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Wednesday 26 October 2016

Miniature Wargames no 403

The Conundrum Solved?

I've had my copy of MW no 403 for some time. It is John Treadaway's first as Editor. The "new look"  really isn't so new and there is much here that shows John's current policy of "keep on Keeping on" as he put it to me. Nice articles on Ancients- Macedonians and Persians  with what may be a nifty set of simple rules, Building Rorke's Drift- or at least making something out of the rather basic set of lazer cut wooden parts. They look like a lot of work BUT a lot easier than scratchbuilding- which I did back in the day and a nice article on the Battle for Crete in WW2. This is interesting stuff and not based around any given rule set which is very refreshing. Like wise an article on Dreadnaught period Naval warfare which I have not yet studied  but the author seems to know his stuff somewhere I have a fw 1/2400 Dreadnaughts- somewhere .....and  a nice 1980 Cold War goes Hot scenario from Conrad kinch- this WILL get used !   There was even another How to article on pating tanks- but I can do that- not that the piece wouldn't be useful  but the pics were (rather nice0 sci-fi vehicles rather than, well tanks ....
 To all intents and purposed this bit of the Mag has so far hardly changed at all  except for the waste of space that is the club directory- I really hope that appears only once or twice a year and that quite a bit of space is given over to reviews . There was a nagging feeling- hopefully unfounded that  stuff was "spaced out" a little too much to fill the available pages.
 As for the much touted Sci-Fi and Fantasy section well all it does for me is illustrated the  narrow  games only base  of  today's sci -fant  hobby. With "Critical Hits"  no less than 3 infomercials about currently favoured "games" Frostgrave(who cares)  Bushido (nothing really to do with historical Samurai) and something called "Panzerfauste" a sort of WW2 based "game" with orcs and Dwarfs and "magick" basically Flintloque with machine guns - dearie me the 1990s original was bad enough with its awful clumsy models (Yes I had a few)and simplistic rules .  However such nonsense seems pretty popular as it raised most of its brass via Kickstarter. which only goes to show you that there are more kidults  out there than even I thought. I've seen a few pics of the models and actually they are pretty dammed good of their type and made me giggle - but not enough to want to spend actual real money on them.. The joke wears thin pretty quickly with even the cleverest fantasy especially one as derivative as this.. The articles are full of drawings and "artwork"  (but not Art)  but overall none of the articles actually say very much other than to extol the virtues of their product and tell you what stunningly clever chaps the designer are But perhaps that is the way with today's game first everything else nowhere  hobby after all you get the same type of infomercial in  historical wargaming too the "I'm so  awfully clever you must play MY game and no don't you DARE think for yourself" syndrome is not only a sci-fant problem by any means.. .

Frankly for a first mag under new Editor ship It is not half bad and could have been a lot worse. I don't mind a bit of Sci -Fi  so the Critical hits section is not automatically out of court and will bear watching but making it almost entirely reviews and infomercials for this months fashion  hopefully will not last.
 But still worth a read and I await the next issue with interest.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for the detailed review Andy. I have an e-subscription, and Exact Editions has always been frustratingly slow and even quirky with getting things to open up on all three of my computers, one of which is less than a year old, so it cannot be a hardware issue on my end. Frankly, it has been so protracted trying to read my issues for the last several issues, that I haven't really bothered and just deleted the emails with links to new issues after a few tries. Free time is so limited that I'd rather paint figures or do something else hobby-related than continue fooling around online trying to view something for which I've paid. Sad on both ends of the transaction really.

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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    1. Technology is only wonderful when it works FYI- to your comment on Steve-the Wargamers ECW- Suren did so an ECW range. I have a few - see the post "3 musketeers looking for an orchestra "

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  2. Like you I thought that not much had changed. My biggest concern is over the standard of the main magazine compared with the White Dwarf standard in the pullout. Interesting that the sf tanks didn't make it into the pullout. Not good enough or just to remind readers that the main mag will continue to have something for everyone regardless.

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    1. Paul I see what you mean but fantasy dudes seem to have to have shazam-kapow they mostly being kidults who don't want to appear serious about anything if its "fun" .
      Hence my comment about the main body of the mag being spaced out- perhaps I should have said stretched.

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  3. "not enough to want to spend actual real money on them.. " .. love it...

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    1. Dave I have that problem with most Fantasy and some SF- the model make me giggle and I think "they are nice- what would I do with them after the first game? - so I lose interest then I see the price and REALLY lose interest

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