Another month another magazine on the wargame hobby to read on a leisurely Saturday afternoon.  I learned from the excellent TMP this morning that MW348 was now on the newstands so I headed out to Ayr and got a copy..plus a few other bits and pieces.  I even read the mag on the way home while my good lady drove!  So let’s see what we have.

Miniature Wargames 348 (April 2012)

Cupola

Andrew Hubback introduces the issue and muses on new years, new spring and new projects and the choices to be made.  I know all about this, choices in gaming are always present.  Which figures to buy, to paint and base and then which systems to play and that if after the agony choice of which period or setting to choose as only so much is humanly possible for yourself and your group to do.  This is tied to the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War and a new book named ‘A Damn Close Run Thing’ of which 30% of the sales proceeds goes to a worthy military charity.  Good stuff from a conflict I am just old enough to have memories of.

Recon and Diary

A lot in here on shows in England and the rest of the UK but as is the norm in the wargame community April is all about Salute 2012 at the docklands in London on April 21st, and this year is no different.  MW will be at the show as will I on the Alternative Armies / 15mm.co.uk trade stand plus I will be running a demo game of my own beloved Flintloque 3rd edition.

Figure Focus

Looking at the fifth anniversary of the formation of Warlord Games a very interesting look at how a gaming company works from the inside from the casting to the packing with all its glamour!  While the sight of spin casters, metal pots, packaging and molds is no novelty for this veteran of the hobby, this was a super article by Andrew Hubback and well worth a read.

The Maximilian Adventure

The main cover story! Jim Webster gives us part one of a multi-part part series of articles about ill fated intervention of France in nineteenth century Mexico.  This is not a nation or period I know much about and I have never gamed it either.  But information was given on both sides with great efficiency outlining the typical French forces and the Imperial Mexican army too.  A good introduction set the scene along with a map showing battle locations and dates.  Lots of facts are given on uniforms and equipment and a focus on rather unusual troops such as the Egyptian Battalion.  The pictures are really nice too and the article ends with a well placed advert for suitable 28mm ranges and 40mm range too.

The Battle of Sark

Stephen Maggs gives us a view of the Scottish victory over the English army at Sark in 1448.  Sark is near Dumfries and I have been there a few times, its much like Ayrshire as in its wet, boggy and damn cold when the mood takes it.  Being in the same period as the War of the Roses I know something of this and Sark certainly did contribute to the safety of Scotland over English aggression for a good number of years after the event.  The article gives  map, troop displacements along with orders of battle.  A section on Border Raiding sets the scene and gives us the reasons for the battle.  A full account of the actions of the day follows and then options on wargaming the period and the battle.  This was an excellent battle report and having been to the place it occurred made a difference too.  For those interested the Medus Range at 15mm.co.uk contains many suitable miniatures.

Showdown at Salamanca

One of the decisive battles of the Peninsula War, this battle occurred two hundred years ago this year.  Apt time, according to John Walsh, to look at the battle in detail which is just what he does.  An excellent distilled account from which I remembered elements from my own copies of Oman and also the Osprey title of the battles name.  The pictures taken by Joe Dever show you the scope of the battle in miniature, which is huge, it does need a lot of space, time and a dedicated group to carry it out.  I look forward to next month for the next part!

The High Ground

Steve Eardley writes a good column…oh yes he does!  This month he looks at his new club and his current bugbears too.  This article made me laugh and it made me remember my own encounters with T.W.A.T.S while throwing the dice.  Well worth the cover price of the mag alone in my option it ends with two pages of knowledge on Musket Lines and WW2 publications of rules.

Inkerman 1854

Trevor Hallsall’s final part of this look at this battle in the Crimean War left me a bit cold.  Its a fine piece of writing but its not a war I am keen on.  I much prefer the Napoleonic Era to the middle of the century.  However the scenario did give me some ideas for Flintloque with the Elves against the Undead.

Catching the Train

A scenario from the Anglo-Irish war of 1919-1921 presented by Andy Sykes.  Often hidden by the vastly bigger First World War and the shadow of the coming Spanish Civil War I have not gamed this setting and have not seen it done often either.  That said the scenario is really well done and adding in civilians makes it all the more real.  If you are interested in this conflict then check it out!

The Snipe

David Brown presents an El-Alamein scenario from his new book.  Just as the title says.  Ground covered many times before but with these new rules perhaps differently.  Without the mechanics I could not make a lot from these two pages and moved on from there.

Casting Carefully Considered

It is a real month this time for a look behind the mystery of the hobby.  Steve Eardley lets us look about Old Glory’s casting area and gives us the alchemy of the process.  Really interesting!  I began with Alternative Armies around the spin casters when I was a teen (before that I saw Citadel’s production floor a few times in the eighties) and it has not changed much for all the other things that have changed in twenty years.  While some points in the process are a bit different I can recommend this article for its terms, heart and humour.  Those of use who know the smell of rubber and have seen raw metal alloy turn into little miracles this is familiar stuff; for others…its a look behind the mirror.

Darker Horizons

It seem regular new goodness in the sci-fi and fantasy realms man Gary Mitchell is away for some ‘re-education’ this month so Dave of the Borchester Irregulars sets in to do the round up.  All good stuff which, if nothing else, proves that even in these times of economic recession the gaming industry is thriving with at least four companies named I have NEVER HEARD OF!  Gary does though review a new set of Greek Myth rules but hey ho he would have been better of with my own far cheaper and awesome Typhon rules for mythic skirmish with gods, heroes and monsters (self plug ahoy!).  Look forward to next month when perhaps some of the goodies I sent to Gary turn up in print.

Book and Product Reviews

Reviews of the following titles:  Encyclopaedia of Classical Warfare (1457-1815), Knight: The Warrior and World of Chivalry, The Spanish in North America 1700-1793, Forts of the American Frontier 1776-1891 and The Napoleonic Art of Keith Rocco (I want this one!).  Then comes Prussian Napoleonic Tactics 1972-1815, Shadow Commander (Donald D.Blackburn), Dakota Dawn (1862 Sioux Uprising), Desert Rat (WW2, Osprey) and Collecting Toy Soldiers in the 21st Century.  This last one leaves me cold, not a fan of that side of our hobby at all…always scared to touch things in show cases!  This section ends with a review of the Iwata Neo CN Airbrush by Paul McDonagh in which he finds it..extremely good!

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So, all in all this month’s magazine is, to me, not as fine as last months but still a very good read and of the wargames magazines on the newstand it is the one with the most interesting content.  Oh, and its price does not put the fear of penury in your heart!  Go, get, read, enjoy…game!

I reviewed last months’ MW347 you can see the posting here.

GBS