Modeling and Painting Vietnam Wargames Review

Wargaming Recon recently received a review copy of the new book by Michael Farnworth, titled Modeling and Painting Vietnam Wargames published by Military Miniature Press. They appear to be a relatively new company and based on the quality of this book, it will be worth seeing what they have releasing in the future.

Overview

This book is broken down into 4 chapters and an Appendix. The book says that it is designed for experienced wargamers and modelers. I may agree, but I found it a good resource for getting into the Vietnam War era of gaming. There are numerous pictures of miniatures on the tabletop and actual photos located throughout the book. Many of the figures pictured have a caption citing the manufacturer and painter. This makes it much easier to find a particular figure if you see one you really like.

One feature of the appendix that stood out are links to all the manufacturers mentioned in the book. The PDF version allows you to click the links and go straight to the website to get hands on specific figures even quicker. The softcover of the book does not have the embedded links, but you can still get the web addresses and contact information for the companies.

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Extreme Gaming Makeover – Wargaming Recon #284

This week Jonathan is joined by Peter Bryant. Peter is a Co-Owner of Solarian Games.  He is a gamer designer who created Cube of Death.

Jonathan gets Peter to go through what his personal extreme gaming makeover would entail. The idea behind the Extreme Gaming Makeover is to see how people would improve their gaming experience if they had a budget of $5,000 USD. Peter discusses the theme of his upgrade and how it will makeover his gaming life.  He has a regular group playing roleplaying games (RPGs).  This makeover will enhance his RPG experience for his group. Continue reading

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Cigar Box Battle with Cory Ring – Wargaming Recon #283

In this episode we are joined by Cory Ring.  He is the co-owner, content manager, editor, and gamer guru for Cigar Box Battle.

If you are not aware Cigar Box Battle has 143 different designs for their tabletop gaming mats. 24 of them are 36″x36″. Two of them are massive at 6ft 6inches x 15ft; and the last 117 are in a standard 4×6. They also offer double-sided 4×6 mats and also a satin fleece option.

Cory and Jonathan talk about the mats available and how they improve the gaming played on them. They also go over what makes Cigar Box Battle mats stand out.  Cory covers the changes to the products.  He goes deep covering how the fabric differs from the plush and satin that was previously used (the satin is still used on the double-sided mats)

Cory gives a peek at the brand new Cigar Box Battle Kickstarter

If you wish to find Cigar Box Battle online you can find them in the following places:

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Wargaming Campaigns with Henry Hyde – Wargaming Recon #282

This week Jonathan is joined by the esteemed Henry Hyde. Henry is the best-selling author of Wargaming Campaigns (affiliate link) and The Wargaming Compendium (affiliate link)  books.  Many consider The Wargaming Compendium to be the definitive wargaming tome of our generation.

Jonathan and Henry discuss why Henry decided to take on this topic when there are other books already on the topic.  They talk about some of the other books that discuss wargaming campaigns.  Some of the books include Featherstone’s  War Game Campaigns The War Game by Charles Grant; The Sole Wargaming Guide by Precis Intermedia; and Henry’s own Wargaming Compendium.

Henry talks about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the writing of the book and what his process for writing was like.

If you are interested in getting a copy of any of Henry’s books you can find them with the following links:

Wargaming Campaigns (affiliate link)

The Wargaming Compendium (affiliate link)

 

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5 Tips for Whatnot Buyers – Wargaming Recon #281

This week, Jonathan is joined by special quest Anthony from Brickify. The pair talk about the online auction site Whatnot; they explain what it is and it can benefit you.

The 5 tips for buyers that the pair discuss are as follows:

  1. Be selective
    • Be careful from whom you buy and also avoid the people that sound like a used car salesman.
    • Does the seller know the product and are they putting effort into showing off the product from different angles.
  2. Popularity doesn’t matter
    • Problems can exist with highly followed sellers as much, or more, than those who are brand new.
    • New or less popular sellers may put in the extra effort to compete with the popular ones.
    • Popular sellers may be popular for a reason… or no good reason at all.
    • Use the WhatNot Ratings System. 4.95 or higher is a solid rating.
    • BrickTrend, HDBricks, and BlainesWorld are solid sellers for Lego
  3. Trust your gut
    • Avoid Sellers who do games akin to gambling, such as randomized results or chances to enter drawings, etc.
    • Don’t “just trust” sellers
  4. Keep track of purchases
    • Take screenshots of each item
    • Write down a list or make a spreadsheet to track your purchases.
  5. Complete the sale
    • Verify the received products for any extra damage and to ensure the rights parts are included.
    • If anything is wrong contact WhatNot support and include proof. They are very responsive.
    • Make sure to rate/review sellers in a timely manner.

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