A few more random photos from Fall-In 2009

I liked the overall terrain of the this World War II tank game, and saw a couple ideas I can shamelessly steal for my 15mm Civil War layouts. One of the joys of large wargaming conventions is viewing all the other gamemasters’ terrain setups and incorporating new ideas into my layouts.

Here is a 15mm Johnny Reb 3 game presented by veteran New York gamemaster P. J. O’Neill. His sculpted terrain board was nice, and P. J. always runs a fun scenario.

Miscellaneous photographs from Fall-In 2009

I attended the Fall-In convention at Gettysburg in early November and presented a 15mm wargame of my Johnny Reb 3 scenario for the Battle of Monocacy. During downtime after my game and before playing in some other Civil War games, I took a few random photos of other ACW games being played on other tables, both land battles (as shown above; I think this was a Fire & Fury game) and naval battles. I also snapped a couple of other games that I enjoyed watching.

Here’s a nice little 1:600 Confederate fort in one of the many Civil War naval games being played at this year’s Fall-In.  Union Naval guns were trying to silence the bastion, with some success.

Gettysburg scenarios from Enduring Valor run at Fall-In by Jim Kopchak

Thomas Smyth’s brigade of the Union II Corps prepares to move out to seize the Bliss Farm in this portion of a miniature wargaming layout by veteran gamemaster and rules author Jim Kopchak of Parma, Ohio.  Jim is an old friend of mine, having played in several of my playtests of what became my Enduring Valor: Gettysburg in Miniature scenario books. While designed specifically for Johnny Reb 3, the popular scenarios can be readily combined, modified, or otherwise adapted for other rules systems, including Jim’s Civil War Commander rules.

At Fall-In 2009 in Gettysburg, Jim presented a game based upon a couple of scenarios from Enduring Valor, Volume 2 from the July 2, 1863 attack by James Longstreet’s Confederate forces upon the Union line on Cemetery Ridge from the Spangler farm northward to the outskirts of Gettysburg.

My 15mm Battle of Monocacy wargame at Fall-In 2009

Part of the Union VI Corps line along the Georgetown Pike. This is Truex’s brigade in action defending the turnpike against the Louisiana Tigers. The veteran 8th Illinois Cavalry is in the foreground.

I ran a 15mm miniature wargame of the Battle of Monocacy at the annual Fall-In convention in Gettysburg on November 5.  The rules were Johnny Reb 3, and the scenario featured three Union players (1 brigade of Lew Wallace’s army and 2 brigades of the VI Corps of the Army of the Potomac) against five Confederate players (John B. Gordon’s division, McCausland’s brigade of dismounted cavalry, and one of Rodes’ brigades).

The Confederate right flank is shown here (Clement A. Evans’ brigade of Georgians).

The scenario was written by author and wargamer Scott L. Mingus, Sr. and appears in the current issue (#25) of the CHARGE! newsletter, published each quarter by the Johnny Reb Gaming Society.

First Division Museum at Cantigny

Author and blogger Scott L. Mingus, Sr. stands in front of one of dozen or so World War II and World War I tanks that on the grounds of the First Division Museum at Cantigny, a fascinating free museum in Wheaton, Illinois.

I am in Chicago on business this week while visiting suppliers and customers and speaking at the Specialty Papers Conference 2009. I took an afternoon to meet with my good friend and long-time wargame scenario book publisher Ivor Janci and his charming wife Frani. Ivor and I toured the First Division Museum, which is on the grounds of the estate of millionaire newspaper baron Robert R. McCormick, who owned the Chicago Tribune and became known prior to World War II for his isolationist ideals.  During the first world war, he served in the 1st Battery, 5th Field Artillery Regiment, with the First Infantry Division and served in several battles, including Cantigny in northern France. He later named his sprawling estate for the battle and the grounds now house the wonderful First Division Museum.

The museum boasts several excellent walk-through dioramas featuring “The Big Red One” in action in World War I in the trenches, in World War II at D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge, in the jungles of Vietnam, and in Desert Storm.

Collectors Showcase 55mm collectible ACW toy soldiers

I was fortunate to be a guest author / signer at the recent Gettysburg Militaria, Relics, and Book Show at the All-Star Complex near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. My host was Jim McLean of Butternut and Blue, a Baltimore-based dealer of toy soldiers and Civil War books. Among his specialties are 55mm figures from The Collectors Showcase, which are among the finest (and more expensive) collector figures on the market today.

I had a chance to look over several of these figures that Jim had for sale on one of his vendor tables in the dealer hall at the All-Star (the soccer barn). The attention to detail is unbelievable, and the quality of these metal castings superb. While not cheap (a 3-figure set of infantry retails for $79.50 US, for example) the value per dollar is high relative to many other makers of this generic genre of 55mm – 54mm Civil War figures. I think some of the competitive figures on the market today are rather cartoonish and not well proportioned, but The Collectors Showcase toy soldiers are indeed as advertised “fine museum quality.”

A wargamer’s delight: Brad Gottfried’s new series of map books!

The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, June-October 1861 is a new Civil War book by veteran author Bradley Gottfried.

As a long-time Civil War buff and miniature wargaming enthusiast, I am always looking for well-crafted maps that depict the deployment and movement of troops during various stages of Civil War battles. Often, period maps are lacking in detail or intermix movements from throughout the various stages of the engagement, often “muddying the waters” in terms of gaining an understanding of which regiments were in what position at what time in the battle. This new book is an invaluable resource to help demystify the often fluid situation at First Manassas where positions often changed hands, troops were shifted frequently, and official reports and records unclear in recounting the timeline of what transpired that summer day.

For sale: another complete set of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion!

Another long-time CHARGE! reader and wargamer contacted me to ask if I would publicize the fact that he is offering for sale a complete, 128-volume hardback bound set of the The War of The Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. This is the 1971-72 republication (a limited edition of 1,500 copies) published by the National Historical Society. The books have been opened and read, but are still in excellent condition. As he is selling his home of 30 years and downsizing, the seller is looking for a new owner for these valuable reference and resource materials. These could be purchased and donated to your local historical society or library if you so desire.

Please contact Scott Mingus at scottmingus@yahoo.com to be placed in direct e-mail contact with this wargamer, and help him out if you can.

15mm Artillery Figures from Scale Creep Miniatures

Mark Severin of Scale Creep Miniatures in the greater Cincinnati, Ohio, area was kind enough to send me a few packs of his new line of 15mm artillery pieces. The figs came well packaged and in a timely manner. Each gun pack has a pair of very nicely sculpted miniature Civil War artillery, which are easy to assemble. Well cast and well molded, the guns fits together nicely with minimal effort. The castings are of high quality pewter alloy, with little flash and no signs of miscasting.

Great new FREE Civil War museum now open in Gettysburg

This new museum is facinating and well worth a visit by wargamers during the upcoming Fall-In wargaming convention. It is stuffed full of neat artifacts that are unsual and interesting.