tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33992550491159226942012-01-24T23:08:52.426ZOld figures, old rules, old scenery, old articles, old reviews, and old wargamers. Not old school. Just old.The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.comBlogger3941100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-76772642809994615612012-01-18T09:39:00.003Z2012-01-18T09:46:52.673Z

I wasn't expecting to trot this picture out again so soon but a link to the Wargaming in the Twin Cities post on the Grognardia blog has resulted in a couple of hundred hits and ten new followers, so Vintage Wargaming has gone past the 200 followers mark.Welcome to all the new followers, and thanks to everyone else for your continued support.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-7737147370093629002012-01-05T13:37:00.008Z2012-01-05T14:00:54.431Z

My thanks to Conrad Kinch of Joy and Forgetfulness for a copy of Military Modelling Magazine from May 1974, with this brief article and pictures, which I had not seen before.I am pleased to be able to include the picture from elsewhere in the magazine of Edward Woodward (or is it Callan?) reading Military Modelling on set.The Notice Board column in the same magazine also provided the small

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-33162026699779259752012-01-03T16:08:00.003Z2012-01-03T17:02:43.957Z

With currently 391 posts, 191 followers and around 156,000 page views (at time of writing), Vintage Wargaming has become something substantially bigger that I ever expected when I started it.More posts = more information and I know VW has more of a reference function than many blogs, where the latest post is usually the most important.The advantage of a blog about old things is that nothing is

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-55472055539636436782011-12-28T15:36:00.007Z2011-12-28T16:30:14.802Z

The Minifigs S Range Seven Years War Austrian Grandisca Slovenian Frontier Infantryman recommended by Stuart Reid for service as dismounted Jacobite Hussars.If the past really is a different country and they did things differently there, the basic nature of wargamers and the Dennis Wise-like ability of a high proportion to start an argument in an empty room seems to date back to early days. Such

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-54653631879743533372011-12-15T15:29:00.005Z2011-12-15T15:49:45.518Z

This article from Miniature Warfare magazine February 1970 just about scrapes in to the Airfix ACW theme as these German WW1 guns and equipment are converted from the Airfix ACW set.At a time when pretty much anything you want is available from a range of manufacturers and in a range of scales, and where you can often view and buy them on line, this article reminds us of a different time, when

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-77051108105674774462011-12-12T14:39:00.003Z2011-12-12T14:58:41.506Z

From Miniature Warfare magazine 1972, this article by A. Mason goes into how many boxes of Airfix ACW troops you need to buy (at 17p per box)to get a matched pair of starter ACW armies, although distressingly he allows the idea of buying some metal command figures.The pictures are unrelated to the article but support the general theme.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-4056128052153955352011-12-10T16:36:00.003Z2011-12-10T17:02:35.855Z

Just a brief post to note Vintage Wargaming went past 150,000 page views some time in the early hours of this morning. The current follower count is 189.Thanks to everyone who views or follows the blog.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-26210939660256640082011-12-09T14:21:00.011Z2011-12-09T15:19:27.428Z

Airfix ACW wargaming reached as far as Denmark. This May 1973 article from Miniature Warfare magazine reports on a battle fought in Copenhagen over Christmas 1970. The story of putting the game on is interesting and the battle report, while brief, is well illustrated with photographs of figures and terrain.Posted earlier but relevant to this thread are Terry Wise's Airfix Magazine articles on

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-15491456010643014262011-12-08T14:53:00.010Z2011-12-09T15:03:41.051Z

As the start of a short series on American Civil wargaming with Airfix, here is an article by Malcolm Knott entitled An Airfix Army, from the Subaltern's Corner feature In Miniature Warfare Magazine from February 1969.As the article itself states, the importance of the Airfix ACW range (Union Infantry, Confederate Infantry, Artillery, US 7th Cavalry, plus Cowboys and Wagon Train) was to provide

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-60661682085544230302011-12-04T12:10:00.007Z2011-12-04T12:25:10.669Z

Another from the archives of Miniature Warfare magazine, from June 1972.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-49412932966787243862011-12-03T12:07:00.011Z2011-12-03T12:52:39.451Z

Published in Miniature Warfare Magazine in three parts in 1971 under a rather un-pc title, which I have removed, these three articles wre abstracted from the HMSO publication of the title, published in 1910.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-1850645199024044052011-11-17T23:05:00.008Z2011-12-15T15:48:49.135Z

Vintage Wargaming seems to have been on a bit of an inadvertent Paddy Griffith kick recently, because of the Battlefields Magazine posts. This should be the last for a while.Field Books was a collaboration between Paddy Griffith and illustrator Peter Dennis. The result was these two superb books - Battle in the Civil War, subtitled Generalship and Tactics in America 1861-5, by Paddy Griffith

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-3294733423071855632011-11-14T19:09:00.011Z2011-11-17T23:04:38.856Z

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-9917566210563985502011-11-13T00:10:00.003Z2011-11-13T01:48:30.615Z

The recent news about the likely closure of the printed edition of Battlegames Magazine got me thinking about the traditional trajectory of many wargaming magazines and their seeming inevitable demise.The two titles usually quoted are Battle Magazine (which died a slower death through first being incorporated in Military Modelling), and Practical Wargamer, which lasted around 12 years, I

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-75215005261572112872011-11-12T23:09:00.016Z2011-11-13T01:45:32.804Z

Here are scans of all the copies of Battlefields Magazine in my possession. These include the preview issue (Volume 0 Issue 0) but are missing Volume 1 Issues 8 and 10, and Volume 2 Issue 1. The covers list the battles included (although there are some additional features to each issue). Thre is a master index of articles on an old Battlefields Magazine web site here Back issues of some numbers

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-43209302328073839352011-11-12T23:01:00.003Z2011-11-17T23:05:00.112Z

This game by Paddy Griffith was published in Battlefields Magazine Volume 1 Issue 1 in July 1995. It recreates national strategic planning for war in the 18th Century and may provide an interesting background to setting up a campaign.Thanks again to Dave Ryan of Partizan Press/Caliver Books for permission to post the scans.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-10680904488212177402011-11-12T22:52:00.005Z2011-11-17T23:05:16.358Z

This is Paddy Griffith's Peninsular Storming game, based on his work on Sir John T Jones 1813 Sieges of Spain, which appeared in the preview edition of Battlefields Magazine (Volume 0 Issue 0) in March 1995.Thanks again to Dave Ryan of Partizan Press/Caliver Books for permission to post the scans.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-33064075704114043212011-11-12T22:43:00.005Z2011-11-19T15:25:46.200Z

As an illustration of the type of scenarios published in Battlefields Magazine, here is John Barratt's Restore Hope The prequel 1935, from Battlefields Magazine Volume 1 Issue 3 February 1996. Thanks again to Dave Ryan of Partizan Press/Caliver Books for permission to post the scans.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-23621255256581402352011-11-09T17:27:00.010Z2011-11-09T20:22:24.137Z

Anyone remember Jackdaws? They were folders containing facsimile documents about historical events. There must have been a fair few - I have a copy of the Peninsular War one, which lists 115 titles plus 24 Canadian Jackdaws. Of these, quite a few had military connections - if there is interest I may try to research further for a separate post.My attempt at a Vintage Wargaming Jackdaw concerns a

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-18304574546192313532011-10-28T02:10:00.004+01:002011-10-28T02:25:53.274+01:00

I thought this was interesting as an early (1966) potted history of the first ten years of Scruby Miniatures, by Jack Scruby himself, published in Table Top Talk in November that year. Interesting to see the name Bob Bard bracketed with Morschauser and Featherstone - some of the wargaming illustrations from his book Making and Collecting Military Miniatures are available elsewhere on this blog -

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-67964375459927527432011-10-19T13:44:00.004+01:002011-10-19T13:51:23.981+01:00

Readers of The Guardian newspaper have very sensibly voted Durham Cathedral as the Best Building in Britain. While a little off topic here it is certainly vintage and has some military connections. To watch a man in a brown moleskin suit tell you about it for about eight minutes, watch the video above.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-46692637349316918972011-10-19T08:58:00.005+01:002011-10-22T23:30:47.233+01:00

Old John, who also appears as TK in Harry Pearson's Achtung Schweinhund! and is responsible for putting back on the market a number of classic figure ranges under the banner of 20mm Nostalgic Revival, has joined the blogosphere hereThe blog has only just started up, but you may like to bookmark it and keep an eye on it as it develops. I'm hoping for lots of pictures of John's extensive

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-88279237748459261352011-10-15T16:25:00.003+01:002011-10-15T16:58:17.452+01:00

Dick Higgs, Miniature Figurine's principal designer, provided this guide as part 3 of his series Painting for Beginners in Minimag Magazine, appearing in 1971.The beginning of a slippery slope, as far as I am concerned... I won't even mention deacls for eyes and kilts on 28mm figures....

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-58148599271658377302011-10-01T17:24:00.003+01:002011-10-01T17:32:05.254+01:00

Rrom the second issue of Minimag, some notes on horse colours, based on a letter from Phil Barker. This is the sort of information that was hard to come by then - you can from time to time see interesting 70s humbrol enamel paint jobs on horses by trawling through pictures on e-bay.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-50102419240830702422011-09-24T15:48:00.003+01:002011-09-24T15:51:47.652+01:00

A lsiting of the René North unifom charts from an old Hinton Hunt catalogue.Next post will have some more of the uniform information available at the time through Hinton Hunt.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-28381315156926747272011-09-21T19:27:00.004+01:002011-09-21T19:33:58.589+01:00

Further to the post on René North's Paint Your Own Uniform Cards, here are a couple of his uniform charts - for Austrian Infantry Regiments 1800-1808 and French Dragoons

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-32675084622616242172011-09-18T12:21:00.001+01:002011-09-19T00:12:58.855+01:00

If like me you were always intrigued by René North's Paint Your Own uniform cards but never saw any, this might help - again, from Jack Scruby's 1962 catalogue.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-46887308507432844512011-09-17T19:29:00.005+01:002011-09-17T23:03:00.285+01:00

Top Tips from Jack Scruby, from 1962, with a rather nice signed photo.These are taken from a 1962 catalogue. Apologies for the quality of the scans - if they are printed on thin paper there is always a dilemma about whether to sharpen the image or not, as this can increase the "show through" from the other side. I hope they are legible.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-57461825139523794512011-09-07T15:38:00.006+01:002011-09-10T02:08:32.157+01:00

Not strictly wargaming, but interesting nonetheless, an article from the Surrey & Hants News Tuesday August 12th 1980. John G Garratt was the author of Collecting Model Soldiers, Model Soldiers for the Connoisseur, and The World Encyclopaedia of Model Soldiers. From Model Soldiers for the Connoisseur, below is a further picture of Charles Sweet's American War of Independence gridded set up,

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-30639376760252413862011-09-02T10:43:00.002+01:002011-09-02T10:49:21.918+01:00

Thanks to Billy for sending me this picture of some of the 112 similar figures he has, asking for identification. They are cardboard with metal stands. A vague memory and a minute on Google (other search engines are available) confirmed they are the rather stylish playing pieces from the military board game L'Attaque, which also formed the basis for the later Stratego. See Boardgame Geek for

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-50898147532817312302011-09-01T17:53:00.001+01:002011-09-01T17:53:47.711+01:00

My recent mention of Miniature Figurines House Magazine from the early 1970s has produced a good response - I recived scans of Issue Number 5 this morning (thanks Rob). I also have a copy of Issue Number 2 on its way from another source. My intention is to post some material here and some on the Lone S Ranger blog. The contents of Issue Number 5 include: Part 5 of a series on painting for

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-28679424713135774172011-09-01T17:37:00.001+01:002011-09-01T17:37:26.466+01:00

Following on from recent posts on Almarks and Blandfords, here is a contemporary view of these two series and other uniform reference sources available in the early 1970s, published in the MIniature Figurines House Magazine. ,

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-25688877114370933792011-08-21T15:41:00.005+01:002011-08-21T15:56:20.081+01:00

Thanks to Paul I now have a copy of the 1972/3 Minifigs catalogue - I previously had scans courtesy of Alan M, but it is nice to have the catalogue. The title page refers to a Miniature Figurines Ltd House Magazine called Minimag. On the last page of the catalogue it says numbers 2,3 and 4 were currently available at 15p each - "for further number please wait until you see them advertised in

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-8198054360394243542011-08-13T16:13:00.004+01:002011-08-13T17:24:06.241+01:00

Airfix Magazine published a series of very useful and attractive guides from about 1974 to 1976. These were in A5 format with 64 pages in black and white, well illustrated with photographs and line drawings. There were 28 in total: a full list can be found here on the Vintage Airfix site. While the main focus (understandably) was on modelling, there were five wargaming subjects: Ancient

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-31851133450153460142011-07-10T22:41:00.004+01:002011-07-10T22:45:57.482+01:00

...Gateshead and seeing the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britainplaying this amongst others

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-56225368937966676262011-07-03T14:24:00.005+01:002011-07-03T14:40:12.706+01:00

For a long time the only uniform book I owned was Rene North's Military Uniforms 1686-1918, published by Hamlyn all-colour paperbacks. The scan is of the cover of my original copy, and it is only now looking at it for the post that I have realised the plates aren't by North himself, but by John Berry.Rene North was also the author of the Almarks on Soldiers of the Peninsular War and on Waterloo.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-88497084177414625922011-07-03T14:20:00.002+01:002011-07-03T14:24:42.286+01:00

Thanks to Mike for scans of two more David Nash books - the Model Buildings one is from the loft

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-41800438084117083652011-07-03T14:13:00.002+01:002011-07-03T14:20:31.166+01:00

Found another one...

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-36981894389887015332011-06-22T22:55:00.008+01:002011-06-23T01:47:16.924+01:00

Almark was a company that was hard to get your head round - prolific publisher, of books and the short-lived (I think) magazine Almark Modelworld; producer of the plastic and metal Charles Stadden designed World War 2 wargames figures (see my The Old Metal Detector blog here); and other interests including 54mm figures.This post is mainly about the books - published in both hardback and paperback

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-36361300407268572492011-06-16T09:44:00.005+01:002011-06-22T20:36:25.533+01:00

In the pre-internet days uniform information was at a premium and could be hard to find. Articles in magazines such as Military Modelling, Almark Modelworld, and Airfix Magazine helped, as did a small number of well-thumbed and loved books.One very important resource was the series of books published by Blandford Press, typically with 100+ colour plates in the middle of the books, bracketed by

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-45083855299373677832011-06-12T12:13:00.004+01:002011-06-12T12:23:12.231+01:00

I am very wary of claims to the spirit of wargaming (you know who you are) but something about this reminded me of the innocent pleasures of Charles Grant's Battle: Practical Wargaming.Rapid Fire may be a little recent for Vintage tastes, but it has shared DNA with John Sandars rules and that is good enough for me.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-25960881708896862792011-06-12T11:34:00.004+01:002011-06-12T12:00:42.503+01:00

THE INVASION OF ARCADIA 1975 by the Big Battle LeagueThis article was published in Battle Magazine May 1976 and has been mentioned on the Society of Gentleman Gamers forum.Terry Mutlow and Neil Roberts were the driving forces behind the project and asked Terry Wise to umpire the game by the War Department, a wargames club based in New Malden Surrey.Other clubs involved were the North London

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-86875174749825114212011-06-11T09:03:00.002+01:002011-06-11T09:06:58.966+01:00

In my recent quest to make it easier to find what you are looking for here, whether you know it is there but can't find it again, or if you haven't seen it here before but wonder if something might be here, I have added a search facility (at the top of the right hand column of the blog).Don't forget you can also use the labels systems or the blog archive at the bottom of the page.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-61516774250378167162011-06-11T08:17:00.003+01:002011-06-11T08:42:15.590+01:00

This post is by way of being a bit of a place holder and statement of intent, as I try to pull together some material of interest about this complicated character. My defining moment of contact with him was being blown away in around 1985 by adverts for a lovely new range of 20mm Colonials under the title Pax Britannica. Having sent off a largish order, I heard no more - it was only a few years

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-75832305136201598602011-05-30T17:30:00.002+01:002011-05-30T17:36:07.722+01:00

At Foy's suggestion, I have added a blog archive to allow people to track past posts through time, as an alternative to searching using labels. The only space I have been able to find for it is at the bottom of the blog. Maybe not the most helpful place for it, but at least if you know about it and you want to use it, it's there.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-72687540049166232322011-05-29T23:27:00.003+01:002011-05-29T23:47:23.854+01:00

Vintage Wargaming is perhaps not a typical blog, as the currency of posts does not depend on how recently they were made (mainly being about old stuff). For a while I have realised that some of the comments left on this blog may be missed by some visitors, as they may be to posts made some time ago, as new people discover the blog and delve into its earlier content. This seems a shame, both for

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-78140445619580329862011-05-23T12:19:00.004+01:002011-05-23T13:11:43.309+01:00

MILITARY MINIATURES.Priceless Pathe newsreel footage of Marcus Hinton, tipped off to this by Paul in Oz, and beaten to putting it up by Ian at Hinton Hunt Vintage Wargames Figures blogClick on the picture to view.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-62274437474259296092011-05-11T17:33:00.003+01:002011-05-11T17:41:29.582+01:00

Following a thread on TMP I thought it would be helpful to post this list here.There are pictures of some of the models in two posts on Bob Cordery's Wargaming Miscellany bloghere andhere

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-65625247930594194202011-05-10T15:11:00.003+01:002011-05-10T15:14:22.413+01:00

A recent e-bay purchase of old Alberken/Minifigs 20mm figures included these two hand drawn, rather impressionistic flags. As I rather like them, I thought I would share them here.

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Over on the Lone S Ranger blog I have posted some information on these figures. There are a number of figures which I have not been able definitely to identify, and there are also a fair number for which I have no pictures. If you know this range quite well, or maybe even have figures from it, I would be grateful if you e a look at the blog and pass on any further identification help you may be

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-76759827937024036582011-04-01T00:02:00.002+01:002011-04-01T00:05:36.177+01:00

HG Wells famously used matchstick-firing artillery models in his Little Wars, but he would have been seriously outgunned by Franz Stollberg, unearthed by Don Feathersone in Wargamer's Newsletter 101, of August 1970.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-76768964586307571592011-03-17T22:18:00.003Z2011-03-17T22:29:38.496Z

One of the early books which seems to get unjustly neglected is Gavin Lyall's Operation Warboard (though it does have a number of strong adherents). Lyall was better known as a thriller writer, and was married to the journalist Katherine Whitehorn.I wonder if anyone out there remembers making the machine gun grid for this game...I am fortunate that my copy of the book is the original hardback (

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-89866488559378169532011-03-10T23:08:00.003Z2011-03-11T00:17:20.221Z

I've been keeping an eye on the blog counter this evening and it has just gone past 100,000 hits. Thanks to everyone who visits, or comments.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-74328122402840502962011-03-08T18:43:00.007Z2011-03-10T00:17:11.099Z

I'm not really sure which blog to put this on, so I'm posting it here and on the Hinton Hunter.This weekend saw a visit almost to the Kingdom of Fife, to join Tony of Prometheus in Aspic in test playing Richard Borg's new Command&Colors Napoleonics with vintage figures - Tony's Peninsular French against my Hinton Hunt and Der Kriegspieler Russians and Prussians.An emergency visit to my local

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-69825621731962034202011-02-26T15:58:00.004Z2011-02-26T16:03:42.745Z

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This and the following three posts have been made in response to a request from Chris, who was looking for specific articles from early issues of Miniature Warfare.

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The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-38624498492234102192011-02-12T15:11:00.003Z2011-02-12T15:19:23.787Z

by Gary L. Bloomfield, from the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the USA Magazine, February 1995.

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Watching the cricket match episode of Dad's Army today (the one with Fred Truman) reminded me I hadn't posted Terry Wise's Operation Sealion article on the Home Guard, so here it is.

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Two more undated articles, the second is from around but after 1971. I don't know which publications they are from.I apologise for the scans being in two parts - until and unless I get an A3 scanner this is the best I can do.

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M S Foy's and Anonymous's comments on the Waterloo refight at the Duke of York Barracks (below, here) have made the connection with another photograph and caption - the top-of-the-headless Wellington is almost certainly Eric Knowles (before his Antiques Roadshow fame - another lame cultural reference unintelligible to those outside the UK). Thanks Tony and Anon.

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Third and final instalment on a theme, this time from the Cambridge Evening News of Saturday 13 1972.I think one line of the article may have been lost (at the crease) in the scans - hope you can fill the sense in if so. I am particularly glad to see the reference to the dangers of tie wearing - please see Tony Bath post below.

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David Wesely, one of the subjects of the 1966 article posted below, has been in touch. This has proved one of the most widely read posts on this blog and provoked a flurry of comments, new readers, and followers. I thought people might be interested in what David said:A friend sent me to look at your site tonite. I was amazed to see theWargaming in the Twin Cities, 1966 picture, which I

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-12311249605868684302011-01-15T18:16:00.003Z2011-01-15T18:28:02.879Z

Another Don Featherstone photograph, again undated, and captioned "Wellington and Napoleon at the start of a reconstructed Battle of Waterloo".Napoleon is Tony Bath, while not only has the photograph cut off the top of Wellington's head, I can't read his badge either. If anyone knows when and where this was, and who was Wellington, please comment.Good to see wargaming in ties, though Tony Bath

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-54518805427887814132011-01-15T18:06:00.004Z2011-01-15T18:16:31.073Z

I don't have a date or attribution for this cutting - I think it is from the Southampton Echo, and possibly from the 1970s?

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-61405028710618497582011-01-08T16:01:00.002Z2011-01-08T16:20:39.387Z

With apologies again for the quality of the scans (given the condition of the original they are the best I could do on my scanner) here is an article and pictures from The Minneapolis Tribune Picture supplement from April 17th 1966.Although some of the print has been lost I think the sense of the article is still there.I imagine the figures are mainly Scrubies. Also for UK readers, is this

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-43810363354506686412011-01-05T15:54:00.004Z2011-01-05T16:24:25.835Z

Further to my previous posts on Lionel Tarr, here are what appear to be some original photographs of his wargame set up in his loft, for his Russo-German Campaign of 1941, and his use of an over-the-table net for dogfighting aircraft. Interesting to note the militaria - caps, gas mask, medals - hanging on the wall.Don Featherstone's captions are shown below each photoBlimey! Where did that

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-37041968142370033712011-01-02T16:35:00.003Z2011-01-02T22:34:32.667Z

Apologies for the quality of the scan - my original is a photocopy of the newspaper article which has cut a little of each edge of the article off - I think it is possible still to understand it and I thought it might be of sufficient interest to post. I am told (see comment below from John T) the publication date was June 10th 1995.

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Over on his Wargaming Miscellany blog in November, Bob Cordery made a couple of posts (here and here) about the articles in one of the wargaming magazines of John Ruddle and his wargaming in the garden set up.Yesterday I came across a small pile of old photographs and newspaper cuttings which I think have originally come from Don Featherstone and were collected (and some used) for Wargamers

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-61102999089924695892010-12-26T22:26:00.006Z2011-03-31T23:19:46.513+01:00

Exotic (because of their sheer range and variety, and the difficulty in obtaining them in the UK), and exotic (because 1/87 scale, though confusingly described here as HO/OO as used by Airfix for their plastic soldiers), this ad for ROCO Minitanks is from Almark Modelworld December 1972.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-60105085065406596522010-12-11T19:48:00.006Z2010-12-11T20:13:56.156Z

Brian contacted me about an ad he remembered from Miniature Warfare for a game called Coup d'Etat. Here are two versions of the ad - the "out soon" one from August and the "out now" one from November 1970. Brian wondered if anyone had, or played this game, or even knew if it was actually published - if so, could you post any information using the comments system?

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While waiting for day 4 of the Adelaide Ashes test to start, I noticed that the blog has acquired its 111th follower. If you are not au fait with the great traditions of cricket, you might not now that scores of 111 are refereed to as "Nelson" and multiples (222, 333 etc) as double Nelson, treble Nelson etc, and are viewed with great superstition as likely to cause a wicket to fall. One test

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I am indebted to Mike for sending these scans of front and back covers and order sheet from the order pads produced by Shire Publishing as an accessory to their range of wargame books, including Arthur Taylor's Rules for Wargames, and John Tunstill's (name spelt wrong on the Shire list) Discovering Wargames.John Tunstill also produced order pads among the wargames accessories available from

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-43695231356615842042010-11-17T18:05:00.000Z2010-11-17T18:06:12.283Z

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Jack Scruby was a giant of US wargaming and while known in the UK through the link up with Don Featherstone and Wargamer's Newsletter, his figures didn't cross the pond to any great extent. It is particularly noticeable that images of Scruby figures on the web are few and far between (although the figures themselves are available through Mike Taber at Historifigs)A while ago I tried to redress

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Thanks to a swap with Fire at Will I have now got my greasy fingers on some Springwood Plastics figures. As I mentioned in earlier posts these seem to have completely slipped under my radar when they first came out. They are smart practical wargames figures which I could imagine working well with, say, Rose metals. The figures here are British infantry painted by Will as Portuguese.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-76787661097868105452010-11-01T14:05:00.004Z2010-11-02T09:51:29.935Z

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-65393884765424697992010-10-26T16:54:00.001+01:002010-10-26T16:56:20.691+01:00

John has sent me these pictures of some one piece casting cavalry figures he has acquired recently. A small mystery, as the S Range cavalry I have seen for this range (including the heavy dragoon) have riders cast separately from horses. I have had an example of the Scots Grey myself for some time, though my figure is missing his sword arm. I haven't found any reference to these one piece

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-36244471753471402252010-10-20T19:05:00.003+01:002010-10-20T19:11:06.642+01:00

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The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-25095417748627571952010-10-07T17:08:00.003+01:002010-10-07T17:20:48.590+01:00

I am glad to resume posting of the classic War of Bombar Succession articles by Neil Cogswell from Wargamer's Newsletter.For previous posts I had scanned the articles through optical character recognition software and then undertaken quite a bit of editing, as the quality of reproduction of the earlier articles were low. This was very time consuming, and I have changed my main computer since then

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-59055998182940491112010-10-03T14:33:00.004+01:002010-10-03T14:40:02.191+01:00

Two more articles from the series. The two Airfix Trackside buildings used (Petrol Station and Booking Hall) are both readily available from Dapol

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-90584583588004689452010-10-02T16:36:00.004+01:002010-10-02T16:40:12.524+01:00

Another of Terry Wise's buildings for wargames articles from Airfix Magazine. The back numbers box on p2 has a useful summary of the others in this series.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-15155994468047005952010-10-02T16:30:00.001+01:002010-10-02T16:36:13.113+01:00

I am indebted to Conrad Kinch for pointing out the existence of a fifth Usborne Battlegames book, Fighting Ships. There is also some further information on these books here.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-77706730414055607552010-09-26T16:55:00.004+01:002011-11-06T18:02:05.076Z

Usborne are a UK children's publishing firm who in their time have produced much of interest to wargamers, including their Make this... series which included medieval town, village, cathedral and castle titles, some of which have been reissued.The Battlegame books - Wild West, Knights at War, Galactic War, and World War II - by Andrew McNeil were published in 1975 and each included four simple

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-74894759803045069672010-09-26T16:44:00.004+01:002011-11-06T17:59:31.268Z

I never had this book originally. Illustrators included Gerry Embleton.The four games are:1 Buffalo Hunters - native Indian tribes compete to capture wild horses and hunt buffalo2 Red Cloud's War - warring tribes try to stop the US Army wagon trains reaching beleagured Fort Keogh3 Iron Horse - player race to lay railroad tracks across the centre of America4 Lincoln County War - Billy the Kid

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Probably my favourite, this book was illustrated by Gerry Embleton and Angus McBride, among others.The four games are:1 The Battle of Arsouf - Richard the Lionheart against Saladin2 Siege! - rival lords (the Earl d'Assault and Baron de Fender) struggle for control of a castle3 Border Raiders - knights try to drive back invaders who are burning villges and plundering cattle4 Tournament - jousting

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-5312391229143523882010-09-26T16:25:00.005+01:002011-11-06T17:57:35.782Z

This was the book I had the least interest in. It had some serious wargaming credentials as two of the games (1 and 4 below) were devised by Dave Rotor.The games are: 1 Space Pirates - rival companies race to bring valuable minerals back to Earth from the asteroid belt2 Deadly Planet - surviving in an alien environment3 Invasion Earth! - search and destroy mission against aliens breeding in the

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Written by Andrew McNeil, the four games were:1 Winter War - Eastern Front 1943 with the Germans defending a railway junction against the Russians, who have 12 moves to capture it2 Carrier - flat tops and amphibious landings in the Pacific3 Air Assault - American daylight bombing raid in 1943 against occupied France4 Beach-Head - D-Day landing game using The FunniesThe Carrier and Beach-Head

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-13927906969685037382010-09-26T15:58:00.002+01:002010-09-26T16:01:51.232+01:00

I posted this on The Old Metal Detector, but thought it might be of interest here as well because of the previous items on Rospak hard plastic figures.Prompted by Tony's post on his Prometheus in Aspic blog, I have dug out my few examples of Ros 25mm Napoleonics. They looked exciting when they came out, as they were very cheap, metal, and offered normal-but-exotic things like British infantry in

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-86082897765394237442010-09-25T21:58:00.005+01:002010-09-26T15:02:54.546+01:00

Rambling post ahead warning - a while ago I bought some interesting 25mm British Napoleonic figures from e-bay which turned out to be marked on the underside with Revo and serial numbers in the B 120s and B 130s. They are in campaign dress (at least with shako covers) and some are centre companies, some are flank company men. Then last week when sorting out some Spanish figures I found one

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-62342654025677218262010-09-18T02:18:00.003+01:002010-09-18T02:30:51.225+01:00

Thanks again to Twmas

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The first article in the series. Thanks to Twmas.

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The current edition of the Nugget, journal of Wargame Developments, is dedicated to memories of Paddy Griffith, and for this reason has generously been made available for free download by anyone.If you are interested in reading some affectionate tributes to a larger than life and much missed character, who had a substantial and thought provoking impact both as an academic military historian and

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Among the figures resulting from a quick visit to Harry (see also Lone S Ranger for further details) was this single Rospak Macedonian Phalangite, from set AG 4, which seems to be quite rare.

The Old Metal Detectorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04251018372867101509noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3399255049115922694.post-9978974075446677552010-09-07T23:13:00.002+01:002010-09-07T23:16:51.173+01:00

I would like to point people in the direction of Tony's discursive new blog, Prometheus in Aspic, which I think is likely to be of interest to many readers of Vintage Wargaming.

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Typical of Terry Wise's modelling articles in Airfix Magazine, this series of three on modelling a Boer War armoured train was inspirational and very memorable. Thanks to Peter and Alan for providing the scans and attachments. The first two (of the first article) are not of the same quality as the others as they are derived from photos rather than scans, photoshopped for perspective correction

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This is Terry Wise's first Observation Post column in Military Modelling Magazine from Novemeber 1978, once Battle ceased independent publication.

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