I give you here a brief first impression review of this book.
When Roly suggested we grab a copy of this since it was on 50% off sale I thought yeah why not.
It didn’t take long for the book to arrive, only a few days which is a pretty good turn around time for UK to NZ delivery.
But what was an even better surprise is the book itself. I have got most of the Warhammer Historical supplements and whilst nice they have all been of the soft cover variety.
This book is a glorious A4 sized Hardcover, and about twice the thickness of the prior offerings.
It really is eye candy at its best for the period. The production quality appears very high, and goes to show what can be achieved with a little time and effort. OK, perhaps a lot of effort - no-one said painting up a whole Napoleonic army was easy! ;-)
The figure scale featured (although others can be used), is 28mm which is my favourite, and again shows what is now possible, and financially attainable for most us with the high quality plastic ranges that are now coming on to the market from the Perrys, Victrix et al .
What this book is screaming from cover to cover is “if you’re gonna do it right, do it like this”, and quite magnificent it all looks.
There is also a wealth of colour plates and artwork throughout adding to the look and feel of the book.
The book is 288 pages long, with the first approx. 80 pages giving the Intro and Rules. The rules themselves have some similarities in look and feel to the Core Warhammer game. They have used some similar diagrammatic representations to show how units move and manoeuvre and interact on the table top, and this I like as its always easier to see what is intended from a picture than solely ploughing through text.
The rest of the book covers Scenarios including siege ideas, Army lists with points values in a similar way to Warhammer, Campaign ideas and notes, and also a decent section on the history of the period, so the novice can quickly get to grips with what the period is all about. There is also good hobby advice and instructions in terms of assembling an army and how to paint it up, with sample colour schemes and uniform guides. Enough to wet the appetite to search for more…
Again this I like, as it is very encouraging to new and experienced players alike.
In short this is the entire hobby of wargaming this period in one book, and I feel for that reason alone well worth the investment, at its current sale price.
I must admit I have not read the core rules as yet, nor played the game. So I cannot comment further there as yet. Time will tell.
I realise this style of book will not appeal to all, and some of the ol' grumbling grognards may whinge that there are pictures at all, and shock horror, colour too! It could have been much cheaper without, and would have then only cost 3 shillings and 6 pence, and you'd still have had change for a cinema ticket and a bucket of 'ot gravel for tea, from your nine-bob-note... ;-)
But for the rest of us, its a visual treat, and at its current sale price, a bargain, even if the rules are not your cup of tea...
More can be read on the Warhammer historical website.
