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Tag Archives: 6mm
New WEC Range – First Releases
- Monday, 12 June 2017 14:42
- Written by Mike
- 6 Comments
It’s taken a little longer than anticipated, but I am delighted to be able to announce the release of the first batch of our new ECW/TYW range.
The old ECW range has now been retired. It has done valiant service for many years, but times have moved on and we’re taking the opportunity to do something a little different with its replacement. Firstly, there is a change in title. The new range is the ‘War of the European Crisis, 1618 -1660’. This covers the English Civil War and that other series of fisticuffs going on over the Channel.
In order to this subject justice, the new range will be more comprehensive than its predecessor. Whereas you used to have a single code for musketeers, you now get them in both shouldered and firing/loading poses with a choice of Monmouth cap, Montero cap, brimmed hat or helmet.
We’ve also taken the opportunity to completely redesign all the old ECW flags and replace them with much sharper and cleaner versions.
You can see all the details if you click here.
Work is already well underway on the rest of the range, with the Horse and Cuirassiers coming next. Watch this page for more updates.
Now I could end this piece here, but a few of you out there may know that the ECW is a period very close to my heart. So…
If you are at all familiar with our Polemos basing you will know that the ‘standard’ base size for a battalia of ECW Foot is 60mm x 30mm. This gives you units that look very much like these:
The truth is that you can actually use any size base for armies provided it maintains a 2:1 size ratio. This does mean, that you ‘can’ use
40mm x 20mm or go more adventurous perhaps move up to an 80mm x 40mm. Well, I go to thinking and decided to go a wee bit larger…
What you have here is 200mm by 100mm Polemos base housing a Battlia of ECW foot. The unit is drawn up in six ranks at a 2:1 ratio of pike to shot.
There are 120 musketeers, 56 pikemen, 4 Ensigns, 4 drummers, 2 Officers and 6 Sergeants.
The Musketeers are drawn up in 4 divisions and are in the process of giving fire by ranks. All of the musicians, NCOs etc are in their correct places. Ensigns in the second rank of the pike and drummers dispersed to the corners of the central pike division. None of this standing in front of the battalia waiting to shot of kebabbed in the back!
Try doing that in the bigger scales….
But these new figures are not all about the wonderful big pictures that you can create. They are all about getting the details right.
Here’s a close up picture of a single pikeman. Not many wargamers will know this but the drill postures for pikemen are all based with the right foot placed in advance of the left. This is the reverse for musketeers. Our pikemen not only have their feet placed correctly, but if you look at the right arm you will see that is holding the pike correctly with a bent arm wrapped round the pikestaff and cupping the butt of the pike with knuckles facing forward. These are two fundamentals that are inaccurately portrayed time and time again being in much larger castings. We get the small stuff right so that the big picture is built on firm foundations.
And here is the musketeer. Far from being the featureless ‘blob’ that some still seem to regard as the norm for 6mm figures, you will see that is a beautifully sculpted and finely detailed individual. Bandoliers, priming flask and even a coil of match are all there to be seen and painted.
We’ve been promising ‘something special’ for this range – I hope you’ll agree with us that we’ve given you just that.
JOS17 – Neustadt Crossing 1985
- Tuesday, 06 June 2017 11:05
- Written by Mike
- 1 Comment
To kick off this year’s previews of the games that you’ll be able to see at the Joy of Six 2017, I will put you in the very capable hands of the South London Warlords who will be travelling up to Sunny Sheffield to stage their Cold War themed game.
‘Neustadt Crossing, August 1985
The last war in Europe had resulted in the continent to be, once again, split into two vast armed camps as the ideologies of Capitalism and Communism faced off across the Iron Curtain. The two powerful, constantly alert and trained defensive blocs plus the terrible spectre of nuclear weapons were supposed to keep the peace by being such a deterrent the other side to prevent further war. Unfortunately, just like in 1914, there were major flaws in that idea, all that was needed was one spark at the wrong time or someone in a position of power with just the right amount of influence and a vested interest and the fighting would start all over again.
Tensions had been running high ever since the Yugoslav state had started to fragment after the sudden death of Tito with US and Soviet ‘peacekeepers’ nearly coming to blows on more than one occasion. Inside the Soviet high command there was a cabal that was convinced that the time was coming where NATO’s increasing technological advantage would start to really counter the Warsaw Pacts overwhelming advantage in numbers and maybe it would be best to strike, if they were to, sooner rather than later. Both sides started to ramp up their respective mobilisations and when a US Marine detachment and a combined Soviet and Yugoslav force traded fire in Slovenia it was just the excuse the Soviets needed and the tanks started to roll.
Three days into the war and the Warsaw Pact forces have managed to make some great advances even though NATO forces tried valiantly to stop the seemingly never ending tide of military hardware pouring across the Inner German Border. In the NORTHAG sector a Soviet force has been tasked to secure the road and rail crossings near Neustadt.
Soviet briefing:
Comrade commander. You have been chosen to secure the crossing sites at Neustadt. We need to take the road and railway bridges to enable the next echelon to pass through to keep the momentum of the advance going. The enemy facing you is estimated to be a British company sized force that is probably the exhausted remnant of the Brigade formation that has been fighting the Division constantly since the start of operations. Although we have suffered some losses up until now you have a sufficient force for this mission, good Artillery and Air support will be given. Failure is not an option.
NATO briefing:
Listen in. Since the balloon went up the Sovs have been pushing us back all along the line and things are getting very sticky. Your Battlegroup is to take over the line of the river at Neustadt to deny the enemy the crossings there. Unfortunately, as you are the final Brigade reserve there isn’t much else in the way of help that we can give you, the Teeny-Weeny Airline and RAF are on call and the Jerries have a local Territorial unit in the area plus a platoon of those Jagdpanzers so that is something at least. Good luck.
This game is being fought using the GHQ Micro-Armour rules, all models and figures are GHQ 1/285th and the terrain has been made by Daren with the buildings from Timecast.
Show News – The Joy of Six 2017
- Thursday, 01 June 2017 17:10
- Written by Mike
- 2 Comments
Yes, it’s that time of year again! The Joy of Six 2017 is just a few weeks away and we thought you’d like to hear about what’s on offer.
JOS17 will be held on Sunday 16th July from 10.00am to 4.00pm. The venue is the spectacular Heartspace Atrium at Sheffield Hallam University. This City centre location is near to cheap on-street parking and a hop skip and a jump or two away from Sheffield mainline railway station and travel interchange. Entrance will be a measly £3.00.
Right. That’s the boring bit out of the way. What’s on offer?
We’ve got some of the finest small scale traders in the world under one roof:
- Baccus 6mm
- Brigade Models
- Britannicus Games
- Commission figurines
- Games at War
- G S Miniature workshop
- Heroics and Ros
- Leven Miniatures
- Rapier
- Timecast
- Wargames Emporium
Plus a Bring and Buy. We’re trying to squeeze a couple more into the show, so stay posted.
Yes, that’s the retail therapy bit, but what about the games you ask? Well, have we got some treats for you. More games than last year and with a very wide spread of subjects:
- Grantham Strategy and Gaming Club - WW2 8th Air Force
- Robert Dunlop - Messines 2017
- Per Broden - Lesnaya 1708
- Per Broden - Sharp Practice FIW
- Dan Hodgson - Waterloo
- Wyre Forest Wargamers - Battle of Issus
- Sheffield Wargames Society - Platoon Commanders War
- RAF Cranwell gaming club - Mech Wars
- South London Warlords - Neustadt Crossing 1985
- SAD wargamers - Operation Crusader
- Deeside Defenders - 1st Bull Run
- Luton Lancers - Fall of Katzbach 1813
- Cold War Commanders - Landjut 1989
- Baccus 6mm - Salford 1642
- Mailed Fist - Last Train to Berlin
- MADgamers - Eastern Front 1700
- Wakefield and District Gamers - WW2
- SeaBee games - Operation Bargation
- Britannicus games - Horizon Wars
- Bradford Battletech Battalion - Battletech
- Commission Figurines - Napoleonic
- Wyre Forest Wargamers - Hold the Line (AWI)
- Brigadier General Commands - Montelimar 1944
- Andrew Brentnall – ECW
- Wargames Emporium – Command Horizon
Well over two thirds of these games will be participation events, so there will be plenty to do while you are the show. We’ll have the usual masterclass in 6mm painting from Dr Mike and the ever popular seminar programme.
There will be lots of good quality, wargamer-friendly, pig-derived food on offer. What more could you want from a wargames show?
I’ll be posting more details about the show and the games as we get nearer to the date.
As if all of this were not enough, we’ll also be running our ever-popular Baccus workshop tours on the Saturday before the show (15th July). Places are limited and fill up very quickly. If you want to book yourselves on to this year’s tour, please get in touch asap to reserve your place.
More Leven Miniatures At TWC
- Friday, 26 May 2017 16:58
- Written by Mike
- 0 Comments
We just received more of Leven Miniature's ACW and Napoleonic lines, check them out HERE