Redcoat - The Newest Concept in Wargaming ... 36 years ago

A suitable post for Independence day, I hope. I came across this brochure recently. People may remember there was quite a spate of wargame activity in 1976 over the bicentennary of the American War of Independence/American Revolutionary War. I don't remember ever coming across these rules this side of the pond (and I don't think Empire ever achieved the same foothold over here as in the US) so I can't comment on them, but I thought the brochure might be of general interest.

The War Game 1900

Reprinted in Wargamer's Newsletter #170 of May 1976 from Royal Magazine of May 1900. An intersting article on the use of kriegspiel.

Literature by Wargamers #1 - The Forgotten Don Houghton

A real oddity - one of the things I stumbled across when compiling my Wargamer's Newsletter index - is this book by Don Houghton, of At the Colonel's Table fame. I had absolutely no recollection of seeing any of this before. The whole thing is given a slightly surreal air by the idea of a competition for those fighting the engagements in it as wargames and writing them up, plus Don Featherstone's review suggesting using Airfix 1/32 figures (including Airfix footballers as the female contingent...????). As far as I know no Battle Reports from this competition were ever published (though I may have missed them).

I bought a copy off Abebooks the other week for 64p - a whole 1p less than it cost when it first came out.

Reproduced below are the advert in Wargamer's Newsletter #172 from August 1976, together with the announcement of the competition, and DF's book review from the following month.

The Battle of Greenhill Farm 1776

Another battle report by Dave Barnes, this time a fictional AWI battle, which appeared in Wargamer's Newsletter #173 in August 1976.

Hinchliffe System 12

Sometime in 1976, I remember a full - maybe double - page advert in (I think) Military Modelling, advertising a whole system of Napoleonic figures and scenic items. It looked a very exciting concept and was Hinchliffe's System 12. Sadly, by the time I assembled anything like enough money to buy some of the products, it had all fizzled quietly out. I think there may have been something about the figures all breaking off at the ankles - it certainly seemed to be a short-lived episode.

The scans are from te 1976 Hinchliffe Handbook and the December 1976 Hinchliffe price list.

Siege Warfare - Siege Warfare in the Pennsula 1808-1814 by David Chandler

The Hinchliffe Handbook for Wargamers and Collectors was published in 1976. Spiral bound, it contained lists and Norman Swales' line drawings of Hinchliffe ranges, with articles including one by Scotty Bowden on Organization and Uniforms of the American Civil War by Scotty Bowden.

I had been saving up the second article, by David Chandler, as a possible post here. When I contacted Ian Hinds of Hinchliffe for permission to use it, he told me it has actually been republished in Miniature Wargames, with lots of lush photos, around 14 months ago.

However, for those who hadn't seen it, I thought it would be useful to have the original version available. Thanks to Ian Hinds for agreeing to its posting here.

Siege Warfare - Siege of Dendermonde, by Ron MIles, in Battle Magazone

Shortly after the discovery of Christopher Duffy's Fire & Stone in the local lending library, Battle Magazine for Wargamers published a series of articles on a massive siege wargame run in Southampton by Ron Miles. This was a Marlburian siege, illustrated with photographs of the town set up, some rather lovely S range figures, and maps and plans of the town.


Henry Hyde has built a pdf containing all these articles which is available for download from the Battlegames website here.

John Sandars: 8th Army in the Desert

John Sandars' series on the 8th Army in the Desert ran to 10 parts, from July 1973 to April 1974. I remember eagerly waiting for each new instalment. The series was collected in edited form in the Airfix Magazine Guide 20, published by PSL in 1976.


These photographs are from Miniature Warfare December 1969 and are interesting as they predate the Airfix Magazine series and book by a number of years, though some of these troops will be familiar to these later readers. The military policeman on the scooter from the Airfix civilians set is particularly fine...