More Great Military Science Fiction after Starship Troopers

Dear John,

Now that you have read and apparently enjoyed Starship Troopers, I thought it might interest you to know that it is only the beginning. When Robert Heinlein invented powered-infantry armor and dropped soldiers in pods from spaceships, he also helped create a new subgenre called military science fiction.

If you liked the idea of soldiers in heavy battle-suits that give them near superhuman abilities, I would suggest you check out John Steakly’s Armor, in which a young man hides from his own past inside a suite of armor, and when the stress of battle takes over, he hides even deeper in an alternate personality known as ‘the engine’. Of course, these “armors” are the only things keeping him alive as a computer glitch sends him into combat again and again on the horrific planet called Banshee.

If, however, you prefer a more traditional take on armor, you might enjoy David Drake’s Hammer’s Slammers. The Slammers are a mercenary organization that travel from planet to planet selling the services of their nuclear powered hover-tanks to the highest bidder. David Drake, a Vietnam veteran, has written a host of short stories and novels about the group, and they tend to be harsh, brutal, and as grittily-realistic as science-fiction can be.

Then again, military science fiction doesn’t have to be about mercenary killers or borderline psychotics. In fact, one of the most popular works in the genre stars a likable young boy named Ender Wiggins. Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards (two of science fiction’s highest honors), Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game is about a military prodigy who is taken away from his home to train at a special military academy. It’s a story about being a boy in extreme circumstances and about how things are not always as they first appear. There are few military fans who will have forgotten Ender’s realization that in zero-gravity combat direction has little meaning, and the best way to assault a defended enemy point is feet-first, thus it is always best to remember, “the gate is down”.

These days, military science fiction, like most of science fiction and fantasy is dominated by series. The most successful of these is probably David Weber’s Honor Harrington Series. However, for my own money, I like Dan Abnett’s Gaunt’s Ghosts. This series now spans eleven books and has been described as Richard Sharpe is space. This isn’t terribly accurate however, as the Ghosts novels feature an ensemble cast, and, even on the field of Waterloo, Sharpe never saw the body count that is accumulated in some of these books. There are those who may argue against this series because it is based on a game (Games Workshops Warhammer 40,000) and that it has strong fantasy elements (they often fight demons), but if you like non-stop military sci-fi action, these books are some of the best.

I realize I’ve probably overloaded you with books, but there is just one more work I would like to mention. Should you only ever read one more book of military science fiction, might I suggest Joe Haldeman’s Forever War? The definitive work in the genre, in my opinion, the Forever War, combines incredible action sequences, clever twists, and the idea that faster-than-light-travel can mean that hundreds of years pass while soldiers go and return from distant battlefields. Thus, not only do we get a fast-paced story, but we also see an actual evolution of warfare over the career of one soldier. It is a monumental work of imagination and one not to be missed.

Field of Glory – The Best Miniatures Game!

Here at Osprey Publishing we would never go so far as to claim that Field of Glory is “The Best Miniatures Game”, but apparently the attendees of this year’s UK Games Expo had no such qualms. Beating out a host of worthy competitors, Field of Glory was presented the award by none other than Doctor Who himself, David Tennant.

Baseball and War

There is a spring-time crispness in the Oxford air, and even though I now live in the United Kingdom, it still reminds me of baseball. My favourite team, the Atlanta Braves are off to a good start and their long-time third-baseman, Chipper Jones is having an incredible season, currently batting .418! This means he gets a hit 41.8% of the time. That may not sound like much, but no player has hit over .400 at the end of a season since 1953, when “The Splendid Splinter” Ted Williams hit .406.

Of course, Ted Williams didn’t play a full season in 1953 and for a good reason. In 1952, he had had been recalled to active service as a United States Marine Pilot. He flew 38 combat missions in the Korean War as part of VMF-311, Marine Aircraft Group 33 and was awarded the Air Medal.

Ted Williams had also served in World War II as a flight instructor and was just one of many American baseball heroes to serve in the War. Pitcher, Bob Feller, spent most of the war serving as the chief of an anti-aircraft gun crew on the USS Alabama. Third Baseman Gil Hodges went ashore with the Marines at Okinawa and won the Bronze Star for his service. Major Leaguers Elmer Gedeon and Harry O’Neill were both killed in action.

Despite more than 500 major league players serving in the war effort, baseball continued to be played straight through World War II. In World War I, the US government ordered baseball to finish its season early in 1918, but the war had little other impact.

Of course the war most closely associated with baseball is the United States Civil War. Although there is no clear proof of who invented baseball or where exactly the rules came from, it seems pretty clear that baseball first achieved mass popularity during this war, when thousands of young men were brought together and often had little to do. Although it went by several different names in those days, Baseball was enjoyed by both the Union and Confederacy, although they didn’t always show much respect for each other’s games. In this little excerpt from the Baseball Almanac, George Putnam, a Union Soldier explains why one game had to be called early,

“Suddenly there was a scattering of fire, which three outfielders caught the brunt; the centerfield was hit and was captured, left and right field managed to get back to our lines. The attack...was repelled without serious difficulty, but we had lost not only our centerfield, but...the only baseball in Alexandria, Texas.”

These days, baseball is usually only cancelled because of bad weather conditions. As for myself, I’m hoping that the good weather holds, because on Sunday, the Oxford Kings are taking to the diamond!

Weird War: Bullet-Proof Boxers and the Cosmopolitan Cannon

By the end of the 19th Century, all of the major colonial powers were busy attempting to stake their claims to various parts of China. In 1899 the Chinese populous rose up against these foreigners in a wave of violence that became known as the Boxer rebellion.

The ‘Boxers’ were members of secret Chinese societies whose strange martial arts looked vaguely like boxing to westerners. However, unlike boxing, these martial arts included mystical components such as  swallowing charms. The Boxers claimed that once someone was initiated into the society they would be immune from bullets, and they proved this by firing guns loaded with blanks at their own members. Unfortunately, as the violence escalated and soldiers from the western powers got involved, this bullet immunity was quickly disproved. 

This conflict also produced one history's most cosmopolitan artillery pieces. In 1900, the Boxers had besieged the foriegn embassies within the city of Peking, which forced a number soldiers from various countries to work together. During the siege, a group of Christian Chinese workers who were also under threat, discovered an old British cannon. The cannon was cleaned up and mounted on a gun carriage provided by the Italians. For ammunition, the Russians managed to find some otherwise useless artillery ammunition that was broken down and reworked to fire from the cannon. This jury-rigged gun was then manned by the US Marines who used it to great effect throughout the remainder of the siege.

War on Terror: Political Satire or a Board Game too Far?

It was almost impossible to go to Salute this year and not notice the guys from TerrorBull Games. Dressed in bright orange jumpsuits and surrounded by quotes that declared their own product “Sick” and “Subversive,” they managed to make a board game the surprise hit of a miniature wargame convention.

Putting aside the issue of political correctness for the moment, War on Terror is a very good game, a kind of Risk, meets Monopoly, meets cartoon terrorism. Played on a map of the world whose geography appears to have been drawn by an eight-year old, 2-6 players take on the roles of Empires. Players build up their empires by collecting oil money to create new towns and cities, and collecting cards to wage war on their enemies.

One of the best mechanics of the game is the means by which oil is collected. At the start of the game, an oil counter is placed in each territory. When an empire occupies a territory, the counter is flipped over to reveal a number. At the end of each player’s turn they roll the dice and the resultant number is used to determine which territories produce oil that turn. It is a mechanic that should be familiar to anyone who has played Settlers of Catan. This method not only gives the game a nice bit of randomness, but also means that each game is played on a slightly different board as the strategic value of territories change from game to game and is not just based on board position.

Okay, so why does the game come with an Evil Balaclava? At various points in the game, players are instructed to spin the axis of evil which determines which player is currently an “evil empire” and thus gets to wear the evil balaclava. This player also gets to draw terrorism cards on his or her turn. Terrorism is an easier way to wipe-out your enemies, but it is also more random. At any point during the game a player can surrender his empire and become a terrorist. Players whose empires are bankrupt  automatically become terrorists. The game then becomes a battle between the empires and terrorists in an attempt to “liberate” the world.

Thus, unlike most empire board games, be they Risk or Monopoly, every player in the game gets to keep playing until the end, either as an empire or terrorist. This is a great idea that makes the game a much better social activity than games of elimination. Here at Osprey, we started a game with five people who had never played the game before, and all five really want to play again!

But what about political correctness? The game has none. It makes light of the horrors of modern terrorism and lets players use suicide bombers to explode dirty bombs on one another’s cities. Anyone who is easily offended will likely be offended. It is a fact that the guys at TerrorBull Games have turned into a brilliant marketing tool.

For myself, I think it is wonderful. By reducing Osama bin Laden to a bunch of funny cartoon drawings, we are spitting in the eye of terrorism and sending a message that it doesn’t work. And if you can do that at the same time as you crush your friend’s empire…well, that’s a night well spent.

The Great War in Miniature

Despite its size and historical significance, World War I has never been a popular subject for wargamers. There is a perception that compared to the wars that came before and after it, World War I was a conflict filled with drab uniforms, little unit variation, and few tactics other than sitting in a muddy trench and the occasional suicidal charge into machinegun fire. Thus, when Warhammer Historical announced their next game would be The Great War, they set themselves quite a challenge.

Anyone who has even a passing interest in historical wargaming, has probably heard of Warhammer Historical. An offshoot of Games Workshop, Warhammer Historical crashed onto the scene a decade ago with their popular Warhammer Ancient Battles. They have since followed up this success with a number of other games including the mega-popular Legends of the Old West. Their methodology is simple. Take the tried and tested Games Workshop rules systems and modify them to fit an historical period. Then add in top-notch production values, including lots of photographs of beautifully painted miniatures.

In this sense The Great War comes as no surprise. It is 160 super-slick pages, crammed with big pictures of large terrain layouts and hundreds of miniatures (mostly Great War Miniatures). The rules comprise the first 64 pages of the book; the rest is given over to scenarios and army lists. 

The rules themselves are based very closely on the latest edition of Warhammer 40K, with one very important difference. In The Great War, each figure represents three men. This allows ten figures to represent a platoon, and 30 to represent a company. This clever move allows the game to remain essentially a skirmish game, but allows armies to believably contain battalion, regimental and occasionally even divisional level attachments. Thus standard armies are mostly infantry but can also contain a smattering of machine-guns, artillery pieces, and perhaps even a tank. (There are also rules for the British to field a full tank company).

But how do these rules escape the perception of boring trench warfare? Well, simply by ignoring the middle of the war! The game clearly states that it is designed to recreate the action of World War I in the years 1914 and 1918, thus before and after trench warfare. It distinguishes these two years with a simple but far-reaching rule. In 1914 all figures in the same unit must be within one inch of another figure in this unit. In 1918 this distance is increased to two inches, and a bonus is given to figure survivability.

Happily, in either year the machinegun is still king and charging straight forward will quickly result in a unit evaporating from the table. However, armies are balanced so that there are more men than machine guns, and the game obviously calls for tables that are very crowded with terrain, significantly limiting fields of fire. With standard armies containing 100-120 models, expect games to take up a full evening.

Although they are not the first company to put out a World War I rules set, Warhammer Historical should still be given credit for tackling a very difficult topic for wargaming, but one that certainly deserves more attention than it gets. In the final analysis, they have created a fast, simple, and bloody game that manages to capture some of the flavour of the Great War without getting too bogged down in the mud.   

Warhammer Historical has already announced that there will be two supplemental books. The first dealing with the years of trench warfare (and giving army lists for the USA) and a book dealing with the campaigns in the middle east.

By the way, if your order The Great War from Gripping Beast, you get a free vignette including a figure of the Red Baron

Who Do You Think You Are?

For people interested in their family history, there is little better than discovering  your ancestor fought in the war. The specific war doesn’t matter, because any war allows new opportunities to trace where your ancestor was and what he or she was doing.

With that in mind, Osprey Publishing is packing up the van again this weekend and heading down to London for Who Do You Think You Are, the gigantic family history show going on this Friday-Sunday in the London Olympia. This year’s show includes a special Military History Live section, where we will be setting up shop in stand 110.

This show also marks the first time that Osprey Publishing will be attending an event with its sister company Shire Publications, who will be in stand 427. If you can make it to the show on Saturday, battlefield archaeology expert, Peter Doyle will be on-hand answering your questions from 2:30-4:00PM.

It is set to be a good show and we hope to see you there!

Triumph & Tragedy, Pulp Era Wargaming

Released late last year, Triumph and Tragedy is a simple set of rules for fighting skirmish battles in the “pulp era”, the years between the two world wars. Unlike several other rules sets covering this period, T&T focuses on actual battles between military or at least paramilitary forces, with rules for all kinds of heavy weapons, tanks, and aircraft.

So what is it that makes these rules different from its competitors? Two things. The first is that it takes an almost role-playing approach. Although players may field 20 to 30 figures a side, the game is dominated by a few heroic individuals. These characters are allowed to roll for special skills (and may end up with drawbacks as well). Some people may find this cinematic approach unappealing, others will probably find it right up their alley. It is purely a matter of taste.

The other unique feature of T&T is the turn sequence. Every unit in the game is given its own action card. At the beginning of the turn, the player arranges these cards in the sequence he would like his units to act, while his opponent does the same. Each player then flips over their top card. The unit with the higher initiative acts, followed by the other unit, before two new cards are flipped. This mechanic gives the game a greater degree of tactical thinking than is found in many skirmish rules, forcing a player to plan out much of his turn ahead of time, especially if he wants to co-ordinate the actions of different units.

Production-wise, T&T is one of the new generation of wargame that is blurring the line between a fan produced book and a professional product. The cover is full colour, but the interior is black and white. The layout is simple, but clear, with lots of nice miniature photographs and a few helpful diagrams. The writing is generally clear with an informal style.

All-in-all, Triumph and Tragedy is a decent little set of rules for those who like their games full of cinematic adventure. It also has an active forum over at the Lead Adventure Forum.

Salute – Here we come!

The books are all stacked in the staff room. The shipment of FOG 2: Storm of Arrows reprints arrived this morning. The Angus McBride Poster has been rolled and stored safely. It is almost time for Salute, the wargamer’s shopping paradise.

With the excitement generated by Field of Glory, we suspect the stand will be even busier this year than normal. We will have a good supply of the rulebook and the first three companions available. Of course we will also have all of the new core series titles available, including ELI 162: World War II Desert Tactics and FOR 74: Japanese Castles AD 250 – 1540. So come see us at stand TD10.

It is looking like it will be another great event this year. I have already placed my pre-order with Front Rank, and Phil is trying to convince me to get into 6mm Science Fiction, thanks to the guys over at Dark Realms Miniatures.

Win an Angus McBride Poster at Salute!

On April 19th, Osprey will be attending Salute, the premiere shopping event in the wargame calendar. As always, we’ll be bringing all of our new and recently released titles, including Field of Glory, as well as a large selection of our back stock. Of course it is not possible for us to bring a copy of every book we have in print, so if you have any special requests, let us know.

This year, apart from selling books and chatting with our customers, we will also be giving away a giant (approx. 800cm x 1,500cm) Angus McBride poster printed on extra-tough PVC. Take a look at the attached file for a preview.

Download maa436_plateG.jpg

Sharp-eyed customers will recognize the image as the cover for Men-at-Arms 436: The Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500.

So come by the stand and enter for a chance to win this unique poster.

Flying the hump

Later this year, Osprey will be releasing a book on the 23rd Fighter Group, that famous unit of American flyers who painted their planes with sharksmouths and led a guerrilla war against the Japanese from secret bases within China. 126 pilots lost their lives while fighting for the 23rd, but they were far from the only Allied casualties suffered in the campaign.

To keep those famous flyers armed and to support the Chinese army, it was necessary to fly supplies over the Himalayan Mountains from India. The Americans called it “the hump,” and though there were no enemy fighters with which to contend, it was a dangerous and deadly mission. Over 400 allied aircraft were lost among those high peeks. Officially, the pilots and crews are listed as missing in action.

It is a sad testament in war that men going missing, are officially neither alive nor dead. It is sadder still when the government that sent those men off to war makes no attempt to find them. Although the US government apparently spends over $100 million each year to attempt to locate MIAs, its efforts have not reached into the Himalayas.

However, as reported in the Raleigh News & Observer, an individual has stepped in where the government has failed. Combining his love of mountaineering with a desire to help find these forgotten soldiers, Clayton Kuhles has set up his own website in order to disseminate the information from his finds. To date, he has found, identified, and meticulously recorded eight crash-sites and has leads on another fourteen.

Although in military history we tend to focus on the front-line fighters, these men are always backed by a huge support network, such as the men who flew the hump. These men also risked their lives and often lost them. They too deserved to be remembered. They deserve to be found.

Want to get your miniatures published?

Slitherine and Osprey are currently searching for good quality photographs of well-painted miniatures to be used along side the appropriate army lists in upcoming Field of Glory Companion books. If you've got the necessary painting and photography skills, why not send us a picture and have a chance to have your miniatures immortalized in print. You will of course be credited. The subjects for which we are currently seeking are listed below. Ideally, we are looking for a couple of picture for each subject, in either 28 or 15mm. Both individual miniatures and group shots will be considered.

Although there is no specific deadline for this, we will be filling up the spaces as soon as we find pictures we like, so get yours in soon.

Please send your submission here.

Please send pictures in 72dpi. If we would like to use your picture we will ask for a high-resolution version.

Army Lists for which we are currently seeking pictures:

Arab Conquest
Khurasanian Dynasties
Western Turkish
Early Bulgar
Pecheneg
Avar
Early South Slav
Dailami Dynasties
Bedouin Dynasties
Later Bulgarian
Later Lithuanian
Later Polish
Catalan 1302 to 1388
Wallachian/Moldavian
Albanian
Timarid/ Black sheep/ White Sheep
Hussite

Alcohol, Violence and America

There is a story in my family that when my great-great-great grandfather marched off to join the ranks of the Confederate Army, his wife set up a still on the farm and sent her husband regular shipments of liquid courage. This story is especially strange since she was a prohibitionist.

Then again, America has always had a somewhat confused relationship with alcohol, which and this has often been tied up with violence. In 1794, General George Washington organized a large army in order to put down “The Whiskey Rebellion,” organized by a group of Pennsylvania whiskey makers who felt threatened by federal taxes.

Meanwhile, in its ongoing cold war with the Native Americans, the Europeans used alcohol as a weapon, selling it as a powerful drug that wreaked havoc on Native American communities.

Such were the problems surrounding alcohol in American that it was outlawed in 1920, in a move now referred to as “Prohibition”. The main result of this was the meteoric rise of organized crime. Men such as Al Capone and Bugs Moran became criminal warlords and the back streets of Chicago became their battlefield.

With the repeal of prohibition in 1933, individual states were allowed to make their own laws concerning the sale of alcohol. Which is why in North Carolina you can walk into a gas station with no shirt and no shoes and buy a case of beer, but not before noon on a Sunday.

Also coming on the heels of prohibition was the legal drinking age, which was originally set at 21. However, this led to the strange situation where a young man could be drafted and trained to kill, but couldn’t buy a drink. This seemingly ridiculous situation caused over half of the states to lower the drinking age during the Vietnam War.

However, this ended up leading to so many young people dying (usually in cars) that in 1984, the drinking age was again raised to 21. Meanwhile, the US Army seems to have adopted the line most American Universities follow of not paying much attention to what its members consume in their off-hours.

What with America’s proud history of alcohol, I thought you might all be interested in celebrating the “revolutionary spirit” with a bottle of the new Blue Coat Gin.

The Stress of Wargaming and New Year Resolutions

Why does wargaming cause me so much stress? It is just a hobby, a barely grown-up version of playing with toy soldiers, created for the sole purpose of having fun. And yet, these days, I seemed to spend almost as much time worrying about wargaming as I do enjoying it.

So, I am resolved that with the coming of the New Year, I’m going to put the fun back into my hobby by identifying the sources of my stress and eliminating them.

Number 1: The Unpainted Lead Pile. Every wargamer knows what I’m talking about. The huge box, drawer, closet, or off-site storage facility filled with unpainted miniatures. I suppose it is the impossibility of ever painting all these miniatures, while continuously adding more, that makes me worry about the pile. I would estimate that right now, I have about 300-500 unpainted miniatures sitting in my house, and that is not counting the hundreds I left back in the States when I moved to the UK. The easiest thing to do would be to throw them all away, but I just can’t bring myself to do that in most cases.
It is time for drastic measures – I have decided that I will get rid of 20% of my unpainted miniatures, accepting that I will never paint them. It’ll be hard, but I’m allowing myself to keep 4 out of 5, so I think I can manage it. Then, I’m going to take The Pledge. The Pledge is an idea that has been floating around the community for sometime, I believe originating on The Miniatures Page. The Pledge basically says that I will paint a specific number of miniatures for everyone one I buy. I will be making a 3 to 1 pledge. I will paint 3 miniatures for everyone 1 I buy in the coming year. I will hold myself to this, to the extent that if I haven’t painted enough miniatures to buy more, I will not attend a given convention. Although this could spectacularly backfire and cause me even more stress, I think it will make me happier about my hobby in the long run.

Number 2: Basing. Am I the only one who gets stressed out trying to figure out how to base my miniatures? There are just so many different options these days and every game system seems to suggest a different one. Well, no more of it. I have decided that all my miniatures 1/72 and above will be individually based. 1/72s on pennies. 28mm Ancients and Medieval on 20mm square bases. Everybody else on Games Workshop style round bases. That’s it. Done. I’m not going to think about it anymore. If I need specific base sizes for other systems I’ll make temporary bases out of cardboard or I just won’t play. I refuse to spend anymore time stressing out on the subject.

Number 3: Subscribe to Battlegames. It is just a fun read and makes it easy to be enthusiastic about the hobby. I also want one of those cool folders that holds your whole collection.

Number 4: Play More Games. Amidst all of the painting, research, buying, and rules reading, it is amazing how easy it is to forget to make time to actually play war games. Which is rather silly since it is the whole point. Luckily for me, I’ve got a mate here at work who is always up for a game (if only he could settle on one genre at a time). I really don’t think it is important to play loads, just a game or two a month would probably be enough for me, just to remember why I love it so much.

So, that is it. Four little steps that I hope will eliminate stress and make the next year a more enjoyable one for me gaming-wise. That said, if anyone has any other suggestions, I’m listening.

Happy Thanksgiving from Osprey!

Although Thanksgiving is generally associated with the Pilgrim settlers, it actually became an official United States holiday under Abraham Lincoln during the height of the Civil War, a time of blood and sacrifice. So, as you polish off the eighteen-pound turkey and settle in to watch the Dallas Cowboys win or the Detroit Lions lose, take a moment to give thanks to all those who have gone before and helped make this day a possibility.

And to my own family, feasting away down in Edisto Island, SC, send me a drumstick and a Mountain Dew!

The Loot from Warfare

This weekend I took the short train-ride over to Reading for Warfare 2007. This annual convention, which is hosted by the Wargames Association of Reading, is one of the best deals on the convention calendar. Just £4 buys a full day of games, talk, and access to around 70 dealers.

This year I went in uniform (my Osprey shirt), and ended up talking to quite a few of our fans. Most people wanted to know about Field of Glory – when is it coming out? What armies are going to be included? what basing system does it use? A few people were interested in our out-of-print books and if we have any plans to reprint such and such a title. (The short answer to that question is – yes we do!). I know that for many people, the chance to talk to like-minded hobby fans is THE reason for attending conventions. For me, however, the primary purpose of Warfare was shopping.

I was working with a pretty limited budget this year, but the dealer’s room still had plenty of opportunities for me. My first purchase was two packs of discount Foundry figures for an Expeditionary Force I’m working on. How many places can you pick up Foundry packs for £5 a piece? Later, I picked up a discounted box of Horrorclix Aliens figures for my Space Hulk project. (Thanks to the guys at The Miniatures Page for putting me on to these). I rounded out my day by purchasing a new figure case from Figures in Comfort and a few Vallejo paints. My one regret, because there is always a regret after a con, was not dropping some money at Black Cat Bases, which had all kinds of neat stuff available. Next time.

Anyway, thanks to everyone at the Wargames Association of Reading for putting on another great Warfare. I’d love to hear what everyone else bought, or regrets not buying this year. Also, I’d be interested to know if there was anything good on the Bring and Buy table, because, try as I might, I could never get near the thing.

Victory at Sea, Winners and Miniatures

Let me begin by saying thanks to everyone who posted a comment on the Victory at Sea review. Between the review and the comments, I think that anyone who is interested in getting into World War II naval miniatures has some great ideas for where to start. I myself was surprised by the variety of miniature companies named.

The most popular appears to be Navwar which has an extensive range of 1:3,000 scale warships. Unfortunately their website has few pictures, though I’m sure if you scour the web you can find some. It does, however, list all the ships you need to play a number of the scenarios in Victory at Sea rulebook with the prices attached. The prices seem very affordable.

Several people also mentioned the War at Sea prepainted miniatures from Wizards of the Coast. I have to admit, this was my first thought upon reading the rules. These ships are much larger 1:600 scale. They are packaged randomly which is a serious drawback for some people.

Another company that got several mentions was GHQ. This company boasts a very large line of WWII naval vessels in 1:1,200 scale. The website is once again lacking in pictures, which is a disappointment. With the bigger scale comes a larger price.

Finally, Panzerschiffe is also worth a look. They make 1:2,400 scale vessels and have the big advantage of having pictures of the miniatures on their website, although the pictures don’t always match the ship you click on (I think this is because they’ve used one ship’s picture for every ship in the same class).

All of the companies produce miniatures that would be perfect for Victory at Sea and provide a nice variation in scale and price.

Mongoose will soon be releasing Order of Battle, a supplement for Victory at Sea with all sorts of new goodies. Hopefully we can get a review copy of that as well (and maybe a couple of giveaways!)

The Victory at Sea rulebook giveaways were won by Jason Youngdale and Lutz. Thanks again to everyone.

A Great Collectable at the Royal Mail

While I understand that many people in the UK are still feeling a little bitter towards the Royal Mail after weeks of on-again off-again postal strikes, there is now a good reason for military history fans and collectors to take a trip down to their local post office.

That reason is the “British Army Uniform” stamp set that was released this September. This little set include six stamps depicting soldiers from British History, starting with an English Civil War Cavalier and running up to the present day. Better yet, the images for the stamps were all painted by long-time Osprey artist Graham Turner!

If that wasn’t enough to make this set a necessary buy, the stamps come in a foldout, cardstock envelope, covered in more great illustrations. The outside has a nice painting called The Scottish Regiments of the British Army in 1895 by R Simkin. Inside, is a large-picture of a British Napoleonic Rifleman (also on one of the stamps) surrounded by close-ups of most of his equipment. It looks very much like a plate right out of an Osprey Warrior book.

Considering the cost of most military collectables these days, it is nice to be able to walk into the local post office and walk out with a great little set of artwork for less than five pounds.

However, if you can’t make it to the post office, you can also order the set online at the link above. Of course, if you do that, you’ll have to wait 5 to 10 days for shipping…

Victory at Sea (WWII Naval Miniatures Rules) – Review and Giveaway!

For years now, I have been interested in World War II naval gaming, but I have always been scared off by the complexity of most rules systems. Thus, when Mongoose Publishing sent over a copy of their new game, Victory at Sea, I picked it up with a bit of trepidation. My fears were quickly laid to rest.

Victory at Sea is a complete game contained within a slender hardback book, packed with nice period photographs. The book is divided into a number of sections: rules (18 pages), scenarios (14 pages), campaign rules (6 pages) fleet lists (56 pages) and ship and aircraft counters (8 pages). The counters are a nice addition that allows you to play the game right after purchase; however, most people will probably want to quickly replace them with some actual miniatures.

The rules themselves are presented in a straightforward and easy to follow manner. Each game turn is divided into phases, the most important being the movement phase and the attack phase. During the movement phase, the players go back and forth moving one ship (or submarine or flight of aircraft) at a time. The attack phase is handled the same way with one ship firing at a time. During an attack, each ship fires a number of attack dice based on its number of turrets. Hits are determined based on range and the facing of the target ship. For every hit scored, the attacker gets to role a number of damage dice based on the size of its guns. These rolls are then compared to the armour value of the target ship. Any dice that beat the armour cause a point of damage and possibly a critical hit.

Small ships like destroyers have only a few damage points and can be quickly blown to pieces by a broadside from a heavy cruiser or battleship. Larger craft tend to be slowly battered to pieces, suffering multiple critical hits that impair the ship’s performance. The best part about the combat system is how quick and simple it is, while still returning results that seem accurate and plausible.

Unlike some systems, Victory at Sea abstracts torpedo attacks into simple attack roles and does not depict the torpedoes on the board. This makes sense considering the time frame of a turn and how quickly ships can move around the board. Aircraft on the other hand are represented by counters depicting a flight of aircraft and can prove deadly to even the toughest ships.

With a bevy of historical scenarios to re-fight and extensive fleet lists covering all the major naval powers of World War II, players should have no shortage of possible battles to stage.

So, interested in giving Victory at Sea a try? You might be in luck. Mongoose Publishing sent along a couple of extra copies of the book and said we should feel free to give them away. If you would like to win one of these free copies, just post a comment after this article naming your favourite producer of World War II naval miniatures. Two respondents will be randomly selected to win a copy of the game.

This contest closes at noon, seven days from the date of posting, so get your comments in now.

My “Battlegames” and Growing Into “Old School” Wargaming

Can you remember the exact moment you became a wargamer? I’ve read accounts of people (okay, just men) who got their first look at a wargame table or an army in a glass cabinet and were hooked for life. Not so for me. As a youth, I was a proud role-player. Dungeons & Dragons, MERP, GURPS, Call of Cthulhu and dozens more lined my shelves, but as the years passed, I seemed to spend more and more time painting miniatures to accompany the games than I did actually playing the games themselves. My first miniature army consisted of Mithril Miniatures Orcs mounted on rough-hewn basal wood bases, and was assembled without thought to a rules system or ever fielding them against an opponent.

After I left University and easy access to role-playing groups, I spent even more time painting miniatures and began to look for ways to use them in solo games. My first real forays into wargaming used modified role-playing systems and thus tended to be overly complicated and rather clunky on the tabletop. Still, it was enough to keep me interested.

As the years passed, I moved onto other systems, true wargames, though usually still fantasy or science fiction. Warhammer Fantasy, and many a homebrewed system took over my hobby time. In those days I was all about tables and charts; the more complicated a system the better. I didn’t mind spending hours to resolve a turn.

I’m older now (though I hesitate to say I’ve matured), and I once again feel I’m going through a change in my gaming preferences. I no longer have the time or energy for overly complicated systems. I just want to push some figures around and roll some dice, without any algebra involved.

Interestingly enough, this seems to be exactly the philosophy touted by Battlegames Magazine, which claims to represent the spirit of “Old School” wargaming. To date, I have read all eight issues of the magazine and enjoyed them all to a greater or lesser extent. So, I have begun to wonder, am I becoming an old-school wargamer? Is it possible to grow into the old-school?

I suppose only time will tell. Right now, my favourite rules set is Savage World, which, I would guess most old-schoolers would find a bit overly complex. Also, I think I spend a lot more time painting individual miniatures than most. Still, the old-schoolers have one very important thing going for them – they rarely seem to forget that the main reason behind the whole hobby is just to have fun.

World War II Air Combat, Science-Fiction Style

For years now, Forge World has been quietly making a name for itself by providing high-quality miniatures for Games Workshop's series of games. Now, for the first time, they’ve produced a game on their own, and presented it in a style that is unequalled in the gaming community.

Aeronautica Imperialis is a game of tactical aerial combat set in the Warhammer 40K universe. Despite this science-fiction setting, the game plays like a World War II fighter simulation, with planes spinning, diving, and looping through the air trying to catch their enemies from behind. The basic rules are presented in just 16 pages, but these simple mechanics serve to complement how much thought the players must put into manoeuvring their aircraft.

Even for those who have no intention of playing the game, there are still many reasons to buy Aeronautica Imperialis. The book is a hardback folio with 176 super-slick pages, lavishly illustrated and full-colour throughout. Most of these pages are given over to a catalogue of the various aircraft available in the game. Each aircraft receives several pages including a number of colour profile-shots depicting various paint schemes and highly detailed scale line drawings (though unfortunately the scale is not given). These pages are almost, dare I say it, Osprey-esque, though the quality is such that even hardcore Osprey readers will be impressed.

Not only is Aeronautica Imperialis a great little game that requires a lot of thought, the book is an indispensable guide for anyone who wishes to collect, or even attempt to scratch-model, aircraft from the Warhammer 40K universe.

Christmas Card Results!

Voting has indeed closed on the Osprey christmas card competition, and it was a landslide victory for the Angus McBride Vikings. Of the 41 official votes cast, the Vikings received 26 while the US Army got 8 and the Imperial Guard 7. We’d like to thank everyone who participated in the voting and helped us to resolve our office debate.

The randomly selected winner was Mike O’Brien. Mike will receive 50 copies of the finished card as soon as our designer and printer are done with them.

Thanks again to everyone, and hopefully you can help us out with more tough decisions in the future.

Weird War: Legend of the Tarheels

During the American Civil War, many Confederate units were poorly equipped, and one of the items they commonly lacked was shoes. Although there is no historical evidence, there is a legend that some of the North Carolina troops coated the bottoms of their feet in hot tar, in order to protect them on the long marches. To this day, people from North Carolina are often referred to as “tarheels”, and the state’s largest University has officially adopted the nickname.

North Carolina Civil War Tidbits:

In an 1866 report on Civil War deaths by state, North Carolina was reported to have lost over 20,000 men killed in battle. The second highest state, Virginia, lost just over six thousand.

At Gettysburg, the 26th North Carolina regiment suffered 688 casualties, the worst losses by a unit in any battle in the Civil War.

At the Battle of Chancellorsville a North Carolina Regiment mistakenly fired on Stonewall Jackson, causing wounds that led to his death.

Andrew Johnson, who became president upon the death of Abraham Lincoln, was born just outside the North Carolina Capital.

The Osprey Christmas Card – You Decide and Win!

Over the past few years, it has become a tradition here at Osprey to send out Osprey-artwork Christmas cards to all of our suppliers, business partners, and contributors. Unfortunately, most of the artwork that appears in our books is not exactly “Christmassy,” and after a few years it has become increasingly difficult to select a good image. This year, we have managed to narrow it down to three choices, but have reached an impasse on which image to use. Thus, we decided we would let our fans decide, and as an added bonus give you a chance to win 50 copies of the finished card to send out to all of your friends and relatives.

To participate, simply post a comment after this entry picking one of the three choices. One respondent will be randomly selected to win the free cards.

Here are the choices:

Number 1: Vikings. Three merry Vikings painted by Angus McBride from Elite 3: The Vikings.

Number 2: Imperial Guard. The Imperial Guard charging through the lightly falling snow by Richard Hook from Warrior 22: Imperial Guardsman 1799-1815.

Number 3: US Army. United States Airborne and Armoured forces digging in around Bastogne ready to celebrate a cold Christmas by Peter Dennis from Campaign 145: Battle of the Bulge (2) Bastogne.

Voting closes at noon, one week from today!

War at Sea – Fantastic Little Toys

In War at Sea the miniature of the battleship Iowa is six-inches long. It is a glorious little toy that just begs to be used in a tabletop wargame.

War at Sea is the latest offering from Wizards of the Coast. It is a pre-painted, collectable miniatures game that allows the players to re-fight the great naval conflicts of World War II.

The game is played on a large foldout map broken into squares. Each miniature has a corresponding stat card that gives its movement, combat abilities, and any special rules. Attacks are resolved by throwing a handful of six-sided dice, and ships can be damaged, crippled, or sunk. The rules are simple and easy to learn, focusing on playability over historical accuracy.

The real story of War at Sea, however, is the miniatures. The ships are 1/1,800 scale, which may sound small but means that even the destroyers are over two inches long. Aircraft are 1/900 scale. This scale difference actually helps make the aircraft look like they are flying above the battlefield. Say what you will about collectability and pre-paints, these miniatures are nothing less than fantastic, and I believe that many people will be drawn to collecting them whether they use the official War at Sea rules or some other system.

Wargaming Beyond the Comfort Zone

Last week, my co-worker Phil and I decided that it was time for a miniature Viking throw-down, warband versus warband. Since neither of us had a strong opinion on a rules-set, we decided to see what was available on freewargamesrules. Eventually, we settled on a game called Ages of Blood by Tom Hinshelwood.

Ages of Blood is a simple, skirmish level game with a bit of Norse-fantasy flavour and a well-developed campaign system. As far as mechanics go, I think the game is quite good; however, there is one aspect of the game that bothers me. Before each battle, the players role dice to see how many non-combatants are present. Viking warriors are rewarded for each of these non-combatants they manage to kill during the battle.

Now perhaps I’m just being naive. After all, Vikings were big, nasty guys with a homicide habit and killing women and children was certainly not beyond them. Shouldn’t a game about Vikings include this?

No. Not my Viking game anyway. I don’t mind playing wargames that involve innocent people getting killed, but only if I get to play the side that is trying to defend them. Is that hypocritical? It doesn’t matter if it is. Every wargamer has a comfort-level, and it is not something that can be determined by logic. It is a gut feeling.

I’m still looking forward to my big match-up with Phil’s Vikings, but I think we’ll set it on some uninhabited island in the Orkneys.

Weird War: Death on the Privy

On a recent holiday to Slovenia, I got the chance to visit Predjama Castle near the town of Postonja. Constructed inside a shallow cave halfway up a sheer cliff-face, the castle is one of the most impressive defensive structures I have ever seen. Not only that, but its history contains one very odd episode.

In the year 1478 ownership of Predjama castle passed to a knight named Erasmus. A rascally sort, Erasmus had a habit of robbing travellers and eventually managed to kill a relative of the Holy Roman Emperor. Furious, the Emperor dispatched a knight named Ravbar to besiege Predjama and starve Erasmus out.

Months passed as the army sat below the high walls, their cannons aimed but silent. Meanwhile, supplies continued to pour into the castle through a secret tunnel that ran down from the top of the cliff into the back of the highest tower. In contempt of his besiegers, Erasmus began to send gifts of food to the army below.

Realizing that the siege was useless, Ravbar adopted a new tactic. Bribing the servant who brought the food, Ravbar learned the exact spot of Erasmus’ privy. The next time that Erasmus felt the call of nature, the servant sent a signal down to the army. The army opened up with their cannons and sent a ball straight through the thin privy walls, killing Erasmus where he sat.

It certainly qualifies as one of the most ignoble deaths in military history.

Songs of Battle: Jack Hardy’s The 111th Pennsylvane

Along with books and miniatures, one of my favorite items of military history to collect is music. Not the contemporary music of past wars, though I’m sure that is an interesting pursuit, but modern songs that tell the tales of battles long ago. I have songs about Napoleon, Custer, and the trenches of the Great War, but the topic that seems to most interest songwriters appears to be the American Civil War. I have quite a library of songs covering this conflict, but my favorite by far is Jack Hary’s 111th Pennsylvane from his album Civil Wars.

“Our guns were stacked when Stonewall Jackson took us by surprise, by being where Stonewall Jackson could not be.”

At nearly nine minutes in length, the song is a haunting epic that tells the story of the title regiment from its founding to the end of the war through the recollections of a broken young man.

Jack Hardy’s strained, “everyman” voice, combined with a mournful banjo, lend a sense of doom to his lyrics that vary from uncomfortable directness to harsh metaphor. In one verse he describes the violence of battle with “chests and limbs and unsung hymns and God Almighty’s ire.”

There is no glory in this song, only condemnation, and yet it strangely beautiful. It is not any easy song to find these days, but if you manage it, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Have you painted an Osprey miniature lately?

Like many couples, my wife and I recently encountered a big problem. We didn’t want to order two copies of the final Harry Potter, but neither of us could stand the other knowing what happened first. We compromised and decided that she would read the entire book out loud, while I got some painting done. (That’s what I call a winning compromise!)

Over the course of two full days of reading, I was able to paint 4 Green Berets, 1/72 Napoleonic French Infantry, 10 Pig Iron Kolony Militia, 2 Crusader Dwarves, and a 1/72 Roman General.

A few days after this marathon, with my wife still speaking in a hoarse whisper, I happened to flip open Osprey’s Men-at-Arms 291: Republican Army 200-104 BC and saw my general right there. Okay, there are a few subtle differences, the cloak is arranged a bit different, the tunic has some extra decoration, but can anyone really think that the sculptor wasn’t looking at this plate while working on the figure?

It got me wondering just how many “Osprey Miniatures” are out there, charging across tabletops all over the world...

With Crusader, Simple means Great!

For years Mark Sims at Crusader Miniatures has been producing some of the best historical miniatures on the market. Now he has brought his uncomplicated style to a new set of historical miniatures rules entitled Crusader. Released at Salute 2007, The Crusader rulebook is a slick 64-page volume crammed with diagrams and top-notch miniature photography. Such high production values are surprising in a book priced at £7.50.
The rules are written in a conversational style, aimed at friendly play rather than tournament settings. The game revolves around units each composed of several bases of miniatures. Neither the scale, nor the number of miniatures on a base is important so long as it is consistent. Although the rules incorporate separately based commanders, there are no “heroes” in the game.
The mechanics of the game are refreshingly simple without being childish. Combat uses d10s, allowing the success of attacks to be determined with just one throw of the dice, a factor that greatly speeds play. Rules for movement and morale are equally quick and easy.
In such a slender volume there is little room for army lists, and only a few examples are given. However, unit statistics can be easily extrapolated, and expansions both in print and on the web are promised.
All-and-all, Crusader is a great set of rules for people who want to field a historically accurate force, but don’t want to get bogged down in endless rules minutia.

Weird War: Shaka made the Zulus dance

There are many stories of the brutality and ruthlessness of the Zulu warrior-king Shaka, and a few of them might even be true.

During his rise to power in the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Shaka introduced a new style of warfare based on hand-to-hand fighting with a stabbing spear. In order to encourage his warriors to use it, he is said to have executed any man who returned from battle without his weapon. Either the man had lost it and was careless, or he had thrown it at the enemy and was a coward.
Also important to this new form of warfare was speed. Thus, when the army marched, Shaka would kill the slowest man.
The above tales may or may not be true; however, one story that is particularly strong in Zulu oral tradition is how Shaka toughened his warrior’s feet. Shaka would have thorns scattered all over the central cattle pen at one of his royal homesteads. He would then order his warriors to dance around the pen in bare feet. The first man who complained was killed, thus encouraging the rest to redouble their efforts.

- With thanks to Ian Knight (http://www.kwazulu.co.uk).

The Great Pre-Paint Debate Enters a New Stage?

As someone who paints miniatures both for fun and profit, I have watched the debate about pre-painted miniatures raged across wargaming and role-playing forums. Although interesting, I've never been particularly worried about it. That is until recently.

In years past (and with apologizes to both em-4 and Dwarven Forge, pre-painted miniatures have been tied to the concept of “collectability”, meaning that already painted miniatures had to be purchased in random boxes with the cooler figures being less common. “Collectability” made it impossible to easily assemble the army you wanted or get that one figured you really needed.

But now a new wave of pre-painted figures is hitting the markets. Mongoose Publishing and Rackham have both introduced new wargames with pre-painted figures. These figures are sold in squad packs where you know exactly what you are getting. Smaller companies such as Great White Games are also jumping onboard the pre-paint wagon.

Still, it wasn’t until I heard that Reaper Miniatures was getting into pre-paints that I got truly worried. When Reaper introduces its line of pre-painted miniatures later this year, it will represent the first time a traditional metal miniatures company has taken their old moulds and used them to create pre-painted miniatures on a mass scale. It will also be the first time that these figures will be packaged individually, so that you can get just the ogre you want.

I can take only one comfort in all of this. Pre-painted miniatures still aren’t that good. The paint jobs are not terrible when viewed from a distance, but they are still worse than a vast majority of miniatures painted by all but a beginner.

Of course, therein lies the problem. If hobby newcomers can buy already painted figures that look better than the ones they paint themselves, what motivation is there to ever pick up a brush?

The Ultimate Guide to Napoleonic Uniforms

The two volumes of John R Elting’s Napoleonic Uniforms crashed onto my desk with an impact that tumbled my 28mm Romans and shook the battleship Iowa from the top of my monitor.

Through the smoke and the haze I heard the question. “Do you want to review these?”

“No”, I thought as I flipped open to a random page, “I want to own these!”

And I doubt that I’m the only one.

The new edition of Napoleonic Uniforms being issued by the combined forces of Casemate Publishing and Greenhill Books is probably one of the most beautiful books of militaria ever produced.

A pair of A4 tomes bound in red cloth and held in a similar slipcase, the books contain over 900 illustrations depicting the uniforms of every regiment within the Grande Armée. Painted by Herbert Knötel in a sketchy watercolour style, the color plates perfectly capture the feel of the era and the figures they contain are imbued with a sense of character and nobility. All of the illustrations are accompanied by a short commentary by John R Elting discussing the regiment and its uniform.

Although the format may sound familiar to Osprey fans, this book is so much more than a king-sized Men-at-Arms. It is a work of art unto itself.

Sadly, I know that most people’s book buying budget will not extend to the $300 price tag (or even the $250 special for pre-orders), but if you are one of the lucky few I don’t see how you can go wrong adding this to your collection.

Cheaper Humvees!

Need to mechanize your 1/72 or 20mm modern troops on the cheap? Try checking your local toy store. The problem with toy cars from a gaming perspective is that they lack scale. That is to say that all toy cars tend to be the same size, whether they depict a mini-cooper or an ambulance. However, in a lucky twist, when a humvee is done at toy car size, it is almost dead on 1/72 scale.

Hot Wheels currently produce a turtleback humvee that is almost exactly 1/72 scale (apart from the wheels which are a little large). Unfortunately, it is chrome so will need a paint job, but at £0.99 (not sure of U.S. prices, sorry) it is a great deal.

Matchbox currently has a “Hummer H2 SUV Concept,” which is a dead-ringer for a troop- carrying humvee. It is painted in snow-camo and also goes for £0.99.

Fast Lane, which is Toy R Us’s own brand of toy cars includes a number of five-car military packs. One of these packs includes 2 humvees, one turtle back with a TOW missile-launcher, the other with some kind of ridiculously big triple rocket system. The rocket launcher can be removed to make it into a pick-up style humvee. These packs go for £4 each, but can often be found on sale 3-for-2. These humvees are slightly larger, but go well with 1/72 figures mounted on penny bases. They are painted a drab green. (See below for an example)

So far I've only 8 of them, but at this price, I'm bound to get more. If any of you guys have done the same thing, or know of similar wargaming bargains, I'd definitely be interested to hear about them. Might even put the best pics in a future post...

Battlefield: Evolution - A breath of fresh air

With the release of the Battlefield: Evolution Advanced Rulebook, Mongoose Publishing has demonstrated how a few simple rules can add up to a very elegant system. In fact, there are three rules/concepts in particular that deserve mention.

Actions In Battlefield: Evolution each unit gets two actions each turn. This can be two moves, move and shoot, ready a heavy weapon and shoot, or whatever. This simple concept allows for incredible levels of tactical flexibility, and causes the players to really think about their actions instead of just moving and shooting every turn. Also, it allows for two other concepts to be seamlessly brought into the game. When units come under a certain level of fire, they lose actions, thus getting pinned down. Meanwhile, leader figures grant extra actions, allowing well-led troops to overcome pinning.

D6/D10 The game uses two different types of dice. Although this means a few more dice are necessary, it allows for the same shooting/damage system to be used for both infantry and vehicles. This decreases complexity without compromising believability.

Reactions The best part about Battlefield: Evolution is the reaction system. Basically, any time a unit completes an action within 10 inches of an enemy unit, that enemy unit gets a free action. A unit also gets a free action if it is fired upon. This rule gives the game a great back and forth feel and serves as a built in over-watch system. However, units may only react once in any enemy turn, so sometimes you really have to think about when to react.

None of these rules seem revolutionary when written on paper, but when put together and applied on the tabletop, they combine to form one of the best wargaming systems ever produced.

Weird War: Island of Open Graves

When the 78 Marines of the US V Amphibious Scout Company landed on the Apamama islands, they discovered their enemy lying dead in the bottom of open graves. Apamama is a group of six tiny islands lying some 75 miles south-east of the island of Tarawa. It was once home to the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, who moved there to try and better cope with tuberculosis. In 1942, the Japanese occupied the islands leaving a garrison of 25 troops. Later, as the tide turned in the Pacific war and the US went on the offensive, the 78 Marines were dispatched by submarine to Apamama as part of the larger campaign to capture the island of Tarawa. Supported by the submarine’s deck gun, the Marines assaulted the island in rubber boats. It was there they found the open graves. Eventually, the Marines were able to patch together what had happened by questioning the native islanders. It seems that the Japanese officer had accidentally shot and killed himself while addressing his troops. Deprived of leadership, the Japanese soldiers dug their own graves and then shot themselves.

The Sad Passing of Wargames Journal

Am I wrong to mourn the passing of Wargames Journal? I know it's not truly dead; it will continue as a free online magazine. I know this medium possesses many advantages, but I can’t help but think that something important has been lost. Perhaps it has to do with why I love miniatures games. If all I wanted was a war game, there are plenty of very good computer games and board games available. But I need something solid, something tactile, something that I can pick up and move across the terrain. In the same way, I need a magazine that I can physically hold and flip the pages. I want to hear the clatter and thump as it comes through my letterbox. I want to align the issues on my shelf in sequential order, just below the shelves where hundreds of miniature soldiers stand guard. I know there are plenty of people that will be happy that Wargames Journal has gone digital (and certainly happy that it is now free), but for me the best miniatures magazine on the market has become a ghost of its former self, and the whole hobby is a little less fun because of it. Maybe it is time to subscribe to Battlegames.

The Return of Willie & Joe: America’s funniest GIs

Most people probably think there was nothing funny about World War II, but lucky for us the soldier and cartoonist Bill Mauldin disagreed. After joining the United States army in 1940, the young man from New Mexico began to draw cartoons about his wartime experiences. His cartoons were picked up by the US Army publication Stars and Stripes and became a huge hit among the armed forces. Most of his cartoons were single-panel jokes about the day-to-day lives of the dogfaces, the average American Infantrymen. Often these cartoons starred a pair of dirty, sloppily dressed GIs named Willie and Joe, who are usually depicted sitting in the mud, standing in the rain, or trudging down an endless dirt road. In one memorable strip, they are crouched behind a smoking machine gun, when one turns to the other and says. “I was sure a couple of Krauts were hiding behind that cow. Oh well, get the cook.” Many of these cartoons were collected in Mauldin’s hilarious book Up Front, about his experiences in World War II. Recently, the company Fantagraphics has announced it will be collecting the Willie and Joe cartoons in Willie & Joe: The WWII Years ($65, 650 pages), a two-volume, hardback collection with slipcase. The collection is due out early next year. I for one can't wait.