Wargames Illustrated Nr 444 (Dezember 2024)

‘Tis the season to be jolly, and, these days, that seems to mean everything yuletide-related needs to be given a covering of snow and ice. So, in the spirit of seasonal solidarity, we felt we should give Wi a smattering of winter weather this month, with a Winter War theme. What better way to do that than by providing you with five Winter War articles and a frame of Bolt Action Winter Fallschirmjäger?

Fresh (or probably fatigued) from the battlefields of the Ardennes, your squad of six German paratroopers are currently only available as a Platoon Box Set from Warlord Games, so this freebie frame provides you with a unique opportunity to either ‘try before you buy’ or add some reinforcements to your platoon.

Arm yourself with everything you need to know about what’s on your free sprue by taking a look at the information provided by Warlord Games below and find more at warlord-community.warlordgames.com

Dan Faulconbridge Editor

OBSERVATION POST We’ve got Napoleonic and World War Two gaming with a horror twist, along with some mounted Old West Gunfighters in this month’s reviews.

RELEASE RADAR Dom Sore’s found a fresh sackful of wargaming goodies to discuss in his regular column.

QUICK FIRE Find out what your wargaming peers have been up to in our monthly showcase of Wi readers’ projects.

FRAME FOCUS: WINTER FALLSCHIRMJÄGER DIORAMA Matt Parkes builds a diorama connected to our Winter War theme with this month’s free frame.

INSIDE THE WHITE CASTLE (OSHIRO TERRAIN INTERVIEW) We interview James Sharp of Oshiro Model Terrain about his board-building adventures.

THEME: THE ICE FORTRESS Frank Becker, who will present an impressive Napoleonic game at TACTICA 2025, gives us a pre-event preview, in a dispatch from northern Germany.

PLAYING HOMER’S ILIAD WITH MIDGARD HEROIC BATTLES James Morris demos his new game, Midgard Heroic Battles, and shows how it works in a battle set during the Trojan War.

THEME: IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER Simon MacDowall considers history and fiction as he creates a campaign and concluding tabletop clash based on the midwinter crossing of the Rhine in 406AD.

THE OTHER PARTIZAN – PART ONE The first of a double bill showing off some of the awesome wargaming that was had at The Other Partizan.

THEME: GETTING COLD FEET IN NORWAY Jan Karrman’s latest impressive project, in preparation for Salute 2025, is perfect for our Winter War theme, covering the Battle of Trangen, 1808.

THERE AND CRACK AGAIN Mike Peters reports on Crack Con Five – a wargaming event close to his heart – and one he showcased his game, Ruckus, at this year.

THEME: WINTER BASES Multi-award-winning painter Paul Mackay shows off some great finishes he’s achieved on the bases of his wintery figures.