A surprise parcel!

On Tuesday a courier delivered a parcel from my old friend and fellow blogger, David Crook ... who writes the A WARGAMING ODYSSEy blog.

It contained x unpainted resin buildings that will work very well with my existing collection of wargame buildings and especially my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War project.

It also included two painted buildings from the range of pre-painted FLAMES OF WAR terrain items ...

... and a copy of Avalon Hill's THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN.

The latter will make a great campaign map for my Eastern Front/Great Patriotic War project.

This was a wonderful present ... and has given me lots of things to think about over the next few weeks. Thank you David!

Junction Jeopardy by Henry Hyde

I've always been a fan of Henry Hyde's wargame books, and several already adorn my bookshelves, including MARTINSTAAT 1744: A DETAILED WARGAME CAMPAIGN SET IN A FICTITIOUS WORLD, THE WARS OF THE FALTENIAN SUCCESSION, WARGAMING CAMPAIGNS, and THE WARGAMING COMPENDIUM. When I read that he had just published a new book – JUNCTION JEOPARDY: LINKED GAMES FOR ANY HISTORICAL OR FANTASY SETTING (COFFEE BREAK CAMPAIGNS) – I just had to buy a copy … and I’m very pleased that I did!

In the book's blurb, Henry makes the following point:

Junctions have been crucial both tactically and strategically ever since the dawn of warfare. Whether it be the ancient Plain of Megiddo, Mortimer’s Cross, Quatre Bras, Chancellorsville or, indeed, The Battle of Heartbreak Crossroads in 1944, the point at which major thoroughfares meet will always be significant.

The book is split into 6 main sections:

1. Introduction
2. The Campaign Area
3. World War 2
4. Horse & Musket
5. Additional Ideas
6. The Individual Maps

The book contains nine maps (and I think that the book is worth buying just for them!) arranged in a 3 x 3 grid. The central map contains the junction that gives the book its name and the others show the approaches from the north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, and northwest. The maps are described as being generically European and are suitable for most places that enjoy a temperate climate. That said, with a bit of imagination they could be used for more arid parts of the world.

The maps are drawn to a scale of Movement Units (MUs) and are all 6 MUs x 4 MUs. This makes it easy for users to scale them to suit their table size. For example, if you have a 6' x 4' (180cm x 120cm) table, a MU is 1' (30cm) ... and if your table is 3' x 2', (90cm x 60cm) a MU is 6" (15cm).

The sections covering World War 2 and Horse & Musket contain ideas for different types of mini-campaigns that can be fought over the maps (Encounter, Attack/Defence, and Retreat by Stages) and suggested movement rates ... which are all expressed in MUs. For example, Infantry moving on foot on even ground move 2 MUs and Infantry moving on foot across rough ground move ½ MU.

This is the first of a planned series of similar 'Coffee Break Campaigns' ... and I look forward to buying each of them as they are published.

(The series is named 'Coffee Break Campaigns' because the cost of the hard copy is roughly equivalent to the cost of a coffee and pastry from a high street coffee shop.)

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JUNCTION JEOPARDY: LINKED GAMES FOR ANY HISTORICAL OR FANTASY SETTING (COFFEE BREAK CAMPAIGNS) has 24 pages and was written by Henry Hyde and published by Gladius Publications (ISBN 979 8 2619 5688 4). It is for sale via Amazon for £8.50.

Some new 'Dominion of ...' books

I have just taken delivery of two of the latest books in the 'Dominion of ...' series of fast-play rule books. They are DOMINION OF THE TRENCHES: FIGHT BATTLES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR ...

... and DOMINION OF BLITZKRIEG: FIGHT BATTLES OF THE EARLY SECOND WORLD WAR.

The former includes scenarios for fighting the following battles:

• Battle of Mons 23rd August 1914
• Battle of Tannenberg 22nd to 30th August 1914
• First Battle of the Marne 6th to 12th September 1914
• First Battle of Ypres 19th October to 22nd November 1914
• Battle of Tanga 3rd to 5th November 1914
• Second Battle of Ypres 22nd April to 25th May 1915
• Battle of Gallipoli (Landing at Cape Helles) 25th April 1915
• Battle of Gallipoli (Lone Pine) 6th to 10th August 1915
• Battle of Salaita Hill 12th February 1916
• Battle of Verdun 21st February to 18th December 1916
• Battle of Lake Naroch 18th to 30th March 1916
• Battle of Lutsk (start of the Brusilov Offensive) 4 to 6th June 1916
• First Battle of the Somme 1st July to 18th November 1916
• Battle of Romani 3rd to 5th August 1916
• Second Battle of Arras 9th April to 16th May 1917
• Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) 31st July to 10th November 1917
• Battle of Mahiwa 15 to 19th October 1917
• Battle of Caporetto 24th October to 19th November 1917
• Battle of Beersheba 31st October 1917
• Battle of Cambrai 20th November to 7th December 1917
• Second Battle of the Somme (German Spring Offensive - Operation Michael) 21st March to 5th April 1918
• Battle of Amiens 8th to 12th August 1918
• Battle of Megiddo 19th to 25th September 1918
• Battle of Vittorio Veneto 24th October to 4th November 1918

The latter book contains scenario for the following battles:

• Battle of Shanghai 13th August to 26th November 1937
• Battle of Khalkhin Gol 11th May to 16th September 1939
• Battle of Mokra 1st to 3rd September 1939
• Battle of the Bzura 9th to 19th September 1939
• Battle of Suomussalmi 30th November 1939 to 8th January 1940
• Battle of Narvik 9th April to 10th June 1940
• Battle of Sedan 10th to 15th May 1940
• Battle of Gembloux Gap 14th to 15th May 1940
• Battle of Arras 21st May 1940
• Battle of Sidi Barrani 9th to 11th December 1940
• Battle of Tobruk 10th April to 27th November 1941
• Battle of Thermopylae 24th April 1941
• Battle of Crete 20th May to 1st June 1941
• Battle of Bialystok–Minsk 22nd June to 9th July 1941
• Battle of Smolensk 10th July to 10th September 1941
• Battle of Kiev 23rd August to 26th September 1941
• Siege of Leningrad 8th September 1941 to 27th January 1944
• Battle of Moscow 2nd October 1941 to 7th January 1942
• Battle of Jitra (Malaya) 11th to 13th December 1941
• Battle of Bataan (Philippines) 7th January to 9th April 1942
• Battle of Singapore 8th to 15th February 1942
• Battle of Toungoo (Burma) 24th to 29th March 1942
• Second Battle of Kharkov (Ukraine) 12th to 28th May 1942
• Battle of Gazala 26th May to 21st June 1942

That's quite a lot to get one's teeth into, and I look forward to playing many of the above over the next year.

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DOMINION OF THE TRENCHES: FIGHT BATTLES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR and DOMINION OF BLITZKRIEG: FIGHT BATTLES OF THE EARLY SECOND WORLD WAR were both written by Stephen Parker and published by Ork Publishing. They can be bought online in PDF format from Wargame Vault (cost £4.40/$5.90) and in paperback from Lulu.com (£6.40).

Some more painted model buildings

Last month I built a number of model buildings (see here and here) and I have just finished painting them.

I used the same method as before (an overall coat of Tank Grey (Humbrol No.67) paint that is dry-brushed with a lighter colour before the detail is picked out in a variety of colours) but with a slightly different colour palette. The results are shown below:

Even more 1/1200th-scale ship models added to my collection

Over the Christmas period I was able to buy a large job lot of scratch-built 1/1200th-scale Russian pre-dreadnought era warships on eBay. They included:

These models are all made from wood and wire ... and are of very high quality.

Battleship Orel

(14,151 tons; 18 knots; 4 x 12-inch guns; 12 x 6-inch guns; 20 x 3-inch guns; 20 x 3-pounder QF guns; 4 x 15-inch torpedo tubes)

Battleship Suvorov

(14,151 tons; 18 knots; 4 x 12-inch guns; 12 x 6-inch guns; 20 x 3-inch guns; 20 x 3-pounder QF guns; 4 x 15-inch torpedo tubes)

Battleship Petropavlosk

(11,354 tons; 16 knots; 4 x 12-inch guns; 12 x 6-inch guns; 12 x 3-pounder QF guns; 28 x 2-pounder QF guns; 2 x 18-inch torpedo tubes; 4 x 15-inch torpedo tubes; 50 mines)

Battleship Osliaba

(14,408 tons; 18 knots; 4 x 10-inch guns; 11 x 6-inch guns; 20 x 3-inch guns; 20 x 3-pounder QF guns; 8 x 2-pounder QF guns; 5 x 15-inch torpedo tubes)

Battleship Sisoi Veliki

(10.400 tons; 16 knots; 4 x 12-inch guns; 6 x 6-inch guns; 12 x 3-pounder QF guns; 18 x 2-pounder QF guns; 6 x 15-inch torpedo tubes)

Battleship Navarin

(10.206 tons; 15 knots; 4 x 12-inch guns; 8 x 6-inch guns; 14 x 3-pounder QF guns; 12 x 2-pounder QF guns; 6 x 15-inch torpedo tubes)

Coastal Defence Battleship General-Admiral Apraxin

(4,165 tons; 15 knots; 3 x 10-inch guns; 4 x 4.7-inch guns; 10 x 3-pounder QF guns; 12 x 2-pounder QF guns; 4 x 18-inch torpedo tubes)

Protected Cruiser Aurora

(6,625 tons; 19 knots; 8 x 6-inch guns; 24 x 3-inch guns; 3 x 21-inch torpedo tubes; 4 aircraft; 2 catapults)

2nd-class Cruiser Almaz

(3,285 tons; 19 knots; 4 x 3-inch guns; 8 x 3-pounder guns)

Armoured Cruiser Minin

(6.136 tons; 14 knots; 4 x 8-inch guns; 12 x 6-inch guns; 6 x 3.4-inch guns)

Some more 1/1200th-scale ship models added to my collection

During the Christmas and New Year period I continued to trawl through eBay for more ships to add to my growing collection of 1/1200th-scale model ships and bought the following:

A second Kaba-class destroyer, …

(850 tons; 30 knots; 1 x 4.7-inch gun; 3 x 3-inch guns; 4 x 18-inch torpedo tubes

… and a further Chikuma-class light cruiser.

(5,000 tons; 26 knots; 8 x 6-inch guns; 4 x 3-inch guns; 3 x 18-inch torpedo tubes)

The Kaba-class destroyers were built during the World War I and were scrapped during the early 1930s whereas the three Chikuma-class light cruisers (they were actually protected cruisers) were built just before World War I and either scrapped before World War II or were retained in secondary roles and didn’t see active service. However, there’s no reason not to include them in my model IJN fleet … and with a bit of imagination, I can envisage using the destroyers and cruisers as convoy escorts in secondary theatres of operation or as decoys in major operations.

It is interesting to note that an export version of the Kaba-class destroyers was built during for the French Navy. They became the twelve ships of the Arabe-class (Algérien, Annamite, Arabe, Bambara, Hova, Kabyle, Marocain, Sakalave, Sénégalais, Somali, Tonkinois, and Touareg). They were all withdrawn from service and scrapped between 1933 and 1936.

Nugget 377

I collected the latest issue of THE NUGGET from the printer (Macaulay Scott Printing Company of Welling, Kent) yesterday, and I will post it out to members as soon as I can.

I have also sent the PDF copy to the webmaster so that members can read this issue of THE NUGGET online.

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IMPORTANT: Please note that this is the fifth issue of THE NUGGET to be published for the 2025-2026 subscription year.

If you wish to subscribe for the 2025-2026 subscription year and have not yet done so, please request a PayPal invoice or the bank transfer information from the Treasurer or follow the instructions on the relevant page of the website.

My Belle Époque army formations

I have been organising my Belle Époque armies into formations ... and this has highlighted several deficiencies or omissions that I need to address.

The current state of play is shown below.

(Please note that all infantry and cavalry units have two bases whereas all other units have only one base. Infantry and engineers have 4 SPs per base, cavalry have 3 SPs per base, machine guns, and artillery have 2 SPs per base, and supply columns have 1 SP per base.)

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The Commonwealth of Britannia

The army is organised into the following formations:

• 1st Division 
• 1st (Grenadier) Regiment
• 2nd (Fusilier) Regiment
• 3rd (Highland) Regiment
• 1st Machine Gun Battalion
• 1st Field Artillery Regiment
• 1st Supply Column
• Total bases = 9; Total SPs = 29 SPs
• 2nd Division
• 4th (Rifle) Regiment
• 5th (Ranger) Regiment
• 6th (Highland) Regiment
• 2nd Machine Gun Battalion
• 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
• 2nd Supply Column
• Total bases = 9; Total SPs = 29 SPs
• Unattached troops
• 1st (Dragoon) Cavalry Regiment
• 3rd Field Artillery Regiment
• 3rd Supply Column
• 4th Supply Column 
• Total bases = 5; Total SPs = 10 SPs
• Naval Brigade
• 1st Marine Infantry Regiment
• 1st Naval Infantry Regiment
• Naval Field Artillery Regiment
• Total bases = 5; Total SPs = 18 SPs

Total bases = 28; Total SPs = 86 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

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The Republic of Burgundy

The army is organised into the following formations:

• 1st Division
• 1st Infantry Regiment
• 11th Infantry Regiment
• 21st Infantry Regiment
• 1st Machine Gun Battalion
• 1st Field Artillery Regiment
• 1st Engineer Battalion
• 1st Supply Column
• Total bases = 10 bases; Total SPs = 33 SPs
• 2nd Division
• 2nd Infantry Regiment
• 12th Infantry Regiment
• 22nd Infantry Regiment
• 2nd Machine Gun Battalion
• 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
• 2nd Engineer Battalion
• 2nd Supply Column
• Total bases = 10 bases; Total SPs = 33 SPs
• 3rd Division
• 3rd Infantry Regiment
• 13th Infantry Regiment
• 23rd Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Field Artillery Regiment
• 3rd Engineer Battalion
• 3rd Supply Column 
• Total bases = 9 bases; Total SPs = 31 SPs
• Cavalry Brigade
• 1st Cavalry Regiment
• 2nd Cavalry Regiment
• 4th Supply Column 
• Total bases = 5 bases; Total SPs = 13 SPs
• Unattached troops
• 4th Infantry Regiment
• 5th Infantry Regiment
• Total bases = 4 bases; Total SPs = 16 SPs

Total bases = 38; Total SPs = 126 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

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The Sultanate of Harabia

The army is organised into the following formations:

• 1st Infantry Division
• 1st Infantry Regiment
• 2nd Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Infantry Regiment
• 1st Field Artillery Regiment
• Total bases = 7 bases; Total SPs = 26 SPs
• 2nd Infantry Division
• 4th Fowj Infantry Regiment
• 5th Fowj Infantry Regiment
• 6th Fowj Infantry Regiment
• 7th Fowj Infantry Regiment
• Total bases = 8 bases; Total SPs = 32 SPs
• 3rd Infantry Division
• 8th Fowj Infantry Regiment
• 9th Fowj Infantry Regiment
• 10th Fowj Infantry Regiment
• 11th Fowj Infantry Regiment
• Total bases = 8 bases; Total SPs = 32 SPs
• Cavalry Brigade
• 1st Lancer Regiment
• 2nd Lancer Regiment
• 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
• Total bases = 5 bases; Total SPs = 14 SPs
• Fowj Camel Brigade
• 1st Fowj Camel Regiment
• 2nd Fowj Camel Regiment
• 3rd Fowj Camel Regiment
• Total bases = 4 bases; Total SPs = 16 SPs
• Unattached troops
• 1st Fortress Artillery Battery
• Total bases = 1 bases; Total SPs = 1 SP

Total bases = 33; Total SPs = 121 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

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The Principality of Hyderapore

The army is organised into the following formations:

• Infantry Brigade
• 1st Infantry Regiment
• 2nd Infantry Regiment
• 1st Field Artillery Regiment
• 1st Supply Column
• Total bases = 6; Total SPs = 19 SPs
• Cavalry Brigade
• 1st Lancer Regiment
• 2nd Lancer Regiment
• Total bases = 4; Total SPs = 12 SPs

Total bases = 10; Total SPs = 31 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

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The Sultanate of Khakistan

The army is organised into the following formations:

• 1st Infantry Division
• 1st Infantry Regiment
• 2nd Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Infantry Regiment
• 1st Machine Gun Battalion
• 1st Field Artillery Regiment
• 1st Engineer Battalion
• 1st Supply Column
• Total bases = 10; Total SPs = 33 SPs
• 2nd Infantry Division
• 4th Infantry Regiment
• 11th Infantry Regiment
• 12th Infantry Regiment
• 11th Supply Column
• Total bases = 7; Total SPs = 25 SPs
• 3rd Infantry Division
• 5th Infantry Regiment
• 13th Infantry Regiment
• 14th Infantry Regiment
• 12th Supply Column
• Total bases = 7; Total SPs = 25 SPs
• 1st Cavalry Brigade
• 1st Light Cavalry Regiment
• 2nd Lancer Regiment
• 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
• 2nd Supply Column
• Total bases = 6; Total SPs = 15 SPs
• 2nd Cavalry Brigade
• 11th Cavalry Regiment
• 12th Cavalry Regiment
• Total bases = 4; Total SPs = 12 SPs
• Unattached troops
• 1st Independent Cavalry Squadron
• 3rd Medium Artillery Regiment
• 11th Engineer Battalion
• Total bases = 3; Total SPs = 9 SPs

Total bases = 37; Total SPs = 119 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

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The Emirate of Khyberistan

The army is organised into the following formations:

• Durbal Garrison
• Emir’s Bodyguard Regiment
• 1st Fortress Artillery Battery
• 2nd Fortress Artillery Battery
• Total bases = 4; Total SPs = 10 SPs
• Shinwazi Tribal Group
• 1st Shinwazi Infantry Regiment
• 1st Shinwazi Infantry Supply Column
• Total bases = 3; Total SPs = 9 SPs
• Gaziri Tribal Group
• 2nd Gaziri Infantry Regiment
• 1st Gaziri Field Artillery Regiment
• 2nd Gaziri Infantry Supply Colum
• 1st Gaziri Field Artillery Supply Column
• Total bases = 5; Total SPs = 12 SPs
• Bathani Tribal Group
• 3rd Bathani Infantry Regiment
• 2nd Bathani Field Artillery Regiment
• 3rd Bathani Infantry Supply Column
• 2nd Bathani Field Artillery Supply Column
• Total bases = 5; Total SPs = 12 SPs

Total bases = 17; Total SPs = 43 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

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The Sultanate of Sahel

The army is organised into the following formations:

• Baggari Tribal Group
• 1st Baggari Infantry Regiment
• 4th Baggari Infantry Regiment
• 5th Baggari Infantry Regiment
• 6th Baggari Infantry Regiment
• 7th Baggari Infantry Regiment
• Total bases = 10; Total SPs = 40 SPs
• Sudani Tribal Group
• 2nd Sudani Infantry Regiment
• 8th Sudani Infantry Regiment
• 9th Sudani Infantry Regiment
• 10th Sudani Infantry Regiment
• Total bases = 8; Total SPs = 32 SPs
• Hadendowi Tribal Group
• 3rd Hadendowi Infantry Regiment
• 11th Hadendowi Infantry Regiment
• 12th Hadendowi Infantry Regiment
• 13th Hadendowi Infantry Regiment
• 14th Hadendowi Infantry Regiment
• Total bases = 10; Total SPs = 40 SPs

Total bases = 28; Total SPs = 112 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

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The Kingdom of Schwarzenberg

The army is organised into the following formations:

• 1st Division
• 1st Infantry Regiment
• 2nd Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Infantry Regiment
• 1st Machine Gun Battalion
• 1st Field Artillery Regiment
• 1st Engineer Battalion
• 1st Supply Column
• Total bases = 10; Total SPs = 33 SPs
• 2nd Division
• 4th Infantry Regiment
• 5th Infantry Regiment
• 6th Infantry Regiment
• 2nd Machine Gun Battalion
• 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
• 2nd Engineer Battalion
• 2nd Supply Column
• Total bases = 10; Total SPs = 33 SPs
• Cavalry Brigade
• 1st Hussar Regiment
• 2nd Hussar Regiment
• 3rd Field Artillery Regiment
• Total bases = 5; Total SPs = 14 SPs
• Unattached troops
• 11th Infantry Regiment
• 12th Infantry Regiment
• 11th Supply Column
• 12th Supply Column
• Total bases = 6; Total SPs = 18 SPs

Total bases = 31; Total SPs = 98 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

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The Principality of Stalbania

The army is organised into the following formations:

• Infantry Brigade
• 1st Infantry Regiment
• 1st Machine Gun Battalion
• 1st Field Artillery Regiment
• 1st Engineer Battalion
• 1st Supply Column
• Total bases = 6; Total SPs = 17 SPs

Total bases = 6; Total SPs = 17 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

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The Khedivate of Zubia

The army is organised into the following formations:

• Guard Brigade
• 1st Guard Regiment
• 2nd Guard Regiment
• 1st Supply Column
• Total bases = 5; Total SPs = 17 SPs
• Infantry Division
• 1st Infantry Regiment
• 2nd Infantry Regiment
• 3rd Infantry Regiment
• 1st Machine Gun Battalion
• 1st Field Artillery Regiment
• 2nd Supply Column
• Total bases = 9; Total SPs = 29 SPs
• Cavalry Brigade
• 1st Cavalry Regiment
• 2nd Cavalry Regiment
• 1st Independent Cavalry Squadron
• 2nd Field Artillery Regiment
• 3rd Supply Column
• Total bases = 7; Total SPs = 18 SPs

Total bases = 21; Total SPs = 64 SPs

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

Setting some short-term goals

During our recent cruise, I made sure that I had plenty of time to do some thinking about what I want to achieve during 2026. One thing that I decided was that I ought to regularly set myself some short-term goals that I can realistically achieve ... and these are the ones I have set myself for the next month or so:

• Paint the buildings that I constructed last December.
• Organise my existing Belle Époque armies into formations.
• Add another army to my Belle Époque project. To this end, I have bought a number of painted 15mm Essex Minatures Zulus so that I can field a Zulu-style army on my tabletop. With luck, they should only need a minimum amount of work done on them (i.e. touching up any damage to their paintwork) before they can be varnished and based.
• Playing around with ideas for a Belle Époque version of the PORTABLE WARGAME that uses smaller grid areas. This will draw heavily on 'The Gatlings jammed ...' Colonial wargame rules I included in THE PORTABLE COLONIAL WARGAME and that were used in my recreation of Joseph Morschauser's ATTACK ON MOROBAD.
• Adding some more vessel to my growing collection of 1/1200th-scale model ships. I particularly want to expand the Imperial Japanese Navy and pre-dreadnought sections of my collection, and I have several eBay purchases in transit that will help me to do this.

None of the above should be too difficult to achieve in the timeframe I have set myself ... and if getting there takes me an extra week or two, so be it!

Nugget 377

The editor of THE NUGGET sent me the latest issue during the period between Christmas and the New Year and I sent it to the printer (Macauley Scott Printing Company, Welling, Kent) on Sunday evening. I expect that I will be able to collect it later this week and post it out to members of Wargame Developments by next weekend.

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IMPORTANT: Please note that this is the fifth issue of THE NUGGET to be published for the 2025-2026 subscription year.

If you wish to subscribe for the 2025-2026 subscription year and have not yet done so, please request a PayPal invoice or the bank transfer information from the Treasurer or follow the instructions on the relevant page of the website.