I don’t like to review games without playing them. This is why, after purchasing it sometime in November last year, I haven’t written a review of Republic to Empire. After playing two games at Historicon I think I can give an honest assessment of the rules. For the record, I consider Barry Hilton and Clarence Harrison as “internet friends.” I was a fan of both of their gaming endeavors before receiving the rules. That being said, I don’t think it has affected my review. I will try to give details on the rules so that readers can make up their own minds.

The Book

Before you can understand the rules you must read the book. It’s the very first introduction to the game and it seems to have put some people off due to its sheer size. The book is a hefty 144 page, full colour, softcover. The key to its size is not the complexity of the rules, but the amount of colour photographs of wonderfully painted miniatures provided. Perhaps half of each page is pictures of miniatures, making the book roughly 72 pages of text. There is also a lot of explanations and examples given throughout the book reducing the number of pages of actual rules much less than the initial count would suggest.

I think the book is great. I like looking at pictures of games in action, it helps inspire me to keep painting for my own game. The book is well put together and layed out with excellent production quality. The book is priced to reflect this, but I appreciate the value of something that I can look at for reasons other than researching rules. Some people may disagree. At slightly over $50 CAD the book is not cheap and does not invite casual purchases. You either buy this book because you want to play the rules or you want something nice and wargamy to read. Either way, I think it is worth the money.

In addition to the rulebook a gatefold quick reference sheet (QRS) is provided. These six pages of charts replace the book during gameplay. This is great in theory, but it is a lot of charts and there is a learning curve when it comes to quickly finding the required chart. On the plus side, once this is mastered it really isn’t necessary to refer to the rulebook. The QRS is cumbersome and cannot compare to the simplicity of a single sheet QRS, but a single sheet simply couldn’t get the job done.

Command and Control

In the introduction to the rules, Mr Hilton gives command and control as one of his wargame hobby horses. When I first read the book I liked the detailed maneuver system but felt it was finicky and complicated. On my second reading I started to grasp the concept and was fully in support of the system. I felt that perhaps it played faster than it appeared. At Historicon this feeling was reinforced and amplified. After a short description of the rules all the players grasped the command system and started moving their figures. The only discussion became whether one order or the other was better for the current tactical situation. Moves were completed quickly and painlessly to the point where I wonder if the maneuver phase of Republic to Empire might be as fast as any wargame.

Essentially the movement system works like this: The main maneuver units are brigades. Players roll a dAv¹ for every brigade in their command. This is the amount of movement points the player has to work with during the turn. Working one brigade at time players decide if the brigade’s current orders are the one they want. If so, they pay to maintain them, make the movements allowed by the order with all the battalions of the brigade, then pay their remaining movement points to make any additional maneuvers they wish.

For example, on the Advance order the brigade may move their battalions however they wish as long as half the brigade moves at least a quarter of their movement towards the enemy. If the controlling player decides they then want to make additional movement with the brigade or individual units more movement points are spent. In practice this process flows naturally from deciding on a plan for the unit to executing it.

Brigadier quality can affect the number of movement points required to maintain or change a brigade’s orders. Higher command receive a set number of movement points depending on their quality which they can assign to brigades at the beginning of the turn. To which brigade and in which quantity are controlled by the command radius of that officer. Brigade and divisional integrity are maintained by requiring brigades to be within range of the divisional commander to change orders, and for battalions to pay additional movement points when they are out of their brigadier’s range.

During the game I soon found myself discussing the tactical need for maneuver, rather than the mechanical process. We were more concerned with deciding on the placement of our cavalry as a reserve, or how to move quickly across the bridge so we don’t create a traffic jam and be defeated before we even cross. To me, movement couldn’t be simpler without sacrificing the flavour of the period.

Formations are dealt with simply by using a form order and assuming that once the order is giving the battalion’s officers will take care of the rest. The usual suspects are in attendance, although Mr. Hilton does take some well-reasoned steps away from tradition with some of his formations. Why he does so is well explained in the book and worth reading with an open mind.

Multiple movements, called Exploitation Moves, at the battalion and brigade level are possible. They require large amounts of movement points but can turn the tide of battle if used correctly. In theory, soldiers can cover a lot of ground in the space of a typical wargame turn. In practice battlefield friction slowed down units that needed to maintain formation on terrain that rarely resembled the drill yard. Enemy fire and manuever, out-of-date orders from distracted commanders all conspired to slow down the speed at which formed men could travel. Exploitation Moves are used in Republic to Empire to represent those rare moments when skill, luck and circumstance aligned to allow grand, sweeping maneuvers.

All of this variety and detail exist in a system which allows a fast and transparent execution. At no point during the two games I played did the game mechanically bog down, for any reason in any phase. Turns flew by and the steps towards battle felt like a graceful waltz rather than the slow, boring slog they so frequently are.

Shooting and Combat Resolution

Shooting and combat are resolved using combat groups of four models. Each combat group generates one die, creating a base which is latter modified by various factors. The lists of factors seem massive at first glance but calm consideration reveals a secret. The charts are split between different unit types. Artillery and Infantry each have their own chart. Some modifiers are shared, some unique, and some effect artillery more than infantry or vice versa. By splitting the charts the QRF looks superficially more complex but is made simple in practice.

Shooting is very straight forward. After determining how many dice a battalion rolls every four or higher is a success. This translate directly into casualties on the target unit. Only when a unit has passed the 25% casualty mark do they start testing as a result of infantry fire, and only at 50% are stands removed.

While my initiation into Napoleonics was performed by one Bernard Cornwell I know that a rollicking melee was not as common as Richard Sharpe would have me believe. Republic to Empire deals with this apparently inglorious reality by making the lead up to battle interesting. If the French charge the British line, will they charge home in the face of the enemy’s volley or pull up short? How effective will that volley be, and will the British hold when they find that it didn’t stop the French? This drama is modeled by the rules with a number of command checks that require less time than it would seem. Since a 4+ is always a success and the modifiers don’t change the whole back and forth of seeing who will flinch first is quick and easy.

I’ve read some reviews that focus on the order system because it appears to be most complex. In reality, I think how combat is decided should be as important a consideration. I’ve played games where combats quickly became messes that slowed the game to a crawl and became so odious that players dreaded the phase. Republic to Empire keeps combat moving smoothly while still providing an interesting result.

Morale

Breaking the opponent’s morale is the key to winning at Republic to Empire. A broken army generates less movement points and become increasingly unwieldy. Units test resolve when certain conditions are met, such as receiving casualties from artillery or fighting close combats. As expected, close combat causes the most morale checks. The checks are fast and straight forward. Four or better after modifiers is a pass, anything less is a degree of failure. Units waver, retreat and route.

On Scales and Realism

Barry Hilton takes a bold and potentially unpopular stand when it comes to ground, figure and time scales. His rules on built up areas takes into consideration that troops didn’t fight over three houses representing a village, or a single farm with the scale footprint of a small town. His formations try to maintain historical and accurate dimensions while accepting the limitations of figure basing and the predilections of gamers. I think we all know that a single ranked unit would be more realistic in terms of depth to width, but we prefer the look of two ranks.

One thing to note about the rules is that there are no basing conventions. By counting figures instead of bases one could use figures mounted singly on 20x20mm bases against an army with 8 figures on a 60x60mm base. The small difference in frontage shouldn’t make too much of a difference to the game.

The rules are designed for large units in large armies on large tables because this is how Mr. Hilton likes to play. Playtesting was done with smaller forces on smaller tables and the game was found quite suitable. By modifying the rules slightly to accommodate smaller forces it’s possible to play interesting games with a couple of brigades per side. 28mm is the scale featured in the rules, though smaller scales would work fine by either increasing the number of figures in a combat group, or scaling the measurements to suit. There’s something very attractive about playing the game in 10mm using nearly 1:1 figure ratios.

In Conclusion

It took playing Republic to Empire to really understand just how elegantly it achieves Barry Hilton’s vision of a Napoleonic game which features realistic challenges to maneuver and command and control. After my first pass through the rules I considered Republic to Empire to be the game for detailed and intricate simulations and Black Powder to be for fun games of toy soldiers. Having played the game I discovered that Republic to Empire doesn’t have to be a brain burner. It can be a fun afternoon of pushing around figures.

Republic to Empire is available directly from The League of Augsburg or their US distributor, Eureka Miniatures USA. It takes some digging to find the rules on the Eureka website. I purchased the rules myself and no financial or other consideration was provided for this review.

Tyler

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1) dAv is an average die. In replaces the 1 with a 3, and the 6 with a 4. They are available online or at conventions, and can be simulated with a d6 as described above. One might try creating their own set by marking a normal d6 with an indelible-ink marker. Back,

As promised, here is my description of the game I played on my first day at Historicon. The game was Republic to Empire, presented by the writer Barry Hilton and graphic designer and artist Clarence Harrison. Barry Hilton is part of the League of Augsburg, a Scottish club that is frequently mentioned in hobby magazines as providing exception participation games at conventions. Clarence Harrison is a Virginian who began working with Barry on their previous ruleset, Beneath the Lily Banners, providing graphics design, art and rules feedback.

Unfortunately I do not have the memory to provide an accurate after-action report. With such a large group you tend to miss much of what your allies do since you’re all moving figures at the same time. I will do my best to give a feeling of the game. These pictures are from the 8pm game on Friday. It was my first time playing Republic to Empire, but I’d read the rules a couple of times.

During the game this monk wandered about the battlefield, followed by his faithful donkey. Small touches such as this lent a nice atmosphere to the game.

Clarence Harrison painted all the figures and built the table for the event. The game looked great. Here the French are in their starting positions on the Targus. This is two brigades of two battalions, with the second battalion starting off the table.

All the terrain, with the exception of the Games Workshop hills, were scratch-built by Clarence Harrison. You can see a step-by-step on Clarence’s blog and website.

For this game the Spanish began in the monastery waiting for Crauford’s Light Division to arrive. The scenario was based on a historical event slightly modified to create a better game. Essentially the British are retreating from overwhelming French forces and must hold this river crossing to prevent the French from overtaking them. Historical Marshal Ney saw that the crossing was held in strength and withdrew without a fight. In this scenario it is imagined that the French arrived early enough to try to force a crossing.

It was a lot easier to take pictures before the game. I was bouncing my flash off the, thankfully low enough, ceiling and it made my camera heavy and unwieldy. I was forced to put it down whenever I was moving troops.

Clarence’s bridge was beautiful with excellent weathering and detail. It was also constructed to be removable. Remember, in Spanish Js are pronounced like Hs.

The moderate telephoto of my 50mm lens shortened the perspective in this picture. The table is 6×8, and could easily work as two 6×4 tables. I wasn’t the only one taking pictures, though having tried to get some pictures without flash I felt bad for those that tried. It’s really hard to take pictures of games. Luckily the ceiling was the lowest of the entire convention, though still easily 10ft high. If I could, I would have loved to have both my flashes on stands in opposite corners of the table. I would have been able to use a smaller aperture and thus get better depth of field. I took around 80 pictures, which I’ve edited down to 14. This is excluding the pictures I took and immediately discarded.

Despite the large table the game moved fast, creating action quickly without the tedium of many turns spent only on movement. Everyone was able to get to grips with the order system which adds detail without overwhelming players in complexity. Generating movement points, maintaining orders and performing single unit orders and exploitations was much easier than I expected, even after reading the book twice. On first read it seems densely complex. On second reading you realize that it is really a case of “easier done than said.” Actually playing the game showed it to be even simpler and smoother than I was expecting.

Some nice surprises were planned by our Game Master, Barry Hilton. He did an excellent job of presenting the rules. He struck the perfect balance between explaining enough of the rules to get everyone going, and not giving us so much information that we retain nothing of what we’ve been told. He was an excellent Game Master and deserving of the award he won for it.

From this position the horse artillery was able to rush onto the small hill, unlimber and begin firing on the French across the river in the first turn. This is an example of the exploitation move which allows for the occasional grande maneuver. Although the French weren’t exactly happy, it felt appropriate.

As you can see, there were some very juicy targets for the horse artillery. Fortunately for the French their were in column of companies moving perpendicular to the line of fire. This prevented them from being considered dense targets.

Republic to Empire is a bucket of dice game that doesn’t really require buckets of dice. From a base number modifiers and multiplies are applied to determine how many dice are rolled, with 4+ required to hit. All modifiers are included in the GM’s screen, which comes with the game. On first glance it appears dense, but allows players to run the game without referring to their books. In reality it took a little less time to determine the number of dice to be rolled than it does in games such as Warhammer 40K.

Having bypassed the village defenders the French send in a force to secure their rear. After some sharp fighting it looked like the Americans were successful in holding the village. Unfortunately, although they repelled the French, they felt their position wouldn’t withstand another assault and retreated while the French were re-organizing.

The Fighting in Built Up Areas section of the rules appears to be an additional complication, but the abstraction Mr. Hilton employs makes the process of fighting over BUAs painless and straightforward. The round of combat took as long as a normal fight.

There was more to the game, but we end here for a couple of reasons. These are the pictures I consider acceptable, my flash batteries died, and my command finally made it onto the table. I’ll try to post some pictures from the second and third games I played. The second game was the same scenario with a slightly modified deployment and terrain layout and the third was a Battle of the Boyne scenario on the same table. That game was fought using the beta version of the second edition of Beneath the Lily Banners.

It’s not often that rules become more streamlined when they are made more realistic, but I feel that this is the case with Republic to Empire. I liked the detail in the ruleset when I read it. I agreed with Mr. Hilton’s goals to attempt a level of realism that is often missing in many games. The rules benefit from a strong vision of Napoleonic warfare coupled with an experience hand at playing games.

I would take any reviewer’s opinion with a grain of salt if they haven’t actually played the game a few times. Since Republic to Empire works with any basing standard, there just isn’t a good reason for not trying the rules. I was guilty of not playing the rules and liking it, but I don’t have any Napoleonic collection to use. Now that I’ve played it twice my appreciation of the rules has multiplied. Where before I wasn’t pushing the game on my club I’m now actively arranging a demonstration using other member’s collections.

Tyler

When I look back on my painting career I can trace the maturation of my painting style. From flood-washes and grainy drybrushing to edge highlighting to glaze transitions. When I started I thought highlights went on raised surfaces. This is not the worst way to paint but falls far short of reality. Reality, I have realized, is simultaneously the greatest army painter’s shortcut and competition painter’s distinguishing mark¹.

We spend out entire lives looking at things. Our brain is wired to notice contrast and interpret highlight and shade as three dimensional. Ever look at an aerial photograph of craters and think for a second that you’re looking at bumps?

If you tilt your head to the right until the light appears to come from the upper-left the craters your brain will start reading the craters for what they are. Our brains do this when looking at miniatures, which is why proper highlight placement is so important. With it the sparing, sharp highlights of the army painter make sense and the viewer will fill in any gaps. Without it the meticulous, seamless highlights of the showcase painter will look strange and wrong.

Now, I don’t have the space or energy to go into detail on every type of highlight. Sharp edges are highlighted differently than rounded curves. Cloth is different from metal. Daylight is different from a streetlight. Instead I will try to articulate some basic concepts behind the placement of highlight when painting a model. Specific situations can be covered later in specific articles.

Less is More Saves Time

No matter what you are painting an why, having to highlight less will save time and energy. At first this seems more important to the army than the showcase painter. In some ways this is true, but if you’ve ever tried to paint to a showcase standard you’ve probably experienced the fatigue that comes from realizing another little detail needs a highlight, midtone and shade.

Highlight only upwards facing edges and surfaces. Ignore surfaces that wouldn’t be catching any light, no matter how detailed. Shading will add depth there, not highlighting.

On the right is a figure I painted during a speed painting competition. I basecoated, shaded and highlighted the figure in an hour. I focused on the top of the helmet, shoulder pads, backpack and knees. I didn’t spend much time on the feet and resisted highlighting the top edge of the greaves under the knee. On the elbow that is visible I let the edge highlight trail off as the edge started facing down. It’s not the greatest model, but by focusing on only a few highlights I was able to achieve a smooth blend that probably cemented my first place finish.

Break Bad Habits

I started with Space Marines, back when I first discovered the hobby. Once I advanced beyond drybrushing I started picking out the edges. Every edge would get the same amount of highlighting, even the edge between the bottom of the greaves and boots. I thought it looked good, but struggled with the helmet. My little lines didn’t look so good up there and I didn’t know why. I thought I couldn’t make them thicker as thin lines didn’t show as harsh a transition.

Even more recently I started on the Dallimore Three-Layer style of painting. Every surface received a shade, midtone and highlight, even if it was downwards facing. It’s not like I could leave it undetailed!

I was so wrong, and sadly it wasn’t that long ago. Only very recently have I embraced the idea that highlights belong only where light would be hitting the model and should take on whatever shape is required to properly represent the highlight. Our brains interpret them as highlights and we don’t see any harsh transitions, just a three-dimensional object. It’s when highlights are placed incorrectly that we really notice them.

The Rule of Thumb

I can already think of a good number of articles detailing specific highlighting theory. For example, the exception where downwards facing edges can receive a highlight. In the meantime here’s a few things to keep in mind while highlighting:

1. Can you see the surface when looking at the miniature from the direction of the light source?
2. Flat surfaces receive the same amount of light over their entire facet.
3. Paint the entire miniature, not just each individual part.

The first one is simple. Remember that it’s a rule of thumb and that in a blue sky the sun isn’t the only light source. Look at the miniature from directly above and slightly to the side when looking for spots to put highlights. Depending on how many layers you plan to use highlight the surfaces that are visible from directly above and all directions that you are using for your light source the most.

A common mistake for large flat surfaces is to try to create a gradient on them. This can look good if done subtly, but if you’re only trying to paint a few unblended layers it won’t work at all. Simply treated like any surface, those flat planes facing upwards get a highlight. Those facing downwards get a shade. Pick out any upwards facing edges with an extra highlight and the result should be good. This is one I still struggle with and I haven’t had the opportunity to paint any vehicles or giant robots to test this theory on.

When trying to omit needless highlights it sometimes feel like you’re leaving the miniature unfinished in spots. Remember to step back from the miniatures, literally and figuratively and consider the whole. If there are nice bright highlights on the top of the shoulders is it important that the back of the knee is completely in shadow? If necessary, add an extra layer of shade in the deepest crevices, but if you have a gentle concave surface don’t be afraid to leave it plain.

Well, I hope that was helpful. I’ll be back with some specific techniques for dealing with glossy vs. matte and sharp edges vs. curves.

Tyler

 

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1) Art is always controversial and I know there are exceptions to any “rule.” There is even a style of highlighting where each individual muscle is highlighted as if it was lit by its own light source.

Highlighting red is one of those difficult, intimidating things that wargame miniatures painters avoid. Either they don’t use red in large quantities or they refuse to highlight it. The problem is that when you highlight red you get pink. This terrifies many painters, including myself.

A year ago I would do what most people do in this situation. I would use the brightest true red as my highlight and then use darker and darker reds to shade. This is valid, especially if you are looking for a very saturated colour. It isn’t necessarily right though, not for all applications.

There are a few points one must acknowledge before we can journey down the rabbit hole. The first is that light is perceived as white. Second, that a highlight is light composed both of the wavelengths of light that were not absorbed by the surface and the reflection of the light source. This tends towards white at the brightest point. Thirdly our eyes and brain work together to squeeze as much contrast into every possible situation. Frequently the lightest point of a scene will appear close to white and the darkest close to black. This can been seen in my swatches below. It is made of flat bands of colour but they appear to be lighter close to the next darker swatch and darker when close to the next lighter swatch.

So, accept all that and then consider that at smaller scales more white is commonly used to create a scale effect. If you look at the top images on Cool Mini or Not closely you’ll discover that the miniatures are much paler than might be expected. This, I have been told, helps make the detail stand out, especially at smaller scales. Our eyes translate it into full, rich colours but if each colour were to be isolated they would appear desaturated and washed out. Generally the larger the surface the more light is reflected. Paint a wall with a colour and it looks bright, paint a miniature with it and it will appear relatively dark.

In trying to come to grips with how to highlight red I took the picture on the right and extracted the colours seen in the swatches to the left. This method of isolating colours from an image has opened my eyes to the true colours of painted miniatures and I intend to use it in the future when planning colours.

Meanwhile I’ve come to a conclusion on how to paint red. There are different shades of red, of course, some of which will require different techniques, but these are some tips I plan to use the next time I have to paint red.

Warm up the Red

My biggest problem with painting my Incorporated Militia was not that my highlights were pink. Red turns to pink the lighter it gets. If light were green red would shift towards yellow as more light hit it. This is not something to fear. My problem was that I was using a cool red which tended towards hot pink. If I had warmed it up with orange I would have ended up with more of a salmon pink, as can be see in the example picture above right.

Flesh as Shortcut

Instead of adding white to red as a highlight, use a light flesh colour. It already contains a good mix of red and yellow and should make it easier to balance the highlights.

Desaturate with Grey or Green

Saturation is a way of describing how close to a single wavelength a colour is. Fully saturated colours have a single wavelength. Fully unsaturated colours have all wavelengths equally, white, grey and black. Thus, when white light is reflected off a surface more wavelengths—white being comprised of all wavelengths—are introduced and thus the colour is desaturated. This happens with paint when any colour is mixed in, but more so with complementary colours. The complementary colour of red is green. Adding green will desaturate red faster than white will, since theoretically green paint contains no red wavelengths which white paint does.

Conversely, avoid de-saturating colours too much when shading. The reduction in the amount of light reflecting off a surface doesn’t add extra wavelengths. Adding black will not reduce saturation as much as adding white. It will improve contrast as the colour moves both in value but in saturation.

Well, I hope that was helpful. Trying to understand why a paintjob works is a good exercise for improving skills. It is much better than simply having someone tell you what selection of colours they used without explaining why.

Tyler

I am having trouble beginning this review for one simple reason: I did not like these miniatures. However, I don’t want to absolutely slam them because I don’t think they’re as horrible as my initial impression. It would be best to start, I think, with just the facts.

For review purposes I received a free package of Wargames Factory Zulus. I’ve mentioned the packaging in an early review, but just to cover the main points I am impressed with the engineering that went into the sprues and packaging. If you are browsing a store you can see exactly what you get in the package, and when you assemble the figures you’re left with a slip of cardboard, a little plastic wrap and a bunch of plastic sprue.

The package contains 30 warriors suitable for building the common types of Zulu warriors. The majority will be armed with clubs, short spears and shields as one might expect. A few can be armed with muskets as was the case during the Zulu wars. The retail price is $19.95.

My reviewing plan was to assemble a miniature from each set and paint it. Looking at sprues doesn’t tell the whole story, nor do you really understand a miniature until you paint it. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time painting, so I blocked in colours then liberally washed with a black-brown mix.

My first attempt at assemble ended in frustration. I felt like assembling a warrior carrying a firearm and chose the arms firing a Martini-Henry. I notice the pack description on the Wargames Factory indicates that it is meant to seem awkward. So awkward, in fact, that I couldn’t attach it in a firing position without the stock pushing the head off the model. I gave up and chose an arm holding a firearm.

Painting was done quickly, but I still got a good idea of the details on the model. The facial details are a little too fine to take washing well. However, facial proportions look good unlike the strangely distorted Artizan, Crusader and Bolt Action Miniatures figures I’ve been painting lately. Body proportion and pose looks good.

The biggest complaint is the arm holding the weapon. I’ve looked at the sprue and both examples appear to be holding the rifle or musket as if it were a combat shotgun or assault rifle. It just looks off. Fortunately there are enough spears and clubs to avoid these strange grips. Still, a little disappointing to have all the firearms be unusable.

Once my frustration had sufficiently passed I can say that I would buy these miniatures if I were doing a Zulu Wars project. The lack of usable firearms would be a constant annoyance, but the price works well with the number of miniatures you’d typically require for this sort of game.

Tyler

Today on my front step an evil package of temptation awaited my arrival. It was Wargames Factory‘s long-promised review samples. I had not anticipated how excited these miniatures would make me. To be honest I wasn’t impressed with the pictures I’d seen of their miniatures. It looked like the proportion was off on the miniatures, especially the arms. It could be a combination of strange angle and unflattering paintjob but I felt no great need to buy some of their miniatures. Sure, from endlessly restarting campaign games of Rome: Total War, I was more interested in Republican Rome than Early Imperial Rome, but otherwise Wargames Factory wasn’t releasing anything I really needed.

When I opened the package of review samples today I suddenly found myself wondering if there was room on my plate for some new periods. In the box was a pack of Ancient Germans, a pack of Zulus and three sprues of Vikings. Hmm, I thought, I am interested in Dark Ages for Field of Glory, the Ancient Germans could probably work for some unarmoured levies. Plus the Zulus would give me a slightly ahistorical opponent for my Back of Beyond British when I’m feeling like playing fast and loose with history. Besides, I don’t like leaving newly acquired miniatures unpainted. I’ve pardoned all my old indiscretions but I have to draw the line somewhere.

I will write three reviews, starting with the Vikings as I think they are the newest release from Wargames Factory. I will assemble and paint a miniature from each set. Only afterwards will I decide what to do with the remainder. I’m trying to stay focused on my two main projects, after all.

However, I want to take a second to talk about the packaging. Each package is a hefty block of plastic sprues wrapped in a clear stiff plastic film, somewhat like the plastic that CCG card protector sleeves come in. Unfortunately that esoteric example is the only one I can think of. The front is a full colour display to draw attention on a store shelf provided by a card insert that wraps around the bottom and nearly half of the back. The packaging is both colourful, sparing and robust. It also allows potential buyers to examine the sprues without opening the package. If you’re not sure if the miniatures will mix well with your current collection bring a miniature into the local shop carrying Wargames Factory and see for yourself.

I am impressed by the packaging. People are trying to reduce the amount of garbage we throw away and I think Wargames Factory has found a way to show off their miniatures to the best advantage while also keeping packaging to a minimum. I also notice that the packages can be hung from pegs or put on shelves. The packaging is made possible by an ingenious bit of sprue design. Each sprue has long pegs extending from the border in one direction with corresponding holes on the opposite side to accommodate another sprue’s pegs. This allows the sprues to nest together securely without worrying about a miniature making an early exit from the sprue. It also makes it a little neater to put away your pile of sprues between build sessions, but that’s a little quirk of my own.

To comply with recent FTC regulations that don’t apply to me as a Canadian I must state for the record that I received 68 free miniatures from Wargames Factory for the purpose of writing a review on this blog. While some people have complained about this ruling, I think it’s important to disclose this type of information. I’ll leave it to my readers to judge my impartiality and make an informed decision on whether they agree with whatever conclusions I reach.

Tyler

I’m doing something I should have done a long time ago. I’m getting my hands on every book on the battles of the War of 1812 I can and reading, reading, reading. This is helping me to both pick a battle to recreate and understand how the war was fought in greater detail. I just finished Field of Glory: The Battle of Crysler’s Farm, 1813 and am almost through Where Right and Glory Lead: The Battle of Lundy’s Lane, 1814. They are both by Donald E. Graves, a well known expert on the War of 1812. I find his books to be well written and although I still bog down under the flurry of names as normal for a historical work I find them very readable.

Originally, after reading an Osprey book on the war I had found A Very Brilliant Affair: The Battle of Queenston Heights, 1812 in Chapters. This is published by the same imprint, Robin Brass Studio. They’ve published a nice collection of book on 1812 and other periods of Canadian history, some of which I’ve only discovered when googling their website.

Having read the semi-fictional 1812 as a child I was originally taken by Queenston Heights as the battle that appeared in 1812 and included Isaac Brock. I had originally only known him from 1812 but when I read more of the early history I came to respect this “Canadian” hero. The problem is that Queenston Heights is not the easiest to translate into a wargame. I haven’t abandoned it, but since so recently reading of other battles I’ve decided to release it as the battle I am definitely going to recreate and turn it loose into the mix for consideration.

There are four battles that I have books for: Queenston Heights, Crysler’s Farm, Chippawa and Lundy’s Lane. Chippawa is covered in Where Right and Glory Lead but there is also another book available for it. There are other small actions which I may write scenarios for, but I really want to focus on one battle to form the OOB I will collect, terrain I will build and rules I will troubleshoot. While I am happy to simply paint and play some Back of Beyond British, I want to be able to run a War of 1812 participation game and have it be educational and fun. Funducational.

Originally I was going to write some blurbs on the four battles, but as just the bit on Queenston Heights took a couple of hours, I will break them apart over a number of days.

Tyler