in the
On the steps
of chaos: a
selection of
Wargames
Atlantic figures.
blockbuster about an invasion by aliens but that is
how it must have felt to the population of Mexico
when, over two tumultuous years, a small force of
Spanish adventurers and their local allies overthrew
the Aztec rulers of Mexico, destroying their empire and
middle rode on the other one’s back. They were accompanied beginning a reign by Spain which would not end until
by strange savage beasts which attacked our soldiers and 300 years later.
they wore armour which our weapons could not damage and Wargames Atlantic have recently produced two
used weapons which sounded like the end of the world and boxed sets of 28mm mutli-part hard plastic figures, one
killed a great many of us from a great distance – some of us of Conquistadors and one of Aztec Warriors, which
collaborated with them and became their allies, others became enable players to more easily than ever recreate these
their slaves and other tried to fight back but in the end we two terrible years and so it seemed a good time to
lost and civilisation as we knew it ended..” take a brief look at the campaign which led to such a

32 Miniature Wargames October 2023

The Spanish in Mexico 1519 – 1521
Words by Chris Swan. Photos by Jon Sutherland and Wargames Atlantic

it could explore any LEFT

further the expedition A Salute 2012
figure with a
was ambushed and its South American
survivors fled back to Cuba. Theme painted
Velázquez then by Kevin
Dallimore.
appointed his brother in
law, Hernán Cortés, to
lead an expedition to find
the source of this wealth.
Cortés gathered his force
and 11 ships to carry it
but Velázquez had
grown worried about
Cortés’s loyalty to him and so tried
to replace him and stop the fleet
from sailing. Cortés was alerted
to Velázquez’s plans and set sail
before he could be stopped.

DIVIDE & CONQUER

In March 1519 Cortés’s fleet
arrived off what is now
Tabasco. He was then told
by friendly tribes that there
were two Spanish survivors from a ship wreck living
with the locals. One of these, Geronimo de Aguilar
decided to join Cortés who thus gained an interpreter
who could speak Mayan and other local languages.
(The other allegedly stayed with the Mayans and fought
against the Spanish during their war with them in 1539.)
Then after defeating some other local natives Cortés
gained another valuable asset in the form of a woman
he called Marina and who became Cortés’s primary
interpreter, confidant, consort and the mother of his
first son. Cortés now found that he could speak to de
Aguilar in Spanish who would then translate his words
into Mayan for Marina who could then translate from
Mayan to N’ahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire.
After founding what would become Vera Cruz,
Cortés set off seeking the heart of the Aztec Empire.
His strategy was to convince local tribes and city
states to join him and in this he was successful as the
Totonacs quickly became allies. Then he suffered
his first set back. A number of his men plotted to
seize a ship and return to Cuba. He acted quickly,
seizing the five ring leaders, hanging two of them,
flogging two others and ordering the last to have his
foot mutilated. To make sure such a mutiny could not
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 33
 ALIEN INVASION
BELOW happen again he also decided to scuttle his ships thus
The pyramid blocking any chance of returning to Cuba.
of death.
Photo by Jon Cortés then resumed his march inland encountering
Sutherland. more of the indigenous peoples as he went. From 2nd
to 5th September 1519 he fought three battles with the
BELOW
RIGHT Otomi and the Tlaxcalans who he defeated and who
Jaguar Knights. then decided to join him against their Aztec overlords.
Figures and
photo by
Wargames MASSACRE & ARRIVAL
Atlantic. By now Cortés had received emissaries from the
Aztec Emperor Montezuma, who had sent rich gifts
and tried to persuade him to halt his march on the
Aztec Capital City of Tenochtitlan. In fact the richness
of the gifts only inspired him to continue, but he did
follow their advice and diverted his march to the city
of Cholula which was the second largest city in the
Aztec Empire and it’s most sacred.
What happened next is open to interpretation.
Cortés said that he learnt of an Aztec plot to kill
his men and led a pre-emptive strike against the
population to prevent it. Over a three hour period
his troops and his allies killed over 3,000 people
and looted the city. Cortés then sent emissaries to
Montezuma stating that the people of Cholula had
tried to betray him and he had punished them.
In response the Aztecs accused Cortés’s allies of
inflaming the situation and causing the massacre.
34 Miniature Wargames October 2023
Irrespective of the real cause of the massacre, it
demonstrated Cortés’s power to the other cities and
tribes allied with the Aztecs, as well to Montezuma,
who now decided that it would be best to accede to
his wishes. Thus, on 8th November 1519, eight months
after landing, Cortés and his force finally entered
Tenochtitlan, the island capital of the Mexica-Aztecs,
across one of its many causeways.
NEGOTIATIONS & PROBLEMS
Cortés and his followers took up residence in a palace
and were in negotiations with Montezuma when he
received news that Aztecs had attacked and killed 7
Spanish soldiers Cortés had left to guard his camp on
the coast. The fatalities included Cortés Constable,
Juan de Escalante, and many of his Totonac allies. So
Cortés seized Montezuma as a hostage against any
further attacks. Capturing the ruler of an indigenous
people had been standard procedure for the Spanish
in their conquests across the Caribbean, so capturing
Montezuma would have been considered to be a
sensible precaution by Cortés. Despite being a hostage,
Montezuma continued to act as Emperor although
many Aztecs now saw him as little more than Cortés’s
mouth piece.
Then Cortés was forced to leave Tenochtitlan and
return to the coast to deal with the threat of a second
Spanish expedition led by Pánfilo de Narváez. Narváez
had been sent by Velázquez to arrest Cortés. Leaving
Pedro de Alvarado in charge of Tenochtitlan, Cortés set
off with a small force and during a night attack he killed
Narváez. He then convinced the rest of Narvaez’s men
to join him by promising them great wealth.
However, when Cortés returned to Tenochtitlan in
late May 1520, he found that Alvarado and his men
had attacked and killed many of the Aztec nobility
during a religious festival. Alvarado claimed that
the Aztecs had planned to attack the Spanish in the
city once the festival was over so he had attacked
first. Cortés and his men entered a sullen and hostile
city and then the population rose en masse trapping
Cortés, his men and his allies in the palace along with
Montezuma. Cortés ordered Montezuma to speak to
his people and persuade them to let the Spanish return
to the coast in peace. The Spanish later claimed that
Montezuma was pelted with stones by his own people,
mortally wounding him. The Aztecs claimed that the
Spaniards killed him.
RETREAT FROM TENOCHTITLAN
Cortés now saw no alternative but to leave the city.
However, as the Aztecs had removed the bridges over
the gaps in the causeways across Lake Texcoco, Cortés’s
men built a portable bridge to get across the gaps.
On the night of 10thJuly 1520, and using a rain storm
as cover, the Spanish and their allies set out for the
mainland via the causeway to Tlacopan. Unfortunately
they were quickly detected and attacked from along
the causeway and from canoes on the lake. The retreat
quickly turned into a rout and the Spanish had to
cut their way through the masses of Aztec warriors
opposing them. Many were weighed down by their
armour and booty and fell off the causeway drowning
in the Lake. It is said that on reaching Tlacopan, Cortés
wept over his losses with the event later being called “La
Noche Triste” (The Night of Sorrows).
Cortés tried to regroup but on 14th July 1520, the
Aztecs attempted to destroy his much reduced force
at the Battle of Otumba. The battle was hard fought
but the Spanish infantry were able to hold off the
overwhelming numbers of enemy warriors, whilst the
Spanish cavalry charged the Aztec battle lines several
times before one of the Aztec leaders was killed,
at which point the Aztecs broke off the battle and
retreated.
RETURN & VICTORY
Cortés had little choice but to retreat back to the coast,
where over the next few months he rested his men and
rebuilt his army receiving reinforcements from Cuba
and Spain as well as over 10,000 native allies. He also ABOVE
built 13 brigantines, a sail and oar powered warship Warriors armed
with spears and
with 2 masts and between eight and twelve oars on māccuahuitl.
each side which he decided his allies would drag Photo and
overland. Cortés set off on his return march on 26th Figures by
Wargames
December 1520 and one by one the cities under Aztec Atlantic.
control fell to his forces.
Eventually only Tenochtitlan and the neighbouring
city of Tlatelolco remained unconquered.
Cortés arrived at Tenochtitlan in April 1520 to
find a weakened city as a year earlier his men had
unknowingly introduced smallpox into the population,
a disease against which they had no immunity. On 26th
April 1520 he launched his brigantines and effectively
seized control of the lake. He was also joined by another
60,000 allies seeking revenge against the Aztecs. Cortés
and his allies launched a series of attacks along the
causeways. The Aztecs led by their new Emperor
Cuauhtémoc resisted and the attacks were all beaten
back. Cortés then blockaded the causeways, cut off the
city’s food supply and destroyed the aqueduct carrying
water to the city. Despite this the siege dragged on for 4
months but eventually both Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco
surrendered on 13th August 1521.
Tenochtitlan had been almost totally destroyed
but the Spanish demolished what was left and began
laying the foundations of what would become Mexico
City. The surviving Aztecs were forbidden to live in
Tenochtitlan and its surrounding islands and were
banished to live in Tlatelolco.
The Aztec Empire had fallen and the Spanish
would rule Mexico until 1821. But what of Cortés,
the man who had overthrown an Empire and had
the blood of thousands on his hands? Well, he was
awarded the title of Marqués, made a Captain
General and given estates but was never awarded
the role he craved, the prestigious title of Viceroy of
Mexico, which was instead given to a high-ranking
Spanish nobleman, Antonio de Mendoza. In 1541
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 35
 ALIEN INVASION
Cortés returned to Spain, where six years later he died
in Seville aged 62 of natural causes. He was in debt
and was a bitter and broken man. His treatment is best
summed up by what happened on his return to Spain.
He was forced to push his way through a crowd of
courtiers to speak to the King, who asked him who he
was. “Your Majesty,” replied Cortés, “I am a man who
has given you more provinces than your ancestors left you
cities”. Such is the gratitude of Kings!
THE AZTEC WAY OF WAR
The term Aztec has come to represent all Mexican
peoples in that region but in reality they were not
indigenous to the area only arriving in what is now
Mexico during the 11th or 12th century. By the early
1300s they had founded the city of Tenochtitlan in
the centre of Lake Texcoco and by 1400 had grown
in power to become part of a triple alliance of cities
which dominated the area. The allies then began to
fight amongst themselves and by 1473 the Aztecs had
become the leading power with Tenochtitlan as the
capital of an Empire which controlled 38 other cities
and tribes. However, with a population estimated at
between 100,000 to 250,000 the Aztecs needed tribute
from their vassals to support them, not only with food
but also in luxury goods.
Aztec culture was therefore primarily focused on
ensuring the supply of tribute to maintain their way
of life but there was another necessity. The Aztecs saw
themselves as beloved of the Gods which meant retaining
the Gods’ blessings by ensuring that they were constantly
fed and the most important food for the Gods came
from the blood of human sacrifice. Thus the Aztecs were
constantly in a state of war with their tactics focused on
capturing slaves for sacrifice. This was also the focus of
many other Mesoamerican city states and they even went
so far as to stage ‘Flower Wars’ where two enemy forces
would agree a time and place for a battle and then fight to
obtain as many captives for sacrifice as possible.
It is estimated that the Aztecs could field an army of
over 40,000 warriors. On reaching the age of 15 all Aztec
males joined the army and were put into groups of
36 Miniature Wargames October 2023
youths led by a more experienced warrior. These groups
of novices were expected to capture 1 enemy warrior
and once this happened they were then expected to
make all further captures on their own. Those who
subsequently captured four enemies became full time
warriors and those who did not returned to civilian life.
Many warriors had no protection other than shields
made of wood or wickerwork, which were covered
in hide and which was often elaborately decorated.
Others wore a quilted jerkin or the quilted Ichchuipilli
– a form of tight fitting suit with short sleeves and legs
which ended at the knee. Both of these were stuffed
with cotton or maguey fibre and soaked in brine to
stiffen them. These warriors might also carry a shield.
The core of the army and the most colourful of the
Aztec warriors were the three Totem Knight societies,
the Knights of the Jaguar, the Knights of the Eagle and
the Knights of the Arrow. These wore the elaborate
head dresses or helmets of their society with their faces
showing through them, as well as colourful clothing
mimicking their chosen animal and worn over quilted
armour. War Captains wore even more elaborate
costumes with banners strapped to their backs ABOVE LEFT
decorated with feathers, gold and jewels. All warriors Warriors armed
with bows and
decorated their faces with red, white or black paint. tematlatl (or
The warriors were often accompanied into battle by sling). Photo
Aztec Priests who painted their face and bodies black, and Figures
by Wargames
matted their hair with human blood, mutilated their Atlantic.
ears, filed their teeth into points and made their eyes
bloodshot to show their religious devotion. ABOVE
Conquistadors
Although the Aztecs knew how to smelt iron they charge in.
used it as treasure preferring to fit obsidian shards Photo by Jon
to their weapons, which were effective against Sutherland.
their opponents but were less effective against the
Spaniard’s metal armour.
The principle missile weapons were the bow, sling
and javelins or darts. The latter were usually flung
using an Atlatl or spear thrower which could almost
double the weapon’s range and increased its velocity.
However, the Spanish most feared the sling as its
stones could break limbs or crack skulls even through
metal armour. Hand weapons included the javelin, a
wooden lance, the Maquahuitl which was a wooden LEFT
paddle shaped sword-club edged with obsidian Jaguar Knights
Command.
and a war club called the Macana. Some Aztec allies Photo by Jon
also used a two handed wooden weapon called the Sutherland.
Cuauhololli, which had a knob at one end and a two
foot obsidian edged blade at the other.
Aztec tactics were based on using skirmishers to shield
their advance and then throwing waves of warriors
at their opponents trying to break through their lines,
overwhelming them and capturing their most important
warriors and leaders for sacrifice. They also expected
their opponents to ‘abide by the rules’ and fight with
courtesy and chivalry and were caught out by the
Spaniard’s more brutal style of warfare.

SPANISH MIGHT
Most scholars now agree that whilst some of the
Conquistadors were soldiers, many of those who
went to Mexico had little or no previous military
experience. What they did have was a belief in their
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 37
 ALIEN INVASION
military and moral/religious superiority and a unity of
purpose: greed for riches and the need to win through or
die. In any case they were few in number. Cortés’s initial
military force only consisted of 400 men with 15 horses
and 10 heavy and 4 light cannons. Even when he had
received reinforcements and returned to Tenochtitlan he
only had 850 Spanish infantry and 60 cavalry.
His soldiers often carried shields or bucklers and
many wore a steel helmet such as a cabacete or morion.
For body armour, the richest wore a front and back
plate or occasionally three-quarter armour covering
their arms and thighs. The majority wore light armour
such as brigandines or jacks, a type of sleeveless canvas
doublet into which small plates of steel were stitched.
Others wore chain mail shirts. However, after months
of wear and tear many took to wearing native or Aztec
armour instead. This proved to be hard wearing and
very effective. One Spanish Captain is reputed to have
fought on with nearly 200 arrows stuck in his quilted
armour, none of which had caused any serious wounds!
For missile weapons they relied on crossbows and
Harquebuses. Although hard hitting, the men armed with
these weapons only ever made up a small proportion of
Cortés’s forces. Of his original 400 there were probably
no more than 50 men so armed and even when he was
reinforced, no more than 150 of his 850 infantry had such
weapons. It was other factors which won the conflict.
AZTEC PERSPECTIVE
Firstly, the Aztecs and other native peoples had never
seen a horse nor, more importantly, faced mounted
opponents. The speed and impact of the riders was
therefore out of all proportion to their numbers and the
Aztecs never really found a way to adapt their tactics
to face them. During the many engagements Spanish
Cavalry would charge into their enemies, ride through
them or away from them and then charge again, or
use their speed and manoeuvrability to bypass their
battle lines and hit their more vulnerable flanks and
rear. In addition, the Spanish took some of their deer
hounds and mastiffs with them. The Aztecs were in
38 Miniature Wargames October 2023
ABOVE awe of these beasts which stood nearly 30 inches high,
Jaguar Knights weighed over 90lbs and would readily attack an enemy
armed with
spears and warrior. They only dogs they were familiar with were
māccuahuitl. very small and were raised purely for food.
Photo and Secondly, the Aztecs had never faced cannon and
Figures by
Wargames had no weapons to match them. It was not only the
Atlantic. distance over which they could propel their destructive
power or the numerous casualties they caused but they
also had a psychological impact.. Aztec accounts relate
how at the sound of a cannon “the people scattered in
every direction: they fled without rhyme or reason... it was as
if they had eaten the mushrooms which confuse the mind ...
they were all overcome by terror”.
Thirdly, the bulk of the Spanish were sword and
buckler men who used a steel sword capable of being
thrust into an opponent. Aztec warriors had to use
cutting or chopping actions with their sword-clubs
which left them vulnerable to a weapon which could
be thrust into them piercing shields and armour.
Finally, Cortés proved adept at forging alliances with
other peoples who were willing to rebel against their
Aztec overlords supplying him with several thousand
auxiliaries both as warriors to fight alongside his men
and as porters to drag his cannon, brigantines and
supplies through the harsh Mexican terrain. Here his
two interpreters played keys roles and without them
perhaps none of the alliances would have been forged.
VICTORY
There are also a couple of other points which some
scholars have put forward to explain the scope of the
Spanish victory. They point out that the impact of the
smallpox epidemic on the population of Tenochtitlan
should not be underestimated. The Aztec chronicles
speak of thousands of deaths arising from an illness
they simply did not understand had no cure for. Then
there was the Aztecs’ reliance on omens to foretell
the future. The Aztec chronicles say that in the years
immediately preceding Cortés’s arrival eight omens
had appeared which led the Aztec priests to believe
that the end of their civilisation was coming. They
had passed their interpretation of these omens to
Montezuma which may explain his initial lack of action
and why the Aztecs subsequently failed to carry on
fighting after Tenochtitlan fell. They may have thought
that they could not challenge the will of the Gods.
THE FLIGHT OF THE PLUMED SERPENT
A Scenario of Bloodshed and Escape
Many Aztecs believed that Cortés and he men were
emissaries from one of their Gods, The Plumed Serpent,
which may explain their initial response to his arrival.
This scenario takes place the day after Cortés’s
flight from Tenochtitlan and involves a small group of
Conquistadors and their allies as they flee overland from
the city. They are being pursued but find themselves
confronted by a group of Aztec warriors led by a vengeful
priest who now stands between them and freedom. Can
they break though their foes before their pursuers arrive
and will they avoid capture and being used as a sacrifice
on the bloody altars of an Aztec Temple?
THE SCENE
The scenario can be played out on a 4’ by 4’ table.
The central area represents a clearing roughly 3’ in
diameter and is clear of cover except for two pieces
of bad going, each no more than 6 “ by 6” and neither
of which can be with 12” of the other. The remaining
6” area around the four sides of the table represents
thick scrub, trees and dense undergrowth, all of
which counts as bad going. An entrance through this
bad going 6” wide is on one table edge and another
entrance 6” wide is on the table edge directly opposite.
Place the Conquistadors and their allies 3” from one of
these entrances and the Aztecs 3” from the other.
OBJECTIVES
◗ The Conquistadors must get as many of their party
and their allies off the table via the entrance blocked
by the Aztecs.
◗ The Aztecs must stop them and try and take as many
of them captive as possible for sacrifice.
RULES
To play this scenario I have set out some generic
characters for players to use based on the By Crom!
Rules which can be found on this magazine’s web site
but any good set of one to one skirmish rules which
emphasises close combat with some missile fire can
be used such as Open Combat, the Tribal Rules with
its supplement, Brutal, or En Garde. The latter has a
selection of Conquistadors and Aztec characters in it.
Simply use my suggested forces and adapt them to fit
the rules set you are using.

The Conquistadors and their allies

9 characters none of whom are mounted nor do they have any war hounds with them (13 cards)
CHARACTER TYPE ACTION DICE REDUCED DICE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND SKILLS WEAPON OPTIONS
The Spanish Main Character 2D10 High 1D10 Dominant Brave Sword, Dagger
Captain 3 Cards Personality Fighter Partial Plate Armour DV2
Quick Witted
Spanish Veteran Supporting 1D10 2D10 Low Quick Witted Tough Crossbow, Sword, Dagger
Character Fighter Jack DV1
2 Cards
The Young Supporting 1D10 2D10 Low Rash Fighter Sword, Dagger
Adventurer Character Quick Witted Partial Plate Armour DV2
2 Cards
3 Soldiers Minor Characters 1D10 2D10 Low Ordinary Brawlers 1 has an Harquebus and dagger. The
1 Card each other 2 have Swords & Dagger.
All wear quilted armour OR shields DV1
3 Allies Minor Characters 1D10 2D10 Low Ordinary Surefooted 1 has a Bow. The other 2 have native
1 Card each weapons and shields or quilted armour
DV1

The Aztecs
10 characters (13 cards)
CHARACTER TYPE ACTION DICE REDUCED DICE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND SKILLS WEAPON OPTIONS
The Veteran Main Character 2D10 High 1D10 Natural Leader Brave Sword-Club
Warrior Knight 3 Cards Quick Witted Quilted Armour and Shield DV2
Fighter
2 Other Warrior Minor Characters 1D10 2D10 Low Brave Fighters Sword-Club
Knights 1 Card each Quilted Armour and Shield DV2
A Vengeful Priest Supporting 1D10 2D10 Low Fearsome Brave Dagger
Character Religious Fervour – any No armour DV0
2 Cards Aztecs within 12 paces
may reroll a failed move
which would take them
towards their enemies
6 Aztec Warriors Minor Characters 1D10 2D10 Low Ordinary Surefooted 2 may have slings.
1 Card each The others are equipped with a mix of
hand weapons and missile weapons:
Quilted Armour or Shields DV1
›
TIME FRAME
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 39
 ALIEN INVASION

BELOW The Conquistadors must break through their foes before more arrive. After 6 complete phases roll 1D10 to
Conquistadors determine how much time remains before the Aztec pursuers arrive and all is lost.
charge into the
central temple REASON FOR TEST 1 2 TO 4 5 TO 9 10
area. More Enemy They’re Here! They’re on their Way Some Way Off Not in Sight!
More Aztec Warriors arrive and More Aztec warriors are nearby More Aztec warriors are coming No Aztec warriors are near by
BELOW RIGHT overwhelm them The Conquistadors have one The Conquistadors have two The Conquistadors have three
more phase left to try to break more phases left to try an break more phases left to try an break
Aztec forces The Adventure ends at this point through through through
mass. Both
photos by Jon
Sutherland.
New Traits and Weapons for BY CROM! ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS
Aztec Bows , Bows, Slings and darts can be reloaded whilst moving The following suggestions allow players to use the
Slings, Javelins and slowly same characters in different stories.
Darts The range for an Aztec Bow is 20 paces; for a Sling it is
18 paces and for a Javelin or Dart it is 10 paces, or 18
paces if thrown using an atlatl
Bows are Light Impact improving the targets DV by +1 THE CAUSEWAY
Darts and Javelins are Normal Impact
Slings Stones are High Impact which lowers the targets This scenario is bloody and very simple. On a 4’ by
DV by -1 4’ table place a strip of card or other suitable scenery
Captive Taker Aztecs must always attempt to secure or KO enemy 6” wide in the middle of the table so that it crosses
characters rather than kill them. Once their foe is
subdued they must be guarded or moved with their from one side of the table to the other. This represents
captor.
one of the causeways from Tenochtitlan to safety. The
Spanish These are one shot only and must be reloaded after
Crossbows and firing. The character must be stationary to reload. rest of the area is water. 6” in from one end place the
Firearms Ranges: Harquebus 18 paces; Crossbow 24 paces: Conquistadors and their allies and on the other end
Both are High Impact weapons which lower the targets
DV by -1 place the priest, the Veteran Warrior Knight and his
Misfire: Most firearms misfire on a 1 and will hang fire
on a 2 when rolling for shooting. All misfire firearms two fellow knights. Place the six warriors into two
need to be reprimed. If a Hang Fire test to see if it can
shoot next turn canoes (either models or simple shapes cut from card)
Spanish Swords Any Spaniards using a sword lowers the targets DV so there are three in each and place them on the table
by -1 edge guarded by the Priest and his followers so that 1
Spanish Cannon Any Aztecs fired on by an artillery piece must take canoe is on each side of the causeway. The Aztec player
an immediate Courage Test using Reduced Dice
irrespective of any other outcome.. must nominate one of the warriors in each canoe as the
War Horses Aztecs treat all riders of horses as if they have the leader and when that warrior’s card is turned over the
Fearsome Trait. This stops if the rider dismounts or is
pulled off or falls from their mount. canoe they command can move ten paces.
War Dogs These huge hounds or war dogs can move 12 paces,
have 2 Attack Dice, can take 2 wounds and rated as ◗ The Conquistadors and their allies must escape via
having the Fearsome Trait and Sixth Sense Trait.
the end of the causeway held by the Aztecs. Use the
same time limit as for the original scenario.

◗ The Aztecs must stop them and try and take as many
of them captive as possible for sacrifice.

40 Miniature Wargames October 2023

Any character that falls into the lake must roll for the risk of drowning: Roll their Action dice but Characters ABOVE
wearing armour DV2 uses their Reduced Dice. Aztec forces
mass for a
REASON FOR TEST 1 2 TO 4 5 TO 9 10 final, desperate
Falling in the Glub Glub! Going Under! Staying Float! That was close! defence. Photo
Lake The Character sinks into the The Character begins to sink: The Character stays afloat and The Character wobbles on the and Figures
Lakes depths and drowns. Unless they can scrabble out on on their next turn may test to edge but manages to stay on the by Wargames
their next turn: roll again then clamber back onto the causeway. Causeway.
and anything other than a 5+ If they fail to roll 5+ apply the Atlantic.
means they have drowned. result scored: if they succeed
they climb back up but have lost
all of their weapons.

The Temple – On a 4’ by 4’ table place a suitable ◗ The Aztecs must stop them.
piece of terrain on one table edge to represent a
temple with four other pieces of scenery each no CONCLUSION
more than 6” by 6” on the table, none of which can So there you have it, some ideas to help you use some
be within six inches of another piece. These could figure you may already own or perhaps those new
represent small buildings, trees, scrub or other areas Conquistador and Aztec figures you have bought
of bad going. and were wondering what to do with. Or maybe I’ve
The Aztec player places the Priest and four of the provided you with some inspiration to go out and buy
Aztec Warriors defending the temple but keeps the some. With 24 multipart Conquistadors in a box and
Veteran Warrior Knight, his two fellow knights and 30 Aztecs, there’s plenty of scope in that Wargames
the other two Aztec warriors off the table and writes Atlantic box to make up all of the individual figures
down which table edge they will appear from. When you need for these games.
the first card for the Veteran Warrior Knight is turned Alternatively, if you wanted to add in a fantasy element
over roll his Action dice and if a 5+ is rolled place the then you can always replace the Aztecs with some of
whole group around him on the designated table edge. the Wargames Atlantic multi-pose Lizard men figures
From then on use the characters’ cards to determine instead, making the Empire one run by reptiles rather
when they move. If the score is less than 5+ he does not than by humans.
arrive. When the Veteran Warrior Knight’s next card is Now, will the Conquistadors
turned over try again, and so on until his party arrive. escape or gain riches or will
The Conquistadors and their allies are placed 24” from they become more victims
DOWNLOAD
the temple. for the Aztecs’ bloodthirsty THE BY CROM! RULES
Gods – Only you and the tabletopgaming.co.uk/
◗ The Conquistadors and their allies must break in to Gods of the dice will decide: information/downloads
temple and kill the priest to loot it. Happy Gaming! ■
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 41
 Written for gaming enthusiasts, by gaming enthusiasts

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THERE
BE DRAGONS...
Slaying a Dragon with Dragon Rampant Words and photos by Ian K Hemmings

o, little people, you think you can challenge me? low. Your life is now forfeit, O great wyrm of fire.”

“S
ABOVE
Anglanchor the Great, King of the Fire Drakes. King of the “Others have tried before thee and others have
Fire Drakes,
You pose no threat to one such as I.” Anglanchor the failed, brave knight.” With these words the mighty
Staring impassively sat a knight upon his Great. dragon drew himself up and opened his powerful
trusty destrier. As his party of loyal followers spread out jaws revealing fangs like iron spikes and a raging
over the glade he spake: “I am Sir Garavel, Paladin of Rosy fire within.
Court, and yea verily I doth come to smite thee and lay thee The brave knight spurred his horse and charged...
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 43
 THERE BE DRAGONS...

I had a thought quite some time back, when I first

opened the Dragon Rampant rule book, about how to
create a game with a single dragon fighting a group of
adventurers similar to many of the D&D games that
I played back in the early 1980’s. Could this be done
with this set of rules, simple enough that it could be
played by beginners in an hour or thereabouts? A quick
search online for a Reaper Bones dragon was made
and the fun began.

THE DRAGON: ANGLANCHOR THE GREAT

I figured that the dragon could represent a 36 point
warband in Dragon Rampant. Four limbs, his head and
tail would make up six separate “units.” For instance
each fore limb would be considered a unit of Elite Foot.
The Head as a Greater Warbeast that could breath fire.
Rear limbs; Heavy Infantry and the tail; Elite Foot. You
get the picture. The limbs can be taken out by reducing
them to zero Strength Points but you need to reduce
both the head and tail to kill the beast. Anglanchor the
Great would be a might opponent!

SIR GARAVEL & HIS LOYAL FOLLOWERS

These were a lot easier. I already had a good collection
of fantasy characters so it was really just a matter of
picking out some good ones that looked the part. I
selected an old GW Grail Knight as Sir Garavel and
he will be aided in his quest by: Vanya the Sorceress,
Lanolix Greenfeather an elfin archer, Azgrim Ironbeard
a doughty dwarf warrior, Bongo Stinkfoot is our
obligatory hobbit, and Grogan the Barbarian. Very
much a classic D&D party from a bygone age.

44 Miniature Wargames October 2023

 Anglanchor the Great has a Courage of Zero (0) LEFT
so he never needs to make a Courage Test and his Six brave
adventurers to
various Body Areas never become Battered. Likewise, slay a mighty
Sir Garavel also has 0 Courage because he’s the foe. Figures
bravest paladin of the Rosy Court. If a character loses by Reaper
Miniatures,
a Courage Test they will become Battered and will Games
behave exactly as a regular unit would in accordance Workshop and
with the rules Oathmark.

HOW TO DEFEAT THE KING OF FIRE DRAKES

To defeat Anglanchor the Great you must kill him
and to do this you must reduce both his Head and
Tail to zero Strength Points (these two areas together
constitute his main body and torso). If both of these
parts are reduced to zero SP the rest of him just stops
working and he falls to the ground writhing in his
death throes (see below...).

The Dragon Slayers

KNIGHT: SIR GARAVEL ELITE RIDER LEADER POINTS: 8
Attack 5+ (Free) Attack Value 3+
Move 7+ Defence Value 5+
Shoot - Shoot Value -
Courage 0 Movement 10”
Armour 4 Strength Points 6
Special Rules
Wild Charge, Counter Charge, Blessed Weapon (The Silver Lance). Random
Leader Trait.

THE GAME VANYA THE SORCERESS LIGHT MISSILES HALF ELF POINTS: 5
The game is simple: A party of brave adventurers Attack 7+ Attack Value 6
verses a very big dragon using the aforementioned Move 6+ (Free) Defence Value 5+
Dragon Rampant Rules (slightly modified). Use the Shoot 7+ Shoot Value 4+ / 18”
Dragon Rampant rules as written with the slight Courage 4+ Movement 6”
modifications as detailed herein. Each character Armour 2 Strength Points 12
figure is a Single Model Unit representing a specific Special Rules
unit type. Lesser Spellcaster, Shooting Attack counts as a Magical Missile attack.
Note: The 3” distance rule between models (including
friends) should be enforced! There is plenty of room on the
battlefield so there is no excuse for crowding. LANOLIX GREENFEATHER LIGHT MISSILES ELF POINTS: 6
The game is played on a 3’ x 3’ area. This can be Attack 7+ Attack Value 6
located outside in the wilderness or inside a large Move 6+ Defence Value 5+
cavern/dungeon. The decision is up to you. Shoot 6+ (Free) Shoot Value 4+ / 18”
Courage 4+ Movement 6”
DEPLOYMENT Armour 2 Strength Points 12
Player Characters can deploy anywhere within 6” Special Rules
Sharp Shooter (+1 Shoot Value added above), Enchanted Weapon - Arrows
along their edge of the table. Each character must be of Ælfheim.
a least 3” distant from other characters. On the other
hand, Anglanchor the Great is placed at the centre of
his own deployment area up to 12” from his table edge. AZGRIM IRONBEARD HEAVY FOOT DWARF POINTS: 7
Attack 6+ (Free) Attack Value 5+
WINNING & LOSING Move 5+ Defence Value 4+
To win the game Sir Garavel and friends must kill Shoot - Shoot Value -
Anglanchor the Great and at least one character must Courage 4+ Movement 6”
remain on the battlefield. That is the only way to win. Armour 3 Strength Points 12
For the King of the Fire Drake to win he must survive Special Rules

›
Mystical Armour – Forged by dwarven smiths.
and destroy or dive off all of his enemies.

October 2023 Miniature Wargames 45

 THERE BE DRAGONS...

BONGO STINKFOOT LIGHT FOOT HOBBIT POINTS: 4 GROGAN THE BARBARIAN BELLICOSE FOOT POINTS: 6
Attack 6+ Attack Value 5+ Attack 5+ (Free) Attack Value 3+
Move 5+ (Free) Defence Value 4+ Move 6+ Defence Value 6
Shoot 6+ Shoot Value 5+ / 8” Shoot - Shoot Value -
Courage 4+ Movement 8” Courage 4+ Movement 8”
Armour 2 Strength Points 12 Armour 3 Strength Points 12
Special Rules Special Rules
Limited Invisibility, Short range missiles (added above). Shiny Armour (+1 Armour, added above), Ranger, Wild Charge, Counter Charge.

46 Miniature Wargames October 2023

 FREE ACTIVATIONS
All character have a Free Activation that they can
use without the need to roll activation dice. After
the character uses it’s free activation it is considered
to have activated for the current turn, so move on to
the next character. The Free Activation can be used
every turn. The Free Activation is lost as soon as the
character reaches half their Strength Points or less.
If they regain SP (Heal Thee spell) they can regain
their free activation if their SP becomes more
than half.

SPECIAL RULES
Wild Charge: Characters with this rule must Activate
First to Attack after all compulsory Courage Test have
been made if the dragon is within charge range. This
is the only order the character may be give. If they
are outside of their Movement range then they may
activate as normal. Wild Charge may not be used if the
character is Battered.

Counter Charge: The character may attempt to counter

charge if they themselves are charged. On a roll of 7+
the character may counter charge and will use their
Attack Value in the impending combat instead of their
Defence Value.

Silver Lance (Blessed Weapon): Whenever Sir Garavel

Attacks (or Counter Charges) roll 1d6. On a roll of 5+
the weapons’ enchantment activates. He may re-roll
(once) all failed To Hit dice for the current attack.

Arrows of Ælfheim (Enchanted Weapon): When

Lanolix Greenfeather Shoots roll 1d6. On a roll of six
he shoots an enchanted arrow. He may re-roll (once) all
failed To Hit dice for the current shot.

Lesser Spellcaster: As noted in the DR rules a lesser

spellcaster (or Wizardling) may select any three
spells. Vanya the Sorceress may select any three spells
from those listed below. Spells are cast like a normal
Activation as described in the rule book. Each spell can
be cast multiple time throughout the game.

Vanya’s Shooting Attack: Because the “Light Missiles”

template has been used to create the sorceress,
the integral Shoot Attack for that unit type is just
considered a “Magic Missile” attack for the sake
CHARACTER ACTIVATION PHASE ABOVE of keeping with the theme of the character and the
Each character may attempt to activate once per turn Anglanchor the scenario.
Great and six
during this phase. They can use either their Free Action new enemies
or they may attempt an Ordered Action. An ordered to slay. Dwarf Forged Armour (Mystical Armour): Every time
action is exactly as described in the DR rule book. Once Anglanchor Azgrim Ironbeard loses one or more Strength Points
is Viridius the
the character activates it’s Activation ends. If they fail Great Dragon by (SP) roll 1d6 for each point lost. Any roll six will cancel
their activation roll for an ordered action their activation Reaper Bones. the loss of one SP. This cannot be used to regain SP that
ends but another character may attempt to activate. have already been lost.
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 47
 THERE BE DRAGONS...

Limited Invisibility: Due to his small size or an ANGLANCHOR THE GREAT: THE KING OF FIRE DRAKES...
innate ability to be insignificant the character maybe Activation: Anglanchor the Great is divided into six
overlooked during combat. If Bongo Stinkfoot is Body Areas. When he Moves he moves as a single
targeted for an attack, he may first roll 1d6. On a roll model. When he Attacks he does so as individual Body
of 5+ he is overlooked but the attack may be allocated Areas. Each body area also has individual Strength
elsewhere if possible. Points (SP). All body areas may attempt to Activate
during Anglanchor’s turn. He can Move at any time
Ranger: The character uses it’s normal Attack/Defence/ during his turn and any body area that has not yet
Armour profile when fighting in rough terrain. activated may attempt do so after the move.
Each turn Anglanchor the Great gains 1 Free Move
Any of the Special rules within a characters’ profile and 1 Free Attack activation with any of it’s body
stating; “added above” means that the bonuses have areas. No Activation Roll is required these Free
already been included in the basic profile as written. Activations. The free move may be used to pivot on
the spot or to move from location to location facing in
ALTERNATIVES any direction he wants when he gets there. This Free
If the scenario takes place in a dungeon/cavern Move must be used at the start of his activation. If
setting or if you do not have a mounted knights you wish to move at any other time during the turn
use the following character profile for Sir Garavel nominate one of his leg areas (front or rear) that has not
the Paladin: yet activated and roll for a Move action. If the roll is
successful the dragon may move and that body area is
KNIGHT: SIR GARAVEL ELITE FOOT LEADER POINTS: 8 considered to have used its activation for the turn.
Attack 5+ Attack Value 3+ Note: Normally the direction a unit faces doesn’t matter BELOW
Move 5+ Defence Value 4+ in Dragon Rampant but, in this scenario consider a pivot or Vanya, Lanolix
move by the dragon to be several actual units in a normal and Bongo
Shoot - Shoot Value -
Stinkfoot
Courage 3+ Movement 6” game all rearranging themselves into position at the same become
Armour 4 Strength Points 6 time. So a pivot would actually be a pretty complex move separated from
“rules-wise.” the fighters.
Special Rules
Ranger, Counter Charge, Blessed Weapon (sword/axe/etc...).
Random Leader Trait.

Note: If using this profile Swap out Sir Garavel’s magical

Silver Lance with whatever weapon your model is armed
with. But make sure to give it a name worthy of being
wielded by the bravest knight of the Rosy Court!

SPELLS
Vanya the Sorceress may select any three spells from
those listed below prior to the start of the scenario.
Spell may be cast multiple times throughout the
game. Casting a spell is like any other Ordered
Activation as detailed in the Dragon Rampant rule
book. Some of the spell effects have been altered
from those in the rule book in order to better fit the
scenario; so read them carefully.

SPELL NAME DIFFICULTY TARGET DURATION SPELL EFFECT

Almighty Prod 6+ Friend Until the target character If the target fails it’s next Activation roll it may immediately re-roll the test (once) The
within 18” next activates spells’ effect ends immediately whether effective or not.
Braveheart 6+ Friend Immediate Target a friend that is currently Battered. The character immediately loses the Battered
within 18” status.
Dragons Breath 7+ Anywhere within 18” Until the beginning of A magical wall of mist materialises. The mist completely blocks Line of Sight and
players next Activation befuddles any who try to see into or though it so that it no attack of any kind can be
Phase made against a target within or blocked by the mist.
The mist is a 3” diameter circle.
Heal Thee 6+ Friend Immediate Target a friend within range and line of sight. That character immediately regains 1 lost
within 18” or self Strength Point.
Sharper Blades 7+ Friend When the target is next The target my re-roll all Attack or Defence Dice for one round of combat.
within 18” or self involved in combat
Stronger Shields 7+ Friend When the target is next Increase the targets armour by +1.
within 18” or self involved in combat

48 Miniature Wargames October 2023

Free Attack: Any Body Area may make the free attack at TAIL LASHING AND SLASHING ELITE FOOT POINTS: 6 ABOVE
Attack 5+ Attack Value 3+ / 6” In the Dragons
any time during Anglanchor’s activation. (See below.) Den: A different
Move - Defence Value 5+ mix of heroes
HEAD & NECK MIGHTY JAWS GREATER WARBEAST POINTS: 10 Shoot - Shoot Value - make their
Courage 0 Movement 10” Free desperate stand.
Attack 5+ Attack Value 3+ / 6”
Move - Defence Value 5+ Armour 4 Strength Points 6
Shoot - Shoot Value - Special Rules
Ranger.
Courage 0 Movement 10” Free
Armour 5 Strength Points 6
Special Rules
Ranger, Flame Attack, Cunning (+1 to Defence Value - added above).
REAR LEGS KICKING AND STOMPING HEAVY FOOT POINTS: 4 (X2)
Attack 6+ Attack Value 5+
Move 5+ Defence Value 4+
FRONT LEGS IRON TALONS ELITE FOOT POINTS: 6 (X2) Shoot - Shoot Value -
Attack 5+ Attack Value 3+ / 3” Courage 0 Movement 10” Free
Move 5+ Defence Value 4+ Armour 4 Strength Points 12
Shoot - Shoot Value - Special Rules
Wall of Spears removed and Armour Value has been increased by +1.
Courage 0 Movement 10” Free
Armour 4 Strength Points 6
Special Rules Attack Range: When attacking Each Body Area is

›
Ranger.
activated separately. Each body part has an Attack

October 2023 Miniature Wargames 49

 THERE BE DRAGONS...
Range (3” or 6”). This is to represent Anglanchor
lunging and lashing out at his enemies. Measure these
attacks from where the models’ claws touch the base
or the joint where the limb meets his body (this can
depend on the model you are using). Any character
roughly in front of (or adjacent to) and within range of
any body area is a valid target for attack.
For his Free Attack, simply nominate a body area
that has not yet activated and make the appropriate
attack as if the Activation Roll has been passed. A body
area is considered to have activated if it used the Free
Attack. A body area cannot use the Free Attack if it is
reduced to half SP or less.
Other Attacks: Any other body part that is within
range may also attempt to Attack but these attacks
require an Activation Roll. If the roll is successful the
attack may go ahead but if the roll fails, that body part
cannot attack or do anything else this turn. It may well
happen that Anglanchor can attack the same character
twice in the same turn. When he does attack a character
the loser of the combat should move 3” away from the
winner according to the rules. If Anglanchor loses any
combat the whole model retreats the required 3” in the
direction according to the standard rules. (Tip: So try
and surround him and cause the loss of extra SP if he is
unable to retreat!)
Tip: When moving Anglanchor the Great try to place him
in such a manner that several of his body parts can strike
at several characters in the same turn and don’t forget his
flaming breath weapon!
Flame Attack: Instead of a combat attack Anglanchor’s
Head may make a ranged attack using his fiery breath:
Activates on 6+ / Range 12” hitting on 5+. This attack is
reduced to 6d6 if his Head is reduced to 3SP or less.
50 Miniature Wargames October 2023
Injury to Anglanchor:
◗ If either of Anglanchor’s rear legs are reduced to
zero Strength Points he loses his Free Move.
◗ Body Areas never become Battered but combat dice
are reduced as normal when a body area is reduced
to half Strength Points or less.
◗ A Body Area can no longer activate if it is reduce to
zero Strength Points.
◗ All body parts have 0 Courage. Anglanchor is never
required to take a Courage Test.
Recovery: Anglanchor is a huge beast so at the end
of his turn he may attempt to recover from injury. Roll
1d6: On a roll of 5+ recover 1 SP on any Body Area of
the players choice.
THE DEATH OF ANGLANCHOR
Roll 1d6 – On a roll of 5+ the great wyrm makes a
final, vindictive strike with his tail or head against any
random character within range. Make a final free 6d6
attack with either his head or tail (whichever area was
the last to be reduced to zero SP). He’s vicious and evil
right to the very end.
DRAGON TACTICS
When moving Anglanchor, try to position him so as to
maximise which body areas are facing certain opponents.
In this way you can get as many body areas into play
during his activation phase as possible. This may help in
targeting one character with multiple attacks.
Tip: You should also try to position Anglanchor the Great
so as to protect vulnerable or wounded areas by turning
those areas away from potential attacks.
HOW DOES IT PLAY?
We did a fair bit of test play with this scenario at my
club; Nunawading Wargames Association (NWA)
in Melbourne, Australia. In the first couple of games
Anglanchor the Great smashed his opponents without
mercy. However, after a couple of hard lessons I
remembered to incorporate Sir Gavarel’s magic lance
and Ironbeard’s mystical armour (and other special
abilities) and so the balance shifted.
Those Dragon Slayers’ special abilities make up
the difference between an average 24 point warband
verses a tough 36 point warband (the dragon) and
made a difference. One of my main goals was to
produce a fast moving game that can be played in
about three quarters of an hour to one hour the aim
being to run it four or more times at an openday.
So; will you choose Sir Garavel and his band of
worthy champions and rid the world of a
formidable terror and evil, or will you
side with the King of the Fire Drakes? DOWNLOAD
Who has the courage and the strength THE SCENARIO MAP AND
to smite this mighty foe and rid the DAMAGE CHART
tabletopgaming.co.uk/
land of this evil scourge? ■ information/do
wnloads
NE W GAMES S TORE
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deals by signing up to our mailing list
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 &RORQHO%LOOV
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Wargames Fantasy and

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Website updated
B O O K R E V I E W S F O R T H E D I S C E R N I N G WA R G A M E R
THROWING THUNDERBOLTS
◗ Garry Wills
◗ Helion (2023)
◗ £35
◗ 300 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781804512036
◗ helion.co.uk
Wow… This guide to the
1792-1797 War of the First
Coalition must surely be
the pièce de résistance in this very fine
Helion series: an excellent blend of
history, scenarios, advice on collecting
and painting your armies, and with
detailed orders of battle where available.
The footnotes demonstrate some very
thorough research by the author: this is
no casual view of the period.
A third of the book is a profile of
the military events, with a further 60
pages describing the protagonists in
good detail, including the armies of the
minor states. There are ten scenarios:
Lincelles 1793, Pirmasens 1793, Toulon
1793, Boxtel 1794, 13e Vendemaire 1795,
Mondovi 1796, Castiglione 1796, The
Glorious First of June 1794, an East
Indian frigate action, and Audierne Bay.
The maps are superb, with detailed
terrain and troop dispositions.
Supporting tables give battalion or
regimental strengths in many cases plus
advice on the pros and cons of various
rulesets. It is impeccably produced.
This is highly recommended for
those of us in, or contemplating, this
interesting period of warfare. Magnifique!
Chris Jarvis
TEXIAN VOLUNTEER VERSUS
MEXICAN SOLDIER
◗ Ron Field
◗ Osprey (2023)
◗ £15.99
◗ 80 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781472852076
◗ ospreypublishing.com
(No, it’s not a typo: apparently the early
Anglo-Spanish Texans were known
as Texians by the Mexicans. Slightly
irritating when reading, but that’s
History for you...).
This latest offering in the Osprey
‘Combat’ series covers the Texas
Revolution 1835-36, and follows the usual
format of: a brief history; a description
of each side’s organisation, uniforms,
training, equipment, and tactics; and an
account of three significant combats: the
Alamo, Coleto Creek, and the San Jacinto
River. The battle accounts and orders of
battle are good, with excellent detailed
maps showing terrain and units. Two
perhaps surprising points: at the Alamo,
Mexican casualties were little more than
those of the defenders, and secondly,
Mexican infantry often carried less than
five rounds of ammunition, so plenty of
scope for wargame penalties.
This would make an ideal and cost-
effective mini-campaign: there were major
challenges for both sides in terms of troop
quality, logistics, command inexperience,
terrain, etc and with small armies that
won’t dent your wallet or your painting
time. And luscious Mexican cavalry
uniforms! Recommended to you.
Chris Jarvis
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 53
 REVIEWS
ALLIED TANKS AT EL
ALAMEIN 1942
◗ William Hiestand
◗ Osprey (2023)
◗ £12.99
◗ 48 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781472858016
◗ ospreypublishing.com
This is a workmanlike profile of the
wide mix of Allied armour in this
significant battle. I suppose both sides
had a wide range of tanks if you include
the Italian ones on the Axis side, but
you certainly feel sorry for the Allied
mechanics having to maintain or repair
Crusader (two types), Stuart, Lee, Grant,
Sherman, Matilda, Valentine etc tanks
(plus variants such as the Priest and the
Scorpion), and the allocation of crews to
vehicles that ranged from a crew of three
to a crew of seven must have caused
some head-scratching by harassed unit
commanders…
For those with a fair knowledge of
the equipment, organisation and tactics
of the period, this probably offers little
new. There are useful tables showing the
number of each type of tank at brigade
level, with most units having a mix
of light and heavy tanks: it is a shame
that the author does not provide this
at regimental level, but other books or
websites can be found to cover this gap.
Overall, this is a useful, but not ground-
breaking, addition to your library.
Chris Jarvis
54 Miniature Wargames October 2023
THE TAGUS CAMPAIGN OF
1809: AN ALLIANCE IN
JEOPARDY
◗ John Marsden
◗ Helion & Company (2023)
◗ £29.95
◗ 256 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781804511909
◗ helion.co.uk
Number 109 in Helion’s From Reason
to Revolution 1721-1815 series offers
a rather different perspective on
Arthur Wellesley’s 1809 campaign that
culminated in the Battle of Talavera
than do the Anglo-centric accounts with
which most wargamers interested in the
Peninsular War are likely to be familiar.
The author makes extensive use of
Spanish sources to examine the role of
Captain-General Gregorio de la Cuesta,
who was not popular with the Supreme
Junta and had been held under house
arrest shortly before the campaign.
He concludes that far from being the
uncooperative incompetent that he has
often been characterised as in popular
Anglo-centric accounts, Cuesta was ‘the
main protagonist’ of the Tagus campaign
who had ‘stood as the only bar to Victor’s
advance to the Guadiana at the start of
1809’. He also describes the ‘despicable
insubordination’ perpetrated by Lieutenant-
General Francisco Javier Venegas and the
plotting against Cuesta by the Supreme
Junta in Seville that must have been
known to the latter and affected his
relationship with Wellesley and could
have wrecked the Anglo-Spanish alliance.
Twenty-seven black and white,
annotated maps or diagrams, drawn
specially to accompany the text, depict
significant moments in the campaign. The
author states that “they are not drawn to
scale but, in their proportionality, they should
give a good indication of the geographical
extent and flow of the fighting.” Wargamers
planning to fight a conventional
wargame campaign using a map to plot
troop movements will prefer maps with
scales, but those proposing to use the
radically different Generalship Game
system, described in Paddy Griffith’s
Napoleonic Wargaming For Fun (Ward
Lock, 1980; reprinted in The History
of Wargaming Project), with a daily
record chart of each army commander’s
activities and point to point movement of
troops along a highly stylised road map,
may find them perfectly satisfactory.
Unfortunately, no diagram of the actual
Battle of Talavera itself is provided, but
readers will have no trouble finding a
suitable map in one of the many books
that describe the British campaigns
in the Iberian Peninsula. There are no
illustrations; the rather impressionistic
cover painting by Christa Hook depicts
Wellesley meeting Cuesta at Casa de
Miravete on 10th July 1809.
An appendix contains extracts from
two letters from Wellesley to Frere,
both dated 24 July 1809. A three page
bibliography and a five page index
conclude the book.
This book is highly recommended
for its refreshing perspective that will
encourage readers to see the Spanish
participation in 1809 in general, and
the role of Captain-General Gregorio
Cuesta in particular, in a new light.
Wargamers could use this information to
create an interesting map kriegsspiel or
Generalship Game campaign, in which
players take the roles of Marshal Claude
Victor, Sir Arthur Wellesley, Cuesta
and Venegas; the last – unknown to
the other players – being the favourite
of the Supreme Junta, having a very
different personal objective in the
game, to discredit Cuesta and thus gain
command of the Army of Extremadura
for himself, far more important to him
than defeating the French!
Arthur Harman

SOLOMONS AIR WAR VOLUME
1: GUADALCANAL AUGUST-
SEPTEMBER 1942
◗ Michael Claringbould and Peter Ingman
◗ Avonmore Books (2023)(available through
Casemate Publishing)
◗ £36.95
◗ 248 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9780645246933
◗ casematepublishing.co.uk
This is a more detailed examination of
the subjects of the author’s previous
books, ‘South Pacific Air War volumes
I-IV’ and researches air and carrier
operations around Guadalcanal in
greater granularity. Unfortunately, it
is not referenced which detracts from
its academic value despite extensive
use of both Allied and Japanese
sources. However, from a wargaming
perspective, it is full of possibilities and
sparks the imagination, especially for
air wargamers.
It reviews the prelude to the
Guadalcanal invasion and covers the
construction of airfields and arrival
of air squadrons in the island groups
of New Caledonia and New Hebrides
and the support to the Guadalcanal
campaign. It looks at air and naval
operations in support of the landings
to the first air battles around the
islands, covering the most crucial and
important battles in the campaign.
Despite the short timescale the book
contains some thought-provoking
conclusions.
Martin S. Pike
55
TO CONQUER AND TO KEEP:
SUCHET AND THE WAR FOR
EASTERN SPAIN
◗ Yuhan Kim
◗ Helion & Company (2023)
◗ £35.00
◗ 308 pages (softback)
◗ ISBN:9781804513965
◗ helion.co.uk
Number 108 in Helion’s From Reason to
Revolution 1721-1815 series is the second
of two volumes covering the operations
of General de division, later Marshal,
Louis Gabriel Suchet, the only French
commander to win a marshal’s baton in
the Peninsular War. This volume covers
the period from the invasion of Valencia
to the end of the Peninsular War and the
evacuation of Spain by French forces.
The text is again divided into six
chapters, the first of which covers The
Invasion of Valencia in September 1811,
the combats of Segorbe and Benaguacil.
Sagunto: The Battle for the Spanish Levante
is described in the second chapter. The
third chapter, Valencia: The Ulm of Spain,
describes the battle, blockade and siege
of Valencia, for which ‘crushing victory’
Suchet was rewarded by the Emperor
with the title Duc d’Albufera.
Chapter four, Consolidation,
Counterinsurgency, and Counterattack, deals
with the attempts by General Reille to
oppose the guerrillas. Wargamers with
Peninsular War British armies will find
chapter five, The British Expeditionary Force,
of particular interest as it will enable
them to create an alternative campaign
for their troops in eastern Spain and stage
the Second Battle of Castalla.
Chapter six, Evacuation from Spain,
describes how the defeat of King Joseph
at Vitoria on 21st June 1813 caused
Suchet to retreat from Valencia, and
Clausel’s withdrawal from Zaragoza to
the Pyrenees forced him to retire from
Aragon. It also includes Bentinck’s
operations against Suchet, which could
be the subject of a wargame campaign,
and the Battle of Ordal.
Finally, an Epilogue describes briefly the
role Suchet played in Les Cent Jours, in
which he was assigned to command the
Armee des Alpes, previously commanded
by Marshal Grouchy, and so took no part
in the Waterloo Campaign when, in the
author’s opinion, he would have been a
better chief of staff than Marshal Soult.
It is followed by an Analysis of Suchet’s
qualities as a military commander.
Sixteen full-page colour modern maps,
again by George Anderson, include the
provinces of Aragon, Upper and Lower
Valencia and Alicante; the combats of
Segorbe and Benaguacil; the battles of
Sagunto, Valencia, First and Second
Castalla and Ordal; and the sieges of
Sagunto and Valencia. Two splendid full-
page colour plates by Patrice Courcelle
show Marshal Suchet on horseback and
at the Battle of Sagunto, and also appear
on the covers of the two vo;umes. Some
colour plates reproduce illustrations of
French troops by Pierre-Albert Leroux
and Richard Knotel and figures from
the Vinkhuijzen Collection of Military
Uniforms; other modern illustrations,
apparently by friends of the author, whilst
adequate references for painting small-
scale wargame figures, are not of the same
quality. There are also several black and
white reproductions of nineteenth century
portraits of French, Spanish and British
officers and scenes of battles and sieges.
Ten appendices provide details of the
French and Spanish armies at Sagunto,
Valencia and the first battle of Castalla;
the Aragon Garrison on 1st October 1812;
the Anglo-Allied Army of the Second
Castalla Campaign; the Army of Aragon
in June 1813, and Suchet’s Garrisons
on 16th December 1813. A seven-page
bibliography and a seven-page index
conclude the book.
This volume completes an impressive
debut in the field of Napoleonic military
history by an undergraduate student at
Yale University that will be welcomed
by wargamers interested recreating the
campaigns and battles of the often ignored
eastern theatre of the Peninsular War.
Arthur Harman
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 55
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HOBBY TIPS
MAXWELL'S
STONE
BARN
Improving a simple MDF kit
Words and images by Tony Harwood
Get more out of that forgotten pile of wood
particulate: no silver hammer required... Ed.
his month’s tutorial shows how I took a
T simple MDF kit and clad the walls with
blue foam stonework and the roof with
DAS modelling clay thatch. The kit was
picked up at The West Midlands Military Show,
Alumwell back in March of 2023 – the plan was
to use it in a Silver Bayonet scenario, but those
plans changed and this ‘new’ stone barn is the
result of a week’s worth of scratch building
using the plain kit as a basis and then painting it
in a natural stone colour.
The Warbases, Border Reivers kit is very easy
to put together and – although having some
engraved stone wall texture – it looked a little
too simplistic for my taste. The first modification
was to trim the roof so there was no overhang,
next I sanded the walls and corner joins smooth
before mounting it on to a plastic card base
and adding the blue foam corner buttresses
and front step. The walls were then clad with
blue foam stones. The stone blocks are trimmed
rectangles of various sizes thrown into a plastic
container with some rough stones and coarse
sand then shaken until the square corners are
more rounded. The process is very satisfying
and I had my Grandsons do most of the heavy
lifting by allowing them to shake the container.
The stones are then sliced in half and the
trimmed edge is glued in place with PVA glue.
With all the walls finished I used DAS
modelling clay to clean up any misaligned edges
and add some groundwork. DAS was also used
to sculpt the thatched roof: I find it best to build
up the thatch in several stages rather than trying
to sculpt it all in one go. The terracotta DAS was
used because I had run out of DAS white, but MATERIALS USED
it does demonstrate how the model thatch was ◗ Maxwell Barn from
constructed. Warbases
◗ Blue foam
The base was further textured with sieved
◗ DAS modelling clay
stones and sand applied over PVA glue. At the ◗ Plastic card (various
same time I added some items of ‘clutter’ to the thicknesses)
base to give some additional interest before the ◗ Sieved stones and fine sand
whole model was painted black, highlighter ◗ Resin barrel and metal wheel
(for base decoration)
grey ready for the main colours to be applied.
◗ Static grass, tufts and
I started with the thatch which was painted ground foam for base
in a golden yellow colour – I know that true decoration
thatch is usually dark brown almost black, but
this is one of those occasions where the artist
takes over – after all everyone knows that that
thatched roofs should be yellow!
The stonework was painted using my
familiar process – a basecolour, highlighted
and then washed. This process is repeated
until I have what I think looks like natural
rock. The groundwork was painted in my now
traditional Snakebite Leather colour (a custom
mix that I have had mixed up as a ‘tester pot’
by my local DIY store as this saves my limited
supply of GW Snakebite for figure painting).
Once dry the base was also drybrushed and
small stones picked out in grey, highlighted
with white.
A quick layer of matt varnish with some
static grass base decoration and the model was
finished and ready for the gaming table.
›
October 2023 Miniature Wargames 57
 HOBBY TIPS
1. BARNDANCE
The Warbases Maxwell Barn
MDF kit (from the Border
Reivers range of 28mm scale
kits) was picked up for just £7.00
and was originally intended for a
Silver Bayonet scenario, but I
later thought that this simple kit
could and should be improved
with blue foam stonework and
a DAS modelling clay thatched
roof to show just what can
be achieved with a little bit of
additional modelling.
2. CLAMPS
The kit was put together with
PVA glue and a couple of
clamps. It is a very simple kit
and should not tax any ones
modelling skills. I modified
the roof to fit flush and added
corner buttresses and a main
step from blue foam before
gluing it to a 3mm thick
plastic card base.
You should also be able to see
where I have glued a 3mm
plastic card spacer between the
bottom of the kit and the base.
This will later be built up with
DAS clay to hide this feature.
3. ROCK & ROLLER
The stonework was built
from individual blocks of
blue foam which were first
cut to irregular sizes before
being placed in a plastic food
container with some rough
stones and coarse sand. I
then shook the container
until all the edges had been
smoothed out and weathered.
The stones were then cut
in half (sliced like a Victoria
sponge) and glued in place
with PVA. The stones were
added in a rough pattern
before being trimmed to size
when the glue had fully dried.
DAS modelling clay was used
to smooth out any issues at the
corners or to add depth and
detail to the buttresses.
58 Miniature Wargames October 2023
4. CLADDING
With the walls fully clad I built
up the groundwork with DAS,
remembering to sculpt it up the
lower walls giving the impression
that the building has ‘grown up’
rather than just being placed on the
base. These images show the rear
and the small window opening to the
sides and the rear.
The second image has had a
layer of acrylic modelling paste
and very fine sand painted or
more accurately ‘stippled on’ to
the surface. This fine texturing
will be accentuated when
painted and drybrushed. It also
has the added benefit of filling in
some of the larger gaps between
the stones.
5. DAS THATCH
The thatch was sculpted from DAS.
I find this is the beast method to
give ‘body’ to the thatching. The
secret is to build up the sculpted
thatch in layer and not try to model
it in one go.
The DAS topping was applied over
some diluted PVA and both were
textured with a wire brush and the
tip of a scalpel.
To speed up the drying times of the
DAS, I place the model in the oven
on a very low light for between 15
and 20 minutes, just be careful
that the temperature is not too high
to melt the foam or disfigure the
plastic card base (experience tells...)
6. SPARE WHEEL
The base was further textured
with sieved stones and sand
applied over PVA glue.
The items of ‘clutter’ were sourced
from my spares box: a resin barrel
and a metal wagon wheel from
Alternative Armies. Both were
blended in to the groundwork with
DAS and sand.
With everything in place, I
‘flooded’ the base with diluted
PVA glue to which I had added
some washing-up liquid (to
reduce the water tension and
allow the glue to flow and seal
the sand and stones).
7. NEUTRALITY
The painting was done over a
black basecoat highlighted with
neutral gray. First I painted the
thatch in a bright orange/yellow
colour.

Even though I know that true thatch

is much darker (sometimes even
black), I think yellow thatch just
looks right on a model roof.

The stone walls were built

up over a mid-grey colour,
drybrushed with lighter greys
and then washed. This process
was repeated with blues, greens
and brown colours added to the
mix before I was happy with the
result. Building up natural stone
colours cannot be rushed.

8. FLAT OR NOT
With the thatch and stonework
finished, I painted the base and
items of clutter before varnishing
with Galleria matt varnish. I
have been experiencing issues
with my matt varnishes, they don’t
appear to be anywhere near a
true matt finish and this has led
me to experiment with different
varnishes and varnish mixes.

The model had one layer of

Galleria matt varnish then a layer
of Matt Medium (an acrylic artist’s
material) mixed with Galleria and
finally Matt Medium on its own. I
am still not happy with the result,
but a layer of powdered chalks has
helped to dull down the effect.

9. BASE DECOR
The base was decorated with
static grass, tufts and ground
foam applied over PVA or
superglue.

I think you will agree that the

Warbases MDF kit has been
transformed with the techniques
described here and it now fits in
better with my existing terrain
pieces. This stone barn would be
equally at home in any historical
setting as well as a fantasy one.
In fact I think it is ideal for use
with my Flintloque collection or
Burrows & Badgers.

The Barn is 115mm x 100mm

x 100mm tall. It is based on a
3mm thick plastic card oval
170mm x 140mm.

October 2023 Miniature Wargames 59

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 THE LAST WORD
MATTHEW
VERNALL
The Editor of our sister magazine TTG recounts how a chance
encounter with wargaming changed his life forever
t was whilst I was preparing
I to leave school, clarinet case
in hand, that I saw someone
jumping up and down in front
of a window. It was my second
month of secondary school and I
had already established an after-
hours timetable of Chess Club
and Concert Band Practice. It was
after the latter had wrapped up
for the day that I walked across
the school quad and saw, leaping
about in the second-storey art
classroom, an older student from
my form class. Curiosity piqued,
I ascended the dark stairwell to
the solitary room with the lights
on two hours after school had
finished. I had discovered the
school’s Warhammer Club and
soon another evening of my
weekly routine was scheduled.
The group comprised of all ages,
started by a few friends who had
wanted a place to play outside of
Peterborough’s Games Workshop
store (which only stayed open late
on the weekends.) The room was
ideal for wargaming: the wide
tables, scarred with paint splotches
and dried clay, easily became 4’x4’
battle maps as Space Marines and
Bretonnian Knights charged over
the wooden surfaces, scattered
with unpainted ruins and hastily
flocked hills.
I hadn’t come into contact with
wargaming prior to this, outside
62 Miniature Wargames October 2023
of games of Risk with relatives,
but the appeal was immediately
clear: Chess that you can modify
your starting forces to better suit
your playstyle? An evocative
setting in a grim-dark future full
of violence, slaughter and all the
things unsuitable for my young
mind? I was enthralled.
It wasn’t until Christmas that
I had miniatures of my own
(we cobbled together a combat
patrol force for less than the
£40 starter sets) but that time
spent immersed in the hobby,
being around people passionate
for play but also generally
jubilant and happy to be with
like-minded people, it shaped
me. Being able to develop skills
in crafting, the freedom to be
creative and refine painting
skills, all the while challenging
your inner-general as I sent the
same set of space soldiers to their
doom again and again, learning a
little more with every failure and
making those few victories all the
more memorable.
As years went by and those
older students graduated, I
didn’t want to let the club pass
with them. Whilst less in number,
I ensured those regular wargame
meetings continued, getting new
players into the hobby the same
way I had, helping them find the
particular part of the holy trinity
“I ensured (planning, painting and playing)
those
regular
wargame
that most spoke to them. Having
the responsibility of not only
sharing my own passion, but to
help others to find that same joy,
it inspired me to find more ways
meetings to open gaming up to the world.
continued, Writing about games online
getting new led me to a journalism gig
at university, unpaid and
players into unsurprisingly within the field of
the hobby video games, but at least I could
the same linger at a convention’s token
tabletop play area, wishing that
way I had, was my full-time role. As the
helping them years passed, my trusty hard-shell
find the case of miniatures was replaced
with a bag for life on its last legs
particular as it bulged under the motley
part of the assortment of quick card or party
holy trinity board games that ensured I could
conjure up a game’s night at
(planning, any pub, house party or other
painting and get-together. Being good at the
playing)” role of ambassador led to my first
reviews for TTG and we can see
where that ended up.
I endeavour to keep a hand in
the world of wargaming and that
battle force of Adaptus Astartes
remains with me, even down
to the first clumsily assembled
commander. It was a chance
encounter that brought me deeper
into the world of gaming and I
will forever be indebted to that
group for welcoming a lonely kid
into their lovely hobby. ■
“...the nearest run
thing you ever saw
in your life”.
- The Duke of Wellington

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