Wargames Illustrated 300

For some time there have been various comments posted on wargaming Forums about the publication of the 300th Wargames Illustrated. The Internet has been boiling over with rumours and hints at how big this issues was going to be; over 300 pages, colour images on each page and a 'retro cover' harking back to issue 1.

Over on the Wargames Illustrated site, the news has officially been released, see this link for more details. 

I knew that I had to have one (what ever the cost) and although I would have liked the retro cover, I was willing to compromise and have the 'normal' cover with Custer looking back over his shoulder. I even spoke to my Wife about it and in an attempt to pre-empt any arguments "What another magazine - don't you have enough?" I was planning on picking one up from the local WHSmiths this weekend.

Can you imagine my surprise when I was given a copy, the retro cover edition as a gift for some work I have been doing. And yes I can confirm that this is a fantastic magazine with all 300 plus pages cram packed of eye-candy and it truly has something for everyone.

It is difficult to think of this as a magazine as with so many pages and at 12mm thick, it is more like a book.  I have only had time to browse through the pages so far but 'Oh Boy!' this certainly raises the bar in terms of presentation, content and sheer size. The editors notes (there are two editors) states that this will be a prized possession, and I have to agree.

Rather than talk about each article, I thought an overview would be in order;
The retro cover looks awesome, well done to WI for taking this step. The weight and presentation is very professional with beautifully laid-out pages and mouth-watering photos.

I have so far just browsed a couple of the articles and without exception - they really are very well written and with a wide subject base, they should have something for everyone. In truth it is more like a compendium or WI Annual than a magazine.

There is  a general theme going through all the pages - a 300 or Last Stands Against the Odds theme and this works well in melding each of the separate articles together. There are also look-back and review articles on both WI and the hobby in general and I similarly look forward to reading each and every one of them.

Finally for this short review, It is worth making two notes. The first is that there has obviously been a concerted effort on the part of all advertisers to up their game and each of the adverts feature some stunning images, once again adding to the eye-candy featuring through out this copy. Secondly, Congratulation to Wargames Illustrated in producing a special issue that has a very wide subject scale and genre appeal. I see this 300th edition being a reference source for many gamers and military collectors for years to come.

Tony