This month’s theme is Twisted History. But what exactly is twisted history, I hear you think? Well, it’s a phrase we’ve coined for wargaming anything with a historical base that ‘twists’ into something fantastical: fictional nations and conflicts in interwar Europe with Painting Mark’s Little Soldiers (page 60); dungeon crawling in the Napoleonic War in our Silver Bayonet campaign (page 32); pulp adventures in the 1930s with a Pulp! Q&A (page 68); peculiar paddleboats, or How to Convert a Steampunk Gunboat (page 48); and finally, the Cold War gone hot in Old Dog: New Tricks (page 80).
We hope you enjoy twisting with us; but if you like your wargaming straight as a die, you will find plenty of untwisted history to enjoy, stretching from ancient to modern with several stops in-between.
I’ll end with a word on last month’s magazine, or more specifically the Wi-Johnson-Perry collaboration Valour & Fortitude – it has proved to be amazingly popular! If you missed out, fear not, because
1) we still have copies of Wi418 (including free V&F) for sale on the Wargames Illustrated website;
2) WiPrime members can download it at any time from The Vault; and 3) cheapskates can download it for free from the Perry Miniatures website. There is also a V&F Errata on the Perry and Wi websites so that you can keep abreast of all those annoying little mistakes we made.
Dan Faulconbridge
Owner and Editor
QUICK FIRE!
Modelling ‘shorts’ from your fellow wargamers.
OBSERVATION POST
Your monthly roundup of notable new releases in the hobby.
RELEASE RADAR
Dom Sore scans the interweb for quality and/or quirky new wargames products.
FULL PAPER JACKET
Neil Smith’s look at forthcoming book releases worthy of wargamers’ attention.
THEME:
SILVER BAYONET FINALE (PART ONE)
James takes the players into an RPG-inspired freeform adventure for the climax of our Silver Bayonet campaign. The units put aside their enmities and head underground, facing unknown dangers as they search out the root of the mysterious Harvestmen’s power.
THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE ARMY PLATOON
Paul Leach shares how he uses Japanese platoons in games of Bolt Action and Chain of Command and provides some house rules that add extra character.
THEME:
HOW TO… CONVERT A STEAMPUNK GUNBOAT
Our regular ‘How to…’er Paul Davies joins in the Twisted History action by taking a TTCombat MDF Paddleboat and enhancing it with steampunk details, getting it ready for pulp gaming.
BATTLE OF KHORRAMSHAHR 1980
Ian Taylor describes the making of his Iran-Iraq War 6mm table, rules modifications he made for easy play, and how games played out at The Joy of Six show earlier in 2022.
THEME:
PAINTING MARK’S LITTLE SOLDIERS
Callum grabs some of Mark Copplestone’s latest creations and varies up his painting techniques on these neo-retro figures.
“WITH MAN’S BLOOD PAINT THE GROUND GULES!”
Mike Peters adds unique character to his award-winning Never Mind the Billhooks army with some custom morale markers.
THEME:
PULP! Q&A
As a part of our Twisted History theme, we talk to Marco Arnaudo about his forthcoming Osprey skirmish game Pulp! He discusses his game’s development, mechanics, and the benefits and challenges of gaming in the pulp genre.
PAINTING TEMPLARS WITH WARM WHITES AND BOLD FREEHAND
Callum paints speedy, worriless white with the help of ‘dirty glazes’ and uses the spare time he saves to add punchy freehand shield designs.
THEME:
OLD DOG: NEW TRICKS
Twisting 1980s history to create a Cold War gone hot is a popular pastime for wargames. Here David Bickley talks us through the trials and tribulations of gathering forces together for a ‘what if?’ British Army of the Rhine versus the Soviet Army battle.
MUCKING ABOUT NEAR MUKDEN
Glenn Clarke heads to the ‘back of beyond’ and finds a new setting to game with his Japanese WWII army.
CLUB FOCUS:
THE FRIENDS OF GENERAL HAIG
A tour of some of the games being played at a recent gathering of The Friends of General Haig – the affectionate name for the Worcester Wargames Club.
