Wargames Illustrated - issue 324

I received a WH Smiths gift voucher for my birthday - a present from my Mother earlier this year. The voucher allows me to purchase magazines and/or books whenever I see a product that I would like to buy and as such gives me an excuse to regularly browse the shelves at WH Smith's stores.

I have already written, that I am not a regular buyer of any one gaming or model making magazine, but prefer to check-out the content month-to-month to see what is on offer and more importantly what appeals to me. October 2014, was, in my view a bumper month. I have already posted a review of Wargame Soldiers & Strategy (see my earlier post). This was my second gaming purchase this month.

Wargames Illustrated issue 324 - October 2014.

For me the highlight was an eight page spread by Nick Buxey entitled Four Churches and a Meeting House in which Nick details some of his scratch-built models. As a keen model maker (a terrain maker) this one article was enough to justify the cover price alone. A truly fantastic array of wargame terrain built by a true artist. I would recommend this tutorial to anyone looking to build centre piece gaming terrain for their gaming table. A great article which has some stunning pictures of both work-in-progress and finished models.

The article has inspired me to build a large church, centre piece model, usually I try to limit my tutorials to smaller models which have a nominal foot print of 6 inches x 6 inches but I really must try to make a larger model.

The magazine is another one that likes to produce themed issues. I have my doubts about the logic of doing this, as should the theme NOT be something you are interested in, then the magazine could be rejected as a purchase. However many publications are now doing this, so who am I to criticise. The theme this month was Modern Warfare.

The magazine has very high production values, a good stock of glossy paper and colour illustrations throughout, but I found content a little light. Apart from the terrain building article already detailed above my favourite was another model making article - Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks, by Phil Lewis in which the author details the steps necessary to convert a 15mm Flames of War Vietnam-Era M113 into the M113A3 or more modern derivative.

The remainder of the magazine contains loads of gaming 'eye-candy'. But WI and the earlier WS&S both featured La Haye Sainte. In fact WS&S featured two models of this iconic Napoleonic terrain piece - one from Warlord Games and the second from 4Ground. "You wait years and two come along together!"

Tony