The Mainly 28s... old news section
(from the start of this site until the end of last year)
2008
05 December 2008.
A new section, Odd Stuff, has been added. It contains odd bits of historical information, alternate history speculations and other generic 'Weird War' stuff.
20 January 2008.
A useful little alternative to the Kübelwagen, a Stöwer R180 joins the Chieftain collection.
18 January 2008.
The first of my 2008 reviews is the brand-new JTFM PzKpfw IV Ausf H, which I think is going to set the standards for many new kits this year.
2007
08 December 2007.
No new reviews, just an update or two on the blog page, and a new page detailing the construction of the Marder II that I\'m making for AGNM.
28 October 2007.
My first boardgame - Duel in the Dark, probably one of the most fun boardgames I've played in years. The fact that it covers the night air war in WW2 is an added bonus!
There is also a new set of free rules- Anthony Clipsom's Free Company, dealing with the Hundred Years' War.
21 August 2007.
Only the new Black Hat Miniatures samurai miniatures today. The relevant comparison page has been updated too.
21 August 2007.
I've added a review of Ganesha Games' Song of Blades and Heroes rules- a fast and fun set of rules.
16 August 2007.
I've added a whole new section today. Non-Wargames reviews covers items like novels or movies.
I'm now almost ready to resume a regular service- I have a set of rules and some more samurai in the pipeline!
2 August 2007.
Another long-overdue review today: a Dutch WW-era Village from Gungnir's Card Models.
I'm now a lot closer to resuming a regular service.
19 June 2007.
A long-overdue review today: Final Combat from Britton Publishers.
19 June 2007.
You'd think that three weeks is plenty of time to move and begin settling in, wouldn't you? Well, take it from me, it's not. I'm still having to do updates inbetween all the other bits like redecorating the house and getting internet in the house. Still nothing- and that's not likely to change before the 3rd of July. meanwhile, here's the long-overdue review of Rules of Engagement from Great Escape Games.
Also a few new bits on the blog page.
4 June 2007.
I've changed the "blog" entry and put down some info on what's happened in the last few weeks. As I say in the blog entry- updates will probably be a little slow in the next few weeks as I need to get the new office sorted out and all the stuff I use for the reviews and site unpacked and installed.
11 May 2007.
Today I've added three Scheltrum Miniatures reviews- Later Samurai, Ming Chinese and Wako.
In the 'to do' queue are also a bunch of Brigade Games figures- a fair number of pulp-era and WW2 items. Next up, though, Eureka\'s samples of fantasy Egyptian undead, modern zombies and a demon.
11 May 2007.
Today I've added two more Touching History books- The English Civil War and The Sudan and WW2.
10 May 2007.
The last of the current Irregular Miniatures reviews- Bug Hunt Sci-Fi.I have also updated the relevant comparison pages where any Irregular Miniatures feature in a period I do comparisons for.
7 May 2007.
Two more Irregular Miniatures reviews- Generic Late Medievals and Modern Insurgents.
6 May 2007.
Only one review today- the Irregular Miniatures Late Republican/Early Imperial Romans. A few more to follow tomorrow, though.
25 April 2007.
OK, so Salute '07 has passed. Both the good and the bad. The good bits far outweighed the bad in my book, but the bad seems to be the main topic of discussion on many forae. I'll not rehash all the arguments here, but I will say that the show was interesting. It was my first visit to the new venue, and I have no negative comments about it, other than that it is not as 'comfortable' as the old one. Even with the wide spaces between the rows of stalls, it was occasionally a problem getting to the traders, but that's more of a sign that the show was well-attended rather than a sign of anything else.
The big back-log is now down to two manufacturers- some Eureka products and some BAM items, which I will be starting with in the next day or so.
Salute was good to me- I managed to arrange some very good deals with several traders, so loads more reviews coming up. Look out for (among others) Scheltrum Samurai, some more BAM figures and vehicles, loads more Chieftain kit, two sets of rules (OK, one was e-mailed rather than gotten at Salute, but it arrived near enough Salute that I'll include it there), some more Black Cat Bases items and the new Touching History book...
17 April 2007.
And today we add another two Chieftain Models vehicles- the Marmon-Harrington Mk IIIa and the SdKfz 231 (8-rad). There is also the BAM wrecked SdKfz 250/1(Neu).
11 April 2007.
Black Cat bases has some very nice resin wooden barrels and metal fuel drums. Also new is also the Chieftain Models LRDG Chevvy 1533.
2 April 2007.
The Chieftain Models SAS/LRDG Jeep was collected at SELWG, but due to the much-mentioned camera problems I had only makes its' appearance now.
29 March 2007.
The Company B Kübelwagen is a new(-ish) acquisition, and a very useful addition to the Axis transport pool. There is also a review of the Chieftain Models Carro Veloce CV-33.
23 March 2007.
Paolo Parente's Sourcebook, Comic, Raketentruppen and Gunther are finally on the site too.
19 March 2007.
The Miniature Building Authority's City Walls have finally made their appearance, as has AGNM\'s T-34/76 Model 40.
18 March 2007.
I've included Penchour's repainted Pre-Painted AT-43 figures.
15 March 2007.
A rule-set and one of its' supplements- Disposable Heroes and Coffin For Seven Brothers plus Angriff!
14 March 2007.
I've finally finished converting all the files from the old format to the new layout and style. I will be adding new reviews in the next few days- much delayed, but (I hope) a worthwhile wait.
1 March 2007.
OK, the BIG news is that I've updated the entire site, its' interface and the content in order to make it easier for me to update site info, company info and individual reviews. I've split a lot of the old multi-item reviews into individual pages (yes, I know- I have to go and fill in the details on each one now), so old links into the site will no longer work.
This means that I can now go on to doing those long-delayed reviews that suffered because I had no camera for a while. That situation has now been remedied, and part of the last 'quiet' time has been spent learning how to use the new camera. Look for regular updates in the next few weeks as I catch up on the backlog.
28 February 2007.
Finished the major update to the Mainly 28s site and uploaded the new pages.
2006
28 November 2006.
I've updated the two Anglian Miniatures pages: SCW Nationalists and SCW Republicans as well as the WarmAcre HoG figures page.
26 November 2006.
Just one update today: Kingsford Miniatures' 1550-1615 Samurai.
21 November 2006.
My apologies to everyone. The camera has now completely given up the ghost. Fortunately I should be getting a new one in two weeks' time. I'm now adding a few more figure reviews to tide us over. First on the list is Black Scorpion Miniatures' modern US range, which means an automatic update of the modern listing as well as their modern visual comparison tool. Then there is also the Black Scorpion Miniatures Tombstone Wild West range. West Wind Productions' new seperate head WW2 range is also a great addition to the hobby. I've also included Shadowforge Miniatures' "Juliana Jones", a Lara Croft wanna-be. The last addition for today is Cold War Miniatures' Horror Hospital modern zombies.
2 November 2006.
As my camera's still not quite co-operating, I've been a little slow on reviews. What I have managed to add so far is the Figures in Comfort Mini case, as well as some pictures of my recently-completed Baker Company Finns and the S&S T-34/85.
2 November 2006.
Quite a few today- all from Parkfield Miniatures: Italian Wars, Glorious Revolution, Great Northern War, Napoleonic Peninsular. There's also another update to the blog.
25 October 2006.
Only one update today- my camera packed up and I need to see what I can do to fix it. See what I think of the Hobby Master Tiger I Early diecast model. There's also another update to the blog.
24 October 2006.
Today's update is a review of Total System Scenics' (TSS) Terrain tiles and hills. There's also a small update to the blog.
23 October 2006.
A "quickie" review of several East Riding Miniatures products: Zombies and Controller, British zombie-hunter, 22nd Century Corporate Enforcers, Fantasy figures and Napoleonic Spanish. I'll also be adding a lot more reviews in the next few days (I managed to get quite a few items at SELWG on 22nd October).
2 October 2006.
Only one review today (actually an update)- Stealthy Spider Publishing's Occult Wars modern horror skirmish rules. There's also a small update to the blog.
16 September 2006.
Bumper weekend! I've added a review of the West Wind Productions SdKfz 251 C, the Anglian Miniatures T-26 and the AGNM M4A3 Sherman. For the terrain guys, there's a long-delayed review of Amera Plastic Mouldings' Ruined Buildings.
12 September 2006.
I've added a review of the Occult Wars rules.
6 September 2006.
I've added a review of Panzerwrecks vol 2 to the site.
30 August 2006.
I've added a blog to the site (see the menu at the left), as well as added some more 1:48 info to Mike's pages.
28 August 2006.
I've added another page to the "Mike Reese Pages" section, as well as his comparison of the various Bren/Universal Carriers, specifically including the 1:48th stuff he collects. I've also updated the Alpha Miniatures entries to show that Alpha Miniatures is no longer trading. I hope someone picks up the moulds for these soon.
26 August 2006.
Only one figure addition today: West Wind Productions' "new" scale WW2 figures. There are another three new vehicle reviews (Chieftain Models' Vickers Light Tank MkVI, South African Recce Car Mk2 and Lancia 3RO Italian truck). Then there's also a new Artizan page for the Pulp figures and also another addition to the generic section- Artizan's dead cows.
6 August 2006.
Amazon Miniatures' Stalingrad Germans. There are three new vehicle reviews (Company B's LRDG Chevvy, LVT-4 and M5A1 Stuart). There's also a slightly updated and revamped review rescued from Wargames Directory- Bouldings Mouldings Terrain Scenics. I've also added a few more packs to the Anglian Miniatures Nationalist figures.
30 July 2006.
Only one addition today: a side-by-side comparison of three T-34/85's from three different manufacturers.
24 July 2006.
Only one addition today: WarmAcre's Hour of Glory.
3 July 2006.
And (and rearranged some others) a few more reviews: the BAM 8,8cm Flak and crew, BAM SdKfz 250 Series, BAM SdKfz 251 Series and the BAM T-34 Series. Then there are also MBA Brick Street and an update on BAM scenery. On top of this, I've also added a review of the Anglian Miniatures Nationalist miniatures and updated the Anglian Miniatures Republican figures. On top of that, there is also a review of Black Cat Bases' resin bases, fantasy accessories and the "Alien in the Loo" vignette.
2 July 2006.
Added a few more reviews: the S + S Models SdKfz 251 Ausf D, S + S Models Stowage, and the S + S Models T-34/85. Then there are also The Scene Hills and The Scene pre-painted Sandbags.
23 June 2006.
Added painted pictures of the eBob Opel Blitz, the NZWM SdKfz 251 C and D, the AGNM SdKfz 10, several ex-FoA artillery pieces and several BAM vehicles. I also made a few small layout changes to the Landser main rules page.
19 June 2006.
Updated the General News section.
26 May 2006.
Updated the Links page.
24 May 2006.
Added KHI Minitures and Company B to the Early 20th Century Vehicle Comparison.
19 May 2006.
After a little gap in reviews, I've finally had a chance to add a few more reviews. The first new review is of a Finnish book detailing the wartime M/36 uniform. The second is a new modelling publication, intended for release three or four times a year- Touching History. I have also added Musketeer Miniatures' Caliphates Moors.
16 April 2006.
There are four more reviews in the Early Medieval section: 1st Corps' 12th and 13th Century Samurai, Curteys Miniatures' Mongols and Song Chinese, Essex Miniatures' Khitan Liao and Perry Miniatures' Early Crusaders.
12 April 2006.
I've added four more reviews to the Early Medieval section: Artizan Miniatures' Arab figures, Crusader Miniatures' Byzantine figures, Gripping Beast's Norman figures and Old Glory's Arab figures. There are also some updates on the The Big WW2 Vehicle Comparison page and more on Mike Reese's page. There is also a review of the Bend Sinister Confused General and 1st Corps' Early Imperial Roman figures as well as Chiltern Miniatures' Dark Ages figures. I will also be adding Perry Miniatures' Crusaders and Curteys' Chinese and Mongols in the next day or two, along with the new Musketeer Miniatures Arabs (as soon as they arrive).
6 April 2006.
I've added a review of Mongrel Miniatures' Modern figures to the Moderns Comparison.
30 March 2006.
I've added a review of Battle Honors' Punjabis and North Star Figures' 1:48th WW2 figures. I've also added these to the comparison tool, but as the LAST entry, because they are visibly larger than most of the other figures. There is also a picture of the 1:48th figure next to a variety of my other figures right here on the first page.
24 March 2006.
I've added a review of Brooks Miniatures' Modern Figures. As a result of now having two reviews in this period, I've now had to add a period reference and a comparison tool for these too. There's also an update on the Mike Reese vehicle pages (sorry about the delay, Mike).
16 March 2006.
I've added a review of the new Battlegames Magazine, as well as Askari Miniatures' North African range and Regiment Games' Dismounted LRDG. I've also re-structured the directories and re-named many of the files in an attempt at rationalisation, so direct links to specific pages may no longer work...
12 March 2006.
Added one more review: New Zealand Wargames Miniatures SdKfz 251 C and D, and updated the Force of Arms page slightly (more to come soon). There are also some updates on the The Big WW2 Vehicle Comparison page.
7 March 2006.
Added three more reviews: Devil Dog Designs' Modern British, Easy Eight Enterprises' WW2 US Airborne and Anglian Miniatures' Spanish Civil War figures. There are now already 35 companies represented!
4 March 2006.
After a break, I returned to a number of interesting parcels. The contents have now been added at Renegade Miniatures' WW1 Figures, Chieftain Models' Modern AFVs , Renegade Miniatures' ACW Figures, Renegade Miniatures' ECW Figures, Renegade Miniatures' Punic Wars Figures, Renegade Miniatures' "Risen" Orcs and Vendel Miniatures' Mastiffs. Updated the Force of Arms and AGNM Miniatures' pages to reflect the sale of the 1939-45 range.
9 February 2006.
Added an entire new section- Mike Reese's Terrain Comments, another Early 20th Century review - Arrow Miniatures, and updated the WW2 Figure Comparison- 32 different companies represented now! as well as updating Mike's vehicle views at Mike Reese's Vehicle Comparison.
2 February 2006.
Added two more "Early 20th Century" reviews - Pulp Miniatures and Hasslefree Miniatures, and updated the WW2 Figure Comparison- 31 different companies represented now!
27 January 2006.
Added another "Early 20th Century" review - Rebel Minis, and added more info to the Baker Company review.
24 January 2006.
Added another "Early 20th Century" review - Warrior Miniatures.
21 January 2006.
Added some pictures of "primer"-ed vehicles to the Bolt Action, Force of Arms, S and S and West Wind Productions pages.
20 January 2006.
Added another "Early 20th Century" review - Irregular Miniatures. There's also another set of rules, The Rules According to Ral and another new link in the Rules section...I also added some pictures of painted Romanians to the review - WW2 Romanians.
18 January 2006.
Added the first of the terrain reviews- Arrow Miniatures (Acheson Creations), Bolt Action Miniatures and Chiltern Miniatures to the new WW2 Terrain Comparison. There's also a review of what I've been told is a Monolith Designs Ruined Greek Temple. I've also added another set of rules, Fantasy Rules and links to some of my other favourite rules in the Rules section...
12 January 2006.
Revised and expanded the WW2 Vehicle Comparison page.
11 January 2006.
Revised and expanded the WW2 Figure Comparison page - specifically Eureka Miniatures.
9 January 2006.
Added North Star Miniatures to the 1912-1945 Section, along with all the relevant reviews and scans...
I've also just added a new section- The Big Dark Ages Figure Comparison. Keep watching- this will also begin to expand now. The Battlestandard Norman figures are now the second set of figures to be added to the Dark Ages Section, along with all the relevant reviews and scans...
I've also begun assembling several of the vehicles I've reviewed, and will be adding pictures of the assembled and undercoated versions in the next few days...
6 January 2006.
Revised and expanded the WW2 Figure Comparison page as well as some of the individual pages. (specifically Reviresco).
2005
21 December 2005.
Revised and expanded the WW2 Figure Comparison page as well as some of the individual pages.
Added the WW2 Vehicle Comparison page and some of the actual vehicle pages.
Added the Outpost Dark Ages figure review.
17 December 2005.
Revised the WW2 Figure Comparison page.
12 December 2005.
Added the review of John Jenkins Designs' Terrorcotta Zombies.
Added the review of Wyrd Games' first two figures.
04 October 2005.
I've just added (after receiving some samples of various 25mm, 28mm or 30mm ranges) a new section...
The Big WW2 Figure Comparison. This is an area devoted to comparisons of the various figures in this rather ambiguous scale that are available to us from the many manufacturers out there. I've included some 'pulp' figures, as this is a rising interest, and real historical miniatures can easily be used with the pulp miniatures...(although the pulps don't always fit into historical games!)
17 July 2005.
Yeehaw! I'm now officially a sculptor! I've built and delivered the master of a vehicle (an SdKfz 250 Neu) to Bolt Action Miniatures. As of today, it is officially in the shop and available, and I've been asked to continue with more...
Apparently it is selling quite well- well enough to have paid for its' manufacturing costs, at least.
2004
31 December 2004.
Well, it's here. The last day of 2004. It still feels a little unreal...
Be that as it may, I wish everyone a prosperous (and happy) New Year for 2005, and a safe one. Have a good celebration, and see you next year!
13 December 2004. Updated:
Curteys Mongols review.
05 October 2004. Added:
Battlestandard Rules review.
Blitzkrieg Commander review.
17 September 2004.
Improved the interface.
13 September 2004.
The site is put up.