CWJ Vol I issue 4

At last... it's ready, and will be posted out over the next few days. The PDF version will be sent Tuesday.

What's included?

• Tales from the Frontline with readers' letters, project updates, and battle reports.
• Bob Varga's WW2 take on the Vanguards Collide scenario from way back in the pilot issue.
• "Floor Wars" by Paul Cutting
• Trouble in Tranjapore - the Indian Mutiny project continues... by Daryl Haselton
• Peter Verduyn continues in Search of Hyboria
• Desert Isalnd Wargaming... another well-known wargamer is marooned.
• The Shootists - Western Gunfighting with Phil Dutre
• Arnold Stockade - Terry Preen describes an "old school" get together and fights an 18th century action.
• Gary Phillips offers a WSS scenario
• and Ian Allen regales us with another of his Tales of the Golden Head
• Ian also provides templates for a Flatpack Bomber to accompany the fighter versions included in the previous issue.
• There's also Conrad Kinch's twisted (!) look at the hobby in Conrad's Corner.
• and of course sketches by Chris Gregg

Once again, apologies to those who have submitted articles yet to appear. There really is only so much room available!
Also, there's a small surprise in store - The Editorial explains all...

Thanks and Homages

First a thank you to Jason Williams...
I returned from a few days away to find a parcel awaiting me. Now, I like parcels... and imagine my delight when inside was a box with a picture of a Nokkia mobile phone on the front. Nice one too. Had I ordered it? No. Was it therefore a prize in some competition or others? No. Or a scam? No.
So, why am I getting sundry gadgets sent to me in the post? Oh well... not complaining - must be a gift, and a nice one too. And then imagine my surprise when on opening the box, I found inside, not a phone/ gadget/ i-wotnot/ blue-blackberry thingy. Oh no! Better than that... deep joy! A pile of figures. Lots of them. And Jason explained in his note to the effect that they were merely the visible part of a lead iceberg, the summit of a mountain of metal, and as part of his clear-out he thought they would come in handy for my home-casting project. And, yes they definitely will!!! So thank you Jason! Much appreciated.

And now to an email received a while ago following CWJ issue 3 which you will remember included the first part of Daryl Haselton's series about building his Indian Mutiny project using the Irregular Miniatures Deutsche Homage 42mm range. This article actually has had quite a lot of feedback and seems to have stirred the butterflies amongst a number of readers (the prolific Ian Allen included), and this email from Stephen Cullen was typical of the enthusiasm uncovered... as well as a couple of nice photos:

"Dear Phil,

Many thanks for the latest CWJ, which continues to delight. It is a happy counterbalance to 'normal' daily, electronic, life. And this issue has solved a small puzzle for me. Daryl Haselton's 'The Trouble in Tanjapore', his highlighting of Irregular Miniatures' Deutsche Homage range, and the photographs illustrating the article, means that I am now pretty sure of the origin of some 42mm (foot to eye) figures I received from a friend in Denmark a few years ago. The figures came from a 90 year old Danish lady, and had belonged to her late husband who had played with them as a boy in the 1920s and early 1930s. Interestingly, although the figures are almost all British (with a few Frenchies) Imperial, the late owner had gone on to be a noted figure in the Danish Communist Party, and had been involved in the Danish resistance late in the war - perhaps the Imperial troops always came off worst in his boyhood battles. I had no idea of the source of the figures, and had wondered if they were of Danish manufacture, but it does look as if they were German - the Heyde and Haffner connection that Daryl highlights. I've attached a couple of photos of some of the figures that I have restored, and I'm now enthused enough to finish restoring the rest of the little hoard. In fact, I might even visit the Irregular Miniatiatures site...
All the best,
Stephen."

Thanks Stephen. And thank you for the photos.

All of which leads nicely into the announcement that CWJ is taking shape, and you can look forward to part 2 of Daryl's series, amongst other articles in the next couple of weeks.

CWJ Vol I issue 3 - It's ready!

Volume I issue 3 is now ready, and will be posted out tomorrow. So you should be receiving it before Easter (overseas subscribers may have to wait till just after Easter for it to reach you). If it doesn't arrive as you hope, let me know.

PDF subscribers will be receiving theirs by email tomorrow.

Contents include:

• Tales from the Frontline -including a number of refights by Ian Allen set in the 1920s; a Napoleonic foragers encounter by Robert Arcangeli; an update on Chris Bowley's Franco Prussian project; plus lots more... and a letter of complaint from The Blasthof Parish Council!
• A Napoleonic scenario by Bob Varga
• 40mm GNW by Alasdair Jamison
• Viva Catalonia - Spain in early 18th century- Part 2 by Ray Caddy
• Indian Mutiny in 42mm by Daryl Haselton
• Desert Island Wargaming with ... Aly Morrison!
• Hyboria Part 3 of Peter Verduyn's Ancients campaign
• French & Indian Wars scenario by Terry Preen
• A 19th Century imagi-nations game by Stephen Caddy
• Tales of the Golden Head continue with Ian Allen
• One from the Archives - this time it's Tony Bath's NAXOS Campaign from 1957
• and rounding off, Conrad Kinch gives us his usual wry slant on the hobby.

Add to that, a few colour plates, and some more exquisite sketches by Chris Gregg, and a plethora of contributors' sketch maps.

plus the special pull-out by Ian Allen - think Ikea meets Airfix, and you get the templates to produce The Flatpack Fighter:

All in all, I hope there's enough for everyone.

Thanks to all the contributors as always.

All the very best

Phil

CWJ next issue

Next issue of The Classic Wargamer's Journal is due out in April, and it's all coming together nicely. Already I have loads of material. In fact, all I'm waiting for is the Desert Island Wargaming piece (you know who you are!!!!!) and I can start editing (ok, don't laugh - I know it's not proper editing... more just cutting and pasting really!)
Don't let the fact that I've got lots of articles put you off writing though as I do want to keep the stockpile up, and create as much variety as possible to ensure maximum period coverage for future issues too. And who knows, for balance, anything submitted in the next few days could also find it's way into this issue... the "editor" may on a whim replace one of his own pieces with something far more valuable from a contributor.

Anyway, a huge thank you to all who have once again made life so easy for me in producing such a wealth of material. Full details of all contents will be released in the next couple of weeks.

I'm also delighted to report that Chris Gregg has more wonderful sketches in this issue.
And, to show how grateful I am to Chris, I want to promote the work he is doing for a special exhibition in Gloucester in May. He has just completed a beautiful oil painting (22 inches x 16inches) of Gloucester during the ECW, and I simply felt I must share it here. So, with Chris's permission:

It is for sale, and you can contact Chris via his website:
http://cheltenham-art.com/chrisgregg.htm

By the way, I'm not involved at all, but such a fantastic work deserves as much publicity as possible.
All the best for now... and I promise, at some point I'll update on my own wargaming activity!

Latest Issue of CWJ

Just what you need to warm the heart, and to welcome in the New Year.
Volume I issue 2 is complete, and we are posting them out over the next 2 days.
PDF will be sent out Sunday/ Monday.

So, what's in store:
Well first thing to notice is the widening variety of periods covered in this latest issue, with Ancients to Modern, and all stations in between, and even some naval stuff.
There's a letter from Don Featherstone (amongst other correspondence and "Tales from the Frontline"), Greg Horne's Blasthof refight, Ray Caddy takes us to Spain 1713-14, Ian Allen is in the ACW, and the next episode unfolds in his Darkest Africa 1920s adventures. Peter Verduyn continues his Hyboria ancient campaign series, Capt Bill's Reich Duchy of Beerstein is featured, Stuart Asquith is at Hook's Farm, Allan Tidmarsh plays out a Viking Raid, and Chris Stringer is in AWI with Freeman's Farm. Stokes Schwartz provides advice on blogging and getting your armies onto the table, and we draw another action from the archives (this time it's from Sept 1957: the Battle of Lapin's Farm).

All embellished with Chris Gregg's sketches (a new feature which really does add something to the look of the journal I have to say), plus a few colour plates, and a proliferation of maps from the authors of individual articles (the guys have really gone to town on this!)

Should be plenty there to keep you going.
Thanks again to the contributors, and to you, the many subscribers.

And a Happy New Year... may 2011 be prosperous, and filled with wargaming happiness.