I am in the process of reading Antony Beevor’s latest book, ‘D-Day’. A super read if you are at all interested in military history, even if World War Two isn’t your subject. Antony Beevor is one of those clever historians who manages to combine the big picture of army groups and brigades manoeuvring against each other with the accounts of the soldiers that were there doing the actual fighting. It’s riveting stuff and the truth of war appears to be stranger and more horrific than most fiction.

Beevor is not particularly complimentary about General Montomery and from the evidence presented, Monty appears to have been suffering from a bad case of over inflated ego. However, the idea that somehow the British and Canadian Forces were slower to break out of the Normandy beachheads than the Americans ( and therefore were perhaps less of a fighting force) is put clearly into perspective when it is explained that the British were facing the cream of the troops available to the Germans, the Waffen SS. Whilst in the main, the Americans were fighting the German line infantry, including many Russian and other foreign conscripts.

The Waffen-SS were the cream of the German army, well armed and equipped and highly motivated to the point of fanaticism. In Beevors book there are tales of Waffen- SS troops refusing medical treatment from the Allies, prefering to die for Adolf Hitler rather than surrender. There are many examples of SS troops fighting well and within the bounds of what we can call ‘civilised war’ ( if such a thing exists), but too many incidents of brutality occured throughout the war, tainting their reputation. That said SS units fought courageously, sometimes ferociously, against great odds until the wars end in Berlin, 1945.

Bolt Action Miniatures, the WWII section of Warlord games have just released their Waffen-SS set containing 20 metal soldiers. They are, as always from this Company, beautifully sculpted and produced and a must have set for any WWII wargamer. Also available are two support packs, An HMG-42 machine gun team and a PAK 40 antitank gun and crew. Heres a  picture of the painted models courtesy of Warlord.

We’ve just received a sample sprue set from the new Bolt Action plastic World War Two German set that is due to be released later this month. Bolt action is the Second World War ‘section’ of Warlord games, the company responsible for the superb ranges of Romans and English Civil war figures. Up to now, the Bolt Action releases have been in metal or resin but it was only a matter of time before the Company released a plastic set.

As with their previous releases, the quality is superb and the production from Renedra plastics is first class. The detail on the MG 34 and MG42 supplied on the weapons sprue is amazing. I dont think that my photo’s will really do them justice but here they are!

The scale is 28mm, which means that they are ideal for the ‘Rules of Engagement’ rules set. They are also very well priced at £20 for 25 figures. So we’ve plenty on order and they will be available from either our ebay shop or our independant online shop.

Of course, being made from plastic means that their is plenty of scope for conversions. The number of different heads, weapons & equipment options means that it is quite straight forward to build a huge number of different figures.

It also occurs to me that these figures will make a lovely regiment of Imperial Guard, at less than half the price…..Hmmm it will be interesting to have a go! It would certainly make WH40K a bit more affordable.

To sum up though, a very exciting development for historical wargaming. Even better, there are Allied boxed sets on the way! Watch this space.

I really like Pegasus Models as a company. Yes, I know I say that about all of my suppliers but I would n’t stock anything from a Company that I didn’t like. So why do I like them? Well they choose interesting and lesser known subjects for their models. I mean where else could you find a set of Californian Indians or Gold Miners?

So the latest release from Pegasus is a box set of the World War Two German Tank, the Pz-38T Light tank.

Although, the Tank served with the German Army , it was actually a Czech designed vehicle that was acquired when the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia. Considered to be one of the best light tank designs of the Second World War, it saw action in Europe and on the Russian front. The box contains two models , with 27 parts per model. Assembly is straight forward and the models are really ideal for wargaming and with a bit of detailing work, they will also make into fine replicas. At £7.99, it is a nice set to add to your collection and of course the kits are available now in my shop!

The Mantic range continues to grow and it gets better as it does so. This week sees the release of the Mantic range of fantasy Dwarves and very nice they are too!

There are two basic regiments available; the Ironclads are the footslogging, brain bashing infantry and the Ironwatch are the missile troops armed with crossbows or guns. Of course there are more releases in the pipeline but for now heres a quick look at the boxe art for the Ironclads:

Also available from Mantic is a new paint set especially designed for dwarf armies. Mantic have really thought through their ranges so if you are new to the hobby, you can pick up a piaint set which will include all the paints you need for a particular race as well as a sample sprue. The set also remains  at a good price so you can be confident that you are getting good value when you buy these sets.

Here’s the box art:

So At £12.49 for a regiment of 20 figures and £14.95 for a paint set with 6 paints, a brush and 10 figures theres no reason why you should give the world of fantasy wargaming a go!

This is the latest in from Italeri and I liked it so much that I nearly started to put together a World War Two North African German African Korps army just to go with it…but I’m sticking to Napoleonics for the time being…

Anyway, the subject is a North African House in 1/72 scale and as you can see it looks superb! Italeri have released a steady stream of soldiers and vehicles from the Second World War North African Campaign and this is a lovely piece of scenery to go with these sets. It will make an objective for your battlefield or just a great centre piece for a diorama.

 It’s moulded in Sand coloured plastic but there is plenty of detail in the kit so even a simple paint job with a drybrush & wash will result in a very nice looking model.

Here are the pictures of the sprues:

As you can see, the pieces are well textured and detailed.

The model retails for around £29.99 and of course is available now from my ebay shop.

I’ve mentioned before that I have been very busy with an amazing number of new products that are being released at the moment. So here’ s the first of the latest batch to arrive. If all goes well today there will be more posted later.

The latest release from the Wargames Factory is a Science fiction themed set of Greatcoated Troopers or infantry for the far flung future universe. Armed with a mixture of Rifles, Flamers and Grenade Launchers, they will look good in any Science fiction army and the price tag of £14.49 for 18 figures makes them worth aquiring just to bolster your army!

Lets not mess around here, there’s no doubt that these figures are aimed at the Warhammer 40K gamer and to be fair, they will make a great addition to an Imperial Guard Army or as a Supplement to a Chaos Army as renegade infantry.

There are only three different bodies on the sprue but enough heads, arms & war gear to enable you to produce lots of varation. Here’s the official contents list:

18 multi-part/multi-pose hard plastic (polystyrene) 28mm future Greatcoat troopers! 6 full sprues each containing 38 parts! 228 parts per box!

Featuring:

3 different helmet options (with enough to outfit every trooper in the box) along with additional head options (14 heads/sprue – 84 heads/box!)

7 unique weapon designs – rifles, shotguns, laser/energy weapons, grenade launcher, flame thrower, pistol with 9 weapon arms per sprue!

Loads of extra “bits” to outfit your troops – ammo packs, daggers, canteens, holsters.

So, plenty of bits for future conversions and all in all a nice set. We look forward to more great releases from this Company. As ever, I have stock available in my ebay shop but for the moment supplies are limited until more stock gets into the country so if you like the set, get buying!

Where on earth does the time go! It’s nearly three weeks since my last blog entry. The lack of updates isn’t at all due to the lack of topics. The new products are coming thick and fast, so to speak and there’s plenty happening in the hobby. On top of that, despite the distraction of the world cup and a garden that needs keeping in check at this time of year, I’ve been busy on the modelling front at home.

So here’s a couple of new items to look at and a teaser or two for things to come. First up the new issue of Unseen Lerker has reached us and is now available both through my ebay shop and my online shop. Issue two is also still available.  I have to admit to having a soft spot for the Magazine, having spent years as part of the Magazine business I know how tough it is to get into print, so full marks to the Guys at Unseen lerker for bringing a truly independent Fantasy Gaming Magazine to life!

Issue three is packed full of pictures of superbly painted miniatures, Modeling  and painting tips and of course a fully illustrated battle report. All written in a nice easy humourous style that makes you feel like you’re down at your local club with your mates, talking toy soldiers! Just the sort of Magazine to sneak into your suitcase for your Hols or to relax in your favourite armchair & read whilst the missus is watching Eastenders……

We have also been doing some work with the Unseen Lerker team to develop some scenery for their Gaming Competions. We’ll be showing you the result of our collaboration in a future Blog post but in the meantime we are now selling Heki Trees. These are some of the nicest trees around for wargaming scenery, so I was very pleased to be able to add them to my range. You can purchase them as singles or as a pack from my shop.

Just a quick note about my two shops. I trade both on ebay and I have an independant Shop that is attached to this Blog. I only list for sale those items that I have in stock and that I can despatch instantly ( I currently have 1700 lines in stock!). So to ensure that I dont let my customers down I tend to list the majority of my stock on Ebay. The items that I carry in my independant shop are lines where I have stock in depth and I am unlikey to ever have problems in shipping, so you can buy from both of my shops with confidence. Over the coming months we will be adding even more lines to both shops and developing the independant shop to give our customers more choice and better postage rates. If there is any thing that you think that we can help you with, you can email us through the shop, on horzawood@hotmail.com or phone us on 0115 9788152. If we’re not there, leave us a message and we will get back to you.

Finally, I’ve been working on a Napoleonic army. I first mentioned this back in January and I have now finished my first 20 models…..yes, it’s just taken 6 months. Actually, that’s not quite true but watch out over the next few months as I start the journey from Necron fanatic to Historical Old Buffer…..

Yes, at the tender age of 53 I’ve decide it’s time to grow up and paint some real toy soldiers. Watch this space!

I’ve just received the latest releases from Airfix for the month. In a slightly new departure for Airfix, these items are not plastic kits but resin models. They are part of a series of scenery and diorama models to be released by Airfix this year and very nice they are too! First up we have the European Ruined Cafe, representing the typical French small town cafe.

The buiding is reproduced in off white resin and is very crisply moulded with plenty of detail that will be ‘brought to life’ once the model is painted. The model comes with brass etched window frames for those who would like to add the windows.

The buildings are 1/76th scale and so are ideal for 20mm figures and will also suit 1/72nd scale figures for wargaming purposes. On that note, the design has been well thought through to allow plenty of cover for your soldiers!

As well as the Cafe, there is also a ruined workshop, again based on those typically found in Northern France.

The same attention to detail is present in this model and again there is plenty of cover for your troops.

Of course being a workshop, there is room for a tank to take cover here and if you look closely at the box art you can see a Tiger Lurking in the background!

There are two other pieces due for release later in the year, a town corner house and a cottage, so World War two Wargamers will have a good selection of scenery and a basis for creating a mini town for their troops to battle over. Well done Airfix! Yet more evidence that this much loved brand is on the rise again.

Both of these models are available from my eBay shop at £12.49 each.

We have just received three new sets from Airfix. They are the Second World War Aircrew sets for the RAF, USAAF and the Luftwaffe. Strictly speaking, these aren’t brand new sets but re-releases of sets that were originally released back in the seventies. That said, they are great sets packed full of interesting subjects. They will make great additions to Air base dioramas and liven up model airplane kits. The sets also include a number of interesting accessories. They are of course available now for fast despatch in my ebay shop.

WWII RAF PERSONELL

WWII USAAF PERSONELL

WWII LUFTWAFFE PERSONELL

The plastic revolution in war gaming continues with two new sets of 28mm figures, both of Viking warriors. First up is the latest release from Wargames Factory, Viking Huscarls.

This set features 12 sprues loaded with parts to build 32 armored Viking warriors.

Weapon options include spears, axes (in two sizes), swords, bows, and all the necessary equipment to create leaders, musicians (horns), and standard bearers!

Also released are the new plastic Viking Hirdmen from Gripping Beast. 

The box contains the parts to build 44 finely detailed Viking Warriors armed with Spears, Swords, Hand Axes and Dane Axes. Also included are the parts to change two of the Warriors into Lords and two into Horn Blowers. Bases and four coloured paper flags are also included.

These figures are 28mm (1/56 scale) hard plastic multi-part with exceptional detailing.

Viking Hirdmen were the professional fighting men of a Viking Lords Household and were well equipped with armour and weapons.

Gripping Beast have traditionally produced Metal figures and have a reputation for producing well sculpted figures. Their new plastic set upholds this reputation and their new boxed set will hopefully be the first of many to come. Here are  the sprues:

So with these two superb sets available it’s easy to put together your very own Viking Raiding party!