Brent’s Not-So-Serious Wargames Illustrated Review
This week’s Terrible Tuesday article has a bit to do with history. Real history, not, “Say, what was the Emperor wearing in 20K?” It’s in the spirit of history and its intersection with the magazine Wargames Illustrated that I’ll be writing this review.
And if history has shown anything, it’s that I’m something of an internet stalker. I’ve been Stalking Jawaballs Since 2009 – it’s a thing. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise that I got a bit ‘fanboy’ weird when I met Dave Taylor (again) at this year’s WarGames Con.
He was behind his booth chatting with real customers, but I was A) interested in purchasing a few issues of Wargames Illustrated to see what all the fuss was about and B) going to talk to Dave Taylor about something and it seemed a safer subject than, “Hey, a childhood friend of mind is something of a rock star – he’s British, so we vaguely have that in common.”
That’s the hard sell, and likely to scare one’s target away. Instead, I thanked him for his years of service to White Dwarf Magazine. It was late in the Paul Sawyer years, which in my opinion was the high water mark of the magazine. There was a time when every issue showcased something Dave Taylor, or Jason Buyaki, or any of the gaggle of talented hobbyist-painters was working on…
 |
| (This aren’t the hobbyists I was referring to…) |
…and you just knew they loved the hobby as much as you did, if not more. Here’s a pop quiz: who was the White Dwarf / Black Gobo content-contributor most likely to have inspired my Beasts of Chaos army… or Wiffle Ball creations of any sort?
I’ll move on from the ‘Back In My Day’ memories. Point is, Dave has full-on geek street-cred, and I told him so, in so many words. Since he has some vague idea of my name, and it’s like the third time I’ve embarrassingly salivated his praises in a public place, it was probably fairly awkward.
For him, I mean. Awkward public embarrassments are sort of my thing.
Moving on. I mentioned history somewhere, before being sidetracked. We hobbyists have a number of interests in common, be it gaming or pop culture or art or fiction… and there are a pretty good chunk of us who have more than a passing interest in history.
Mine is Assyria; Olmstead’s book, pictured above, was when I discovered you could buy books from the Internet! Who knew?
I love these old books (think, collection) but I’m not a historian; at best, I’m well-read in a few pretty specific interests. My father is an actual historian – meaning I’ve learned the hard way what the difference is. To sum it up, it’s the ability to visualize an event and its place in the scheme of world history.
Case in point, the Battle of Hastings took place on Saturday, October 14th, 1066. I’ve walked that battlefield, my friends and I, trying to get an idea of the movement of troops over the hills in front of us. I thought I had a good, working knowledge of William’s life and (gruesome) death. What I didn’t have was its place in world history, so recently I was surprised to realize Ghengis Khan wouldn’t get rolling on killing more people than smallpox until over a hundred years later.
It was a Western bias, just the assumption that horse nomads had to be older in time than the birth of Norman England! With that in mind, I’ve been trying to find more ways to visualize my favorite subjects, and that’s the challenge I dropped on Dave and Wargames Illustrated. It was perhaps a bit too easy. The magazine has content that any of us would appreciate, but it’s certainly geared to that rabid subset of wargaming hobbyist, the historical gamer.
Dave pulled out two magazines from his back stock – went right to them – and opened the pages. He started talking about a great article on chariots from the October 2010 and one in February 2013. Dave said something like, “I think I can get close to your interest,” then pointed out a painted Sumerian Chariot from 2800BC.
Turning the page was three more chariots, painted with historical accuracy in mind: a New Kingdoms chariot, 1300BC; a Hittite chariot, 1300 BC, and lastly a Neo-Assyrian chariot, 650BC. Later in the magazine was an incredible article by Jim Graham titled The Assyrian Army of the 8th Century BC.
Sold!
Like I said, Dave went right to a magazine that was buried in his back stock. With that in mind, let’s contrast that with White Dwarf. I’m not trying to be mean – lately, I think the magazine is getting back on the right track – but be honest… how relevant will the latest issue be three years from now?
Wargames Illustrated is worth owning, worth collecting. I’ve read and reread sections of each one I purchased several times. It covers a wide range of hobby interests and showcases quality ranges and games many of us might not know about. In particular, it’s impressing how seriously the historical gamers take accuracy in the production and painting of the miniatures. I’m learning something new each read through.
I was impressed with the magazine and believe you would be, too. Pick up a copy the next time you get a chance, and after you leave here why not check out their site?
 |
| Click here! |
I’ll leave it there, this fine Terrible Tuesday. This article has hit a number of areas you could comment on, if you have the time.
 |
| Interview with Dave! |
What’s your take on historical gaming? Can you point out great sites or links to blogs we’d appreciate?
Do you have a favorite era from White Dwarf’s illustrious history? How do you like the direction the magazine is taking?
Are you a fan of Wargames Illustrated? What did I miss? Oh, that much..?
Lastly, to the right is a link for a great interview Mengel Miniatures did with Dave. It’s a good read, and a fine blog to add to your list.
So with that in mind, thoughts? Comments? Jawaballs-inspired hugs and gropings?
