Due to be published Friday, 24th April, just before Salute, issue 385 is stuffed to the gunnels with good stuff that will keep you occupied this spring!
- Briefing
- Laid low with a lurgy, the Editor has been relying on the power of audio books to keep his morale high, and in the course of listening, his mind has filled with visions of exciting scenarios, intensified by a new 'small actions' book from Charles S. Grant.
- World Wide Wargaming
- The Editor is joined this month by well-known grognard Bob Cordery, who delivers a fascinating account of the reasons he enjoys blogging. His inspiring blog is one of the two featured in our Blogs of the Month, and then we round up with an explanation of how to get your blog noticed by Google.
- Forward observer
- Neil Shuck has been on a visit to Spartan Games, and then has some stern words to say about instruction-less resin models that also suffer from flash. Neil then turns his attention to the question of pose selection within ranges, and the selection of a suitable range for his 15mm WWII gaming, and then figure compatibility across ranges. And as if that wasn't enough, he's got even more to say about scenery!
- Fynbos
- Diane Sutherland finds another use for interesting foliage, other than filling vases on the window ledge. Get ready to make some useful, small scale scatter scenery suitable for surreptitious skirmishers!
- Fantasy facts
- John Treadaway is delighted, at last, to be able to report on some actual fantasy figures in Fantasy Facts, as well as the usual crop of excellent sci-fi products from a range of manufacturers, including Matchlock Miniatures, Arcane, Armies Army, Brigade Models, and Ground Zero Games.
- The march on Madrid, part 2
- Andrew Rolph plunges into the details of running this engrossing, highly charged 1936 Spanish Civil War campaign, taking us through the selection of Nationalist and Rebel forces, the campaign mechanisms, and the special situations prevailing for battles at Badajoz, Toledo and Madrid. Many thanks to Minairons Miniatures for some lovely photos, too!
- The Donald Featherstone Tribute Weekend
- Paul Goodwin and Chris Scott report on the recent weekend celebrating the life and work of one of the hobby's great doyens – where they also managed to play an epic game centered on the struggle for Arnhem in 1944.
- The retreat from Quatre Bras to Mont St Jean
- Historian John Franklin describes the difficult retreat on 17th June 1815 from the field of Quatre Bras, where the Duke of Wellington and his allies had fought a desperate action against the French the previous day, all the while hoping to join the Prussians.
- Flagging spirits
- Arthur Harman makes some colorful proposals for ways of recording the state of mind of your miniature soldiery, using something less obtrusive than the standard methods involving pen, paper or obvious markers.
- The Battle of Dara 530AD
- Jim Webster describes the first battle against the Persians, where Byzantine general Belisarius made his mark, and explains how to refight the action using a popular, free ruleset (Basic Impetus).
- Hex encounter
- Brad Harmer asks "when will then be now?" and tackles the thorny problem of just how long a 'decent interval' there should be between the reality and the game – if at all.
- Send three and fourpence
- In an extended column this month, Conrad Kinch is at the Earth's imagined corners as he discusses the use of grids in wargaming, the games available that use grids, and how to create a gridded surface and terrain.
- Recce
- Our review team has a packed schedule as usual, with a host of books and games under the microscope. More reviews – and an archive of previous reviews – will be uploaded to the website shortly.
- Combat Stress Appeal
- Finally, we have our Combat Stress Appeal (now tantalizingly close to our £20,000.00 GBP target!) and of course, messages from your favorite advertisers.
I'll be at Salute on 25th April.
