Merry Ditfurth

What could say 'Christmas' more than a battalion of Hessians...?

The von Ditfurth fusilier regiment c. 1776 - standard Hinchliffe castings, originally raised by John Ray back in the early 1980s and repaired, re-flagged and re-based by me earlier this year.

'A Military Gentleman' now on general sale

John Ray's masterpiece is now available to anyone who missed the pre-launch offer. In short: if you can afford it then buy it, you will not be disappointed.

The hobby has not seen the like of this book before, and won't again (unless perhaps John does another). John and his team have taken the journal of an officer who served in Europe and America, dramatised his story, and illustrated it with literally hundreds of plates, sketches and photographs of John's vast collection of 30mm bespoke figures, buildings, ships and terrain. You get land and naval battles, sieges, vignettes and civilian scenes. Every element of this work is superb, no corners have been cut. It's even physically impressive: a solid 'Troiani sized' (approx 12" by 9") hardback of over 300 pages.

The nearest comparison that comes to mind is Curt Johnson's 'Battles of the American Revolution' but it's a poor comparison - 'A Military Gentleman' blows Johnson out of the water and into the outer atmosphere.

So, if you are an 18th century wargamer, appreciate state of the art sculpting, modelling and painting, or just enjoy a beautifully produced book, then go on, spoil yourself......

That Classic Mil Mod Cover

I remember being transfixed by this Hezzlewood and Ray created FIW set piece pretty much from the moment i collected the magazine from the local newsagent. Neither Suren nor Stadden figures were on my radar at the time so seeing such finely sculpted figures for the SYW was a revelation (Spencer Smith's these were not, and, although i liked Gilder's SYW cavalry, the infantry he did for Hinchliffe were a bit too chunky for my liking).

I guess this cover was arranged to coincide with the launch of Hezzlewood's Pax Britannica range (ads for which appeared in early editions of Miniature Wargames, which places them in 1983 or '84), and the majority of the figures featured appear to be standard PB castings. Apparently John Ray painted the British, and Hezzlewood the French (and rumour has it he didn't bother painting the legs of the chaps defending the stockade). The buildings look suspiciously like the creations of the late Ian Weekley of Battlements fame.

Nearly 30 years on this remains an inspirational image and one of my all time classics.

Hezzlewood Writes..

Not content with merely being possibly the finest sculptor to ever grace our little hobby the late Steve Hezzlewood was also capable of writing engaging and informative articles. The article featured here comes from the Battle for wargamers 'Wargames Manual' of 1983 and is an account of a FIW skirmish game with John Ray. The article is illustrated with some of Hezzlewood's early designs - instantly recognisable to fans of his Pax Britannica and Hinchliffe figures no doubt.

As far as i know Hezzlewood had only two other articles published in the mainstream wargames press - 'Table-top Movement' and 'The Melee in Wargames' both of which appeared in Issue 6 of Miniature Wargames (which should still be available as a hard copy or PDF from the publishers, so i won't be posting those articles).

That same year the Hezzlewood and Ray partnership was also responsible for one of the great Mil Mod covers - of which more anon.

AWI 'In the Grand Manner'

My most enduring wargaming love is the AWI - i've been interested in the period for over 25 years. My original armies were Hinchliffe, Minifigs and Tradition 25s that i foolishly sold many years ago. My current collection was sparked off by a chance purchase of various ex-Gilder/John Ray collection units a few years ago. I've been adding to those slowly over the last 3 years. As things stand the armies are a mixture of Hinchliffe (scuplted by Peter Gilder and Steve Hezzlewood), RSM (Hezzlewood), Willie (Ted Suren) and John Ray miniatures. More of these anon. Meanwhile, by way of a taster, here's a rebel command stand (i like command groups) - standard Hinchliffe figures, painted by me.