The WORLD’S PREMIER TABLETOP GAMING MAGAZINE

Issue 440
August 2024
UK £5.99

V FOR VICTORY HAIL CAESAR EPIC BATTLES BUILDING BAG END

First playthrough of the rules Creating a Punic Wars diorama A Hobbiton home in a hill

THEME: VIETNAM - From the Skies Above to the Tunnels Below

 FEATURED wargames illustrated issue WI440 august 2024

THIS MONTH

FROM THE EDITOR

For this month’s Vietnam War theme we intentionally sidestep a history lesson on the conflict
and instead focus on several different hobby projects and wargaming ideas. From the skies
above, to below ground, our five theme articles take in transport vehicles, Saigon ’68, Tunnel
Rats, collecting ’Nam models, and the disaster that was the Battle of Ap Bac 1963.

Elsewhere in Wi440, we give two new rulesets a run through: World War Two skirmish game
V for Victory and Never Mind the Billhooks supplement Fantasía. We also see what our
master modelmaker, Matt Parkes, came up with when we handed him three Epic Battles Hail
Observation Post .................. 6 Caesar figure frames and a dead elephant. I share my Italian travelog, telling the tale of my
trip to Gradara with the Perry twins, and there’s all of our regular reviews and previews too.

Happy reading and rolling.

Dan Faulconbridge
Editor

Cover artwork by Marco Capparoni.

Below: American Marines clash with the Viet Gong, while Hueys buzz overheard, in a scene from our
Vehicles of Vietnam article. Models by Gringo 40s (painted by Artmaster Studios) and Crucible Crush.

Tunnel Rats ............................... 22

Saigon ’68 ................................ 40

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CONTENTS theme: The wargame that
goes wrong ..................................... 52
OBSERVATION POST ............................. 6 Pete Brown considers the Battle of Ap Bac,
This month’s reviews include WWI and how to play wargames full of mishaps.
Warships, sci-fi Deathships, female fantasy
cultists, and 15mm MDF. Building Middle-earth: Massacre at Dwarven
Tower Pass ..................................... 70
Bag End ............................................... 58
RELEASE RADAR ................................... 16 In his second article about his Tolkien-
Dom Sore presents the new goings on in the inspired constructions, Mark Clayton shifts
world of wargaming in his monthly column. his attention to an iconic hobbit hole!
QUICK FIRE .......................................... 20 theme: The Vehicles of Vietnam
Short, quick-read posts from Wi readers - part one .......................................... 62
about their hobby projects, notes, news, James takes this issue’s Vietnam War theme
and observations. as an opportunity to bring transports and
theme: Tunnel Rats ...................... 22 support vehicles into the action, focusing
Lisa Smedman goes underground and on ground and air assault.
braves the harrowing conditions of VC Massacre at
tunnels for our Vietnam War theme. Dwarven Tower Pass ................... 70
Building an Epic diorama ....... 32 Following the recent release of Fantasía Another Tour of Duty .......... 76
Matt Parkes shares valuable insight on the - the fantasy supplement for Never Mind
building of his huge Ancients diorama, the Billhooks - we invited the author, Andy
made with a few of Warlord Games’ Hail Callan, to take us through a game.
Caesar Epic Battles frames. theme:
theme: Saigon ̓68 ......................... 40 Another Tour of Duty ............. 76
For our Vietnam theme, James examines Ron Ringrose rebuilds his Vietnam War
Loughton Strike Force’s magnificent Tet collection and we show off his fine figures
Offensive board and interviews its creator, in action!
Martin Stanbridge. Papyrus and pulp .......................... 82
V for Victory ..................................... 48 Glenn Clarke tries out Osprey’s Pulp!
Dom Sore’s managed to get Studio gaming system and shows off his Egyptian
Tomahawk’s new WWII game onto the explorers’ bold adventure.
tabletop for a few sessions. He gives his The Gradara Project ................. 88 Papyrus and pulp ....................... 82
expert opinion. A wargame inspired by the novel Warrior
pic
ut our E
of Rome - Fire in the East.
Check o g e 32
on pa
diorama

The Gradara Project ................ 88

Car
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Only Card Deck
28/05/2024 17:46

£5.99
Available from wargamesillustrated.net
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5
 OBSERVATION
POST New and forthcoming wargames
stuff you need to know about

RULES, SUPPLEMENTS, FIGURES, TERRAIN, HOBBY GEAR, AND MORE

JOSEPH A. MCCULLOUGH - DEATHSHIP ONE modern special-forces

a medic, but likely would
unit probably would
have a special weapon
s trooper, might have
not have a distinct offi
of these selections to cer. Really though, the
take and how to depict choice of which
them on the table is
left to the player.
Middle-tech soldi
er
Deathship One is a game that was originally published in Blaster volume 4 (a These are soldiers that
individual shots or
are trained to fight
primarily with a firearm
short bursts, so these that fires either

game anthology ‘fanzine’ created by Joe and other notable game designers) bolt action rifles, M16s,
hand-to-hand fighting,
soldiers might be equippe
or P90s. While these
it is not their preferre
d with firelocks,
soldiers are likely trained
d method of combat
in some
.

and, in this new PDF/print and play version, the game is spruced up with new Shoot
Middle-tech Soldier
Fight
(2) 7+ Health
art and some extra content. (1) 7+
12
Middle-tech office
r

It’s another adventure into solo and cooperative gaming from Joe, this time These soldiers are
dedicated leaders.
enemy than it is organiz
Officers generally do
Their job is less about
ing the rest of their directly fighting the
unit and maximizing
not carry long-range their abilities.
possibly a close-combat firearms and instead
set in a mysterious alien deathtrap made up of kill rooms. The idea is simple, as explained later in
weapon such as a sword.
the rules.
carry a pistol and
Officers give bonuses
to asset cards

and the background is minimal - a group of combatants, plucked from a Shoot

Middle-tech Officer
Fight
(1) 7+ Health
historical period of your choosing, finds itself in this deadly alien ship and (2) 7+
12

must battle to freedom. In their desperate escape attempt your figures must
Middle-tech Medi
c
the squad, each This is membe
a soldier that has speciali

conquer five lethal (randomly generated) rooms that bring all manner of
squad r regains
the medic. effective in the middle up to 3 pointszed inof
battlefi eld medicine. Althoug
lost Health. This includes h they are less
of a firefight, they
recover lost Health are one of the few
during the game. After ways that soldiers can
each room, if there
is a living medic in

doom and horror with them, thanks to the alien menaces and other area- h 12Shoot
(1) 7+
Middle-tech Medic
Fight
(1) 7+
Health
12

specific details that lurk within. Middle-tech Spec

ial Weapons Troop
er
This soldier has traded
in their standard firearm
selecting a Special for a heavier support
Weapons Trooper, weapon. When
you must also select
The game design, sparse background, and stylistic art give a pulpy and weapons for this
trooper to carry:
thrower. A full explana machine-gun, grenade
tion for each of these
weapons is given in
one of the followin
launcher or flamer-
the rules section.
g

dangerous feel to the game, mixing classic sci-fi horror tropes to present Shoot
Middle-tech Special
Fight
Weapons Trooper
(2) 7+ Health
players with a deadly sandbox of survival gaming. (1) 7+
12

SQUAD UP!
Details The inclusion of various squad types
• Scale: 28mm is, we suspect, going to be the first
point of appeal to any historical h
• Period: Any 13

gamers. No matter what period

• Price: $12.50 (PDF) to $22.50 (printed hardcover) you play, you can snag figures
• Format: Digital PDF or print on demand 60-page from it and involve them in Deathship One. The game emphasises minimal
softcover or hardcover book miniature and terrain requirements, making it accessible to those with limited
resources or time but the simplicity does not mean there’s no depth. You have
• Available from: drivethrurpg.com
plenty of options in how to assemble your squads before they navigate the
deadly rooms.
Low-tech squads can include anything up to, and including, the Medieval
Quick Reload/
period, so this is your chance to see how Romans or Vikings might fare
Hand of Fate
Hand of Fate Clearance against alien technology! These squads are ten strong groups of at least three
card
card You may play this If you have a speci
al shooters and three fighters, along with a maximum of one leader, healer, and
You may play this any time you roll
one
r runs
any time you roll one
or
You may weapon that eithe
more dice. You may re- more or dice.
out of ammo or
jams, seer. They tend to focus more on melee combat and can get their numbers
whittled down quite quickly.
re-roll any one die you may play this
card
roll any one die. figure
instead of having a
d an actio n to reload
spen
or clear the jam.
Middle-tech squads are smaller - just six figures - with a focus on shooting.
If you fancy taking the Old Guard for a spin in a very different environment,
Cleave
or some WWII commandos on a different infiltration mission, there’s soldier,
Sprint
Head Shot
card
officer, medic, and specialist roles to build out your squad.
card You may play this
card You may play this whenever an alien
is
You may play this whenever an alien
is
whenever you mov
e a
by a knocked down in a
fight. Finally, the four figure, high-tech, futuristic soldiers come with power
figure knocked down Treat the resul t as killed
soldier. Move that k. Trea t the
an extra 3”.
shooting attac
ad. instead. armour and boosted stats, able to pump out a lot of damage and take
result as killed inste
plenty too.
Once picked, your squad draws three asset cards from a choice of 15. These
provide various aids, improvements, rerolls, tactical advantages, and more,
Parry
Lure bringing a mix of luck and strategic planning in how best to use them in
Miraculous Dodge You may play this
card
the Deathship.
card
card You may play this whenever an alien
is
You may play this whenever a soldier
takes
sight of
takes within line of
whenever a soldier damage from an alien er.
damage from a shoo ting the more than one soldi
soldier in a fight. Reduce You may decide
which
attack. The by 3.
dodg e the amount of damage soldier the alien
moves
manages to

6
age. towards.
shot and takes 0 dam
GAMEPLAY MECHANICS
The rules are extremely streamlined, and the game is structured
around the room challenges; each of the seven possibilities
present different threats in the form of traps, monsters, and
automated weapons.
than the target number
, a hit has been scored.
even (i.e. 6, 8, or 10) If the result of the
the alien has been dice that hit is
from the table. If the killed and the figure
Each room is presented with board and enemy setup down – lay the figure
10, otherwise they
result of the die is odd
on its side. Aliens with
are just knocked down.
(i.e. 7, 9), the alien
should be removed
has been knocked
‘Armour’ are only killed
on a result of
second knocked down If an alien is already
knocked down, a
instructions, its special details, and its random events (most they may apply them
result kills it, even if
in whichever order
If no hits are rolled
it has Armour. If a fi
they choose.
then the shot has missed.
gure scores two hits,

often more alien attacks). Asset tokens can be recovered during Example 1
Let’s say a middle-tech

play too, which will grant new asset cards to add to your squad
soldier is shooting
7+, so they roll two at a slathek. The soldier’s
dice needing an 7 or shoot stat is (2)
two dice and gets a higher to score hits.
‘2’ and ‘9’. The 2 misses, The soldier rolls the
an odd number, the but the 9 scores a hit.
slathek is knocked Since the hit is
down.

as it progresses. Example 2
A high-tech soldier
is shooting a drekyl.
rolls the two dice and The soldier’s shoot
stat is (2) 6+. The soldier
gets a ‘7’ and an ‘8’.
however, since the Normally, an 8 would
drekyl is armoured, be a kill result,
soldier scored two it is only knocked
hits, and since the down. Thankfully,
the
Combat is simple, with D10 rolls made and successful hits which would normal drekyl was knocked
ly just cause a knock-d down by the first, the
own result, kills it. 7,

(above a number on your profile) determining what happens to h19

the alien. Evens will kill, odds will knock it down. Your whole
squad gets to act before the aliens, which weighs things in their
favour somewhat, but early losses really make a difference in
the later rooms, so the right mix of caution and aggression is
needed as you push on to the exit. h22

Above: STL files and printed figures of the aliens are available, sculpted by Bobby Jackson. Shown here are (left
to right) the Slathek, Drekyl, Caphid, and Rieger. They are available from bobbyjackson.net. North Star are also
producing the same aliens in metal, available from northstarfigures.com.

OVERALL
Challenging gameplay is baked into the core
design of the game and, even though the enemy
AI behaviours are relatively simple, you’ll
still probably die quite a lot! This could be a
double-edged sword: immensely satisfying for
those who enjoy tough, strategic gameplay,
but frustrating to players who prefer a more
forgiving play experience.
Deathship One will certainly be a great pick-
up game for club and pub play. The minimal
requirements and option for players to bring
their favourite (or available) historical figures
into the dangers of alien combat is bound to
appeal, at least for a couple of tries!

7
 ARK ROYAL MINIATURES BY WARFARE MINIATURES - WORLD WAR ONE 1/4800th SCALE SHIPS

If you’re going to go small, at least go big on

going small! That’s what Warfare Miniatures
have done with the substantial release of
their Ark Royal 1/4800 scale World War One
naval range.
With an initial glut of over 60 packs, Warfare
Miniatures are providing gamers with the
entire WWI Grand Fleet and High Seas
Fleet. The Royal Navy in Home Waters,
Colonial Service, and the Mediterranean are
also covered.

Above: Minotaur and Devonshire.

While 1/4800 scale naval gamers have

been well served with WWI models
by Navwar for many years, there has
certainly been a space in the market
for a new producer on the block; one
able to design and cast superior quality
tiny vessels with the scope required to
make WWI gaming interesting. Warfare
Miniatures have done just that, and more.

Above: Derfflinger, Seydlitz, and Pillau.

Details
• Scale: 1/4800th
• Period: World War One
• Price: From £10 for a pack of five battleships up to
£225 for a fleet.
• Material: Metal
• Available from: leagueofaugsburg.com

Below: Blucher, vdTann, Moltke, and Wiesbaden.

Below: Gorgon and Marshal Ney.

8
As well as the vessels, there is also a set of PDF rules and a free
Painting Guide to support of the range. Dread Nought! Essentials is
a ruleset for playing large fleet actions using 1/2400 to 1/6000 scale
ships. In its full colour 56-pages, the reader will find rules that focus
on tactical decision making. The particulars of speed, gun calibres, and A TRIUMVIRATE OF TITLES
armour thicknesses are managed by grouping ships into common types, Ark Royal Miniatures are produced by Warfare
which move and fight together. The combined strength of divisions, or Miniatures, and sold via the League of Augsburg
groups of ships, makes for easy management of a large fleet on a home website, all of which are managed by UK wargaming
table and offers games lasting about two hours which produce clear polymath Barry Hilton. Oh, and the rules are
results. The rules are based on Rolling Thunder! (fleet actions 1630 - published by WorldTwister Publications - that’s Barry
‘quadrophenia’ Hilton as well.
1720), which come from the same publisher.
The Painting Guide for Ark Ryal Miniatures 1/4800 Scale Metal Ships
does exactly what it says in the title - provides a very clear, very easy to
follow guide to getting your models ‘ship shape’ and ready for tabletop
action. It’s available via the Dread Nought! Facebook group and on
request by email.

Movement and Man

oeuv re
Heavy whilst British
is classed Middling.
Tiger and Renown The Lion, The chart below
classes of modern shows the maximum
battlecruisers have British speed in inches per possible
a top speed of 6.5 turn if moving in a
lighter armour than inches and for each of the five straight line
opponents. This speed speed groups. As
them an edge of may give sustained and SPs damage is
1,000 yards per are lost from the
speed. All other British move at top roster, group
BCs use the Fast movemen maximum speed will
rates as written. reduce.
t
Very Fast
Example: A British
HMS Lion, HMS Tiger
battlecruiser group
including Ship Types
and HMS Queen Mary
Destroyers and torpedo has sustained Heavy which
boats. Pre-dreadnoug damage may only
maximum ht battleships move a
of 3 inches (3,000
yards) per game turn

MOVING
General travelling at top
speed in a straight if
The level of damage numbers can be inserted line. These
sustained by a group into the roster sheet
on movement rate. impacts the column Speed under
As groups degrade which means there
through the refer to the rulebook is no need to
various damage levels or QRS chart.

DREAD NOUGHT!
top speed will reduce.

SPEED GROUP
DAMAGE LEVEL
NONE / SLIGHT
Very Slow MODERATE

ESSENTIALS
3 HEAVY
2 CRITICAL
Slow 1
4 0.5
Middling 3
2
5 1
3
Fast 2
6 (5.5 German BCs) 1 Rules for epic scale
Very Fast 4
2 fleet actions 1890-
7 (6.5 British BCs)
5
1 1918
3
1
Altering speed and
Turning
Speed can be increased The British built six
Duncan Class battleship
or decreased by s built between 1900
per turn. For groups 2 inches ship becoming and 1903. Three were
with heavy damage This categorythe lead
coversship. lost on active service.
reduced to 1 inch this is groupsterm lineTurns
of battle
involving
ships large
per turn. Ships at in line
hasastern
becomemaysynonymo built prior to the
getting underway anchor and make theustail commissioning of
move at half speed. move concurren
slower. tly of the
with obsolesce
line nce however HMS Dreadnought
Curve
withtheDreadnou
tail as ght ships in 1906. The
Turns of up to 180 possible
commissio
to minimize
ned shortly
realistical
are ly by asdefinition, pre-dread built to different designs and launched
degrees can only be any distortion
after, are of
in pre-dread nought. This means
made after a rate. This
a line
is aofgaming movemennought t many ships, some
group has moved battle conventio
and pound n. opponent design. Pre-dreadnoughts
half of its current on theusually Turns should
s into
pivot are capital ships built
turning at any speed allowance. If flagship or leader
250-300 submission. The general to serve in
and at any angle, mm vessel
(10-12
in the
inches),
groupsignificant characteristics are;
ends. movemen possible
speeds
(see between
next page15 where secondary and tertiary large main armamen
t photograp
and 18 knots.
hs). Speed t
influenced
had such The crews
is alsowere very armament, heavily
by ships
orders
and significant
some of numbers large, running into armoured, with
Groups turn in formation maintenance of higher which require
remained in service the high hundreds. Many
. When turning a group, speeds. with battlefleets during countries
ship should be placed no the Great War period.
their position before
closer to the enemy
than HeavyBattlecruisers
Seas impact on moveme
the turn was enacted. nt
degree turns of groups 180 Battlecruisers were
In heavy
in line astern, in
echelon seas movementa hybrid design attemptin
and in diamond inchescombine rate is reduced by g
formation will result per high speed with heavy hitting power. d2 to
in the last as thegroup per
successorturn to the difficult Seen
condition s. to thesimulate
armoured
speed was gained cruiser, their
at the expense of
British chose to be armour. The
more radical in their
sacrifice of
16 protection leading
to their ships being
larger guns, but faster with
considerably more
heavy incoming vulnerable to
fire. General character
large main armamen istics are
t usually 300 – 380mm
inches), significant (12 -15
secondary and
armament, carry torpedoes tertiary
armoured, with speeds , moderately to heavily-
of 22 to 28 knots. SMS Seydlitz. German
battlecruisers proved
robust in combat and incredibly
able to absorb huge
punishment.
6
By Barry Hilton

Barry Hilton
LEAGUE OF AUGSB
URG
PAINTING GUIDE
ARK ROYAL MINIAT FOR
URES 1/4800 SCALE
METAL SHIPS

LEAGUE OF AUGSB
URG
PAINTING GUIDE
ARK ROYAL MINIAT FOR
URES 1/4800 SCALE
METAL SHIPS

HMS WARRIOR
Warrior Class Armoured “What’s next?” we hear you cry - Japanese, US,
Turkish, Austro Hungarian, Russian, Italian, and
Ark Royal Pack 4B11c Cruiser 1910
x 4 models
Using sharp scissors,
trim the masts to
should flex a little the required length.
with your brush. Paint them carefully
but if the glue join
is robust, it

French fleets for WWI are all on the way. After that,
Painting guide
HMS WARRIOR
Warrior Class Armoured
Ark Royal Pack 4B11c Cruiser 1910
x 4 models
Wash the model in
Soft
around recesses. This Tone shader. Give it a good dowse
really tamps it down and let it
and gives it real depth. dry. Try to avoid it pooling in corners
and
and moving forward in history, the Royal Navy and
Kriegsmarine for the period 1939-1941 is already
HMS WARRIOR
Warrior Class Armoured
designed and will be released soon. That will be
Ark Royal Pack 4B11c Cruiser 1910
This is the finished
ship.
prefer their own methods.Painting time about 30 minutes. I

Copyright WordTwis
have not based the
x 4 models

model as many gamers

seems to
followed by all the other fleets and RN/KM through
ter Publishing 2024

HMS WARRIOR
Warrior Class Armoured
to 1945. The designer is on turbo, apparently!
This plan view gives Ark Royal Pack 4B11c Cruiser 1910
an idea of what the x 4 models
definition around model should look
turrets funnels etc. like after the Soft
Tone flooding. It
will provide

Copyright WordTwis
ter Publishing 2024

By Barry Hilton

Under the Microscope

Clean, crisp sculpts, and good casting means you won’t be

disappointed with the quality of the models in the Ark Royal
range. They are small in size but big in stature.

Right: British Battlecruisers and Light Cruisers,

photographed on an avenge size human hand.

9
 SARISSA PRECISION - WORLD WAR EUROPE 15mm

15mm is a scale that is extremely well suited to mixing the Details

practicalities of gaming with the dramatic sweep of a terrain heavy • Scale: 15mm
board. The only real downside is that at the dinkier scale it can be
• Period: World War Two
tough to imbue your terrain builds with the same detail as a 28mm
offering. Thank goodness, then, for Sarissa’s comprehensive and • Price: £15 to £17.50 for the Townhouses and £10 for other kits
growing World War Europe 15mm range! These varied buildings are • Material: MDF
perfect for WWII action but also versatile enough to use in a variety
of other conflicts. • Available from: sarissa-precision.com

TOWNHOUSES NON-CIVILIAN STRUCTURES While it may not be particularly fancy,

Some of the range’s standout structures It’s not all about residential buildings.
the Chain Home system, built by the
are the assorted European residences, RAF during the war, was an essential
The range is packed with other options to
such as the great looking Townhouses. early warning system and worthy of
add more areas of interest and objectives
a 15mm representation. The Low-
Each comes with variations in design to your tabletop. If you want to fight
features, from different styled entrances frequency radar was scattered around the
it out in the European lowlands, how
and archways to flat or standard roofs coast of Britain with sheds to hold the
equipment (seen below).
about the Canal Bridge (seen below)?
(seen above). These will be perfect for so This dual cantilever kit comes on just
many of the Second World War’s battles one sheet of MDF and you’ll be able to
in Europe that it would take more than quickly construct it and have fun with
this article’s word count to list them all! its counterbalanced tilt action. There are
Each comes on a compact footprint of Dutch styled houses that will be a good
around 12cm square, so you can easily match for this set too.
place them together to make villages
and towns.
Not all buildings escape war unscathed These are great additions to Sarissa’s
and, should you be willing to pay a little already fantastic range of options and will
more (the destroyed version of the Flat enable players to add more character to
Roof Townhouse costs £2.50 more) you’ll their terrain collection without driving
get a version that can be split up into themselves mad micro-detailing their
multiple ruined sections and shows battle own builds. The smaller scale means
damage (seen below). See Hobby Corner that some detail pieces need to be treated
on the following page for more on James’ with care, so as not to snap them, and
time building this kit! because the sets are as complex as their
28mm equivalents they’ll take a while to
construct, but those minor quibbles are
countered by the fantastic quality once
they’re built.

The Border Checkpoint set (seen right)

will be useful for all kinds of gaming. The
main checkpoint barrier and buildings are
perfect for hit and run or breakthrough
games, perhaps with asymmetric forces,
while the 45 Dragons’ Teeth included
will force any vehicles on the tabletop
into tactical considerations as they try to
traverse them. Instead of making a huge
load of separate Teeth (which could have
proved rather frustrating to build) there’s
a block of 25, two blocks of four, two of
two, and eight singles.

10
Hobby Corner
RUINOUS CONSTRUCTION
James built the Ruined Flat Roof Townhouse and recorded his process. Here, he talks about
what went well, what was troublesome, and suggests some ideas you could bring to your build.
James: I’ve built my fair share of Sarissa kits by now, from a cities-worth of buildings to the
complexities of their Ship of the Line. If you’ve done the same, you’ll find everything about
these 15mm kits extremely familiar. The pieces for this set all come on two MDF sheets and
good (if not perfect - the part numbers presented aren’t shown on the actual MDF sheets)
instructions are included.
Getting started, despite the lack of part numbers, it’s quite simple to match shapes together and
you’ll quickly have the ground floor on the way. Because things split into quarters it makes the
build a little more forgiving, as you can tinker with each section separately.
At this scale areas like the front steps are quite fiddly. I found that dry-fitting them, then
teasing along the join part underneath with thick superglue was enough to fix things together
while still having enough time to wiggle them into place (see below).

> >

The finer parts of the kit, such as windows (right), are prone to coming apart as you remove them from
the MDF unless you’re very careful. I suggest trimming around with a sharp scalpel blade where you
feel any resistance. If you do happen to split the pieces anywhere you can easily fix them back together
when you glue them in place.
The instructions don’t cover every single window frame and nor do they suggest fixing the door frames
included onto the model. I decided to use these spare parts while adding to the damaged look, by
breaking parts off and sticking them in place at canted angles.

> >

After building the second floor and roof, in much the same way as the ground floor, I put all the parts together to admire my handiwork… then I
split them up to spread the various building parts over a wider space. The nice thing about these ruins is you can quickly fill up quite a large area
of tabletop. In all it took about an hour to build but there was some trial and error, as it was the first kit of this type and scale I’ve made. I suspect
more builds would get finished far quicker and over a day of determined construction I’d have a veritable city of ruined European buildings.

11
 NORTH STAR - FROSTGRAVE CULTISTS II

The North Star plastic production juggernaut rolls on and this time it’s pumping out new
Frostgrave Cultists. Anyone familiar with the numbering of North Star box sets will know
the score by now; set two flips the gender of the figures to cover female figures, and that’s
the case here.
A broad selection of parts are packed into each box: 21 heads, just about every set of arms
and weapons you can imagine, and plentiful extras feature on each frame. Along with those
options there are five body and leg parts. Each set allows you to build 20 figures, with four
frames in each box, and you’ll be pleased to hear that bases are included too.

Under the Microscope

UNDEAD AND LOVING IT

Cultists originally appeared in 2015’s Thaw of the
Lich Lord but there’s a lot of versatility to the models
here. Some of the heads have an undead look, allowing
all kinds of shambling reanimated corpses to be
constructed, and Cultists are perfectly transferable to
any Warbands with a penchant for evil.

Right: A cultist with an undead twist.

These are ragged looking ladies, bedecked in heavy clothing

with plenty of tears and tatters. As soon as you put heads onto
the torsos you begin to define some wonderfully characterful
and often rather maniacal characters. Faces look frenzied and
wild and are often wrapped in bandages, adorned with trophies,
Above: A combination of the latest Stargrave
or in the shadows of a hood. They all have their own flavour Scavengers and Frostgrave Cultists II.
of danger and menace. That’s greatly enhanced by the armoury
of weapons here. There are bows and evil looking crossbows, As well as some shields there are a ton of extra pouches, stashed
a vast selection of improvised blunt and bladed weapons, knives (often with evil curved and wobbly blades that look like
traditional melee options, and more. Most are pockmarked with they will cause some damage) and hanging chains and trophies.
rust and wear or have gnarled wood, making them look less These add a final dynamic extra to bring life and movement to
regimented and a little wilder. your builds.
We’ve found that North Star’s sister line for Stargrave has This set is a kitbasher’s dream as the parts will match up with
sometimes struggled with natural poses due to the size and heft other sets in the range for maximum variety. Players of Joe
of some of its weapons; thankfully that is not a problem with McCullough’s sci-fi game, Stargrave, will be chuffed to hear that
the Cultists II set. Poses look dynamic and ‘right’ even when the parts also fit that range’s plastic sets nicely, making for even
figures are given two-handed axes and spears or crossbows. more build options and some creative mash ups.

Details
• Scale: 28mm
• Period: Fantasy
• Price: £22
• Material: Hard plastic
• Available from: northstarfigures.com

12
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Rules from £5.99

Card decks from £7.00
Tokens from £14.00 Discounts for
Quick Reference Sheets from £2.50 WiPrime Members

AVAIL ABLE FROM w w w.warga mesillustr ated.net

 - NEW EDITION - SEPTEMBER 2024
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 Release
Radar
Dom Sore presents the new goings on in the world of wargaming in his monthly column.

FULL PAPER DOM

My first book is World War Two related; I seem to be inundated
a scenario booklet entitled Rapid Fire! with the printed word at
Brothers in Armour, published by Valiant
the moment, making the
Miniatures (rapid-fire-uk.com). There are
four scenarios in the booklet, dealing with first part of this month’s
the action from D-Day to November 1944 Release Radar akin to a
that the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry took book review. As well as the
part in. Each of the scenarios follows the book-based goodies I have
same format, with a brief history of the
action, description of the objectives of picked out here make sure
the game, deployment rules, special rules, you flip to page 48 for my
map, and full orders of battle. The beauty play-through review of
of these scenarios, if you’re not a Rapid V for Victory too.
Fire! player, is their easy adaptation to
other rulesets. The orders of battle have
very clear pictures, along with numbers of figures, so you can use them as they are in games of
V for Victory or Bolt Action. You could use the stands to represent a figure, halving the number you
need too. I am looking forward to trying some of the options here in the various WWII games I play.

The next book on my list couldn’t be more different - Warpaint! Volume 2:

Plains Indian War Shirts and Warrior Society Regalia is written by Mike Blake
and published by Partizan Press (caliverbooks.com). It follows on from Mike’s
earlier work on shields and is a comprehensive offering from a man who
certainly doesn’t do things by halves. It starts with a description of what a
war shirt is and how it became what it was. This section has a lot of colour
plates, showing what is being described in excellent detail. Following this
is a description of the various warrior societies and regalia. There are some
fascinating entries in here, split by Native American tribe, which are worth
the price of the book on their own. I don’t even game in this period, other
than Dead Man’s Hand, but found it a fascinating and inspiring read.

Finishing off this book section is A Savage and Romantic War - A Wargamers
Guide to the First Carlist war, Spain 1833-1840 by Helion Wargames (helion.
co.uk). This 138-page book’s intent is to provide the wargamer with
everything they need to play that war. As with Helion’s other detailed
‘Guides’ it does what it says on the cover. You get a short history of the
war, followed by two chapters detailing the opposing sides in some detail,
and a chapter on what equipment was used. Following this comes the bit
we all want, the description and orders of battle for 13 of the war’s clashes.
These each come with good maps, so you can better visualise and recreate
the battlefield as you get gaming. What you do not get is detailed scenario
instructions; this is very much a collection of all the information you need to
get your scenario started. Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day; give him
a Helion book and he’ll be hungry but able to comfortably create the major
confrontations of the First Carlist War, as the old proverb goes! The final
chapter takes a more in-depth look at the campaign that led to the Battle of
Oriamendi and gives you food (but not fish!) for thought on what to include
if you want to give it a go yourself. If you ever fancied the First Carlist
War as an option, then you would do well to start with this book, and if you
haven’t considered it maybe the photos of Perry Miniatures will inspire you.

16
TO THE TABLETOP!
Onto the more ‘standard’ Release Radar fare
now, starting with new Bavarian Chevaulegers
from Piano Wargames (pianowargames.
de). Piano Wargames is the solo project of
a young and talented digital sculptor from
Bavaria, Lucas Luber, who focuses on 28mm
Napoleonics and here he’s made six cracking
mounted figures. There are two sets, one with
three troopers and one consisting of an officer,
bugler, and aid. All six are in the process of Above: Chevaulegers and Command.
moving into combat, with weapons ready and
the bugler announcing the charge. You can
order the figures as STL files, to print yourself,
but if you don’t have access to a printer then
you can get them as physical product, cast in
white metal. That’s a bit different to the norm;
most companies that offer STLs will also sell
3D prints, in less hardy, digitally printed resin.
Metal, for me, greatly ups the appeal. I really
like the horses on these; they look the part, and
I certainly wouldn’t want to be in front of them
when they are charging.
Above: Aide-de-Camp, German Officer, and Hungarian Officer.
It’s not just Bavarians either; Piano Wargames
recently made over 40 metal sets of figures
available on their webstore,
which were initially created
for their ‘Alps Aflame’
Kickstarter. Covering the
Tyrolean Rebellion of 1809,
there are some marvellous
Tyrolean rebels and Austrians,
including a beautiful set of
six rebellion personalities,
mounted Austrian command,
and a splendid miniature of Above (left to right): Peter Mayr, Josef Speckbacher, Andreas
Napoleon on horseback. Above: Napoleon. Hofer, Joachim Haspinger, Martin Teimer von Wildau, and
Johann von Kolb.

Eskice Miniatures (eskiceminiature.fr)

produce STL files for 3D printing and every
month they release a ‘Tribes’ offering on
MyMiniFactory. This is a subscription
service where you get a pack of files,
covering various historical options.
June’s offering (the latest as the print
deadline approaches for Wi) features ZiS-
3 cannons, British Paratroopers, and a Fiat
Above: ZiS-3 cannon. SPA transport truck for WWII, mounted
Medieval Breton sergeants, an Interwar
Cruiser MKI tank, modern soldiers from
Eastern Europe, and a T90 tank.

Above: Fiat SPA transport truck.

Above: Modern soldiers from Eastern Europe.

17
 Getting more specific, they have released a set of streetlamps
and columns (seen right) that I find really appealing. These are
very French in their look, from a time of gaslights rather than
electric, although these days such architectural details still exist
around France. We are often guilty of not adding all the details
that make a street a street and these will help with that. I can
certainly see them adding some pizzaz to my WWII battles and it
will be fun to come up with names for the street signs.

There was a peep at 1st Corps’ (1stcorps.co.uk) new

flexible road system in last issue’s Partizan report
but, in case you missed it, here’s another look at
these interlocking road pieces (left). They will move
as a whole once attached to each other, providing
more stability on the table. There are six junctions,
two straight sections, two curves, and four ‘straight’
sections that have gentle bends. These wiggly pieces
will make your road look much more natural than arrow
straight lines that are common on the wargames table.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

There are a number of painting stations on the market but the new
one from Krydrufi (krydrufi.com) caught my eye this month (seen left).
That’s partly because it looks like a lunchbox, rather than a painting
aid, but I also like that it’s modular. There are a number of options, from
a simple wet palette to the ‘ultra’, which combines water bucket with
wet palette, air tight paint storage, and some nifty looking paintbrush
holders. The paint storage module has several small compartments that
allow you to mix your paint while keeping everything separate. This
could be a very handy bit of kit for those of us that need to pack away,
rather than having a permanent painting set up.

That gets painting out the way; how about some rules to
play with the things you have painted? If those figures
happen to be dinosaurs (and if not, why not?), then Clone-
a-saurus: the Miniatures Game (cloneasaurustmg.com) might
might be for you. If you’ve ever wanted to play out a certain
famous dinosaur franchise, then this is the ruleset for you.
It has a very RPG feel to it (there is an RPG in the works)
while being a tabletop game. You can choose to control
dinosaurs as they attempt to take command of their own
destiny, or maybe you prefer to be the BioGen people, trying
to delve into the genetic secrets of the prehistoric beasts.
There are free downloads of the tokens, items, and rosters
for the game along with printable playing mats and 3D
STLs of dinosaurs and humans for free. It is an interesting
concept that will allow you to use your child’s dinosaurs
that are gathering dust for something fun.

I will finish with something entirely different, with some molds

from Dice Bites (get.dicebites.com). This isn’t the kind of fungus
type mold favoured by goblins, nor for producing figures or terrain.
These are dice shaped molds for making cakes, sweets, candles, bath
bombs, and all manner of things edible or smelly. If you’ve ever
wanted to destroy the dice that make a bad roll for you, now you
can, by making some dice shaped sweets and eating them.
I am now off for a diabetes check and a dental appointment after
chowing down on all those sweet dice. Until next time, fare thee
well, and happy gaming!

18
 QUICK FIRE!
Short, quick-read posts from Wi readers about their hobby projects, notes, news, and observations.

JONESING FOR A JOSEONING - RIGHTEOUS BOWS AND CAVALRY

By Owen Chow

My current project involves the Imjin War, the Japanese Invasions of Korea (1592 - 1598). For those not familiar with Early Modern
Asian warfare (a common topic in everyday conversation!) it was the only major international conflict involving the samurai and
focuses on three distinct factions of Korea, Japan, and China. The Western world is familiar with samurai, but there is not the same
recognition for the forces of Korea and China, which I can only attribute to them not featuring in anime. Luckily, with much research,
I can provide a rundown of this unexplored army.
The Joseon Dynasty army underwent a significant evolution during the Imjin War, but my exploration here focuses on Mid-Joseon
forces. The Mid-Joseon army was concentrated in the north (to fight steppe nomads) with fewer postings in the south (to deter
Japanese pirates) and this shaped their composition and tactics. The standard battleline was sword-and-shield men in the front, then
handgunners, then spearmen, then glaive wielders, and then archers. Professional soldiers (cavalry and infantry) would be deployed
on the flanks.
When making an army, before the painting is started, the first thing to consider is the look of the miniatures. It is dreadfully
inconvenient but many miniatures on the market, from Perry Miniatures to the Smol Miniatures STLs, do not reflect the historical
appearance of Mid-Joseon soldiers. While brigandine depictions are usually accurate (except for fish-scale brigandine), most
troops would wear paper armour or chainmail, with kettle helmets more common than the rounded cone-like ones. Brigandine was
uncommon and plate with mail and lamellar was even rarer. Most models on the market wear the late Joseon Jeon-bok vest; instead,
they should wear Hyeop-su, a long-sleeved coat, usually of dark colours, that stretches to the ankles. Green Stuff can extend clothing
to the ankles, chainmail holes may be poked, and lamellar squares can be carved, but I recognise that this will be a huge deterrent to
the casual hobbyist.
If you’re still with me, we must now consider colour. Mid-Joseon armies did not have a uniform code, or uniform armours. Soldiers
wore what they could afford. With clashing colours and armours, how do we get visual consistency across an army? My way was to
use a common red tone as a spot colour in helmet plumes, headbands, and belts. I also tried to make chests and heads close to black,
with paper armour, chainmail, and lamellar being darker and helmets stained dark with age or through black panels.
By splattering mud on legs, I reflected the desperation of the invasion but also linked the infantry together with a brown colour.
Uniquely, Koreans wore white in everyday clothing, which Chinese and Japanese people abstained from, so white was my secondary
colour as another link.

20
 MORE QUICK FIRE! PLEASE!
Send us your Quick Fire! pieces and get a FREE
magazine or Giants in Miniature figure.
Please get in touch with a photo or two and less
than 500 words of text about anything similar
to what you have seen in this column; so that’s
painting or modelling projects, rules, wargaming
notes, and observations.
Send your emails to: [email protected]
Use the subject title ‘Quick Fire!’.

The Joseon army has many fun

elements, such as the world's
first handgun (Se-Chong-tong),
baby arrows (Pyeon-jeon), a
general obsession with archery,
and modelling opportunities for
Righteous Army militias.
For a Joseon Korean video guide,
check out my Youtube channel at:
youtube.com/@CliosPaintingBench

21
 TUNNEL RATS

Rubicon Models, to showcase their 1/56th Vietnam War range.

Above: The tunnel system diorama shown in this article - “As above, so below” is an impressive piece made by
Lisa Smedman goes underground and braves the harrowing conditions of VC tunnels to kick off our Vietnam War theme.

It’s an image guaranteed to instill around in if one was carrying an M-16 As grim and deadly as it could be to
claustrophobia. A ‘tunnel rat’, stripped to rifle, although the tunnel rats never used venture into the VC tunnels, the actions
the waist and sweating, crawls through a that weapon; the noise from one fired of the tunnel rats provide us with an
pitch-black tunnel barely wider than his underground would literally be deafening. opportunity to bring entirely different
shoulders, flashlight in one hand, pistol Their armament was far lighter. tactical challenges to the tabletop. Where
in the other. He’s a skinny kid in his late to begin?
teens or early 20s, maybe a couple of Adding to the horror were the narrow trap
inches over five feet tall. He might be doors that led down to the lower levels of GAMING THE TUNNELS
down there alone, or he might be leading a tunnel system. Viet Cong often lurked While there are several Vietnam War
a two-man team, sent into the tunnels to beyond them, armed with sharpened skirmish games on the market, none focus
flush out any Viet Cong hidden below. bamboo poles. As the first tunnel rat specifically on the ‘tunnel exploitation
came through the trap door, they would and denial teams’ formed by the US and
He has no idea what lies around the spear him through the neck or torso, Australia in 1966. That was the year
next bend of the tunnel. It could be an leaving him stuck there, impaled and Operation Crimp kicked off, a major effort
enemy soldier with an AK-47, ready to unable to retreat.
shoot him at point-blank range. It could
be a booby trap: a trip wire attached to
the pin of a grenade, or a pit in the floor
with sharpened punji sticks (bamboo
stakes) that will impale his hand or leg
if he doesn’t spot it in time. Or it might
be a deadly pit viper that slithered into
the tunnel. That snake was known as the
‘two step’ because after it bit you, that’s
how many steps you could take before
you died.
Not that taking steps was possible, down
in ‘the black echo’. The ceilings were
only about three to four feet high, so
low that tunnel rats had to crouch or
crawl. The tunnels were too small to turn

22
to clear the Cu Chi tunnels northwest
of Saigon - miles of tunnels where the
Viet Cong lived, stored weapons and
ammunition, operated on their wounded,
and planned their next attacks.
I’ve recently been playing Weird Wars:
Tour of Darkness, a Vietnam War
setting for the Savage Worlds Adventure

vietnam
Edition (SWADE) rules by Pinnacle
Entertainment Group. SWADE is first
and foremost a roleplaying game, but
its combat system is robust enough for
a great tabletop miniatures experience.
And while the Tour of Darkness setting
focuses on supernatural monsters, it’s
easy to leave these out and do a more
realistic scenario.
A game focused on exploring Viet
Cong tunnels will be asymmetrical.
The American (or Australian) player
will need just one or two miniatures to
represent their tunnel rats, plus a squad communist Type 54 pistols. These Many tunnel rats carried a standard-
that remains above ground at the tunnel pistols were highly prized as souvenirs; issue .45-calibre Colt M1911 pistol, but
entrance. The Viet Cong player will need a tunnel rat might collect one or might the noise from it was very loud in the
perhaps a dozen miniatures, which will be expected to bring one back for his enclosed tunnels, and the bright muzzle
be encountered a handful at a time. commander. flash could ruin night vision. Others
were armed with the less lethal but
Armed for underground attack
quieter Hi-Standard .22-calibre Model
The tunnel rats should be carrying a
flashlight - the L-shaped MX-991/U
The VC should be painted to have HD semi-automatic target pistol, which
had a 10-round magazine. Some men
was the most common. (The ‘U’ stands
the traditional ‘uniform’ of black silk
for ‘underwater’; the flashlight was
pajamas, sandals, and a checkered scarf traded for revolvers that had been issued
to aviators (Smith & Wesson Model 10s,
waterproof.) A knife was also a must, for
around the neck. They should be armed
with AK-47s, Mosin-Nagant rifles, or or Colt Police Positive Specials), which
probing for booby traps. They should also
fired .38-calibre special rounds. Others
carry a handgun.
‘Chicom’ pistols - slang for Chinese
purchased their own personal weapons.

28MM SPELUNKERS
Your miniatures should be crouching or crawling to be truly fitting, and Gringo 40s makes 28mm miniatures that are perfect for an underground
scenario. In addition to a wide range of US Army and Marine Corps figures, they offer three tunnel rats. One is crawling prone, with a flashlight
and M1911 pistol. The second is the same soldier in a crouching pose. The third is bare-chested and crawling on his hands and knees. He’s
pointing a silenced .38-calibre revolver equipped with an aiming light, and has a miner’s light on his cap. A wire leads from the radio on his belt
to a microphone near his lips.
Gringo 40s also produce a nice range of Viet Cong miniatures, many of them crouching, and some of the figures from their Sappers in the Wire!
set could be used if you want them to have ditched some of their uniform. The wider VC range includes several female figures. Nearly 1.5 million
women served in the North Vietnamese military during the war, many of them in combat roles.
Full Metal Miniatures offers a few Vietnamese civilians,
some of them crouching next to baskets of food and a
cooking fire. They also make Vietnamese casualties.
Civilians were sometimes encountered in the tunnels,
particularly at Cu Chi; entire families, including women,
children, and the elderly, would shelter below due to US
bombing raids. A scenario could include a few of these
miniatures. These might appear, at first glance, to be
enemy, but then turn out to be civilians, or the other way
around – civilian-looking but loyal to the VC.
Some tunnel complexes even included a small cinema
where films were shown, and where civilian actors
performed to raise the morale of troops who sometimes
had to go for weeks without seeing daylight. Full Metal
Miniatures offers a Vietnam-era film crew. While these
figures aren’t meant to be North Vietnamese, they could
easily stand in for civilians shooting a patriotic film in
the tunnels.

Right: Figures from Gringo 40s

Sappers in the Wire! set, along with
one of their female Viet Cong fighters.

23
 Smith & Wesson produced a ‘tunnel- For my tunnel system, I used a series involved an opposed Stealth vs. Notice
exploration revolver’ - a .38-caliber of printed paper tiles, marked with a roll; soldiers who failed to spot the VC
revolver with a silencer and aiming-light one-inch grid. I needed seven types of couldn’t act in the first round of combat.
attached to the top of the weapon - but tiles to represent the tunnels themselves:
In some cases, there might be intel on
the silencer proved too long for the a straight section, a right-angle turn,
the location of a trap door. Some tunnel
revolver to be pulled rapidly from a a three-way intersection, four-way
intersection, and a Y-junction. I also
rats took radios and a compass below,
holster, and a miner’s lamp was more
and could relay a trap door’s approximate
effective at lighting the way, rendering printed a small room and a large room
location to those above. Needing to talk
the aiming light redundant. The army also (giving them various numbers of exits).
issued a Quiet Special Purpose Revolver
on a radio reduced the chance that the
I modified the tiles from Children of the
(QSPR) tunnel gun by Smith & Wesson.
tunnel rats would surprise the enemy,
It fired a .40-caliber shotgun shell filled
Bush, a scenario for the SWADE system, however, and estimates of how far
with steel pellets, and was as quiet as a
available as a free download at peginc. they’d travelled below ground were only
.22 revolver. Its range was only about 30
com/product-category/tour-of-darkness. approximate.
feet, but that was plenty underground. For the above-ground terrain where Soldiers above can spend their time
The weapon was small enough that a the rest of the platoon waited, I printed actively searching for trap doors. These
tunnel rat could reach around a corner jungle tiles from Blood of the Innocent, were well hidden, so a penalty should be
and fire. The pellets didn’t always kill, another SWADE scenario, available at imposed to any spotting rolls, but, if the
but they could incapacitate. Only a small drivethrurpg.com. tunnel complex contains a kitchen, they
number of these weapons were available, might spot smoke rising from the ground,
I played as the Viet Cong, and revealed
however, and the QSPR was withdrawn making detection easier. If the soldiers
above find an exit, they can toss in a
the map tiles one at a time, populating
after six months, due to performance
them as I went with miniatures and
issues. A few tunnel rats carried short- grenade or CS gas, although, if the tunnel
objectives (counters representing
barrelled shotguns into the tunnels; rats are close by, they could be caught in
friendly fire.
weapons caches, maps and documents,
although these were lethal, they were also
and captured American GIs).
deafening.
Mapping the tunnels
Supporting team
Explosive grenades were never used, due
In the SWADE system, there are heroes
to potentially lethal blast overpressure
and less-capable ‘extras’. Since I was
While the tunnel rats explore below,
in a confined space, but CS or smoke members of the team who remain above
running the game as a Games Master,
grenades might be employed, if the
I let the tunnel rats be the heroes and
ground establish a perimeter, and keep
tunnel rats had gas masks. watch for Viet Cong who are flushed
the Viet Cong the extras, and limited
from the tunnels. The American (or
Fog of war the VC to one or two minis in a tunnel
section, or up to six in a room. I didn’t
Australian) player should decide how
Any scenario involving tunnel rats should many of the squad remain near the spot
want the game to be too lethal! I came up
place a heavy emphasis on exploration where the tunnels were entered, how
with a system for randomizing whether
and fog of war. While miniature many fan out through the surrounding
encounters took place, weighting the odds
wargames are typically played on full village or jungle, and to what distance.
battlefields that offer both sides perfect
so that most of the tunnels were empty.
As encounters happen below, the Viet
layout information, a tunnel-based Prior to the game, the Viet Cong
Cong player can decide whether any
scenario should reveal just the immediate player should sketch out the tunnel
surroundings: only as much as a flashlight
VC (or civilians) exit to the surface, and
complex on graph paper or using an
whether they surprise those above. In
beam would illuminate. online mapping program like Dungeon
the Savage Worlds system I used, this
Scrawl (dungeonscrawl.com). The

24
 Left: A diagram
of a basic Viet
Cong tunnel
system. U.S.
Army.

complex should be D4 levels deep, with two or three trap doors mostly on the first level - either a tripwire grenade or a punji
connecting each set of levels, including additional trap doors stake pit, which the tunnel rats set off or fall into if they don’t
leading up to the surface. spot them in time.
Each level should have D6+3 rooms, none larger than about 15 I also randomized whether booby traps were present, and, if so,
or 20 feet across. Tunnels should be three feet wide and bend which kind.
every ten to 30 feet. There should be D3+2 booby traps in total,
Rooms can be randomized using this table:

SMALL ROOM
2D10 Roll Function Notes
2 Signals Room D3 soldiers and a possible officer, along with documents, maps, and radio.
3 Operating Room 1-2 doctors and D6 wounded.
4 Medical Aid Station 1 medic and D3 wounded.
5-6 Food & Water Storage Sacks of rice and earthenware jars of water.
Roll 1D10 to determine cache contents:
1-6 = small arms and ammunition.
7-8 Cache 7-8 = light or medium machine gun and ammunition belts.
9 = mortars and shells.
10 = disassembled artillery piece and shells (Level 1 only).
9-11 Sleeping Quarters D6 soldiers (possibly civilians), along with hammocks, mats, and personal effects.
D3 soldiers
Roll 1D10 to determine type of workshop:
1 = flags and clothing (sewing machines).
12-14 Workshop
2 = propaganda pamphlets (printing press).
3-6 = mines and booby traps.
7-10 = weapon repair.
15-16 Kitchen (Level 1 only) D3 soldiers (possibly civilians)
17-18 Bomb Shelter D6 soldiers (possibly civilians)
19 Headquarters One officer and D3 soldiers, along with documents and maps.
D3 civilians = theatre troupe (may be a performance in session, or a film being
20 Theatre
screened), plus audience of D6 soldiers.
Civilians: roll D10, 1 = civilians present (instead of soldiers).
Possible Officer: roll D10, 1-2 = officer present, replace one soldier with an officer.
Wounded can’t fight, doctors fight on a D10 roll of 1, and medics fight as soldiers.

25
 UNEARTHED TUNNEL TROVES
In one rare instance, tunnel rats discovered an American M-48 tank that had been buried and
turned into a command center with battery-powered lights and a working radio. Other unusual
finds included crates of heroin, a box of American bras and bikinis, and gold bars.
Among the more important finds were lists of Vietnamese double agents working inside US
bases, and plans to ambush and kill Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara during his 1966
visit to Saigon.

Random events Objectives

In the game I ran, each stretch of tunnel While the primary objective for the
was empty, unless a random roll (a 1 on a tunnel rats was to explore the tunnel
D6) caused a lone VC to appear suddenly system and kill any enemy they
around a bend in a tunnel. The American encountered, they might also have
player then had a tough choice: scuttle additional objectives. They were expected
forward and attack silently with a knife, to recover enemy documents, and to
or shoot, possibly alerting VC elsewhere blow up caches of equipment (which
on that level. would necessitate a return to the surface
to collect the necessary C4 explosive).
I also included the possibility of civilians
The officer in charge of the team might
sheltering below, which is reflected in
demand a body count, or might covet
the table on the previous page. A tunnel
souvenirs. He might also insist on the
rat might waste time trying to ascertain
tunnel rats capturing prisoners, although
whether these are civilians - and, if they Above: A tunnel rat squirms through a VC
the VC rarely surrendered; in the dark of tunnel hospital found in War Zone C during
are VC, that hesitation could prove fatal.
To make spotting less penalizing, on a
the tunnels, it was kill or be killed. Operation Junction City, 1967.
D6 roll of 1-3, the figures are obviously TUNNEL RATS
civilians; they include elderly and The slogan of the tunnel rats was
The average tunnel rat was small and Gratum Anus Rodentum, pseudo-Latin
children.
wiry, typically no taller than 5'5", as that translates roughly as ‘Not Worth
Possible random events include a larger men wouldn’t fit in the tunnels, a Rat’s Ass’ or ‘Couldn’t Give a Rat’s
patrol of VC returning to the complex which were made to accommodate the Ass’. Exploring a VC tunnel system was
and surprising those above ground, average-sized Vietnamese soldier. known as ‘running the hole’.
a poisonous snake slithering along a
tunnel, or the discovery of an American
or Australian prisoner being held captive
below. In the Savage Worlds system,
which uses a card deck for initiative,
these were triggered by Jokers.
Right: Units assembled tunnel-exploration kits themselves,
and no two were alike. There was a scramble to collect the
necessary equipment when a tunnel system was discovered,
and they often had to make do with whatever was available.
There were some widely used items, especially handguns.
The most readily available and commonly used were the Colt
.45-cal. M1911A1 pistol (1), and the Hi-Standard .22-cal.
Model HD pistol (2). Above it is the HDM model’s fixed
silencer (3). The Ruger .22-cal. Mk I pistol (4) was less
commonly used than the Hi-Standard. The S&W .38-cal.
Special Model 10 tunnel-exploration revolver (5) is shown
with a removable silencer and aiming light. Unmodified
Model 10s (commonly carried by aviators) were also used.
The .40-cal. smoothbore Quiet Special Purpose Revolver
(QSPR) was based on the S&W Model 29 (6). The cartridge
fired 15 pellets. Only a few of these revolvers were available,
and they were used from April 1969 to 1971. The lightweight
and compact XM29 protective mask (7) protected the wearer
from tear gas only, and was introduced in 1968. The bulkier
M17 protective mask saw much use (8), even after the XM29
was introduced. The TA-1/PT sound-powered field telephone
(9) was sometimes taken into tunnels to relay information
on route-planning and discoveries. It would be connected
to another on the surface via WD-1 wire dispensed from a
½-mile-long MX-306A/G spool (known as a “donut reel”)
(10). The lensatic compass (11) was used to determine the
tunnel’s changes in direction. The MX-991/U right-angle
flashlight (12) was the most commonly used, as it could be
shone around angles without danger to the tunnel rat. Use
was also made of the MX-290/GV six-volt lantern (13). From
Tunnel Rat in Vietnam. Brian Delf. © Osprey Publishing
www.ospreypublishing.com

26
When a patrolling platoon discovered
a tunnel entrance, the platoon leader
called for a volunteer to explore below.
Most soldiers hated the idea, but a
few - typically the smallest guys in the
platoon - started to specialize in the
exceptionally nerve-wracking job of
navigating a mazelike tunnel system,
and confronting the enemy face to face
in a dark, confined space.
Eventually, tunnel rat teams were
formed, typically two to six men. They
would be brought by helicopter to the
tunnel location, and most of the team
would remain above ground near the
entrance, guarding the area around it.
These men passed down equipment,
hauled up whatever the tunnel rats found
below, and then prepared demolition
charges to blow the tunnel complex up false walls, or trap doors hidden with The main objectives of exploring a tunnel
after it had been explored. dirt. In case the lead man failed to spot a were to determine if it was occupied
trip-wire grenade in time, the second man by the enemy, and to recover weapons,
Undressed underground elites would remain five yards back, so he (in munitions and documents. Capturing any
Tunnel rats stripped off all unnecessary theory) wouldn’t be caught in the blast. Viet Cong was unlikely; the enemy knew
equipment before venturing below. A deadly dive
the tunnel system and its exits, so could
Helmets were too clunky to wear below keep one step ahead of the tunnel rats.
ground, and even the brim of a boonie Some tunnels were flooded with water,
Once a tunnel was cleared, explosives
hat might obscure vision. They trained through which a tunnel rat had to swim.
would be used to collapse it, rendering
in hand-to-hand combat, detecting and These water locks were intended to
it unusable.
defusing booby traps, and how to change prevent CS gas and explosions from
a flashlight bulb or battery in pitch reaching the main part of the complex. THE TUNNELS
darkness. Some tunnel rats were expected They could sometimes be a dead end,
The entrance to an underground complex
luring a tunnel rat to swim blindly until
to haul a radio along with them as they would always be well hidden. It might
explored, reporting their findings to those he ran out of air and drowned. If a tunnel
be in the jungle, camouflaged by brush,
rat was injured or wounded underground,
above through wire that was spooled out or under a hinged tree stump. If in a
as they crawled along. They learned the the second tunnel rat had to pull him
village, it might be inside a ‘hooch’,
trick of taping the button, so the radio out - a laborious process, especially if
hidden under a sleeping mat, basket,
negotiating trap doors was involved.
was always sending, so as not to have or wood pile. Some entrances were
a voice from those above give them Ropes and grappling hooks helped with
hidden under manure piles or inside
away. Others communicated by clicking this task.
latrines. Others might be hidden in a
the radio button instead of talking, to According to the US Department of cemetery or religious shrine. Perhaps
maintain stealth. Defense, a total of 700 soldiers served as the best concealed were tunnels whose
Tunnel rats were trained to move slowly tunnel rats during the war. Of that total, entrances were submerged in a riverbank,
and probe the ground ahead of them 36 were killed, and 200 were wounded. necessitating an underwater swim.
with a knife or long metal probing rod, Some men couldn’t overcome the
A tunnel complex might be discovered
to detect camouflaged pits in the floor, claustrophobia they experienced being
due to the smell of cooking, or the sound
underground in such
of voices rising from hidden air vents, or
tight spaces, and
because of trampled grass and vegetation
many suffered from
PTSD long after the
near its entrance. The Americans also
used trained dogs to sniff out tunnels.
war.
When an entrance to a tunnel was
Even exiting a
discovered, a CS (tear gas) or frag
tunnel could be
dangerous. If the
grenade might be tossed into it to clear
the entrance. Another tactic for flushing
tunnel rat emerged
out the enemy involved pumping in tear
from a different
gas using a Mity Mite blower (originally
exit, he might startle
designed for spreading pesticides on
American soldiers
farms) and then pumping in air to clear
patrolling above and
the tunnel of gas before the tunnel rats
get shot by mistake,
entered. CS was intended to be non-
due to them thinking
lethal, but because it displaced oxygen in
he was the enemy.
the tunnels, Viet Cong sheltering below
Tunnel rats whistled
could asphyxiate. If CS lingered, the
American songs
tunnel rats might have to explore wearing
when returning to
gas masks, which restricted their vision,
the surface, to alert
making them less likely to spot the
those above.
enemy or booby traps.
Above: Sgt. Ronald H. Payne entering a tunnel with a flashlight and
M1911 pistol to search for Viet Cong.

27
 Above: Only one tunnel entrance had to be found initially. This would be carefully uncovered and checked for booby traps. Sometimes a satchel
charge would simply be detonated at the entrance to blast away camouflage, blow open any covering material, detonate booby traps, and kill any
waiting ambusher. Once exposed, frag and CS grenades might be thrown in, just to make sure. The entrance would then be sealed with a poncho, an
M106 Mity Mite blower hose inserted, M1A1 white smoke pots were used, and the tunnel flooded with the oxygen-displacing smoke. Besides flushing
out the VC, the smoke seeped out of other entrances, air vents, and firing ports. Infantrymen would be placed throughout the area to report any smoke
seepage. Additional troops were sent to cover each entrance discovered, in order to guard against a breakout. Tear gas flooding through tunnels could
force the desperate VC to emerge into withering fire. An M1A1 smoke pot weighed 12lbs, and burned grayish-white smoke for five to eight minutes
after a ten-second delay. Colored-smoke grenades, with less-dense smoke, were used in the same manner. Before a tunnel rat entered the tunnel, the
Mity Mite was used to flush out the VC with smoke and tear gas. Besides M183 satchel charges containing 16 1.1lb M112 C4 blocks, entire 46lb
cases of C4, with 30 M112 charges, were dragged into tunnels, placed at key points, linked by detonating cord, and detonated, in order to collapse
them. Troops cleared the area for this event. Besides the obvious danger of collapsing tunnels, hidden ammunition stores could be sympathetically
detonated, with impressive results. From Tunnel Rat in Vietnam by Brian Delf. © Osprey Publishing www.ospreypublishing.com

The tunnels were very narrow, only about two and a half feet Air quality was poor underground. The tunnels had air vents,
wide. They twisted and turned, never running for more than 30 but these were few and far between. Most complexes were only
feet before bending. After one or two turns, a tunnel rat would be a couple of levels deep, although the most extensive went down
in complete darkness. Rooms were typically no more than 15 to four levels. The trap doors leading down to these levels might be
20 feet wide, and were illuminated by candles or oil lamps. The booby trapped, wired with explosives designed to detonate when
largest had ceilings that were eight feet high, but most were lower. the door was lifted.

28
Home sweet mole home
The Viet Cong lived in the tunnels for GO DEEPER UNDERGROUND
months or years at a stretch, emerging
briefly to fight before disappearing The 2008 film 1968: Tunnel Rats is a good starting point for ideas for scenarios. The movie is
underground again. General William impossible to watch without a feeling of intense claustrophobia and features many brutal scenes
of booby traps and close-quarters combat.
Westmoreland, in command of US
forces in Vietnam, called the Viet Cong The documentary The Cu Chi Tunnels is told from the perspective of the Viet Cong, and gives
‘human moles’. a great sense of what life underground was like. It’s available on YouTube: youtube.com/
watch?v=19ejFuEyHyk
Sleeping quarters held hammocks or
One of the best reference books on the subject is The Tunnels of Cu Chi, by Tom Mangold and
sleeping mats. Kitchens could be found
John Penycate. Osprey Publishing’s Tunnel Rat in Vietnam by Gordon L. Rottman is another
on the upper levels, with vents to carry good reference, with lots of color illustrations of equipment. Osprey’s Viet Cong and NVA
away cooking smoke carefully spaced Tunnels and Fortifications of the Vietnam War offers detailed information on the construction of
out on the surface. The tunnels were a the tunnels.
place to cache weapons, ammunition
and equipment, or to manufacture
mines and booby traps, including improvised grenades made
from Coca Cola cans. There were weapon-repair facilities,
medical-aid stations, and even operating rooms, illuminated
with lights running on foot-powered generators. Surgeons
worked wearing miner’s helmets while working on patients.
Some rooms contained workshops with printing presses that
cranked out propaganda, or with sewing machines for making
flags. Storage areas held food - typically, sacks of rice - and
large earthenware pots filled with drinking water. There were
latrines, and even morgues underground. Sometimes, bodies
would be temporarily buried in the walls, until they could
be relocated.
The tunnel rats were most interested, of course, in locating
a headquarters or signals room, which would yield valuable
maps and coded documents. These had to be dragged back to
the surface. When caches of arms or ammunition were found,
they were blown up with explosives. Tunnel rats hauled in C4
explosives and spools of det cord, then triggered the blast when
safely above ground again.
There’s a whole world of underground options for your
Vientnam War gaming as long as you can face the
Above: VC woman captured in a tunnel in the Iron Triangle Spring, 1967.
claustrophobic conditions of the tunnels!

Above: Unless indicated, all Models’ seen in this article are from Rubicon Models plastic 1/56th Vietnam War range.

29
 BUILDING AN
EPIC DIORAMA
Matt Parkes shares valuable insight and tips on the building of his huge Punic Wars diorama, which he made
with a few of Warlord Games’ Hail Caesar Epic Battles freebie frames from Wi439.
Creating a detailed diorama for wargaming isn’t just about This centrepiece anchors the narrative visually, drawing the eye
assembling miniatures, painting them, and sticking them onto a to the middle of the long oblong slab on which the diorama is
base; it’s about crafting a narrative, considering compositional mounted (actually two plinths, fixed together!). It sets the mood
elements, and ensuring every detail serves the story. for the unfolding drama; while the other figures are still alive
and marching to meet each other, the fact a huge elephant has
In this article, we delve into the processes behind this truly Epic
been taken down hints at the carnage to come!
diorama, made by seasoned hobbyist Matt Parkes. His scene,
showcasing the wonderful new Hail Caesar Epic Battles plastics,
captures the intensity of a historical battle (it is loosely based on
the box art from Warlord’s Hannibal set) while still presenting
clear storytelling beats. How did he do it?
FIND YOUR FOCUS
The diorama’s compositional core is a dramatic scene involving
a felled elephant, which can be seen on Marco Capparoni’s
Hannibal artwork (seen right). All the models used in the
diorama come from frames given away with the July issue of
Wargames Illustrated, except the fallen elephant, which is an
Epic Battles pre-release exclusive miniature.

32
 CARTHAGINIANS

2
1
3

Modelling
Painting &
4 5
Above: The Carthaginians have a leader among their ranks,
whereas the Roman troops do not.

YIN AND YANG

To avoid visual monotony, Matt presented the forces 7
in a yin-and-yang way. Subtle differences and opposite 6
positioning are introduced throughout the diorama,
enhancing this flow through the placement of the figures,
the colours used, and more.
The forces each have a sweep in their placement, taking
them towards the central elephant, and Matt took care to
alternate placement of particular figures. On the Roman
side, the generals are all standing away from the troops,
while their enemy have their leaders marching among 9
them, in the thick of the action. This attention to detail 8
amplifies the contrast, and ensures that there is always
something new to notice in the scene.

1 Libyan Heavy Infantry, Iberian Scutarii, and Italian Allies

2 Numidian and Spanish Cavalry
3 Carthaginian General 10
4 Carthaginian War Elephants
5 Carthaginian Allied Skirmishers
6 Roman Velites
7 Roman Light and Equites Cavalry 11
8 Roman Hastati
9 Numidian Archers
10 Roman General
11 Celtiberian Allies

ROMANS

33
 LABORIOUS LAYOUT
In a scene as involved and complex as
this one, Matt needed to give a lot of
consideration to the layout. The cliffs and
ruins, which also echo the yin-and-yang
composition, are positioned to funnel the
figures, and tighten things up. They create
leading lines that the troops follow. Even
though a viewer may not be aware they
are seeing this compositional technique,
they will appreciate the intention
subconsciously. Guiding the viewer’s eye
through simple terrain placement like this
adds to the cohesiveness of the scene.
The narrow composition of the diorama
serves a specific purpose, like the Hot
Gate in the graphic novel and movie
300, creating a bottleneck crunch point.
This makes for more tension and focus. Above: Matt dived into his bits-box to find these columns, which he suspects are old lead
The ruins and cliffs act as natural frames Foundry offerings.
within the diorama, enhancing the sense
of depth, and directing viewer attention
to key areas. Painting the plinth and outer
cliff edges in black makes for a more
salient frame.
In creating a narrow piece of what could
be a much greater, broader battle, Matt
has done what we often encourage
players to do when fighting large battles:
take a chunk of the action and play that
out, considering what might happen at the
edges, but focusing on the events in one
key area.
The diorama’s constricted composition
and framing are deliberate choices. The
columns, ruins, troop formations, and
higher ground offer unique framing for
every viewing angle. This approach is
visually dynamic, and emphasises
the action.

34
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The diorama is fairly flat, with the
Epic scale enhancing even the most
subtle height differences. Where
there are rises and cliffs, Matt made
extensive use of cork, whose rock-like
appearance belies its easily-refined and
-textured surface.
The placement of figures was finalised
pre-painting, but nothing was fixed in
place. It would have been a nightmare
to paint the figures on this hefty base,
especially to Matt’s exacting standards,
so each rank was pinned and painted
separately. As he progressed, Matt could
gradually glue the figures in place,
working from one side to the other,
getting boosts of inspiration from seeing
the progress any time the repetitiveness
threatened to bring him down.

Superglue fixes the sand and other elements in place around

the figures, applied after the units were fully painted. This
ensures a stable and realistic base that blends the ground into Left: The grains of regular
the figures neatly, with no need for filling. It did require a sand are a bit too large when
full two bottles of superglue, though! modelling with Epic figures,
so Matt ground down his sand
To vary the height of the troops, Matt added a thin piece of before application.
cork under a rank or two, so that they’d rise above the other
soldiers. As with the standard placement, superglued sand
filled in any gaps.

SAVING TIME WITH SUPERGLUE

Matt used an extra-long tip on his superglue bottle, afforing
him precision when adding it between the tight ranks. With
that done, he scattered sand over the surface then quickly
hit it with a spray of drying accelerator. This reduces the
risk that the superglue will give off powdery fumes as it
dries, which would ‘fog’ the paint job on the figures.
If you use this same technique, you may find that you need
to apply a few layers of sand to get the texture looking
just right, but it saves a lot of time and refinement you’d
otherwise spend filling in and bulking up gaps.

35
 THE PAINTING PROCESS
The figures were painted separately, a
rank at a time, before being assembled
and placed into the diorama. This was
even the case on the three-deep Roman
Triarii infantry. Their central row would
have been far harder to paint if Matt had
glued them together, so he left them split
apart until he’d detailed the mid-rank’s
heads and edges.
Colour plays a crucial role in
differentiating the factions. The Romans
are predominantly red with white, and Above: Almost all the shield designs here have slight variations, enhancing the contrast between
shields have been kept plain on purpose. these individualistic warriors and their uniform Roman opposition.
Their enemy are in opposed colours with
yellows and blues.
Matt’s a great believer in the power
of a good colour scheme - it can add
depth and clarity to a scene - and here
the colour placement helps distinguish
between the opposing forces and
enhances the visuals.

Right: It’s important that you keep the

painting clean and simple at this scale.
Matt would usually apply washes on
larger-scale figures, but skipped them
here, to avoid toning down the finish.

Above (both pictures): Individual commanders stand out through slightly varied paint schemes, and their positions on higher ground.

36
 MATT’S BIG DIORAMA TRICKS

Frame within a frame

Use natural elements, such as the ruins and cliffs here, to create Left: The plastic pikes warped
frames within the diorama, guiding the viewer’s eye to key areas. in the heat of the hairdryer.
Colour contrast
Employ complementary colours for different factions to maintain
visual interest and clarity.
Pin and paint
Pin and paint figures separately, then glue them onto the diorama.
Once done, consider making modifications to colours and adding
shadows to the groundwork to give the models a better sense of
placement.
Superglue is your friend!
Use superglue with an accelerator to set elements in place quickly, Left: They were replaced with
and texture the ground all at once. ‘heat resistant’ metal spears.

Break down tasks

Divide the project into smaller, manageable tasks to help you
maintain focus, and stay sane. Intersperse the repetitive work with
‘rewards’ that focus on the more fun parts of the project.
Don’t get too close with the hairdryer
Hairdryers can be a great way of speeding up drying time, but get
too close with the nozzle at your peril!

TAKING ON A LARGE PROJECT

Keeping your focus and maintaining quality on a project of this
magnitude are both extremely hard to do. Matt suggests breaking
things down into manageable parts, and rewarding yourself with a
‘treat’ after plodding through a repetitive process. Once Matt started
to feel burned out from applying the same systematic painting to
one kind of troops, he’d spice things up by painting some horses, or
adding freehand details onto shields.
Matt is also keen to point out that big projects often feature a moment
at which regret might creep in. The ‘I could have made that better,’
factor becomes all too apparent, and you’ve got to call it a day at
some point. Yes, you could have done some bits better, but you’ve
actually done them, which is more than most hobbyists manage!
Learn from the experience, know when to stop, and appreciate the
work overall, rather than getting caught up in endless revisions and
the minutiae… Although Matt, if pressed, would probably admit that
this is still something he struggles to do!

If you are inspired, why not try and build your own Epic scene with last issue’s free frames? We’d love to see your work if you do.
Send some photos and text to our Quick Fire section, and you could be featured in a future issue [See page 20 - Ed].

37
38
 Latest additions to
the 28mm Mexican
28mm Finest Quality Pewter Miniatures, American War.
Resin Buildings and Vehicles

Check the website or our Facebook page for more info:

www.1stcorps.co.uk
FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK Official stockists of Battle Flag
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available between 10am and

7pm Monday to Friday
 SAIGON ’68

For our Vietnam theme,

James examines Loughton
Strike Force’s magnificent
Tet Offensive board, after
interviewing its creator, Martin
Stanbridge, at this year’s Salute
wargaming show.

Left: The game in all its glory.

LOUGHTON STRIKE FORCE

Loughton Strike Force is a long-established miniature wargaming club on the London and Essex
border. Its members play a wide selection of historical tabletop and board games, and, if you’ve
been to Salute over the last few years, you’ll have already been wowed by the very best of what
they do; amazing games such as this one, and their previous Mordheim and Stalingrad displays
have impressed attendees and judges alike.
New players are always welcome at the club, regardless of their experience level, and can arrive
from 7pm on Wednesday evenings to take part.
Head to the club’s website - loughtonstrikeforce.co.uk - for more information about their general
activities and what’s planned for their next big Sunday game, which they put on every quarter.

40
The Vietnam War is one of the historical and
wargaming periods that I find most intriguing, so this
Saigon ’68 game, from Salute 51, was my highlight
of the show. It’s a detail-rich board that, were it not
for my other job requirements on the day, could have
easily held my attention for hours on end.
Loughton Strike Force’s Martin Stanbridge put a ton
of attention into detailing each facet of the build’s
landscape, structures, scatter, and figures, resulting in

vietnam
a gaming table that exudes the atmosphere and bustle
of cinematic Saigon wherever you look. “I’ve been
adding to it over time but worked out most of it in
about four months,” Martin told me. “I’m a teacher,
so when the Summer holidays came last year, I spent
those weeks building it up.”
Clearly time well-spent; the board is built to the
very highest display level, but played host to a lively
game while Salute ran. The buildings and roads don’t
represent an exact replica of an area, or a specific
moment in battle, but by layering recognisable
and well-researched features, Martin’s created the
impression of the city at the end of January 1968.
THE TET OFFENSIVE
That date is, of course, a rather notable one: signifying
the start of Tết Nguyên Đán - the Vietnamese
celebration of the arrival of spring - as well as the
opening of the Tet Offensive. With many ARVN
personnel on leave for the holiday, the Viet Cong and
People’s Army of Vietnam chose it as the perfect time
to make a huge and impressively coordinated push.
They launched an unprecedented number of surprise
assaults across South Vietnam, with Saigon, the
South’s capital, the focus of multiple assaults.
Above and right: Gringo 40s’ ‘Heroic
The North’s intent was to make a notable show of MP Dragging Wounded Buddy Out
of the Line of Fire’ figure is the focus
force against military and civilian strongpoints, to
of the action here. The need to rescue
cause instability in the region and bring about a mass this wounded Military Policeman was
rebellion. In reality, after the early shock of the attacks, the inciting incident that Martin came
the VC and PAVN were decimated by the US and up with for the growing scale of the
ARVN response and the South Vietnamese never rose
engagement on his tabletop.

to join the fight.

The ultimate success of the Tet Offensive came through its impact
on the rest of the world’s perception of the war. The shock of the Tet
Offensive (a supposedly-broken enemy launching a major attack) made
the media take serious note. What the journalists, photographers, and
camera operators presented, to a horrified public, were truly brutal
reprisals. These scenes of barbarity made for a major turning point in
the war, with further US involvement completely untenable in the eyes
of its people.
That bigger-picture narrative wasn’t too important at Salute 51, though!
Loughton Strike Force’s game focused on the moment-to-moment
action in a small area, which had been sparked when VC attackers on a
rooftop injured an MP below them (seen above right).

Above: US reinforcements arrive, some riding in

M133 APCs…

Left: … and start to work their way through the

awkward choke points of the city.

41
 THE VANISHING VIET CONG
The game was played with rules designed
specifically for this board, and they had some neat
features. “It’s very much a hybrid ruleset,” Martin
told me. “I wanted the VC to be able to appear and
disappear, but not make it too easy for them to do
that, to keep some friction in the game. It makes
it difficult for the Americans, who are eventually
going to win - they have to win! - but they’re
going to find themselves in some nasty situations.
“There are extra cards for the VC to use. These
allow things like additional shooting, troops to
deploy quickly or fall back, and gaining extra
movement. These cards can be played at any time,
so the Americans might want to shoot at you; you
can play a card to trump what they’re doing and
move your figures out of their line of sight.”

These custom rules made for a game wherein the VC would

appear, as if from nowhere, ready to do damage, before vanishing
back into the shadows, keeping the US troops on their toes.

Above: Infiltrating VC emerge from a friendly safehouse in the city and take While there are some areas that show the consequences of the
up a firing position on the balcony, unseen by the people below. raging battle (see below), in much of the city life goes on as
normal. Martin, who is no stranger to making ruined buildings
(such as the meticulously-researched wrecks on the Stalingrad
board he made for Salute 49), told me: “The damage mostly came
from the Americans in Tet, destroying the buildings and driving
out the VC. I haven’t really gone into that, as this is more of a
skirmish game.”

Above: Some of the cards

used by the VC in the game.

42
BUILDING SAIGON
There’s no denying the importance
of the figures on the tabletop, but the
star of the show (and winning the
Salute 51 award for Best Scenery) was
Martin’s representation of Saigon. He
used a mixture of 3D-printed, MDF,
and scratch-built structures to create a
beautifully detailed and varied display,
with buildings ranging from multi-storey
blocks (covered in advertising) to far
more ramshackle areas.
“I like doing the research for games, and
here I wanted to get the feel for Saigon,
so the advertising is all from the period.
Painting the buildings is a completely
different mindset to the figures, too,”
Martin explained, while I examined some
of the structures. “When you’re looking
at figures, you’re looking for detail, but
when you’re looking at buildings, you’re
looking for texture. There’s a lot of
bigger brushes used and techniques like
drybrushing and washing to add interest.”

Above and right: The main street is a masterpiece in miniature with the various
advertising boards and signs styled to match those found in Martin’s research.

Above: While the style of the vending machine here is a little anachronistic, there’s Above: Building walls have layers of texture, with plaster peeling in areas to
no denying how impressive the painting detail is! The cocks and duck making the reveal brickwork underneath.
area their own are just some of the many birds and animals included on the board.

43
 Above: Another small structure, peppered with different animals and other food,
Above: This 3D-printed bus has seen better days, and is just one of an assortment of stands before a more impressive building.
vehicles (many in better condition) that are placed around the tabletop. Note Martin’s
capable weathering, with broken windows, scratched paint, and rusty drips.

Above: Various small shacks across the board are individually based so they
can be used in games once the main display is packed away at the club.
Above: Standard MDF kits, when used, have been given extra realism through
Martin’s application of signs and decals. The pumps have additional detail and he’s
even placed an umbrella on the roof, for locals to relax under while getting a raised
vantage point across the area and nearby river.

THE US MARINE CORPS RETALIATE

“The figures are Gringos, Empress, Full Metal Miniatures, and some
Assault Group, as well.” Martin listed the manufacturers as he pointed my
attention to some of the scenes he’d created. “Civilians are carrying on
pretty much as usual, despite the action around them. The vehicles of the
city are diecast and plastic model kits.”
Much of the US response in the game moved in across the bridge, while
the people of Saigon did their best to get out of the way. There was support
on and above the river, coming from the Brown Water Navy and various
helicopters... even if it was just visual! “I added the river scene specifically
for Salute,” Martin told me of the other half of the table, “but it serves as
eye candy rather than as a gaming area!”

44
 FANTASTIC FOLIAGE
While there are some great trees made with traditional
methods on the board, Martin also made use of 3D-printed
ones, which give more variation on the board, and enhance
the Vietnam feeling.

Above: Showing an impressive level of unpreparedness, the Marines on the Tango

boat are relaxing despite the attack that is happening, with one man using his gun
emplacement as a tub!
Right: A Hughes OH-6A takes in the battle below. These ‘Loaches’ (short for light
observation helicopters) only arrived in Vietnam in December 1967, just before
the Tet Offensive.

LIFE IN THE CITY

Scenes of civilian life
across the board made
for even more viewing
pleasure. These four are
but a sampling of what
was tucked into every
nook and cranny of the
Saigon streets.

45
 Above and below: You can see Martin’s attention to detail on the various
river boats and roofs here, with a rainbow of colours making the scene
more interesting and more realistic.

Above: Martin, in the camo, stands behind his creation.

RIVERINE EYE CANDY

The river section of the table gives a
different view of life in Vietnam, and
the clash of style between the basic
Vietnamese craft and the US’s Brown
Water Navy vessels makes for an
interesting visual juxtaposition.
In the river, Empress Miniatures’
Apocalypse Now-styled PBR is bobbing
alongside a larger Armored Troop
Carrier, which has a helicopter landing
pad, topped off with a Huey. That’s a lot
of effort on Martin’s part for elements
that were made for display at Salute!
Saigon ’68 was the epitome of a
showcase game, and represented
incredible effort from Martin and his
fellow clubmates at Loughton Strike
Force. We can’t wait to see what they
come up with for Salute 52!

46
 MANY MORE
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 V FOR VICTORY
Since his first look in the last issue of Wi, Dom Sore’s managed to get Studio Tomahawk’s new WWII game onto
the tabletop for a few sessions. Here he gives his expert opinion.

THE BASICS
V for Victory is a 124-page hardback that’s well presented but WHAT’S IN A NAME?
(watch out!) slightly taller than most other rulebooks, so careful
when you cram it back onto the bookcase. It will be a familiar size The game’s name seems set to cause much discussion, at least
for anyone who has played SAGA, also from Studio Tomahawk,
in its early days, as it is intended to be pronounced ‘Five for
Victory’, although us Anglo speaking people will automatically
and, talking of SAGA, you can reuse your rulers from that game in assume ‘Vee’ instead. The name incorporates one of the main
V for Victory (more on that later). game mechanics, the threshold of success: any roll of a five or
The actual rules take up the initial 63 pages of the book and the more on a dice is a success. Now you know why it has that odd
remainder is filled with Orders of Battle and scenarios. I would
pronunciation you can crack on and get playing!

have liked to have seen the rules split from the other parts here, a
bit like Studio Tomahawk has done with SAGA, but everything’s
well organised and easy to find. There are a set of cards, that are crucial for playing the game,
along with a set of tokens and rulers. The cards are standard
playing card style whereas the tokens and rulers are heavy
cardstock; again, SAGA players will be familiar with this. The
rulers come in Very Short (VS), Short (S), Medium (M), and
Long (L) and determine all ranges used in the game.
HOW IT’S PLAYED
A 4' by 4' table is suggested but you can go bigger if you wish, or
smaller to get up close quickly. You will need a combination of
different dice - D6s, D8s, and D12s - to play the game too. The
kind of dice used are determined by weapon type and modifiers.
A tape measure helped us out with the longer distances, and this
is a game that makes hefty use of tokens, so you’ll want to have
those well organised to keep play speedy.
Buildings, trees, hedges, and scatter terrain will see you well, as
you’d expect in WWII gaming, and you’ll of course need troops.
The maximum will be around 40 but more often you will have
around 25. The army chosen, and the options taken, will affect
how much you shift to the higher or lower number count.
FORCES
At the rear of the book, you will find Orders of Battle for
Germany, Great Britain, Soviet Union, USA, and Resistance
Fighters and Partisans. Each one has the same format; there
are initial forces that you have plus optional upgrades that are
bought using Support stars. The number of Support stars are
determined by the scenario and will vary from game to game.

48
You won’t always get the same amount of stars to use as your
opponent which makes for interesting variation in the strength GERMANS TAKE NOTE
of the sides taking part.
Each OOB has one or two squads to start with, plus a vehicle Page 73 has an important special rule for German players and
their LMGs, tucked away in what looks like a flashy section

world war II
where appropriate (mechanised infantry, primarily). There’s
access to Fire Support (the kind of weapons assigned to
introduction; we missed this in our playtesting, and it would

1939-1945
have made a difference. This is something that really should
platoons: mortars, anti-tank teams, snipers, artillery, and anti- have been put in the Armoury section too, as this is where new
tank guns) as well as Divisional Support (the big toys; think players will look first.
Sherman, Tiger, Churchill). All Divisional Support units are
vehicles which does somewhat limit the options but, for the size
of combat that V for Victory is replicating, they work.

SCENARIOS
The book finishes with eleven scenarios; the first three are to
introduce you to the game, starting with basic infantry and
leading up to the introduction of vehicles and heavy weapons.
These are symmetrical scenarios designed to let you concentrate
on learning rather than wondering how to win against the odds.
These training scenarios are followed by six further scenarios,
including asymmetrical scenarios, where one side will get more
Support stars than the other.
There is one excellent scenario with the very standard gaming
goal of capturing objectives. The fact that you can move the
objectives you control at the end of a turn, to help keep them
under control, adds the spice. This leads to a lot of back and
Above: Above: Action from our game. We found the game benefited from forth on the battlefield and discourages rooting troops in place,
a large amount of terrain to give troops cover and block line of sight. which could cause player disengagement.
Each OOB has special rules attached that give you two bonuses: The final scenario is a four-player affair, called an XL scenario,
a Platoon Special Rule (applied at certain stages, or at all times) and takes place on a much larger playing area. It has some
and a National Special Rule that applies once per turn. The interesting setup mechanics and play elements that will add an
British Commandos are the exception who have two Platoon extra level of intrigue to your game, with a card and initiative
Special Rules to change things up. controlled hidden deployment involved.
Altogether there are 14 OOBs only four of those are for the Some of the scenario special rules are in the rulebook before
Axis. That does mean that at the time of release there are the Orders of Battle and I feel that these should have been at
limited options for one half of each battle; exacerbating that the start of the scenario section, to avoid flipping all over the
issue is the fact that, due to the nations included, someone will
always be the Germans, unless you fancy some blue-on-blue
action. You could use the Partisans against the Soviets as an
end of war scenario I suppose. Hopefully, there is more variety
SOVIETS

Divisional Support
ahead in future expansions.
M3/M5 Stuart
Armour
 M4 Sherman
2  Armour
M4 Sherman 76mm
Primary Weapon 3  Armour
M10 Wolverine Armour
ATG (Light) -T- Primary Weapon 3
M3 Scout Car Co-axial MMG
 2 Armour
M5 Half-track -T- ATG (Medium)
-T- Primary Weapon
 1 Armour
Secondary Weapon Co-axial MMG ATG (Heavy) -T-
Primary Weapon  1 MMG -H-
-T-
Co-axial MMG
/ Divisional Support

Primary Weapon Secondary Weapon -T-

ATG (Heavy) -T-
HMG forward -P- Primary Weapon Special MMG -H-
- Secondary Weapon
- HMG forward -P- Rules Recon Special MMG -H-
Secondary Weapon -
Secondary Weapon Rules -
- Special
Secondary Weapon Rules
- -
Special -
Rules Open-topped Special Recon - Open-topped -
Rules Special
Transport 6 Open-topped - Transport
Rules 12

elite teams who use BRITISH & ECD

Commandos
units able to Commandos form small

Y our Commandos represent tremendous blows M4 Sherman Jumbo

on the enemy surprise attacks to deliver
successfully raid any point just as skilfully after Armour
from volunteers to the enemy and disperse  M24 Chaffee
coasts. They are formed
the British and the action. Your Green
Berets are organised
squad and a combat
4  Armour
M26 Pershing
AMERICANS 1944-1945

drawn not just from around a headquarters Primary Weapon 2

but also all the Armour
Commonwealth armies, squad. Willys Jeep  
countries of Europe under
enemy occupation.
OOB can also be used
Armour
ATG (Medium)
Co-axial MMG
-T- Primary Weapon 4
Sd.Kfz. 250/9 Carefully picked, harshly
tested, cruelly trained,
The British Commandos’
to represent Free French
commando units. 0 -T-
Secondary Weapon
ATG (Medium)
Co-axial MMG
-T- Primary Weapon
Armour specialisms, your -T- ATG (Extra-Heav
 Sd.Kfz. 250/10 - 250/11 and masters of very varied Primary Weapon y) -T-
1 
Armour
Sd.Kfz. 10/5 Flak 38 LMG -P- 
MMG -H- Secondary Weapon Co-axial MMG
-T-
1 
Armour
Special MMG -H-
Primary Weapon
Primary Weapon
0 -
Rules - Special
Secondary Weapon
MMG -H-
Autocannon -T- Secondary Weapon
ATG (Light) -T- Primary Weapon Rules
Co-axial MMG -T- -
- Autocannon -T- Headquarters Squad - Special
Rules
Secondary Weapon -
- Special
GERMANY 1944-1945 / Divisional Support

Secondary Weapon Recon - Transport 4

- Rules
MMG rear -P-  Secondary Weapon
Special -
Rules Recon - Open-topped Special SMG R KM R
SMG
Rules Recon - Open-topped Special
Rules Open-topped
 Platoon Special Rule
Commandos


Squad 1 • Infiltrators: The teams in this
section
98
are trained in camouflage and
moving stealthily. They are always M10 Wolverine 107
considered to be formed of 2 figures Armour
 M18 Hellcat
R R R SMG R R R or less when being spotted or 2  Armour
targeted with a fire action.
1
R SMG
SMG LMG* Primary Weapon
* Bren ATG (Heavy) -T-
• Implacable Advance: Primary Weapon
At the end of the turn, each team - ATG (Heavy) -T-
of
Sd.Kfz. 7 Commandos that isn’t deactivated Secondary Weapon -

FIRE SUPPORT
Armour
Truck Armour (i.e. which still has at least one
0 Kubelwagen action to resolve) can roll a d8.
HMG -P-  Secondary Weapon
0 Armour
On a HMG -P- 
Primary Weapon 0  success, it can resolve an advance
or run action. peut lancer 1D8.
Special
Rules Open-topped
-
Primary Weapon
Primary Weapon
Squad 2  Special
- - Note that the Commando platoon Rules Open-topped
- MMG -P-   has no
special rule it uses once per turn,
Secondary Weapon
Secondary Weapon
- Squad 3  R doesn’t need the Special Ability
and so
- SMG R R card.
Secondary Weapon R R R
- SMG LMG* R SMG
Special -
Rules Open-topped - Transport Special * Bren
8 Open-topped - Transport SMG R R R
Rules 12 Special SMG R R R
Rules Open-topped - Transport LMG* R
4 SMG
* Bren

0-1 MMG Team 

0-1 Medium Mortar Team  REINFORCEMENTS
0-4 Reinforcements 
79 - Mo.M - - -

 Equipment and Options

- -
MMG*
Motorcycle & Sidecar Armour * Vickers
R
as you like.
• You can remove as many figures
R R

0 For each figure removed this

way, you can
Primary Weapon
0-1 AT Team  0-1 Sniper  replace up to 4 rifles with SMGs.
MMG forward -P-  with SMGs
• Any number of figures equipped
-
or knee mortars (KM) can replace
them 87
Secondary Weapon with rifles.
- have the Recon
ATW* - SNIPER -
• All the teams in your squads
rules (p. 62).
Special * Piat and Anti-Tank Assault special
Rules Recon - Open-topped in a Commando
• Any team can be mounted

0-1 FT Team  Commando Jeep


Primary Weapon
Armour
0
Jeep (profile opposite) for the

the team driving it belongs.

• Squads can take a third team
listed cost.
This jeep forms part of the squad
to whom

each for 
V for Victory is available in the UK from
HMG forward -P- per team.
FT - -

Secondary Weapon
LMG -P-  / MMG -P- 
 Experience
• All your teams are Elite.
North Star. See their advert on page 95.
Special Recon - Open-topped -
Rules Transport 3
 Divisional Support
Divisional
• The force has access to the
Support on page 88.

49
 Movement and ranges are measured using the pre-sized rulers
and the whole system is easy to understand and remember very
quickly. When it comes to range of weapons, for example, you
need to spot your enemy first. This basic distance is 3xL (the
Long ruler) and will be moved up or down ranges according
to negative modifiers (like cover and team size) and positive
modifiers (such as if the target has fired). If the target is within
the final range, you can shoot, and this is where the dice come in.
You start with a pool of dice then apply the various shooting
modifiers: boosts and burns. Rather than adjusting your dice
rolls they change the type of dice you get to roll. For instance,
if you start with 2D6s but you are an Elite unit, one of the D6s
is improved to be a D8 meaning on that dice your chance of a
success has gone from 33% to 50% (a 5+ is a success). It can
go the other way;
3D6s that get two
burns will drop down
into one sole D6 of
hope. This is a nice
mechanic that takes
a little getting used
to, but the boosts and
burns are minimal,
and we found it
was second nature
after our first game.
Above: The activation card next to this team shows that they can issue a Shooting against
tactical and engage order this turn but they will not be able to move. The vehicles works in
high initiative value of 6 should help them to lay down some fire early. much the same
way, except damage
book, but I must commend the layout of each scenario. The is determined by
presentation is clear with vital game information displayed a single dice that
around the edges of more granular rules. Once you get the hang improves or degrades
of play after a couple of scenarios, you’ll be able to get the gist depending on how
of how a battle will play with just a quick scan of the page. many successful hits
there are.
MECHANICS
Cards are used to give your troops orders - movement, engage,
or tactical - and each player has their own deck of eight cards,
which contains seven activation cards and one special ability Assault is very similar too, except
card. The activation cards are played one at a time and contain that both sides partake. Victory here is
a number that determines initiative (higher goes first). You then determined by who causes the most hits,
issue your orders to a unit, a squad, or a commander. A card however you can still lose the fight overall
played on a unit only affects that unit, if played on a squad it as you must save those hits. We had a
can affect any unit in the squad within the L distance template of situation where victory was gained but all
each other, and a commander can issue orders to any unit within Above: This card the hits on the victor went through while
L of him. This gives you a few options when playing your cards shows three different the loser saved all theirs. This left them
and adds to the tactical thinking required. orders - move (top), in a decent position at the end, even after
engage (middle), and losing. Assault is a dangerous but useful
Each unit has two actions per-turn, and these are denoted by tactical (bottom) - and
tool, so be careful how you utilise it.
counters. The book suggests you place a green counter once a the number 1 with each
unit has had one order and turn it over to the red side when they shows you can issue All these ranged and assault attacks
each order once. The cause stress to your troops which makes
have used both. We found it easier to start on green, move to red
number in the top right them less effective. When that happens,
after one order, and remove it once both actions have been taken. is its initiative value, 2.
you’ll need to use more of
your tactical orders as the
game goes on, to keep the
troops moving, or at least
keep them in play altogether.
Four levels of morale seems
like an initially complicated
number to negotiate but the

Left: In our preferred way of

presenting actions available the
green shows these two are yet
to do anything, while the red
represents that they have taken
one action.

50
colour coding helps this a lot as you shift from green, through yellow and
orange, and finally red. Once your troops hit red you are in very real danger
of losing them. And if you lose more than half the figures in your force you
have lost.

BONUS CARDS

Different scenarios can award the players bonus cards. These can be played
freely during the game to impact goings on at key moments. Smart use of these
bonus cards can dramatically impact the pivotal plays that you make and change
the tide of battle.

Right: These Ammo! cards add dice to a fire

action. One provides 2D6, the other a D12. Right: These Take
Cover! cards add dice
to the defence pool.
Left: The Doc! card
allows the dice shown
to be rolled and, if
successful, a casualty
will be cancelled.
Left: The Spotted! card
grants a column bonus to
an attempt to spot a unit.
Right: These three cards add orders
to cards or increase their value if they
already have them.

FIVE FOR EFFORT OR

THE PRECURSORS
FLAWLESS VICTORY?
V for Victory has some obvious Studio Tomahawk links, such as the rulers that exactly
V for Victory works well, though it
match those in their earlier period sister game SAGA, to the card activation that comes
was a little admin heavy for some of from Muskets & Tomahawks. The pin mechanic featured is like Bolt Action, but with
my friend’s tastes, with all the tokens more nuance, to model the decreasing effectiveness of a unit. The Orders of Battle
on the table. If you’re not keen on that work very similarly to how a Chain of Command platoon functions, with a few more
then this game might not be for you. choices and less randomness.
The activation system, with its different
levels of potential (depending on who is
activated with which card), will ensure What works in one of those games will not necessarily work in V for Victory, so
you have a lot of options without totally you’ll need to get used to this game’s nuances as you play. Overall, we felt that troops
overwhelming you, and this is part of the perform closer to how your Bolt Action army does generally.
game that we all thought worked well.
The dice boosting and burning mechanic This is an interesting and enjoyable addition to the somewhat crowded World War
is intuitive and lets the other factors of Two market. If you have become a little jaded with your other games then my gaming
the battle and environment affect the group’s engagement with V for Victory certainly suggests it’s worth giving it a try.
game without the need for loads of tables
of modifiers. It makes a lot of sense and
feels different without just trying to be
different for different’s sake.
The main flaw with V for Victory right
now is the limited options for forces,
but that will hopefully change over time
with expansions. There is nothing to stop
you coming up with your own OOBs, to
allow you to field the Italian, Romanian,
or Finnish army of your dreams [Aren’t
they your main three armies for Bolt
Action, Dom? - Ed] but the one-to-four
split between Axis and Allies means that
right now, if you don’t have Germans to
play as the opposing force, someone will
need to get them.
It is great (and wise) that the game
allows you to take the existing forces
you might have for Bolt Action or Chain
of Command, with no real modification
required, and use them in a new way.

51
 THE WARGAME
THAT GOES WRONG

Pete Brown considers the Battle of Ap Bac, and how to play wargames full of mishaps.

Above: Action from The Old Guard Wargames Club’s game at The Other Partizan 2022.
There is an old military adage that states that no plan survives be supported by helicopters, armoured personnel carriers, and
first contact with the enemy. I am sure many wargamers will artillery. Unbeknown to the American and ARVN commanders,
agree, when they realise that plans made in comfort at home or the VC were well dug into the village, and were prepared to
whispered to your co-players at your club before the game starts, make a stand.
quickly go awry when you find that your opposition will not fall
So far, so straightforward, and, as wargames scenarios go,
into your neatly-laid trap.
this looks to be a standard Vietnam game, albeit before the
But if our plans during equally-balanced games can go wrong US introduced active combat units into the conflict. Instead,
so easily, what about in a game where the mishaps, disasters, well-armed ARVN troops, led by American advisors, assault a
and miscommunications are already baked into the scenario? dug-in Viet Cong force. If you swapped out the ARVN element,
How would you play out a battle where one side has such bad and replaced it with American Marines or infantry, then this
luck that they cannot possibly win? I have chosen the Battle of would be the template for Vietnam scenarios played out on most
Ap Bac from the Vietnam War to illustrate what such a scenario tabletops. What could possibly go wrong?
might look like, but I am sure that you can find examples in any
of your favourite historical periods.
SCENARIO OUTLINE
The Battle of Ap Bac was
fought on 2 January 1963 in the
Dinh Turong province of South
Vietnam. American intelligence
had identified the presence of a
Viet Cong radio transmitter, along
with about 120 VC fighters, in the
village of Ap Tan Thoi. The basic
plan was to attack the village from
three sides, in a sort of triangle,
using two provincial South
Vietnamese Civil Guard battalions
and a battalion of the 11th ARVN
infantry regiment. They would
Above: The Viet Cong - shooting from the bushes. Figures by Gringo 40s.

52
 THE US/ARVN PLAYER BRIEFING
Below:
You are to attack the village of Ap Tan Thoi, and destroy the VC radio
transmitter whose operation has been detected there. The plan is to land an 1 - ARVN soldiers take shelter behind paddy dykes.
ARVN battalion of regular infantry to the north of the village by helicopter. 2 - A UH-1 Gunship downed in the paddy fields.
At the same time, two Civil Guard battalions will attack the village: one 3 - Two CH-21s shot down and helpless in the fields.
from the south, and one from the east.
4 - The nearby village of Tan Thoi on fire following artillery and
You also have a squadron of M113 armoured troop carriers that can be called napalm attacks.
up to support your attacks, as well as artillery and air support. 5 - Vann observed the battle from his L-19 spotter plane.

vietnam
Please be mindful that artillery support cannot fire while air support is on 6 - The M113s surge forward.
board. If required, 300 ARVN troops of the 8th Airborne Battalion are on 7 - The VC bombard the M113 APCs with grenades.
standby at a nearby airfield, ready to reinforce your attack.
8 - The VC wait for a further opportunity to strike back from
You are to find and destroy the radio transmitter, all Viet Cong troops in the their defences in Ap Bac.
village, and any stores they might possess.

5
4

2
1 3

7
6 8

THE SET-UP
Prepare the wargame as shown on the map to the right. The game
should have an Umpire, who shows the VC player the Umpire’s map,
11 Inf
which identifies where the VC forces are dug in.
Meanwhile, the unsuspecting US/ARVN player should be given a
briefing from the Umpire. Let the players ask questions about the
terrain, points of entry for their forces, and so on, exactly as they
would for any normal game.
VC Direction
FIRST CONTACT WITH THE ENEMY of Retreat
Cong Ba Ky

Ap Tan Thoi
Historically, the first problem in this battle concerned transport.
Thirty helicopters were needed to transport an entire battalion of
ARVN troops, but only ten were available, meaning that only one
company could be airlifted into the combat zone at a time. When VC Positions
the first company of ARVN were dropped close to the village, they
y

were ordered to remain in place until the other companies could be

lr
Cava

airlifted in.
Zo ne
op or
ne

Ap Bac
Dr Airb
4-2d

Meanwhile, the two Civil Guard battalions had moved into position
8th

under their own steam, with one Guard Battalion (named Task Force A
during the battle) arriving first. Unbeknownst to the South Vietnamese,
the VC were using radio equipment in the village to monitor their
Inf

frequencies. Thus, the VC were fully aware of the ARVN units’

1th
1-1

locations, and when they might attack.

Cong Lu

When Task Force A came within 30 metres of the south side of

the village, the VC opened fire, killing the commander of the lead
ong

company, and wounding the overall commander. The Civil Defence Task Force B Ap Tan Hiep
troops took cover in a drainage ditch and called in artillery support.
The artillery was ineffective, as the Civil Defence forward observers,
who were under heavy fire, refused to stand up to adjust the fall of Task Force A
shot, most of which landed behind the village. The Commander of
the second Civil Defence battalion (Task Force B) lost his bottle, and
refused to move forward.

53
 Despite only three companies of the
regular ARVN forces having landed by
helicopter at this point, they now moved
up to attack the north of the village in
support of the attack by Task Force A.
When they came within 20 metres of the
village, they, too, came under heavy fire,
peppered by the guns in well-concealed
VC positions, pinning them down.
Comment: From a wargaming
point of view, this is a common
outcome for an attack on a well-
dug-in enemy. The US/ARVN
player will usually fail the odd
activation roll, resulting in a Above: 15mm models by Battlefront, from their extensive ’Nam 1965 - 1972 range.
poorly coordinated attack, with,
say, the second Civil Defence The only good news was that the Comment: The US/ARVN player
Task Force simply not activating American pilots were better able to should be told that the remaining
at all. coordinate air support from their position ARVN regulars are ready for
on the ground, and soon some AD-6 deployment, and the Umpire
Instead of rolling for activation,
Skyraiders dropped conventional bombs should ask where they should be
the Umpire should simply tell
and napalm on the village. This did dropped. This will be a genuine
the US/ARVN player that the first
nothing to stop the fire from the VC choice, as the player will have
Civil Defence unit comes on in
positions, however. to decide whether to open a
turn one and that the others failed
new front or reinforce one of the
to activate. You could then have Vann contacted the commander of the
already-failing attacks.
the regular ARVN units arrive on ARVN armoured cavalry regiment,
turn three, whilst still assuring Captain Ly Tong Ba, and ordered him to No matter what side of the
the US/ARVN player that the 2nd move up to rescue the downed helicopters village the player chooses, the
battalion of Civil Defence troops and the trapped ARVN infantry. Ba did helicopters should land the
are on the way (spoiler alert- they not like taking orders from Americans, troops too close to the village,
are not!). Give the Civil Defence and was tardy in making his approach, as was the historical case. The
forces terrible comms factors to blaming the muddy paddy fields for his Umpire should place downed
ensure that any artillery they call slow progress. helicopters, and start the newly
for either does not arrive, or is landed units with casualties in a
Eventually, at about 1330hrs, the M113s
ineffective. pinned copt position.
approached the landing site, but did so in
The US/ARVN player is in a tricky single file, rather than in formation. This The one bit of good news for
position, but will be reassured allowed the VC to focus all their fire on the US/ARVN player is that they
that they still have reinforcements the lead vehicle, where the weapon crews are able to call in one effective
to bring on, as well as air and were exposed from the waist up. In total, air strike on the VC, which the
artillery support upon which to 14 crew members of the M113s were Umpire should play out using
call when required. wounded or killed, including one driver, their chosen rules.
who was hit when he put his head out of
CALLING UP REINFORCEMENTS The US/ARVN player will no
the hatch. This led to a loss of cohesion
doubt call for the M113s, if they
The American advisor at the battle, and morale, which was not helped when
have not already done so. The
John Paul Vann, was circling above the the M113 equipped with a flame thrower
Umpire should pretend to make
battlefield in a L-19 Reconnaissance failed to fire, as the crew had mixed
activation rolls before telling the
plane. He advised the South Vietnamese the wrong amount of gel and gasoline.
US/ARVN player that the M113s
Commander, Bul Dinh Dam, to land Demoralised, the M113s withdrew at
are on their way, but are making
the remaining companies of the ARVN about 1430hrs.
slow progress through the
battalion on the west side of the village,
rather than reinforce the ARVN attack
from the north. By doing so, he hoped to
stretch the VC defence force.
Unfortunately, the American pilots of
the transport helicopters did not listen to
Vann’s instructions and began to drop the
ARVN reinforcements only 200 metres
from the north side of the village. They
immediately came under heavy fire,
losing three of the ten CH-21 helicopters
used in the drop, along with a Huey
helicopter, which had landed to pick up
the American pilots from the damaged
transports. The ARVN infantry was
pinned down almost immediately.

Above: The ARVN surge forward. Figures by Gringo 40s.

54
paddy fields. The Umpire should
simulate the slow movement of
the M113s, so that it frustrates
the US/ARVN player, but is not
so slow that the M113s do not
get into combat. Once on board,
give the M113s poor morale
and fighting stats, reflecting the
historical problems the unit had.
Don’t tell the US/ARVN player
the bad news about the flame
thrower until they fire it!
REINFORCING FAILURE
At this point, Task Force B had still
not made it to the battlefield. On the
south side, Task Force A were pinned
down, as were the three companies of
ARVN infantry attacking the north side.
To the west, the remaining infantry Above: Napalm deployed against against the Viet Cong. From The Old Guard Wargames Club’s
‘reinforcements,’ along with the M113 game at The Other Partizan 2022.
supports, were pulling back.
Comment: The Umpire should ask THE END OF THE BATTLE
In a final effort to defeat the VC, Vann the US/ARVN player if they wish
contacted the ARVN commanders and Firing continued until sundown, after
to call for the airborne troops.
requested that the ARVN Airborne troops There should be the genuine
which the VC commander withdrew his
be dropped to the east of the village. troops using the eastern approach, as
option not to do so, as this action
He assumed that the VC would begin Vann had predicted. The ARVN troops
could exacerbate existing failure.
to withdraw along this route, as there were able to move into the deserted
If the player accepts, the Umpire
were currently no ARVN forces on that village the following morning when, in
should establish on which side
approach. The Airborne troops could a final act of indignity, ARVN artillery
of the village they would like
then ambush the VC as they retreated. belatedly fired on the village, killing and
the paras to be dropped, stating
Unfortunately, the ARVN high command wounding 14 ARVN soldiers.
that the ARVN command would
refused, and instead wanted to drop the prefer them to be dropped on the In total, the ARVN forces suffered 83
paras on the west side, to shore up the side where the attack is going dead and over 100 wounded. John Paul
retreating M113s and badly-shot-up most wrong. Vann attributed the defeat to ARVN
infantry. intransigence, stating: “It was a miserable
The player may choose to agree
Later in the afternoon, roughly 300 damn performance, just like it always is.
with the ARVN command, or
ARVN troops of the 8th Airborne choose their own side on which
These people won’t listen. They make the
Battalion were deployed over the same mistake over and over again in the
to drop the parachute force.
battlefield. As they approached, their Whatever side they choose,
same way.”
planes came under fire from the village, the paras will be dropped The VC suffered 18 dead and 39
and the pilots changed course to avoid too close to the village, and wounded, despite being heavily
the fire. Disastrously, the jump masters will immediately come under outnumbered and up against armour,
did not account for the change, causing fire. Use whatever system artillery, and air support. This was their
the paratroopers to jump on a landing the chosen rules provide for first victory in a pitched battle against
zone right in front of the entrenched VC dropping paratroops, or default South Vietnamese forces, and it provided
positions on the western flank. The VC to dropping small bits of paper a huge morale boost.
were able to shoot the paratroopers in from height onto the board and
the air as they descended, or when they placing miniatures where they
landed in the open rice paddies. Showing fall. Whatever system you use,
typical airborne spirit, the surviving the paras should be in a sticky
paratroopers gathered as best they could, position, scattered and under
and launched an attack on the entrenched fire, having taken casualties in
VC, which ultimately failed. the drop.

Above: Vietnamese
stamp celebrating
the shooting down of
US helicopters at the
Battle of Ap Bac.

Above: Gringo 40s ARVN move forward. Above: M113 by Battlefront Miniatures.

55
 WHY PLAY DISASTER GAMES?
Anyone reading this article may well be
asking themselves why they would want to
Umpire, or play in, a game where the odds
are so badly stacked against one side?
It is true that a game such as this is
not strictly ‘fair,’ in the sense that the
opportunities to win for both sides are
not as balanced as if players picked
equally-weighted forces from points-
based army lists, and set them up on
neutrally-matched terrain. Equally, this
is not a ‘last stand’ type game, such as
Custer’s Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Custer’s fight can be played in a fun
way, with both sides acknowledging
that the US Cavalry are doomed, so
achieving anything better than what
happened historically is a win.
In a disaster game, one player goes into
Above: Downed Huey from Hobby Boss.

the game blindsided, thinking they have a UMPIRING A DISASTER GAME direct that frustration at you. Keep an air
chance of winning, when, in fact, all the of calm. Remind the players that this is
odds are stacked against them. Indeed, it
Having umpired games like this before,
only a game, one designed to test them.
I have found that most players really
must be played like this, because, if the Remember, these things did happen, so
enjoy them, but they must pick their
Umpire were to warn the player about you have history on your side!
teams carefully. Players who have a
what was going to happen, it would
good sense of humour, are keen to take Finally, play fair. As an Umpire, once you
greatly affect the outcome, and spoil all
on a challenge, and are likely to take recognise that one player is set to have a
the ‘surprises’ that are about to unfold.
misfortune on the chin, make the best bad day, it is tempting to heap misfortune
Why would we be so nasty?
US/ARVN players in this scenario. If upon them to ensure that they ultimately
Well, first, because this often happens you have competitive players in your lose. Bear in mind that so many setbacks
in warfare, especially in modern periods group, have them take on the role of the are already baked into the scenario that
such as Vietnam. A game like Ap Bac VC. Competitive players like to feel in you can afford to let luck intervene.
tests how the player responds to a fast- control, and, when faced with everything Play out the firefights, airstrikes, morale,
moving, dynamic situation in which going wrong, no matter what they do, and command tests, as detailed in your
they are faced with numerous things they quickly lose their sense of humour! chosen ruleset, and let the dice roll how
going wrong, and in quick succession. Thus, playing the VC suits them well, as they may. If the pinned-down unit rolls
Should they make small moves, or take they are in a comfort zone, very likely double 6s, recovers morale, and can pull
direct action to stabilise the situation? having a win ahead. Assigning players to back, let them; such small victories could
Do they send more troops into a failing suit each role will ensure everyone enjoys sometimes happen in the face of disaster.
situation, or cut their losses, stand off, the game. If the VC player cannot hit a barn door
and make the best of a bad job? How do with a cricket bat, so be it. And if the
US/ARVN player rolls nothing but crits
You need to be strong and have a
they respond to an increasingly desperate
and pulls their feet from the fire, there is
thick skin as an Umpire in a disaster
situation on the board? Do they rise to
game. Players will feel frustration - “I
it, or storm off in a huff? Being placed nothing left to do but congratulate them
specifically said the paras were not to
under pressure can be fun, especially if over a pint after the game. After all, Lady
drop there! Why would they do that? That
you manage to win despite the odds! Luck can smile on you in even the most
doesn’t make any sense!” - and may well
disastrous of situations.

Above: Salvage operation: a US Army UH-1 Iroquois Above: In a scene reminiscent of Ap Bac, US paratroopers fire towards a treeline occupied
helicopter retrieves another, downed during the battle by Viet Cong, east of Bien Hoa, May 1965.
of Ap Bac, January 1963.

56
 “IN A HOLE IN THE
GROUND THERE
LIVED A HOBBIT.”
BUILDING MIDDLE-EARTH: BAG END

In his second article about his Tolkien-inspired constructions, Mark Clayton shifts his attention to an iconic hobbit hole!
In my previous article, I confessed my obsession with the THE GENERAL SHAPE
world of Tolkien. For me, Middle-earth is almost a real place,
Constructing the hill, into which Bilbo’s home is set, was not too
largely because Tolkien’s stories are backed by deep history,
difficult, but it was vital that I kept the different levels in mind.
language, and culture. As I'm a passionate wargamer, it's
only natural that I’d be drawn to tabletop battles in Middle-
The front of the model has a road level, raised entrance, and higher
hill behind. I began by PVA gluing layers of 50mm insulation
earth. It provides all the interest and fun of the Middle Ages,
polystyrene together. When it was dry, I carved the hill into shape
but with the added excitement of mythological (but not too
with a serrated knife. Developing this gradually, refining the
wacky) creatures like trolls, mumakil, and ents. Collecting
detailed undulations in stages, is advised. Start with broader cuts,
the models and playing games using the LotR Strategy Battle
and you won’t risk chopping off parts you need!
Game or Dragon Rampant rules is a particular passion of
mine, which has led me to build scenery that enhances the Right: The
look and enjoyment of each scenario I play. hill had to be
steeper at the
Having built the castle of Helm’s Deep, described in my last back to fit the
article, I decided to attempt a model of Bag End, the home base board. I
of Bilbo and Frodo in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. always round
While this is a lovely and idyllic model to make, it’s also the corners of
practical for gaming, as the Scouring of The Shire is a key terrain bases,
final conflict in the War of the Ring. I have 30-odd hobbit as I think they
figures, together with lots of ruffians, so my aim was to build look better,
and they're less
a section of Hobbiton, with Bag End and several other hobbit
easily caught
holes to set games around. on clothing.

58
The front door and steps section was
created separately, made from Celotex
insulation foam, which carves more
easily, so it's better for finer detail. After
cutting it to shape and rendering the

Modelling
Painting &
details, I glued it to the other, larger part
of the model. I then covered the entire
hill in PVA glue, and sprinkled it liberally
with kiln-dry (paving) sand, which I
left to dry hard. Repeating this process
two more times created a concrete-like
surface, giving the model texture and
durability.

Right: The front door, around which the model

was planned, was from Ziterdes. The wicker
fencing is by Renedra, as is the gate, with a
triangular section of card glued to the top.
The steps to the front door were carved into a
piece of Celotex insulating foam. The flower
tufts create the garden every hobbit hole would
have, while the bench is made from a wooden
drink stirrer and wire legs.

PAINT MATCHING
I downloaded stills from the movies and
photographs of the site in New Zealand to
select the colours for the paint job, which
was mostly done with Army Painter and
Tamiya paints.
THE FRONT WALL
The main challenge was the front wall, with
its round doors and windows. Fortunately, a
Left: The most
lot of people seem to be making hobbit holes,
committed Lord and several companies produce 3D-printed or
of the Rings fans resin-cast front doors. I got mine from Ziterdes
can book a tour (before it was taken over) but there are other
of the Hobbiton options out there. Round windows are also
set in New purchasable, though I made mine from coins,
Zealand! covered in filler, with the detail scored into the
surface as it dried. This scoring technique is
versatile, and I applied it to two lines of filler to
show the cobbled effect of the road, too.

Above: The stone retaining wall is made with filler, with the detail scored into it as it dries. The grassy lane was made with two lines of filler, scored
as it dried to create the cobbles.
59
 THE TREE AND OTHER NATURAL DETAILS
The most expensive component in the model was the elm tree, which is a
beauty from Busch. This is an iconic part of Bag End, and worth a little extra
investment. Various companies provide flower-like tufts with which to reflect
the hobbits’ love of things that grow. The wicker fencing is from Renedra.

Above: The tree is by Busch; an absolute work of art,

and well worth the £12 price tag.

Left: The grassy texture, made with three layers

of PVA and kiln-dry sand, ensures the integrity of
the structure. It also makes it heavier, but gives a
realistic, textured surface that was easy to paint, and
very durable.

The model measures 620mm square, and the hill is about 240mm high. The elm tree adds another 150mm. It makes for a great centre
or background piece for games set in The Shire, and I have other hobbit holes in production. I have purchased some 3D-printed
doors, and am constructing the hills and mounds around them. I intend to have a village of six or seven holes in a few months, but, as
is fitting, Bag End will remain the focus.

GAMING IN HOBBITON
The hobbits never had a formal army, but a militia was on hand to keep order and guard the frontiers of their beloved land. Wargames in this
area aren’t too common, but The Scouring of The Shire is the obvious scenario, with Sharkey (the fallen wizard Saruman) threatening the
peace of Hobbiton. Wild wolves (wargs) once invaded, which is a chance for a different kind of battle, and it could be the setting for many
unusual campaign games.
I also enjoy the model as a display piece, and it has a prominent place in the Middle-earth room, which I am lucky enough to have at home.

Above: Like the Celtic war dogs, Farmer

Maggot’s hounds had a fearsome
reputation.

Right: Sharkey’s ruffians engage the

hobbits and their hounds. I like the
Strategy Battle Game system because
weaker participants can still win the fight.

60
 GAME MATS &
BATLLEFIELDS

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PRINT-O-MAT - YOUR IMAGE ON MOUSEPAD MAT

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 THE VEHICLES OF VIETNAM - PART ONE
TRANSPORTING THE TROOPS

James takes this issue’s Vietnam War theme as an opportunity to bring transports and support vehicles into
tabletop action, focusing on ground and air assault.

range of 15mm figures.

Above: Vehicles and troops from the extensive Battlefront/Flames of War ̓Nam 1965 - 1972
The Vietnam War, perhaps due to a deluge of media and movie battles that seemed otherwise helpless, against a foe who could
coverage focused on individual soldiers, tends to be viewed emerge from (and vanish into) the surrounding terrain like
and gamed as intense skirmish encounters between infantry and vengeful ghosts.
guerrilla forces. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course,
but Vietnam was equally a war of machines, where the vehicles
The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong were not without their
own vehicular options. Some were simpler, of course, but, as the
became as vital as the infantrymen. Formidable tanks trundled
war continued, they incorporated Soviet- and Chinese-supplied
over the muddy ground, choppers soared through the humid
vehicles to significant effect. I’ll look at these in part two, next
skies, and boats cut through the famed brown waterways.
month, wherein I’ll also consider the Hồ Chí Minh Trail - the
Vehicles played a crucial role, shaping the strategies and
lifeline from North Vietnam to South Vietnam, through Laos and
outcomes of this brutal war, and wars ahead.
Cambodia - which kept the Viet Cong and the People’s Army of
In this multi-part series, I travel through the Vietnam War Vietnam supported and supplied.
timeline, picking out some of the vehicles
that defined the era’s combat. The agile
choppers that could deliver troops
and supplies with pinpoint precision
get a lot of the historical, media, and
Hollywood headlines (I won’t be ignoring
them here, of course), but there are the
less-glamorous armoured transports to
consider, as well as the boats that patrolled
the water.
These vehicles, along with the men who
operated them, were the backbone of
the conflict for the US and ARVN (The
Army of the Republic of Vietnam).
Theysupported troops who would
otherwise have been horribly isolated, Above: Full Metal Miniatures cyclists, from the collection of Dave Docherty, can be used as a less
and could offer sanctuary or escape during advanced but still effective VC method of transport and supply.

62
Understanding the impact of vehicles through the years offers a more comprehensive view of the Vietnam War, illustrating the
complexity and technological interplay that defined the conflict. This article picks out notable engagements wherein particular
transport and support vehicles proved decisive, focusing primarily on the M113, which I think is a rather unsung hero of the War.
I’ll attempt to offer insights into the strategic and tactical contributions these vehicles can bring to the tabletop and suggest some
miniatures to use. Follow up articles will do the same for more varied vehicles, with boats, more exotic and bombastic heavy
armour, and the simple workhorse options used by the VC.
I hope these vehicular insights will inspire you to further research, and bring more machinery to your Vietnam War gaming!
NOTABLE TRANSPORTS OF THE VIETNAM WAR

vietnam
Early war - the ‘advisory’ phase (1961-1965)
In the early stages of the War, the US’s role was intended to be advisory, providing support and training to the ARVN, but the
situation quickly escalated, long before Operation Rolling Thunder took the war to its next level of intensity in March 1965.
Troops in the early ’60s were increasingly engaged
18 17
by the Viet Cong’s potent hit-and-run tactics. These
ambushes challenged conventional military strategies.
The need for enhanced mobility and protection of the 16
ground troops was evident; the US response evolved 15
accordingly, from an advisory role to increasingly 14
active participation.
Robust and versatile vehicles, to support ground 13
operations and counter the Viet Cong’s guerilla tactics,
12
were essential. The M113 APC emerged as a critical
asset.
12
M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier
3 4
The M113 was a ubiquitous ground transport for 5
the US and their ARVN allies. Its versatility and 6
amphibious capability made it invaluable when it came 7 8
9 10
to humping troops and supplies through the dense
jungles and marshy terrain of Vietnam. The standard 11
M113 was upgraded to an armoured cavalry assault Above: M113 ACAV - 1) Driver’s warning light panel, 2) Steering levers, 3)
vehicle (ACAV) through the addition of two M60 Driver’s instrument panel, 4) Periscope storage, 5) Commander’s cupola
7.62mm machine guns and weapon shields. and M2 .50-caliber machine gun, 6) M60 7.62mm machine gun, 7) Radio, 8)
Passenger jump seat, 9) Fuel Tank, 10) Fuel filler cap, 11) Ramp door, 12)
The M113 could carry a squad of infantry, provide Ramp, 13) Passenger bench seat, 14) Passenger compartment hatch, 15) Battery
them with protection from small arms fire, and lay compartment, 16) Mount base for M60 7.62mm machine gun, 17) M60 7.62mm
down decent fire in return, but it was vulnerable to anti- machine gun, 18) Engine air intake. From M113 APC 1960-75, by Henry
tank weaponry. Morshead. © Osprey Publishing www.ospreypublishing.com

TAKING THE M113 TO THE TABLETOP

Rubicon produce probably the nicest 28mm M113 kit, and their plastic set has parts to build the standard
version, the ACAV, and the Aussie variant. At the time of writing, Rubicon’s site lists the set as out-of-
stock, though you can find it elsewhere online (eBay and other hobby shops) for a slightly increased price.
Rubicon also make the M577 Command Post Carrier, which can act as a mobile tactical operations centre.
If you’re buying your M113s on a budget, consider Sarissa’s MDF version, which is less than a tenner for
one, or £30 for four. They are more basic than the Rubicon kit, of course, but they look pretty good when
painted up.
In 15mm, I’m partial to the Flames of War ’Nam Above: Rubicon’s
sets. The M113 Platoon (four plastic M113 frames ACAV plastic kit.
with enough extras to make M113 ACAVs, M125
or M106 Mortar Carriers, M132 Zippos, or M113
troop carriers) and Black Horse Armoured Cavalry
Troop (more on that one next issue) both offer
good value for money, with loads of options.

Above: Sarissa’s M113s.

Above: If you want to apply excessive

Right: The M113 Platoon detail to your transports check out
from Flames of War. Osprey’s Modelling the M113 Series by
Graeme Davidson.

63
 A notable early engagement that involved the M113 was 1963’s encountered a large force of Viet Cong. The Australians were in
Battle of Ap Bac. Against heavy resistance and challenging a perilous situation, surrounded and outnumbered, and the terrain
conditions, the vehicles transported troops and delivered fire - dense foliage - hindered their ability to pinpoint the enemy’s
support during what can only be described as a total FUBAR positions accurately.
of a battle for the US and ARVN. Ap Bac is covered in full by
Pete Brown elsewhere in this issue [see page 52 - Ed], and, with
The M113s played a pivotal role in the battle, providing mobility
and fire support, enabling Australian troops to manoeuvre
that in mind (rather than retread the same ground), I’m going to
through the challenging terrain and deliver suppressing fire
accelerate a little further into the War.
against entrenched Viet Cong positions. The M113s facilitated
The Battle of Long Tan communication and coordination under the fierce combat
conditions, and, as the battle intensified, they evacuated the
This clash, on 18 August 1966, comes about a year-and-a-half
wounded, and resupplied frontline positions. Their armour
protected the troops from enemy small-arms fire and shrapnel,
after the initiation of Rolling Thunder. By this time, around
400,000 US troops were involved in the Vietnam War - things
too, which was vital, with the Australians holding ground against
had gotten serious! - but, for this battle, you’ll want to bring the
repeated assaults.
Aussie variant of the M113 into action; Long Tan was one of
the largest battles fought by Australians in the War, so why not After hours of fierce fighting, D Company repelled the Viet Cong
embrace the actions of these all too often ignored Antipodean forces, and the battle resulted in significant casualties for the
combatants on the tabletop? VC, underscoring the effectiveness of combined arms tactics (air
support was also essential in this battle), and the extra resilience
Amidst the dense rubber plantations of Phuoc Tuy Province,
that armoured vehicles brought to the Australian troops who
D Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment,
were under fire.

WARGAMING THE BATTLE OF LONG TAN

This scenario, set during the Battle of Long Tan, focuses on the critical role of the M113 APCs, and the unique challenges faced by Australian forces.
You can apply the broad suggestions here to your wargame of choice; details have been left intentionally flexible for maximum versatility across
miniature scales and rulesets.
TERRAIN
Set the battlefield amidst a dense rubber plantation, with plentiful trees creating limited visibility and blocked lines of sight. Clearings should be
scattered across the board, spaced relatively evenly, representing the gaps between the rubber trees where engagements occurred.
Play down the long length of the table, and mark six strategic points on the Australian side of the table with markers. These are VC target objectives
that can be destroyed, which the Australians must try to defend.
FORCES
I’ve suggested forces for a fairly big game here, but you can cut down the numbers, depending on the scale at which you choose to play, and the
number of miniatures that you have available.

Australian Forces (D Company, 6RAR) Support elements

Infantry Platoons • 4 x M113 APCs (with .50-cal MGs)
• 1 x Command Section (1 Officer, 1 Radio Operator, 1 Medic) • 2 x Forward Artillery Observers (linked to 105mm Howitzer battery
off-board)
• 2 x Infantry Platoons, each consisting of:
• 1 x Mortar Team (81mm mortar)
1 x Platoon Command Section (1 Platoon Leader, 1 Radio Operator,
1 Medic) • 2 x Heavy Machine Gun Teams (M2 .50-cal)
3 x Infantry Sections (1 Section Leader, 1 Machine Gunner with
M60, 1 Assistant Gunner, 7 Riflemen with L1A1 SLRs)

64
Viet Cong Insurgents
Main assault force
• 4 x Infantry Platoons, each consisting of:
1 x Platoon Command Section (1 Platoon Leader, 1 Radio Operator, 1 Medic)
3 x Infantry Squads (1 Squad Leader, 1 RPG Operator, 7 Riflemen, 3 Sharpshooters)
Support elements
• 2 x Mortar Teams (81mm mortars)
• 2 x Heavy Machine Gun Teams (DShK)
• 2 x Sniper Teams (2 Snipers) Above: An Australian M113A1 with the olive drab
paint that replaced the khaki colour of the first
OBJECTIVE armoured vehicles deployed to South Vietnam.
Australians
Defend your position and withstand Viet Cong assaults until reinforcements arrive/the enemy withdraws. Additional glory can be gained by
keeping the six objectives safe.
Viet Cong
Overrun the Australian defences, inflict maximum casualties, and destroy as many of the six strategic points within the plantation as possible.
ENDING THE BATTLE
The game should end after a random number of turns. Roll a D6 at the end of each turn and add the turn number. If the total is greater than 12,
the game ends; the Australians have finally been reinforced and can see off the VC.
Award victory points based on each side’s losses, and give the VC additional points for each objective they destroyed and for each M113 they
managed to take out.

SPECIAL RULES

M113A1s AUSTRALIAN TROOPS

Mobility Skill and training
The M113s can effectively move through heavy terrain, and will These Australian troops haven’t yet been fully ground down by the
generally ignore the movement penalties that would stop other vehicles hardship of fighting in Vietnam. To represent their marksmanship
from powering through dense foliage. Any time they choose to move skills and tactical proficiency, they should receive a bonus to hit on all
through heavy terrain, roll 3D6. The M113 can move the distance shooting rolls.
rolled, up to their maximum move distance. If they roll a triple, they
still take their move, but, at the end of it, they will stall, and must Leadership
spend the next turn getting their vehicle started again. They are a To reflect the leadership and resilience of Australian leaders and
sitting duck for that subsequent turn, unable to move. NCOs, Australian units can reroll failed morale checks if within 6"
Armour (or a logical range for your scale) of a Command Section or mobile
command post.
The Australians recognised the need to add protection to the M113’s
machine gun, as the crew commander was vulnerable when using Take cover
the weapon. From August 1965, M113A1s were fitted with armoured Any troops within 3" (or a logical range for your scale) of an M113
front plates and angled wings built in South Vietnam-based Army can use it for protection when things get hot. If your rules feature any
workshops. kind of pinning, pins can be discarded from troops as they are applied,
If shot at from the front, the gunner should get a save bonus. but at risk to your transport. Roll a D6 for each discarded pin, and add
+1 for each consecutive discard. A 6+ will result in the vehicle taking
Firepower damage.
Although the Aussies upgraded the turrets of many M113s to use the Combined arms
Model 74C, this happened after the Battle of Long Tan. The vehicles
in this battle are armed with .50-cal MGs, which should get a bonus to Artillery support can be called in by the Forward Artillery Observer,
hit, due to their stabilising mounts. who must be able to see the target and roll a 4+ to successfully bring
the off-board artillery to bear.
Command post
VIET CONG
Designate one M113 as a mobile command post, enhancing
communication and coordination. All Australian units within 6" (or Use of terrain
a logical range for your scale) of the mobile command post receive a The Viet Cong can deploy up to half of their force as hidden units in
bonus to morale/leadership checks. ambush, within 6" of clearings, if they can all fit in the hard cover.
The mobile command post may elect to sacrifice any actions in a turn, Their troops gain an extra cover bonus when in the dense foliage of
to focus on communicating orders to the other vehicles and troops. the plantation.
Should they choose to do so, they must remain stationary and cannot
fire. They will, however, pass their morale/leadership boosting effect to Taking out the objectives
every other M113 in the Australian force. Any VC troops that get within 6" (or a logical range for your scale) of
an objective token can attempt to destroy it. If there are no Australian
troops within the same distance of the objective, the VC destroy the
objective at the end of their turn. If there are Australian troops within
the same distance of the objective, the VC destroy the objective at the
end of their turn on a 4+.

65
 AUSTRALIA’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE VIETNAM WAR

In the early 1960s, the Australian government, led by Prime Minister Robert
Menzies, viewed the rise of communism in Asia as a direct threat to regional
stability. There was a fear that if one country in a region fell to communism,
neighbouring countries would follow, and Australia saw participation in Vietnam
as a way to prevent this, and to support a powerful ally in the United States.
From humble beginnings - a team of 30 military advisers who assisted South
Vietnamese forces in 1962 - their participation grew. In May 1965, the 1st
Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment was deployed in Vietnam.
Australia’s military were primarily involved in operations in Phuoc Tuy Province,
with infantry battalions, Special Air Service squadrons, artillery units, and more
seeing action.
Australia’s participation in the Vietnam War caused political and social
controversy at home, especially as the war dragged on and casualties mounted,
but their military commitment continued until 1972.
Above: Members of 5 Platoon, B Company, 7th
Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR).

Escalation - air mobility

(1965-1968)
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident
in 1964 was used to initiate a
profound shift in US military
strategy and operations. This
period marked a surge in ground
troops, but was also a pivotal
moment in the application of the
air power and new technologies
that would define the conflict.
The dense jungles and rugged
terrain of Vietnam presented
formidable challenges for
traditional ground operations,
and large-scale air mobility
was made a cornerstone of US
strategy. Helicopters, particularly
the Huey, became the linchpin,
facilitating rapid troop movements,
reconnaissance missions, medical
evacuations, and close air support. Above: Gringo40s Marines Bell UH-1 Iroquois ‘Huey’
This revolutionised battlefield and VC clash while Hueys from
Crucible Crush offer air support. Onto the icon! They Huey was the workhorse of US
tactics, bringing a swift response
military operations during this period, used primarily for
to enemy movements, and brought
about operational flexibility that
troop transport, medical evacuation, and close air support.
It revolutionised modern warfare with its speed, versatility,
was previously unimaginable.
and adaptability to various mission roles.
While the Huey’s ability to rapidly insert and extract troops
made it an essential addition to the US war effort, its loud
noise and vulnerability to enemy fire made it a high-risk
target. Pilots got incredibly adept at getting in and out in a
flash!
The Battle of Ia Drang
This November 1965 clash showcased the Huey’s
capabilities, as they enabled rapid deployment of troops
directly into combat zones in a way that would otherwise
have been impossible. As well as getting the troops in,
the choppers helped with critical resupply missions, and
evacuated wounded soldiers, ensuring that US forces could
sustain operations in remote and hostile environments.
The Ia Drang Valley became a proving ground for
air mobility, demonstrating that helicopters could
Above: Hog fire support helps to hold back the Vietnamese assault waves. fundamentally change the dynamics of modern warfare.
Models by Battlefront Miniatures.

66
 TAKE FLIGHT WITH THE HUEY IN YOUR WARGAMES
The handy thing about model (and other air assault vehicles) is that scale
can be a little more flexible. Mixing a larger scale tracked vehicle into your
force is going to look a little odd, but sticking a larger or smaller chopper
on a flying stand, so it sits above the tabletop, will hide a lot of sins!
Many ’Nam games at shows are peppered with diecast figures, and
the Corgi Aviation Archive is worth a Google if you’re willing to pay
somewhat inflated auction prices. You’ll find fully painted and detailed
Hueys that will look magnificent soaring above your battles.
If you’re fixed on getting a wargaming kit, then Rubicon Models’
impressive UH-1 Huey set is currently top of the pile for detail. It comes
with parts to build a UH-1D troop transport or a UH-1C gunship with
full interior detailing, clear windows, medevac stretchers, and all sorts of
weapons: M60D, M213 MMG, M134 minigun, M129 grenade launcher,
M134 minigun, XM157 missile pods, and M60C MMG. The only real
Above: A 1/48 Corgi Huey Cobra above Old Guard Wargame
Club’s Vietnam game at 2022’s Other Partizan.
downside (beyond this Rubicon kit also being out of stock as I write this
article) is that it’s an extremely complex build. I currently have three sets
waiting under my hobby desk: despite being an experienced kit maker, I’m A much easier build is Battlefront’s 15mm Huey set (to
somewhat paralysed by the intimidation factor of these demanding models. build the whole kit requires around the same number of
parts needed to build the crew of the Rubicon model!),
and if you’re fixed on 28mm, but want to keep things
simple, there are 3D prints to consider. Butlers’ Printed
Models’ Huey is somewhat basic but at just six parts
it’s very easy to construct. The only risk here is that the
printed resin tends to be brittle, so your choppers could
shatter if they ever tumble from their flying stands.
Going down to 1:285 scale Magister Militum’s
AC57 UH 1B Huey Slick pack offers two rather nice
transports for less than £10.

Above: A diorama showing Rubicon’s Huey and their plastic USMC figures.
Right: Magister Militum’s AC57 UH 1B Huey Slick.

AIR SUPPORT SCENARIOS IN THE IA DRANG VALLEY

One of the first major battles between the United States Army and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), the combat in the Ia Drang
Valley, gave a preview of the protracted and bloody struggle that was to come, and the significant impact helicopter warfare would
have on future military tactics. Central to this was the role played by the Hueys. In our wargames there’s plentiful opportunities to
bring them to your tabletop clashes.
The conflict began when the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, led by Lt. Col. Harold Moore, was airlifted into Landing Zone
(LZ) X-Ray, deep within the Valley. This deployment showcased the mobile versatility of the Huey as the initial insertion faced fierce
resistance. Moore’s men were (as was a recurring theme in the conflict) heavily outnumbered, with an estimated 2,000 NVA troops
putting up a stern defence.
Hueys were pivotal, ferrying
troops in and out of the combat
zone and extracting wounded
soldiers from the battlefield
while under fire. They also
delivered essential supplies, such
as ammunition and water, and
conducted aerial reconnaissance.
All these tasks provide gaming
opportunities and will challenge
the US commanders to make
informed strategic decisions
amidst the chaos, using the
mobility of their Hueys (and
the support they could bring) to
make assaults from nowhere.

67
 Above: More Flames of War ’Nam action, with Battlefront Miniatures troops and copters.

SCENARIO ONE - SECURE LZ X-RAY AND ESTABLISH SCENARIO TWO - MEDEVAC UNDER FIRE
A DEFENSIVE PERIMETER
At LZ Albany, a US battalion encountered a devastating ambush,
Gameplay Elements resulting in significant American losses. Hueys played a critical
role in extracting the wounded and bringing reinforcements. You
Helicopter deployment
can build a full scenario around this troublesome rescue.
The NVA should vastly outnumber the initially deployed US
Gameplay Elements
troops, but each turn a Huey or Hueys can insert troops into
the clearing. Add risk to each deployment by giving the NVA Locating the wounded
ground troops the option to target the Hueys as they hover to
D6 injured men are placed in the NVA-controlled jungle,
drop troops, with a basic shooting action having the chance of
protected by their buddies at scattered US positions (mark these
damaging the slick or the troops it is depositing. Any NVA units
across the board). It is the US player’s job to get the wounded
taking this option to fire on the LZ will sacrifice their ability to
activate in the subsequent turn.
to one of three designated evac points (also mark these) or call
down a Huey on their position.
Defensive perimeter
Signal flares
Troops on the ground must quickly establish a defensive
Rather than head to an evac point the US player can set off a
perimeter. Reward US troops with bonus victory points for
distress signal flare at their location, allowing a Huey to land
setting up machine gun positions and digging in in any other
there. The downside of this is it makes them more obvious to the
ways your rules allow. You could mark key points on the
attacking NVA. Any shots at troops under a signal flare should
table that they must occupy before the game. This will require
get a to hit bonus. In addition, the NVA could be provided with
coordination with the landing Hueys, for resupply and medevac
(if the US doesn’t medevac downed figures, they could lose
bonus moves to close in on the obvious target.
victory points). Medevac hueys
NVA reinforcements The US player activates first each turn, followed by the NVA
player. The US player controls two Hueys. A single Huey
Escalate the danger each turn by allowing NVA reinforcements
to arrive in random positions, reflecting their ability to appear
can make one trip per turn (but not in turn one); move it to a
medevac point or signal flare, then land. On the subsequent turn
from the landscape they know far better than the US.
the other Huey can make a trip to another medevac point or
Victory conditions signal flare, then land.
Determine how long the game will last before play and, once A landed Huey can be loaded with as many wounded men as are
the allocated turns are over, add up how many VPs each side has within 6" (or a logical range for your scale) at the end of the US
accumulated for inflicting casualties. Give the US a bonus for turn. If the Huey is still intact at the end of the NVA turn it can
occupying positions on the defensive perimeter and deduct VPs choose to evacuate. It will take the injured men to safety and can
if they have failed to evac any injured men (except those taken return in two turns.
out on the final turn). The NVA should get bonus VPs if they
Victory conditions
take out any Hueys.
The US player will win by successfully evacuating a set number
of wounded soldiers within a given timeframe. The NVA
player’s victory will be assured by preventing the evacuation or
destroying a critical number of Hueys.

68
SCENARIO THREE - SEARCH AND DESTROY
Combat at Ia Drang highlighted the transformative impact
of air mobility; the Huey pilots began what would be an
ongoing learning experience under fire, probing at the
enemy on bold search and destroy missions. You can play
these out, targeting the NVA infrastructure.
Gameplay Elements
The hidden NVA
Split a rectangular board into 12 sections. A platoon of
Hueys, with infantry support, should head out over this
dense jungle, to locate and destroy hidden supply caches,
and the NVA patrols guarding them. The NVA player
should mark four caches, four troops of defenders, and
two anti-air sections in secret.
Aerial reconnaissance
Each turn, a Huey can scout one section of the map it is
in, with a chance of detecting NVA positions, defenders,
or anti-air, by rolling a 4+ on a D6. The most effective
way to quickly scout is to split up the choppers, but in
doing so, the Hueys will leave themselves vulnerable. A
lone Huey should have a drastically reduced save. A pair
of Hueys should have a slightly reduced save.
Insertion and extraction
Once a cache is located, the US player must insert troops Above: Choppers soar over Dave Docherty’s incredibly impressive Vietnam
via their Hueys to secure and destroy it. Hueys can also be gaming setup!
used to extract troops if they come under heavy fire.
Victory conditions That’s it for part one! This is just the tip of the iceberg and I have a lot
The US player will achieve victory by destroying a more history and gaming ideas to come. Next issue will take the action
specified number of supply caches within a set number of to the Hồ Chí Minh Trail and the muddy waterways that cut through
the dense, difficult terrain of Vietnam.
turns. The NVA’s job is simple - stop this from happening!

Above: Empress Miniatures’ Apocalypse now styled PBR, which I painted when it was first released, supports isolated troops as their radio operator
calls for air support from the high ground. More next issue!

69
 MA SSACR E AT DWARVEN TOWER PA SS
BILLHOOK S FA NTA SÍA BATTLE R EPORT

Following the recent release of Fantasía for Never Mind the Warlocks - the fantasy supplement for medieval small
battle game Never Mind the Billhooks - we invited the author of both publications, Andy Callan, to whisk us off to
another world and take us through a game of Fantasía, filling us in on some of the new rules along the way.
This was a small, 100-points-a-side action, designed to showcase the
new Fantasía supplement. It showed the Dice Goddess at her most
capricious, Magic at its most unpredictable, and Monsters at their
THE RAIDING FORCE OF THADDEUS, THE MALEVOLENT
most deadly. It all played out in a couple of hours, including pauses
1 Goblin Mounted Scouts 8 Wizard
for photography and lunch. Good deservedly triumphed, with the
entire Evil army either wiped out or routed. Still, there’s plenty more 2 Undead Horde (Skeleton warriors) 9 Leader
where they came from... Mwah hah ha! 3 Orc Mobs (spearmen) 10 Commander in Chief
4 Orc Archer Company (and Arch-Villain)
5 Orc Warrior Company 11 Messenger/ADC
6 War Elephant - Level 2 Monster 12 Imprisoned Princess
13
21 7 Human Warrior Company 100 Pts
1 C 19
20 (ex-bodyguards)
23
18
C
2 B 17
THE RESCUE POSSE OF KING DRAKE III
11 6

10 4 14 13 Human Cavalry Squadron

9
14 Human Skirmisher Band Scouts (Light Infantry)
12 7 5 A
22
15 Elf Knights (Elite)
9
8
3
15 16 Human Skirmisher Band Skulkers (Light Infantry)
17 Elf Archer Company (Elite)
18 Human Archer Company
16
19 Human Warrior Company
20 Ogre - Level 1 Monster
1 21 Wizard
22 Hero
A The Blue Wizard’s Tower 23 Commander in Chief (and Legendary Hero) and
B The Green Wizard’s Tower Messenger/ADC
C Token-holding goblets 101 Pts

70
T UR N ONE

BILLHOOK S
1
1. Andy (Evil, on the left) and
Steve Wood (Good, on the
right) ponder their usual cagey
opening manoeuvres.
2. Human Cavalry and Evil
Wolf Riders clash, making a
dreadful mess of the Green
Wizard’s herb garden.
3. Six out of six saves for the
good guys. This sets the pattern
for the rest of the game!

2 3

4 5

4. An irresistible force for Good:

Elvish Knights bring 16 dice in
Melee, plus four automatic hits
from an attached Hero. Crikey!
5. A bird’s-eye view of the Blue
Wizard tower and the
surrounding area.

71
 T UR N T WO

1. Steve’s Elvish Knights crash into the Orc Horde,

1 daunting them immediately.
2 ’Orace the Ogre is attacked by the Skellies,
but, since he is a Monster, he is not subject to the
usual Dread Test vs Undead - no fear! He saves
all the hits he takes, which is a good job, as level
1 Monsters only have one life.
3. Andy’s War Elephant (with Orc crew) powers
forward, but ends up just short of Steve’s Elf
Archers who, having not previously been activated,
get to shoot at it at the end of the turn. Three 1s for
saves should have meant a dead elephant, but Andy
played the Reroll card. Phew!
4. The Evil ADC Goblin Wolf Rider reaches the
Green Wizard’s tower, seeking assistance in his
master’s fight.

2 4

BILLHOOKS GOES FANTASY!

Fantasía is a supplement for fans
of Never Mind the Billhooks who
might wish to take the game into ILLHOOKS
the realm of fantasy. It is not tied to ANTASÍA
any particular fantasy world, but oR
EVER MIn
D
can be used as a generic ruleset for ThE WaRl
oCKs
by Andy Cal
lan
any battles involving men, other
typical fantasy races, monsters,
and wizards.
A copy of Never Mind the
Billhooks Deluxe - or of the
Core/Albion rules (available to A supplement
for Never Mind
the Billhooks

purchase as a Billhooks Lite PDF

from nevermindthebillhooks.com) -
is required to play this supplement.

72
 THE SCENARIO

Thaddeus the Malevolent has bribed the bodyguards of good King Drake III to take the regent’s daughter Princess Mandarina hostage, and
carry her away to Thaddeus’ evil domain. Mandarina’s father swiftly raises a small but formidable force, and gives chase.
King Drake’s men, and elf allies, track Thaddeus’ force for several days, finally confronting them in Dwarven Tower Pass.
The mysterious pass is home to two estranged dwarven brothers, known as the Green and the Blue Wizards. The whole area is alive with
magical activity; walls and other seemingly-grounded features of the landscape shift and move randomly about the battlefield.
Both wizards have recently mislaid magical items while wandering in the pass, and, when called on by representatives from either army,
will offer a reward for finding
the missing spell books and/or
Palantíri. In addition, the Green
Wizard will lend his pet Giant
(a level 3 Monster), whilst the
Blue Wizard will offer his caller
a cauldron of bats (the Giant
is scared of bats, and won’t go
within 12" of them), to the first
person to call on them.
Both armies have an ADC/
messenger in their ranks. A
fleet-footed elf aids King Drake,
while a goblin mounted on a
ferocious wolf is in Thaddeus the
Malevolent’s service. These two
ADCs can be used to call on the
wizards.
The scene is set for an enchanting
encounter, with mischievous
wizards set to either obstruct
or aid King Drake’s attempt to
rescue his daughter.

T UR N THR EE

1 3

2 1. The Elvish Knights destroy the Orc Horde, and surge

forward in pursuit, cutting down the last of the fugitives
(and taking two Disarray counters in the process).
2. The Ogre and the Undead continue their fight and
despite there only being three skellies left, a Horde will
always fight on to their (err…) ‘death’.
3. Andy’s Messenger is gifted a cauldron of bats by the
Green Wizard and told “The Giant next door is scared of
them”. He is also offered a reward if he can find some
missing spell books or a “Palan- somethingorother”, and
bring them back to the tower.

73
 4
4. Evil wizard Swarfega successfully deploys a Wall of
Flame (level 2 Spell) to stop the enemy rushing to the
rescue of the princess.
5. The Elvish Archers riddle the elephant with arrows
again, killing it before it ever gets into Melee.
6. Over on his left flank, Andy’s Wolf Riders use their
sneaky ‘hit-and-run’ tactic (move, free shot with half
numbers, then move again) getting a rare (single) kill
against Steve’s Human Cavalry.

5 6

T UR N FOUR

2
A lot happened here, starting with an object lesson in how not
to cast a spell (don’t roll low!) by Steve’s Wizard Bayaz (back
to remedial classes at Hogwarts for him!).
1. Andy’s Orcs, with their right secured by the Wall of Flame,
advance confidently to shoot at the Elvish Knights, killing one,
and reducing them to half strength, which will mean a Morale
Test at the end of the turn.
To the left of this shot, Steve’s ADC (a fleet-footed elf) knocks
on the door of the Blue Wizard’s tower, and is offered the use of
the ‘guard-dog’ Giant for the rest of the battle. From his vantage
point, the Blue Wizard could no doubt already see which way
the battle was going!

2. The Evil Messenger moves to recover the

1 missing spell books. This inadvertently turns
out to be a bad, even fatal, move. He takes
with him the bats, which could have scared off
the Giant, but, now out of range of the Giant,
the Wolf Rider can’t affect the battle.

THE FIGURES
The models seen in photographs throughout this article
mostly come from the Oathmark Range by North Star
Military Figures. They are ideally suited to games of
Fantasía (and pretty much any other fantasy setting).
Thanks also go to North Star for hosting our event.

74
3

3. The very next card drawn is ‘Good Monsters’, 4

so Steve sends his newly-acquired Giant and the
heroic (and unscathed) ’Orace the Ogre (Man of the
Match) in a joint attack on Andy’s orc block. This
provokes a Dread Test (caused by the first attack
by Monsters in the game), which the wretched orcs
fail badly, and promptly rout. A failed Dread Test
means that any friendly unit within 12" is affected
in the same way, so the renegade troops guarding
the princess’s carriage also legged it!
4. The next (and final) card to be drawn is a Bonus,
and as the dice-off is tied, this means the Wall of
Flame spell fizzles out, so there is now nothing
to stop the Elvish Knights riding down to aid in
Princess Mandarina’s rescue (haven’t we seen her
somewherebefore in snowier times?). Game Over!

75
 ANOTHER TOUR
OF DUTY

“REGRETS, I’VE HAD A FEW, AND ONE OF THEM,

SELLING MY NAM COLLECTION”
Ron Ringrose rebuilds his Vietnam War collection and we show off his fine models in action!

If only Ron Ringrose had listened to the got the regrets! Those Corgi vehicles are great models; so much better than the resin
wise words of Frank Sinatra before he alternative out there, so, armed with a determination to make the Unsung Heroes the
sold off his collection of Vietnam models centrepiece of my Nam collection again, I went online to see what I could find for sale
in 2018/19. But (“then again”) at least he on various auction sites.
enjoyed collecting it all again in 2023!
Collecting is often portrayed as a rather
shameful side of our hobby, resulting in
the famous ‘lead mountain of doom’,
but it can be fun and rewarding. And
so it proved for Ron, when he begin
re-collecting for Vietnam. We asked Ron
to tell us about his re-collection and we
accompany his words with some tasty
eye-candy of one of the best 28mm Nam
tables around.
“My interest in Vietnam gaming was
originally sparked by the release of
Corgi’s Unsung Heroes diecast Vietnam
series, between 2000 and 2003. I soon
gathered a large collection of these 1:43
to 1:50 scale vehicles and went about
collecting 28mm figures that would fit
well with them in my wargames. But, to
make way for other ranges and periods
Above: H13 Bell US Army Medical Service Corps Helicopter, from Corgi’s Korean War,
that caught my eye, I sold most of my Forgotten Heroes series - bringing some M*A*S*H vibes to the table.
Nam stuff off a few years ago. I then

76
 vietnam
Above: Huey Cobra and Hog helicopters, both
from the Unsung Heroes range, parked up but
preparing for action on Ron’s table.

Right: This model comes from the Corgi Classics

range. It’s a US Army Diamond T Wrecker
recovery vehicle, which actually saw use during
the Second World War, but clearly this one was
resurrected for use in Southeast Asia!

“Fast forward about six weeks and I had

pretty much re-acquired all the models in
the Unsung Heroes series, plus a couple
from the parallel Forgotten Heroes,
Korean War, range. Some I picked up
for bargain prices, others I had to pay
top dollar for. They came from sellers all
over the world. Next up I started looking
for buildings - because again, I had sold
off all my originals of those!
I got in touch with Dave Bodley at Grand
Manner. He doesn’t stock his Vietnam
range anymore, but I asked him to have
a look around and see what he could
find. Luckily, he managed to dig out all
the buildings I had before, plus a couple PALM MADE
more. I then went on to get all the resin
pieces he supplied painted up. The palm trees seen in the photos are hand-made by Ron. You can find out how he did it by
going to wargamesillustrated.net and searching for ‘palm trees’.
“3D printing has really come on since
the first time I was collecting, so via
searching for 3D prints online I was
able to get hold of better airport and
base buildings than those I had first time
around. The boats and watch towers are
3D prints as well.
“My replacement figures all come
from Gringo 40s. It’s a superb range,
for US and VC troops, and everything
in-between.

77
 Above: Along with the Bell copter, this photo
also features a Solido Diecast International
Red Cross Packard Ambulance, which was
released to commemorate the 50th anniversary
of the liberation of France. It fits neatly with
Ron’s French themed hospital.

Left: A 1:50 scale M48A3 Patton Main Battle

Tank. Landing at Da Nang on March, 1965,
the M48A3 was the first American tank to
enter the War. A derivative of the M48, which
had entered production back in April 1952, the
A3 was designed to bring older versions up
to the standard of the newer M60. The model
features a hull-mounted machine gun, a turret-
mounted .50-caliber machine gun, and a huge
90mm main gun with laser rangefinder.

Above: In 1975, whilst returning from a business trip to Australia, Ron stopped off in Bangkok, on the Chao Phraya waterway. He came across a
group of American soldiers enjoying some R&R after the end of the Vietnam War, Ron was invited to join the GIs enjoy a few beers, and suffer the
subsequent hangover. As a tribute to that encounter, Ron included this bar scene on his tabletop. The less said about exactly what went on at the
Paradise Club the better!

78
Above: The airport watchtowers are 3D prints
and some of the few survivors from Ron’s
initial Nam collection. In front of the tower is
a 1:50th scale M35 A1 ‘Deuce-and-a-Half’ 2.5
tonne Truck. A vehicle that saw service with
the US army for over half a century, from 1940
into the 1990s.

Right: Ron does most of his own figure

painting, but he would like to thank Darren
Ward and Spencer Bass for help with his
Nam collection.

Below: Ron’s Nam table features a long

winding river, which is patrolled by several
3D printed US gun boats, including this one
from Hoplite Miniatures, via eBay..

79
 NAM BOLT ACTION GAMING
Ron and his buddies (The Essex Gamesters) have had great fun gaming with the new collection on his 12’ table. John
Horwood (far left in photo) has written some simple additions/variants to Bolt Action which are the rules of choice used in the
game - seen below.

UNIT MORAL AND CHECKS OBSERVATION TABLE

Special Forces 10 SPOTTED ON OBS MODIFIERS

Regulars 9 TARGET IN: Open Spotted Target running +2
Inexperienced- VC 8 Soft Cover 4 or less Target walking +1
Hard Cover 3
Bunkers, In buildings 2 Target firing +1
Ambush - FIRE 1st
Max spot distance in jungle - Medium range
HELICOPTERS (20 points of Damage)
Movement: 16. Can only be in the air for eight turns.
You can hover.
One turn to refuel and re-arm. Two turns to repair 5
damage points. Five damage points repaired for each
subsequent turn on the ground.
Weaponry: Huey-6 rockets, single side gunner (MMG).
Apache-10 rockets, nose gun (HMG)
Rockets: First rocket hits on 5+. Second rocket hits on 4+.
Subsequent rockets hit on 3+.
Use HED2 for damage and +6 pen v armour.
Small arms inflicts 1 point of damage.
When 5 points of damage are lost, or if hit by an RPG,
roll on the table below.

HELICOPTER DAMAGE CHART

Above: Ron (right) and his gaming buddies about to begin some Nam Bolt Action gaming.
ROLL D10
1-2 Glancing blow 2 damage points.
3-4 Blades hit Half speed, 4 damage points.
5-6 Fuselage and weapons hit No weapons, 6 damage points.
7-8 Critical damage Land immediately.
9-10 Direct hit Blown up.
If damage points get to zero the helicopter crashes. If carrying troops roll for survivors (BA rules).

BOATS (20 points of Damage)

Movement: 8.
Two turns to repair 5 damage points. Five damage points repaired for each subsequent turn on the ground.
BOAT DAMAGE CHART

ROLE D6
1-2 Minimal damage 3 damage points.
3-4 Rudder damage Make for land immediately. 5 damage points.
5-6 Engine damaged Drift 4 with current. Needs to be towed back to base. 8 damage points.
If damage points get to zero the boat sinks/blows up. If carrying troops roll for survivors (BA rules).
Small arms inflicts 1 damage point.
When 5 damage points are lost roll on the table above. Treat as soft skin if hit by a weapon with a PEN.

80
Above: This impressive resin Twin Gun Position with Towers, is another piece by Grand Manner. Officially no longer in stock, Grand Manner owner
Dave managed to find one deep in his dungeon for Ron.
Below left: Another view of the Paradise Club. Featuring Ron’s recollections of his time in Bangkok (Kurt Cobain and Angus Young may not have
actually performed on stage!).

Above: A US tank convoy led by two MA8A3 Pattons snakes through a Vietnamese village. The buildings are by Grand Manner, but are, alas, no
longer available.

81
 Papyrus, pulp,
and the Oath of Osiris

Glenn Clarke tries out Osprey’s Pulp! gaming system

and shows off his Egyptian explorers’ bold adventure.

I have been a dyed in the wool historical wargamer since I first read Donald
Featherstone’s Wargames back in 1967. Since then, I have played games
in assorted scales and across many different periods, but it was only when
Osprey announced their plans to publish a new set of rules entitled Pulp! that
I got interested in this rather different world of tabletop possibilities.
‘Pulp’ refers to fiction which has little depth or meaning and relates,
essentially, to stories of derring-do and adventure, usually set in the 1920s and
1930s. I pre-ordered a copy of the rules by Marco Arnaudo and, once I had
read them through, I set about building a scenario befitting the pulp genre.
PICKING THE SCENARIO
In the past, I had developed a colonial game centered upon an archaeological
dig in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. The game was set in the tumultuous period
of the close of the 19th Century when borders were finally settled. It seemed PUL P!
to me that the 28mm ancient Egyptian terrain that I had built for that game Skirmish Adventure Wargaming

would make an ideal setting for a pulp game too, so I dutifully got down to
the task of building a story around it and working out a scenario. Osprey
Marco Arnaudo
WARGAME S

82
 PULP
Early morning work on the dig before
the sun comes up.

The central theme of Pulp! Skirmish The various small statues and vases came from Iron Gate Scenery, and Ainsty Castings
Adventure Wargaming, to give the ruleset and Actualsize Miniatures have useful items if you want to play games set in Egypt
its full title, is adventure and fun. It is (be they pulp or historical). The Lotus flower topped pillars and the larger statues were
a very open and flexible ruleset that from a supplier on eBay. The tents forming the archaeologists’ campsite are from Perry
essentially provides (pardon the pun) a Miniatures, with a scattering of roughly made packing crates. Palm trees are standard
sandbox for you to develop adventures in. purchases, whilst the reindeer moss and large chunks of cork (used to represent rocky
It certainly doesn’t require a clear historical outcrops) are from a local garden centre.
setting, however, as with many great pulp
tales (or modern pulp reimaginings such
as Indiana Jones) having some adjacent
history wouldn’t hurt one bit!
I decided that my game would take place
in the 1920s, just after Howard Carter’s
discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922
sparked a new bout of ‘Egyptomania’, the
likes of which hadn’t been seen since the
height of the Victorian era.
DEVELOPING THE TERRAIN
Having decided upon the setting for my
scenario, I followed the recommendations
in the ruleset closely, as I ventured into this
new area of gaming. Some things remain
the same whatever you play - you’ll always
want to consider terrain. Pulp! suggests a
playing area of 3' x 3' and I set my terrain
in a slightly larger area to give me plenty
of space around the edges for the rulebook,
dice, notes, and tokens required.
Buildings and other features were the next
things I had to address. The pylon, or temple
entrance, in the form of two joined and
truncated towers, was built from scratch.
The tomb itself was also built from scratch
and goes beneath the surface of the table!
This is a lot of fun to do and can also be
applied to bunkers, mines, dungeons, and a
host of other locations.
The tomb located beneath the main table.

83
 CRANKING UP THE CHARACTER
One of the key elements of Pulp! is the characterization of individual figures
participating in the game and this was the most novel factor for me to give thought
to. The rules advise that roleplaying elements, or characterization, should be
excluded until you’re more experienced at playing the game, and I decided to
follow this advice for my initial game.
For those wishing to delve into this aspect of Pulp!, special qualities and abilities
need to be decided for each character that define their attitude in battle. Specific
weapons also need to be allocated to individual figures, and if (like me) you
aren’t keen on tokens and cards littering the gaming table, you’ll need to jot all
this down pre-game on a roster sheet. The roster serves a dual purpose; it records
the necessary details, and it defines what you should represent on your figures.
When creating such a level of backstory and character, it would be a crime of pulp
gangster novel proportions to not have easily identifiable accurate models on the
“My friend rushed into the temple, and never
came out.”
table. This is not as onerous as it might sound to players more used to building The character can never select the Run Action,
and its base Activation value is increased
© Pulp Miniatures

lines of matching soldiers for grander battles, as the numbers of figures concerned
by 1.

CHARAC TER PROGRESSION

are quite small in Pulp! games. If you win a scenario in a campaign, you can
starting from the next scenario. A Unit can
select one of the Improvements below to apply
gain multiple Improvements over time, but
each
Improvement can be gained only once by a Unit.

Identification can be accomplished through picking very distinctive figures, doing •

•
A Hero / Villain or Elite Unit gains an Extra
A Hero / Villain or single-Model Elite Unit can
SP.
move up to 4” when performing
Defensive Stance.
a few weapon or head swaps, or (if you just want to get busy playing) by adding • A Hero / Villain or single-Model Elite Unit can

numbers or colored dots to the figures’ bases.

move up to 4” when performing
Reaction Fire.
• A Green Unit is promoted to Seasoned, or
a Seasoned Unit to Veteran. Adjust Activation,
Skill, and Special Points accordingly.

It occurred to me, when I took the photographs that are shown here, that the look
• A Model with a Trauma or Phobia loses
that Trauma or Phobia.
• A Model with a Life Experience Profile can
add an extra Benefit to the list of
available Benefits.

of the game would have been enhanced immensely if individual figures were
• A Model with a Consuming Obsession adds
one Benefit to the list of available Benefits.
This second Benefit can only be used once per
game.

produced in different poses. I will certainly look at this in the future and it might
• A Two-Model Elite Unit can be turned into
a Trainer / Trained Animal Unit without
spending an SP (see below).

be a good reason to use multi-part plastics where the same parts can be built in
varied stances. I will also look at including casualty figures, rather than simply
37

tipping models over or removing them from the table. This is part of the joy of a
character-driven game with minimal miniature requirements.

FINDING FIGURES
With the basic scenario and terrain questions settled, I obtained figures from a variety of sources. I broke with
tradition and my own, long-held preferences, by allowing women onto the scene in the form of four female
archaeologists! They came from North Star’s Pulp range, along with four armed male archaeologists. A couple of
other figures were converted from Perry Miniatures’ Boer War civilians, whilst a photographer and his assistant
came from Dept Battalion.
The cultists are taken from two sources: some are from the Perry’s boxed set of Sudanese natives and others
are Zanzibari Arab Slavers from Wargames Foundry.
The flatbed Ford Model T truck is from Empress Miniatures and the other vehicle is taken from Lledo’s Days
Gone range of diecast models. The Lledo vehicle is perhaps slightly under scale but is still perfectly serviceable.

This may sound like a rather

complicated and involved collection
of models, but the rules make clear
suggestions relating to unit sizes;
following these produced units of a
dozen figures in each opposing force
and this is perfectly manageable.
The basic force that is recommended
comprises:
• One or two single-figure units,
classed as Heroes.
• One or two two-figure units classed
as Elite or Veteran characters.
• Two three-figure units classed simply
as seasoned characters.
Following the lower numbers that are
suggested would give a slightly smaller
force of just nine figures, but I opted
for the high end to fit in the various
characters. Other types of units
are also available and, as you gain
familiarity with the rules, you can
Figures and vehicles from assorted ranges bring character to the setting. opt to have Superhumans, Villains, or
simply extra-̔green̓ figures.

84
 Cultists advance through the pylon
and do
their best to stay out of sight.
HOW THE GAME PLAYED OUT
The morning sun hadn’t arrived fully when my
archaeologists began their work early, avoiding the
fierce sunlight and heat that would come in a couple
of hours and bake the desert sand. Whilst it was still
cool and dimly lit outdoors, the dig was illuminated
with lamps, and the team began their routine.
Unbeknownst to the archeologists, their seemingly
mundane routine had angered a local group of
cultists, who still considered the site to be sacred.
Swearing an oath to the God Osiris, who symbolized
death, resurrection, and the cycle of Nile floods
which brought life to Egypt’s fertile heart, they
banded together (on one edge of the play area) and
approached through the pylon (or temple entrance).
They carefully skirted the archaeologists’ camp, to
avoid alerting anyone who might be there and, as
they made their way across the plain, to the dig itself.

DO KEEP IN TOUCH!
The rules have quite detailed requirements for
whether a model in a multi-figure unit is In Touch (IT)
or Out of Touch (OOT). Figures need to be IT (within
3" of another in the unit) if they are to be activated
with ease and brought into play, while figures deemed
to be OOT necessitate the player taking a separate
activation test with a negative modifier before they
can take any action.
Detailed examples of the various possible situations
are given, along with diagrams, but there is a proviso
for novice players (which I was grateful for) to ignore
this feature. This simple approach is the one that I
opted for.

I used a simple system to decide whether the defenders became

aware of the cultists’ approach. At the start of each of the cultists’
moves they rolled a single D6; a score of 3 or less resulted in the
defenders being alerted to their presence whilst 4+ allowed them
to proceed unobserved. Their first move was made in complete
secrecy but, at the start of their second move, they were spotted,
and the defenders rapidly deployed from the dig, collected their
weapons, and took up positions for the ensuing firefight.
The game required a clear means of resolution and the sample
scenarios in the rulebook included myriad possibilities. Examples
of different outcomes might include withdrawing to a specified
edge of the playing area, leaving the area with a collection of
artefacts, leaving in good order (ready to fight another day), and
the ever present classic of one force getting utterly obliterated by
the other, however unlikely that might seem.
As things turned out, the very simple casualty mechanism outlined
in the rules worked very well. Each time that a figure was hit
the fact was recorded, and the casualty’s defensive strength was
reduced, with a second hit automatically resulting in a kill and the
casualty being removed from the game.

85
 As my game progressed, the cultists
suffered a long run of poor dice throws
while the defending archaeologists fared
much better, with my gallant ladies
doing particularly well. Initial hits were
rapidly inflicted upon the attackers
and, although they continued to fight,
they became far less effective in their
weakened state. The defenders took
fewer hits and by the third or fourth
round of melee they began to inflict a
series of second hits upon the cultists.
The once bold cultists began to falter as
their figures were put out of action and
they eventually vacated the table; which
left the archaeologists free to continue
their investigations and safely remove the
artefacts that they had discovered.
Having ignored the provisions relating
to figures being In Touch/Out of Touch
and avoiding some of the complexity
characterization and roleplay could
bring, I found the game progressed
quickly. Indeed, the rules do suggest that
a standard game can be concluded in
two hours.
Fortunately, my game did not involve
movement into the underground area of
the archaeological site, since the rules
do not cover underground vaults, crypts
and the like. However, there is a section
relating to plateau effects, which deals
with different heights, and I could have The cultists finally break and withdraw
adapted this if I needed to. various figures are taken out of acti
after
on.
Vehicles are not featured in the rules
either, but I am sure that you could
develop appropriate provisions if
© Pulp Miniatures
needed. The vehicles in my
own game did not enter the
action and were included
more for visual impact, but
start activating normally when an active enemy
moves within 4” of them, or the owning
now, with the tomb pillaged, •
player decides to move them, or to perform RF
There’s a special way to move from A to B that
with them.
costs 1 SP but is shorter than the normal
there’s potential for games way. For example, a party is fighting in a castle
When entering the library, a hero can spend
in Bavaria to free a kidnapped scientist.
an SP to identify the revolving bookshelf and
use its secret passage to reach the next room.
based around ambushes as they actions like this one should be optional, not
Spending an SP to perform extraordinary
mandatory. There should always be a
normal way to go from A to B in addition to
the special way.
drive off. • And don’t forget that you can (or should?) have
Pilots in scenarios taking place deep in the
Rex
Tyrannosaurus
Walk Climb jungle or in the middle of the desert!
Charge Run
Training Range 4 No
Protection 10 12
Melee N/A
CONCLUSIONS Skill
4 Bite, 4 IP
Thick hide, 4

t.
CAMPAIGNS
x will KO its targe
Hit from a T-Re

For my first venture into Pulp!

A single Unsaved Each scenario in Pulp! can be played independently
, as a single story, or linked to other
Climb
Tiger or Lion Run Walk scenarios in a campaign to create an overarching
Charge narrative.

I have to say that the game

Training Range 4 No If you play
a scenario as a one-shot, well, that’s all you have
Protection 6 8
to worry about.
Skill Melee 8
Natural, 6 If you are linking scenarios to create a campaign,
Claws, bites, 4 IP the winning team in a scenario will
4 gain one of the Improvements indicated in
the Character Progression section, to be used
in
was enjoyable and triggered all remaining scenarios. If you are worried
Improvement, representing experience they both
about balance, allow both teams to acquire
an
Velociraptor Training Charge Run Walk Climb
You will also need to decide if the campaign
acquired.

ideas for future development. Skill Melee

Prote ction Rang e
8 10 6 Yes
In a Tight campaign, one or both teams always
is going to be Tight, Loose, or Extended.

Some elements of the rules

N/A remain the same, retain their Wounds, and can
Thick hide, 5 only use the equipment and Models they have
4 Claws, Bites, 2 IP from the previous game(s). Each scenario begins
with the characters exactly in the same condition
as they were at the end of the previous scenario.
An example of a Tight campaign would be a group
ICATIONS the of explorers going down a subterranean
ANIMAL MODIF
al to give
might seem complicated to d 1 SP of an Elite
Unit including
a Trained Anim
be given to Untr
temple divided into different levels, each level
ained
the game, only a minute or two passes between
representing a single game. In the storyworld
of
a player can spen ions may also scenarios.
During set up, . The modificat © Pulp Miniatures
ifications below
players less familiar with small Animal one of the mod
to a scena rio.

figure count skirmish battles, but

inter est
Animals to add Table on
Animal Modificati

Effect Animal by 1.
Upgrade ction value of the Pterodactyls.
Lower the Prote Birds of Prey and
the same rules for
they include features not found Armor
Jetpack
Allow the Anim
al to fly following
of the Animal.
Add 1 IP to the IPs
Extra head d Animal.
elsewhere; animals (including Enhanced Intel- Double the Traini
ng Range of a Traine
d Attack as its Actio
n for the turn. The
Animal can
of 8”
ligence perform a Range on has a Range
The Animal can the attack. The weap
e or after performing
velociraptors!), monsters, and a Mounted Firear
m move up to 2” befor
and 2 IPs. Melee , the owne r of an Animal with
this
Roll in a roll stands.
After seeing the
opponent’s Save their Roll. The second
variety of unusual weapons for Electric Skin modification can
force the opponent
to reroll
tion of a Unit in
which Trainer and
Trained Animal
al in the play

example. If you want death rays

per game , during the Activa on of Traine r and Trained Anim for that
Once the positi Actio n
ng Range, swap RF, or Pass as its
are within Traini Trainer selects DS, on.
Humanimalistic performed if the r in the new positi
area. Can only be follows the Traine
Metempsychosis the DS or RF token
turn. If applicable,
and tractor beams, then you’re
well covered!
42

Because of their depth, the rules are

an excellent catalyst for generating
new gaming ideas. If I stayed with my
Egyptian setting, and went even deeper 57
into the world of Pulp!, then a scenario

86
could be developed for the cultists bringing
ancient doom up from the crypts, as the rules
have a section for Zombies! Maybe a mummified
monster would rise to take out those pillaging
the tomb? Appropriate figures, in the form of
priests and mummies, are readily available from
Wargames Foundry.
Stripping out some of the more complex rules and
the roleplaying element gives great flexibility and
ease. The game could be played very quickly as
a demonstration or participation game, and it can
be adapted to take account of players’ abilities or
time constraints.
If you feel ready to include all the different
elements, you’ll experience a deep roleplaying/
skirmish hybrid game that you could become
completely immersed in the granular details of.
It made an agreeable change to not have to
worry about tunics having the right number of
buttons, and not feel concerned about the absolute
accuracy of the historical context. Overall, the
game was fun, which is what really matters!

87
 THE GRADARA
PROJECT

From left to right: Maria Chara Torcolacci, Michael Perry, Alan Perry,
Gianluca Raccagni, Filippo Gasperi, James Sharpe, and Federico Mammarella.

Editor Dan and the Perry brothers packed Alan D’Amico and the Perry brothers.
their bags (and sculpting tools), and jetted
off to see an award-winning wargaming and
cultural collaboration.
The town of Gradara in North Eastern Italy has
picture book Italian charm, with winding cobbled
streets that ascend to a large medieval castle.
Perched on a hillside above the town, the castle
looks out towards the seaside resort of Rimini and
the Adriatic coast.
In early June of this year, sculpting supremos the
Perry twins and I were invited to Gradara by Dr
Cutting the ribbon.
Gianluca Raccagni of UK-based History and Games
Lab (H&GL) to take part in Gradara Wargames -
an event organised to celebrate the unveiling of a
massive ‘diorama’ of the town, made in the UK by
James Sharp of Oshiro Models.
On the first morning of the event, I caught up with
the Mayor of Gradara (and event instigator) Filippo
Gasperi (FG), and Gianluca Raccagni (GR) of
History and Games Lab (H&GL), to ask them all
about the Gradara model project.
Wargames Illustrated: Where did the idea for the
project come from?
Filippo Gasperi: Two or three years ago, I had the
idea of making a historical model of Gradara for
display, showing what the castle and town would Walking the walls of
have looked like in the 15th Century. I got in touch the real Gradara.
with some game designer friends of mine from the
nearby town of Ravenna, who put me in touch with Dan, Alan, and Michael would like to thank Gianluca, Filippo, and Federico Mammarella
Gianluca, a former Ravenna resident now working for their hospitality in Gradara, and Joeli and Elisa for their delightful company.

88
 Unveiling the impressive model.
in the UK at the University of Edinburgh. During our initial
discussions, Gianluca suggested making it a ‘playable’ model,
which was an extension of our simpler idea of a display piece.
Gianluca Raccagni: As a wargamer, and big fan of all things
terrain and scenery, I immediately saw the potential for the
model to be interactive. When I was younger and went to

SHow report
visit museums, it was always disappointing that I wasn’t able
to get close to or touch the impressive models on display;
they were behind glass, or very fragile. In this case, I could
see no reason why the two things couldn’t be combined: a
great-looking and informative display model that was also
interactive and playable.
Wi: Did you know what Gianluca was suggesting? Had you
Masterstroke
even heard of wargaming?!
Games was also
FG: Oh yes, I played miniature wargames when I was here, running
younger, and Gradara (where I grew up) actually hosted the games of Force
first Italian gaming event back in 1991: Gradara Ludens. It of Virtue. They
is a gaming convention that we still host in the town every created a special
September, so I have a connection with gaming going back scenario for their
over 30 years. Renaissance
skirmish
GR: I was also inspired by Gradara Ludens when younger,
wargame
and very impressed and engaged by the connection between
based on the
1446 Siege of
civic government and using games to interact with history 15th Century painting showing a
and heritage. It’s ultimately what led me to become a Senior nun holding a model of Gradara.
Garadara. We
also had the Associazione Fiorentina Battagile in Scala (AFBIS)
Lecturer in medieval history, as well as a gamer.
Wi: The model itself was made by James Sharp of Oshiro gaming group from Florence to run a couple of games, and an Italian
Terrain - was he someone you had worked with before? Mordheim group, who held a mini tournament on the Sunday.
GR: Yes. One of my students at the University of Sculpting demos were also presented across the weekend by local
Edinburgh wrote a supplement for Osprey’s The Men who digital designer Alan D’Amico, and the Perry brothers - who flew
Would be Kings, and he had worked with James at Oshiro over for the event, and helped us cut the ribbon, officially opening
regarding scenery for a demo game. James also produced a the room where the model is currently housed.
model for my own Lion Rampant supplement The Crusader
FG: Eventually, it will be moved to its permanent home in the castle.
States. Although James hadn’t produced anything on this
scale before, after we discussed it, he was very keen to GR: The model is still a work
work on the project. in progress, and will be for
some time. While we want
FG: Prof. Daniele Sacco and Maria Chara Torcolacci from
gamers to come and use the
the University of Urbino then began communicating with
table for whatever games and
James, and sharing information about the history of the
scenarios they wish, we also
town. It was a learning process because there is very little
want to populate the streets of
information on what the town would have looked like in the
the Gradara model with a static
display of figures, individuals
medieval period. One of our only clues comes from a painting
housed in the castle - a woman holding (what looks like) a
and vignettes.
model of the town.
FG: Yes, we have already
GR: From the start, it was important to combine that
commissioned Alan D’Amico to
design some figures based on the
historical information with playability.
Wi: Although we have spent the weekend at the Gradara citizens of Gradara for us. As this
‘unveiling’ event, the model has been seen at a few other collection grows, the streets of the
locations before today, right? model will become populated with
28mm Gradarans!
FG: Yes, we went over to the UK to collect the model, and it
was a happy coincidence that Salute at ExCel was on at that We also have plans to make the model
same time. We displayed the model there, and we were very m`ulti-period. Although Gradara
proud to receive the award for Best Presented Game. Since didn’t see any violent action during
arriving in Italy, the model has been displayed in San Marino the Second World War, it did form part
and at Modena Play - the biggest games festival in Italy. of the German Defensive ‘Gothic Line’
that ran through the town, and there was a
Finally, the model settled in Gradara, and we wanted an event German gun battery in the castle keep.
to celebrate its unveiling - something that would be of interest
to gamers from across the country, as well as locals from and The Gradara model will be moved to its
visitors to Gradara. permanent home within the castle prior to
Gradara Ludens in September, and it is
GR: To that end, we invited James Sharp of Oshiro over, already possible to book a time and date
giving him the opportunity to explore the real Gradara for slot to play any wargame (historical
the first time, rather than just the miniature version! James and fantasy) using the board by
Holloway and I came to represent the H&GL and run some contacting Gianluca at:
Dragon Rampant games using the board. Sam Grassman of [email protected]

89
 ___________________________ GRADARA LUDENS

Every September, Gradara becomes the ‘city of play’ as it

hosts a weekend festival of gaming. Miniature wargames,
board games, card games, roleplaying games, and more are
hosted within the old town. One of the main attractions at
this year’s event will be the Gradara model, which will once
again serve as the battleground for wargames set during the
medieval siege, and - no doubt - for several fantasy spin-offs.

___________________________ NOT THE ONLY ALAN

Alan Perry wasn’t the only talented Alan at the event; local
3D design whiz Alan D’Amico was also on hand to talk about
his work. Alan’s stylus was a whirl all weekend as he showed
attendees his approach to figure design and illustration work,
which included a recent commission to create figures to populate
the Gradara model (when not in wargaming use) with miniature
lookalikes of the locals. Working from photos of local people
(as seen on the left), D’Amico was creating figures to look like
actual residents of the town. The person he was working on when
I took this photo was actually a much-loved local reenactor who
had recently passed away. A miniature of him on the tabletop
seems like a very fitting tribute.
D’Amico also created miniature versions of Alan and Michael
Perry, copying photos to create mini-likenesses of the twins as
15th Century craftsmen.
A man of many talents, when D’Amico isn’t designing minis, he
creates illustrations for games and books. He even drew the 3D
Gradara town map (seen left), and the poster for the event. Check
out D’Amico’s work at: instagram.com/alandamicoart

Below: D’Amico sculpts of Alan and

Michael Perry with a trebuchet.

Left: Minis designed by Alan and featured in

Sabaton’s Battle Through History boardgame.

90
FORCE OF VIRTUE AND THE SIEGE OF GRADARA ___________
With a little help from his friends, Sam of Masterstroke Games was running bespoke
games of Force of Virtue for the Gradara event. Force of Virtue is a card- and counter-
heavy skirmish game (originally) set in Rome during the rise of the Borgias. New
warbands, rules, and card decks allowed participants to play games of FoV set around the
1446 Siege of Gradara, during which the forces of Francesco Sforza of Milan besieged
the castle for 40 days, ultimately failing to snatch it from the local Malatesta clan.

To find out more about

Force of Virtue, and
to join Masterstroke’s
Gradara Kickstarter, visit
masterstrokegames.com

RAMPANT GRADARA ___________________________

While the Siege of Gradara 1446

and some serious historical gaming
with Force of Virtue dominated
the Gradara board during the
morning sessions at the event, in the
afternoon, it was all about Dragon
Rampant, with Gianluca and James
Holloway taking the table through
some fantasy gaming action, in
which the town was invaded by
an ‘army of darkness’, with only a
time-travelling, chainsaw-wielding
hero (who looked a bit like Ash
Williams) to save them.

91
 SCULPTING IN THE SUN _________________________
Never look a gift horse in the mouth, and never say “no” to an
invitation from the mayor of the best medieval town in Italy
(as voted by Italian TV) to come and visit Gradara as part
of a wargames weekend. That would be the advice from the
Perry twins and me. While I flitted about the event reporting
on activities, Alan and Michael got down to some scalpel and
putty work, showing interested attendees how to sculpt a 28mm
figure, Perry Mins style. As I spoke to the guys in the airport
before we jetted back to the slate-grey skies of England (boo!),
they told me: “that has to be the best location we’ve ever been
to for playing wargames. Gradara is a fantastically pretty town,
and it was a pleasure to be surrounded by its walls while sitting
sculpting. The people who ran the event were just as lovely as
well! Filippo (the mayor) and his team couldn’t have looked
after us any better. It was also great to meet so many enthusiastic
Italian gamers, either asking about how we make models, or
chatting about our time at Games Workshop. Oh, and the local
food and beer was wonderful as well - make sure you mention
that in your report!”

THE DANTE CONNECTION _________________________

You can’t wander very far in Gradara without
coming across some reference to, or by,
Italy’s great writer and philosopher, Dante.
Legend has it that the castle was the scene of
the famous and tragic love story of Paolo and
Francesca. They were caught in each other’s
embrace and killed by Gianciotto, Francesca’s
husband. This love story was immortalized
in Dante’s most famous work, The Divine
Comedy. While Paolo and Francesca’s antics
may be of little interest to wargamers, Dante’s
real-life adventures as one of the feditore
(knights of the vanguard) at the Battle of
Campaldino are certainly engaging!
Dante and the Battle of Campaldino, 1292,
were represented at Gradara, thanks to the
efforts of the AFBIS - a very active gaming
group from Florence. They presented a
15mm game, using house modifications to an
obscure Napoleonic ruleset, which pitted the
forces of the pope-supporting Guelphs against
the Ghibellines, who fought for the Holy
Roman Emperor. During the 12th and 13th
Centuries, rivalry between these two parties
dominated political life across Italy.
Although Dante survived the actual battle, I
saw his figure carted off to the discard pile at
least five times over the weekend!

Right: 28mm Dante

from the Wi Giants
in Miniature range.

92
OSHIRO ACTION ______________________________
The Gradara model commission is the
biggest that James of Oshiro Models has ever
undertaken. In total, the model is 2400mm x
3600mm, divided into three sections to allow
for easier gameplay and transportation. James
mainly employed laser cutting, along with
some scratch-building, to make the walls
and buildings of the model. All the buildings
have removable roofs to allow for internal
gameplay, and there are even two removable
wall sections (seen below right), which hint
at the undermining that took place during the
1469 siege.
James has been writing an excellent ongoing
blog, showing his work on the model from
the very beginning. You can follow it here:
oshiromodels.co.uk/gradaracastle

HISTORY AND GAMES LAB ________________________

The History and Games Lab explores

games as a medium for historical research,
teaching, and public understanding of history,
including fostering practical collaborations
between historians, game designers, and
other practitioners who engage with games.
It operates in collaboration with the School
of History, Classics and Archaeology at the
University of Edinburgh, and welcomes further
collaboration from wargaming groups and
companies. Find out more about H&GL on
their website: historyandgames.shca.ed.ac.uk

93
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