Wargaming Ephemera,

I am a collector. 

There, I've admitted it. I am constantly on the lookout for anything that concerns wargaming from the very beginning. Posters, old magazines, images, basically anything that records the progress of a hobby that I've devoted virtually all my life to. I now see it as my legacy to wargaming. I'm certain my armies will be given away or sold and will fail to tell my story and the many hours Ive spent enjoying the hobby. But books, failed wargaming magazines, old newspaper articles, etc will tell a story for the odd [very odd] person who wants to research the very start of wargaming. To read about the people who began from scratch [literally] and created the vibrant hobby we now have.

 So when I saw this programme for sale, I had to possess it. The programme was the first outing for Marcus Hinton's, BATTLE COMMEMORATION UNIT, a grand-sounding name for him and a few friends.

 But what friends: Brigadier Peter Young, David Chandler and Professor Christopher Duffy.  

Imagine being able to contact them, go for a pint with them and, best of all, push toy soldiers around a wargames table. I actually wasn't aware that a refight of the Battle of Leipzig had taken place in 1973 at the National Army Museum. I've tried researching the event that took place on 19th October 1973, but I couldn't find any images of the event, which was disappointing. I cannot imagine there are no photographs of the weekend, especially given the people involved.

The programme makes no mention of who actually created the wargame, but I hope it was Peter Gilder but given he is not mentioned Im doubting that was the case. Leipzig was the one wargame I never created in my 6mm days. I did have ALL the armies ie every brigade, etc but somehow I never staged the damned thing even though I had made all the terrain boards. Somehow I just didn't have the will to organise what would have been a very big wargaming event. So I sold all the armies and gave away all the boards. 

As a programme, it is actually very good, with lots of uniform detail and, of course, a decent brief description of the battle. But then look at the participants. 

So the programme will be carefully stored away and hopefully will become a small testament to wargaming and the pioneers. I dread to think what my wife will say when she has to shift through ALL the wargaming stuff Ive accrued. I would identify it as my legacy; my wife will only see tat.

But each to their own.

 

Scourage of Princes.

 

Although Ive posted infrequently, it hasnt meant that I haven't been wargaming. In fact John and I have managed to fight a battle at least once a week. Usually it will be Midgard, Pillage, Hail Ceasar etc.

 However, several weeks ago, John insisted we try out a set of rules he had secretly purchased from Amazon. He wanted to use the Warlord Games Epic armies for the Thirty Years War, well, how can you refuse the offer to fight for the Imperialists? John has always been interested in new wargaming rule sets and he has never failed in his selection. He was right again

The rules were Sam Mustafa's latest rule offering, SCOURGE OF PRINCES. Ive always been impressed by Mr. Mustafas rules [ great surname by the way] and really enjoyed his Blucher ruleset until I sold all my Napoleonic armies. 

And his latest? I love them. They captured the period brilliantly. The ideas incorporated in the games make for loads of tactical problems. They make you think before you decide to move anything. A mistake could cost you dearly. I think the nearest other ruleset is the excellent Sword and Spear rules. 

Victory is obtained by destroying your enemies 'key units'. In the case of the 30-years war that means infantry regiments and some special cavalry regiments, but as you lose any unit, you also lose a die, which is a command die you will need to order units to do something. 

 Oh, and don't roll a one in your command dice because that is also excluded in your move. The fewer dice means there is less chance to get your units to actually do something. Frustrating? Definitely. 

Fun? Certainly. Highly recommended.

The rules are available via Amazon and the Scourage of Princes site.

Scourge of Princes is a tabletop game of battles in the Renaissance, from the late 15th through the mid-17th centuries.

Choose an army from this long and colorful period: from Ireland to Persia, from Spain to Muscovy. Perhaps your tastes run to the exotically colorful pikemen of the Italian Wars? Or the stalwart Dutch rebels under Maurice of Nassau? Or the irresistible war machine of Suleiman the Magnificent? Or the valiant Swedes of Gustavus Adolphus? Or the solid redcoats of the New Model Army? Build your force and test your soldiers against an array of opponents.

Scourge of Princes is played with miniature figures. In addition to this rulebook, you will need models or counters in order to play. All other game information is provided free on the HONOUR website: sammustafa.com.

The basic Scourge of Princes game can be played by two or more players in 2-3 hours.

The advanced rules introduce personalities, additional tactics, a campaign system, and can accommodate as many players and be as large as your imagination permits.

 Obituary: GEORGE GUSH 2^nd August 1935- 8^th June 2026.

 

I felt it incumbent upon me to post an obituary regarding George Gush who died on the 8^th June 2026 aged 89 years. There was a brief obituary in one of the wargames magazines which I really felt didn’t do George justice.

Gush was a huge influence on John and me as we discovered Renaissance wargaming in the early 1970’s. He wrote several wargaming books, all were brilliant reads crammed full of information and written in a style one rarely sees nowadays.

There was very little information to be had back then, and also very few figure ranges.

But then George Gush wrote and published Renaissance Armies in 1975, a wonderful book crammed full of information about the various armies of the period 1480- 1650.

I remember buying this book at the old Wargamer’s Den in Durham city, and because I didn’t have very much cash, I was ticking on the purchase with Derek Sharmen, paying the princely sum of £1.00 every two weeks.

The book was based on a series of articles that Gush had written for Airfix Magazine in 1973. I later bought the series and discovered even more information about the period.The book became my renaissance bible.

 

He also wrote and published wargame rules for the period. These rules published by the Warmes Research Group, were innovative for their time, and John and I embraced them. We used the rules for many years. One thing I learned in that period, never fight the Swiss, a B Class Fanatic in armour.

George Gush was a historian who was head of department at West Kent College. It went without saying that the information he produced was first-rate and well researched.

Gush also co-wrote a Guide to Wargaming with Andrew Finch, published in 1980. In its pages was the history of wargaming, rules for wargaming and information about tactics.

 

Gush also co-wrote an Airfix Guide with Martin Windrow about the English Civil War. Again, this book is a classic and highly recommended.

Gush was also a member of the Society of Ancients and became one of their committee members and occasionally wrote articles for Slingshot.

He also wrote articles for Miniature Wargames and Battle magazine.

Not satisfied with that, he founded the Tunbridge Wells wargames club and ran it for many years.

Sadly, he disappeared from the wargaming firmament in the 2000’s but clearly continued in the hobby he helped establish and support. I suppose he felt he had done enough to establish the hobby. Gush was extremely important to me as I embraced wargaming; he established my love of Renaissance history and warfare, and the fact that I still take his books out of my bookcase to re-read is a testament to his influence.

I was very lucky to discover that parts of Gush's wargame collection were recently for sale on E Bay and I was able to buy a unit of Wallachian delli by Gush, which John very kindly rebased. 

The delli are one of my favourite Hinchliffe Renaissance figures, and being owned by George Gush makes them extremely precious to me. 

So thank you, George, for the many years you devoted to wargaming and renaissance research in particular.

Ian Kay and Irregular Miniatures.

              Ian [ in the red top ]commanding divisions at a refight of Borodino. 1987!!!

I found out the other day that my old friend Ian Kay was finally hanging up his ladle and retiring from Irregular Miniatures. I can understand why Ian has retired, but it's still a real shame. I first met Ian and his Dad at a Durham Wargames show in the 1980's, he had a small stall selling various metal accessories for wargamers. Ian was a skilled silversmith and had stepped over into wargaming. 

From that small beginning, Ian used his undoubted talents to sculpt strips of 6mm wargames figures. As usual, John saw the potential, and the next thing I knew, he had sold his lovely 25mm figures and invested in Ian's 15mm and 6mm ranges.   

  Being the 'follower' I am, I did the same as I embraced the 6mm revolution that Irregular Miniatures introduced. There was a 5mm range owned by Heroic and Ros, but because Ian sculpted the units in strips, they were easier to paint and also looked great en masse.  

One of the first projects I created was the Malburian Wars and I naturally started with the Battle of Blenheim, and because of Ians strips, I wanted every regiment, gun and squadron. I found I could paint units quickly, and as I painted, I got better. And thats how I ended up inviting the late great Charlie Wesencraft to take part in the refight at the community hall in Hunwick village.

I was hooked as I realised the potential to fight the big battles I had always wanted. Ian was churning out new ranges, Ancients, American Civil War, the Napoleonic Wars, Fantasy, the two World Wars, you name it, Ian could supply you, and in vast amounts. Did I mention his fantastic mail-order service overseen by his wonderful dad?

I remember travelling down to York with John, where we fought a big Spanish Civil War battle in Ian's quaint converted chapel, travelling back laden with more 6mm units. My big passion in the 1990's was Napoleonic, but Ian's original ranges didn't float my boat. No problem, he simply sculpted new figures and even took the backpacks off the figures because I wanted to show more of the uniforms. And so my enormous Napoleonic armies were created. Austerlitz, Friedland, Wagram, Leipzig, Waterloo. I had the armies for them all, every brigade, gun and cavalry unit. Did you know Ian was a skilled sculptor of historic buildings? They were too good not to use, and I built them into my 200-plus terrain boards. He created trees, walls, sheep, ponds, and anything one wanted.                                                                 

                                                                                                                                              

                              The Battle of Waterloo 1999.

John and I wanted to start a new project, the 100-year war. I wanted to show off the heraldry of the knights, so Ian broke with his strip rule and sculpted beautiful one-piece mounted knights. They looked beautiful even if they died quickly. Ian also created a 'Battle in a box'. Rules and figures you could buy in a box.   

He also sculpted a beautiful 54mm French Revolution chess set that lies unpainted somewhere in a box. When Ian was diagnosed with a long-standing, debilitating condition, he began to create his beautiful 40mm and 54mm toy soldier ranges. They are beautiful, stylised figures, and I wanted some until I realised I couldn't do them justice. I know his 'toy soldiers' were a huge success and rightly so. 

Ian is one of those annoying people who can turn his hand to anything, and while growing his business, continued performing with various bands. I know he still performs.

Wargamers owe a lot to Ian, his Dad and Irregular Miniatures, a small company that grew the 6mm phenomenon. Thanks Ian, for all your wonderful hard work, talent and contributing to our hobby.     

Some quick thoughts.

 I have some time to post and should update what Im doing.

 Basically its losing. Nothing new there really. John and I attempt to get one battle a week and we alternate between Midguard using John's lovely armies. Pillage and then Hail Caesar or Black Powder. 

Isn't it strange how we now speak of rule mechanisms as defining our wargames, as opposed to actual periods?   There was a time it would be 25mm or 28mm Napoleonics or some such thing but now its the actual rules, and nothing wrong with that, especially when the rules really add to the games.

John recently completed painting our Epic armies for the War of Independence. This was actually the one game I've won. Being a rebel, I naturally opted for the American revolutionaries. The new tweaked Black Powder rules in the Epic sets are very good.I'm not certain about their recommended general ratings but I did like the Washington rules regarding his inconsistent generalship, but its all subjective, look at the Emperor and his off days.

Last week I chose to fight the Wars of the Roses using Midguard. God was that bloody, and yes, I lost again. It didn't matter because it was such an enjoyable game, and that's the crux. Play hard and enjoy it.

In an effort to take up the brushes again, I purchased an unpainted 3d chess set in the hope it would kick-start things. The pieces, loosely based on Vikings, are beautiful and crying out for a decent paint job. The more 3D becomes established, the more I realise that metal is becoming the choice of more mature wargamers whilst younger ie under 50, are happy with all types of materials.I still like metal to be honest, but I marvel at the quality of plastic and the new resins. 

One thing very noticeable is that the trends are for smaller games that take only a few hours to play. Again Ive no issue with that, especially when the game is really enjoyable. John and I still tend to push the size of the armies when fighting the new rule books; we just like bigger armies.

 

Good morning and felicitations on the first day of 2026. I felt that I should type something in my main blog to;

1] Prove I was alive.

2] I am still a wargamer.

3] Because I wanted to put down some thoughts about 2025.

My last post was back in May 2025 and at that time I faced a lot of questions that I needed to answer or simply ignore. 

2025 became the year that I wanted to actually become useful again, that is generally and had nothing to do with wargaming. In fact I had serious doubts about my future in wargaming as I hurtled towards the big 70.

In order to finance my main aim for 2025 I had to raise some funds and reluctantly sold my lovely 25mm English Civil Wars collections. I was in several minds about which one of my collections to lose, it could have been my massive SYW collection, my ACW collection, or several smaller but equally precious smaller collections. But it was my ECW collection that went. It hurt but was necessary as politics, even local ones isnt cheap.

  Did I regret sng the ECW collection that I had worked so hard to build? Of course I did, but needs must. And now that I know it is actuually being used, its a little easier to accept.

 So by May 2025 I was ensconsed in local politics and that has been a huge learning curve and took up a great deal of my time. But I dont regret the choice thankfully.

But wargaming suffered. 

Not the games, because I made certain I was able to get a game virtually every week with John who introducded me to the world of Midgard and later Pillage. Both have been hugely enjoyable and are examples of well thought out wargame rules that provide a fun game but also great narratives and stories. 

What did suffer was my painting. I havent picked up a brush since May 2025. Not because I didnt have time but simply because I had no desire to paint a figure of any sort.

I hadnt felt like that since the very early 1980's. Every wargamer will face the same sensation eventually, whether because of personal or financial reasons but in my case I didnt see the point of painting more figures that I simply wouldnt use. Perhaps it was a result of selling my ECW collections? Its not important now and there is no point analysing something that could change again very quickly.

 Another thing that did suffer was me attending wargames shows. In the end I managed three, which is well below my usual tally. Sadly worklife balance was a big factor.

  The shows I attended, I enjoyed. Not because of the trade. Not because of the games, but because of the wargamers I met.

Ive just noticed there are a lot of 'nots' in the text, whats that about?

Anyway here we are in 2026 and a big birthday on the horizon. Will that change things? Hopefully not. One thing that struck me focefully is the healthy state of the hobby. The rules being producded provide some excellent games. The figures, especially the resin and plastic ones are improving in qualitity expotentially.

 Unfortunately the pressures on our cost of living are forcing prices up and shrinking the size of armies and collections, hence the smaller games being popular perhaps?

  One ambition I do have is I would actually like to win a game in 2026 as I havent come close all of 2025!!!

I should blame my dice and I would be justified to a certain extent but the reality is Im just not a very good general, or John is a wargaming genius. I think its the latter.

I must apologise for the lack of photographs, my poor PC is on its last legs and needs a good seeing to.

 2025 saw the loss of another influential wargamer and all round decent man, George Gush. Sadly there was no decent obituary of Gush who was a huge influence on me and John in the 1980's with his wonderful renaissance rules and books. Perhaps someone will provide a detailed obituary of Mr. Gush, he deserves one. 

 

 

       

The future is Greyish.

 

                                                        

                                                                 WTF!

Good Evening,

  It's been a very busy May, but sadly, very little to do with wargaming. In April, shortly after I discovered Charlie Wesencraft had entered Valhalla, I got a call from the John Coutts of Westerhope fame, who was canny close to Charlie.

 John was concerned that wargamers would not be aware that Charlie had passed away and asked me if I would 'do' a brief obituary for the wargames media. ie one of the magazines so other wargamers would be aware.

Well, I finally found time this week and rang up Wargames Illustrated to ask them if it was okay. I spoke to a couple of lovely, polite fellas who agreed they could find a place for a brief obituary of Charlie although it didnt really fit in their usual magazine format.

That was great, except through no fault of their own, they weren't aware of who Charlie actually was!

It got me thinking after I had given them a brief resume of who Charlie was and what he had done for the hobby. I realised that the current crop of wargamers really have no interest in when, how and why wargaming came about because, like most things nowadays, it's not important to them. All they want is to play a game, paint a few figures and then go home, bosh.

Military history is only ancillary to their wargaming. Wargaming history and the wonderful characters who created the hobby really are of no importance to them. 

Just get some figures on the table, bugger the history, oh look those guys are Panzer Grenadiers so must be super powerful.  

 I suddenly felt very, very old, which, of course, I am. 

I've no doubt there will be the odd and I mean odd younger wargamer who actually wants to know about these people, but for the majority, it doesn't even enter their heads. I think I understand why, at least I feel I understand, but it doesn't make it any better, well, for me it doesn't. 

So with that depressing realisation,  I wish you well.