10th
January 2015
This
post is something of a milestone, as, if all goes well, it will be the
last news item that I ever post on this incarnation of the Baccus site.
Yes, the much-heralded redesigned site is now imminent and will be up
and running sometime on Monday 12th or Tuesday 13th January. Here's
a couple of shots of what you can expect:
The
Front Page
and
a much easier to navigate and clearer Products section:
There
are lots of new bits and pieces on this incarnation of Baccus 6mm.com
amongst which will be real-time processing of payments, so the whole
ordering system will be far smoother and seamless. You'll be able to
register with us, so once you have an account, you don't need to keep
on entering your details every time you want to order, and we'll be
including a facility for one-click ordering and payment.
The
heart of the site will, of course, be the catalogue and the new version
will be much clearer to see and easier to get round that the curren
version. You'll have the opportunity to use a grid view which is great
for some of the larger ranges. Above all, you'll be able to see exactly
what we have an offer, as all but a handful of codes now have images.
We
won't have all the content of the current site available at launch,
but over the next few weeks we'll be migrating things like the 'How
To' and 'Projects' sections over with the aim to get this process completed
by April or May.
There
are some important effects on the Forum and I'd advise all members to
look at the General section of the site as I have put up a post outlining
the changes.
There
may be a short period of 'outage' while the transition is being put
through. You can still place orders on this version of the site as long
as it is running, so don't worry about them being lost.
So,
it is with some mixed feelings that I say 'Goodbye and Farewell' to
the old green screen. I know that it's all now a bit clunky and, 'so
1990's', but it has been a good and faithful servant over many years.
I'd like to thank two individuals who, over the years have helped my
tremendously on the IT side of things. Firstly, to Erik Snoek who set
up this version all those years ago and converted me from html to php
coding. Secondly I'd like to acknowledge the work of Zac Belado who
helped me take the site from a flat listing of products to one boasting
a working shopping cart. I couldn't have done it wihout you chaps -
many thanks.
So
it's onwards and upwards as we move from green to a white screen, and
I hope it's not too premature to thank Stewart Leonard of Stormrider
Studios for his tireless efforts in getting the new site to this point.
It's
'Goodbye' from Here and I hope to see you all in a couple of days time
in our new home.
30th
December 2014
It's
that time of year where we look at putting that jaded and tarnished
old year of 2014 to rest and look forward to the exciting vibrant and
ever so shiny new year of 2015. As is customary at this point, it's
time for me to look at just what we've done over the last twelve months
and to give some pointers of what to expect over the coming twelve months.
So
with an inevitable predictability, here is what we did in 2014:
- We released
lots of new Napoleonic French codes. Then some more new Napoleonic French
codes. Then some more new Napoleonic French codes. After that came some
WW2 AFVs and aircraft...No, just joking, it was some more new Napoleonic
French codes. 2014 was most definitely owned by Napoleon's armies.
This project
was scheduled to be completed by now, but circumstances worked against
us, and we didn't quite get across the finishing line in time. As much
as anything I underestimated the sheer scale of the task. However, we
are nearly done, and at this point it is worth taking stock of where
we have got to.
Back
in 2012 we started the grand project of overhauling the Napoleonic ranges.
From the start this was envisaged as not only an upgrade of the existing
castings, but also an expansion to provide a really comprehensive coverage
of the subject. At that point, the Austrian, British, French and Russian
ranges were covered by a total of just 59 codes. When the final few bits
are added to the French in early 2015, these four nations will now be
represented by over 140 codes. This has been a massive, but we feel worthwhile,
undertaking. This is not the end of the process as we still need to revisit
the Prussians and the lesser players in the drama, but for the moment,
we're having a little rest from Napoleonics to give some of the other
periods a look in.
As
part of the process in producing this range we teamed up with Shawn Taylor,
the author of the Great War Spearhead rule set, and he has been tremendously
helpful in helping us shape the range and provide a basic pattern for organising
our division and corps packaging and organisation. It has been a real pleasure
to work with Shawn and I am looking forward to continuing what has been a
very fruitful relationship into the future as we expand the range.
It
was bigger, better and far busier than the previous year, and if anything
managed to overtop the very high bar set for the quality and range
of games on display. Once again the old myth that you have to use
28mm figures to create a visual impact was well and truly put to the
sword!. All who attended had a great time, and unlike most one day
shows that die off around 2.00pm we were having to shoo people out
of the building in order to close the show at 4.30. For those of you
who missed it, or to remind yourself about how good a day it was,
there is a report if you >>>Click
Here>>>
-
2014
was remarkable in that we actually managed to get a set of Polemos rules
out and available to use. This time it was Chris Grice's wonderful WSS rules,
which were released in what will become our new format model, in that hard
copies can be ordered directly from Lulu, pdf copies downloaded from Wargames
Vault, or purchased on our spiffy 'Rules onna Stick'.
This
release also flags up our intentions of using digital formats and the opportunities
offered by tablets and smartphones to change the way that we traditionally
view wargaming and wargames rules, but more of that anon.
To
be honest, reading these rules pretty much rendered us using the Polemos format
redundant, as the nailed the subject for 6mm gamers, and reinventing wheels
seemed a wee bit redundant.
-
Finally,
in this section, we have spent a lot of time behind the scenes upgrading
and improving the number and quality of images of figures and army packs.
At the beginning of the year, 91% of all the items offered for sale by
us had a photograph. As we end 2014, just 4% of the ranges are not illustrated,
which by the wargaming industry standard is outstanding. However, we are
not stopping there, and the aim is to achieve 100%, that is EVERY Baccus
figures code illustrated sometime in 2015. In addition to this breadth
of coverage we'll also be increasing the quality with older poorer photos
being replaced by our current standard of figures mounted on 60x30 bases
showing front and rear views. On top of that we'll also be expanding the
new format for army and booster packs as show below:
The
aim is to give all of our customers the best possible information on which
to base your purchasing decisions. We've nothing to hide about the quality
of our figures and we're proud enough of all of them to show you exactly what
you will get.
And
now we come to the bit I always find a tad embarrassing; yes folks it's
all those targets we so handsomely missed.
-
Firstly, as already stated, we failed at the last gasp to complete the overhaul
of the Napoleonic French. Just like Napoleon himself, our reach did not
quite match our grasp, but we will get this done very soon. This also meant
that the long awaited work on overhauling our venerable WSS ranges also
missed out for the second year running. On a similar note, although we made
great strides after a slow start with the Great War project, we were not
able to get the first of our WW2 codes out in 2014 as we had hoped.
-
On
the rules front, yes, once again the Polemos SYW set remained languishing
in the innards of my PC rather than strutting its stuff on the wargaming
stages of the world.
-
And
speaking of PCs, it had been my great hope that you would be reading this
particular missive on the brand new all-singing. all-talking Baccus site.
Sadly, you will once again be peering through the keyhole at these words.
With any IT project overruns are the norm rather than the exception and
sadly this has been the case.
But
enough of all of this, it's almost history and you lot all want to know
what is coming in 2015.
-
The
Spanish Succession range will definitely, definitely, definitely be
resculpted in 2015. The current range is a 'classic' in our catalogue
and I'd be hard pushed to put a figure to exactly how many SS1's there
out there in the wargaming world. However, the moulds are wearing and
we know that we can produce better figures nowadays, so it's time for
a change and an update.
.
-
IF,
the timetable holds we will at long last be expanding the Colonial ranges
to cover some much requested subjects.
-
Lots
has been happening behind the scenes with the Polemos rules series.
Those of you who attended the Joy of Six seminar, or who have chatted
with me at the Autumn shows may have seen a working version of our new
Polemos app. We are planning a series of these, for Android and IOS
platforms for use on tablets and smartphones. They will manage your
games and greatly enhance the playing experience taking a lot of the
drudge out of the system. More to the point, testing with the early
(and unfinished) version of the app shows that game time is speeded
up by about a third - in other words, a three hour game took only two
hours, something which as great positive implications for those of us
gaming in limited time slots on club nights.
-
There
will be a Joy of Six 2015. We have secured a brilliant new venue for
the show to accommodate its growth. There will be more details made
available early in 2015, but for the moment, put Sunday 19th July in
your diaries and start sorting out your travel plans to sunny Sheffield.
We aim to make this one even better and bigger than JOS14.. We'll soon
have a website up and running, but in the meantime, please feel free
to refresh your memories by >>>Clicking
Here>>>
-
Finally,
there WILL be a new Baccus site up and running very soon. This will
feature all the current bits and pieces, will be MUCH clearer, MUCH
easier to view and navigate, be free from all the current Microsoft
related niggles and offer real time processing of order payments and
one click ordering. Here is a screen shot of what to expect.
It
can often seem that Baccus consists of myself and the Igor. Nothing
can be further than the truth as the whole thing is only kept going
by a large network of family, friends, authors supporters, contributors,
and modellers. So, in no set order, I'd like to thank Nick M, David
H, Nick D, Nick J, Martin B, Tony Q, Martin P, Peter R, Chris G, Maksim
S, Sven L, Rob P, Chris B, Katharine, Ben, Lindy, Bill, Dave, Mark,
Barrie, Mike S, Derek, Andrew B, Henry, Janyce, Les P, Shawn T and the
Polemous playtest group, for their invaluable help and input. I'd also
like to thank each and every one of those harassed and put-upon wargames
show organisers the length of the country who have worked hard to stage
these invaluable events. Without sounding too self serving, I must also
give a big thanks to all of our customers - without you, there would
be no Baccus 6mm and we appreciate that fact and never have it far from
our minds. Finally thanks also the crew at Wargames Emporium, John,
Dave and Erik for their invaluable support over the last year.
To
all of them and to all reading this, Happy New Year and all the best
for 2015!
19th
December 2014
It's
that time of year once more. Having worn ourselves to a frazzle for the the
last three months working through a very hectic Autumn show season and coping
with a busy, busy, busy Christmas rush, both Igor and myself will shortly
have finished casting packing and communicating for a little while as we start
our mid-winter break. All operations here at Baccus Central have closed down
until our official return to work on 2nd January 2015.
Just
to enter into the festive spirit, I'd belatedly like to 'thank' the lads at
Rapier miniatures for ambushing me at the Warfare show for giving Ben this
early Christmas present and then getting him to wear it all weekend...
It
won't surprise any of you reading this that we have lots of plans in place
for 2015, and you will get to hear them all just before the New Year in the
traditional end of term report, but here's preview for you of some chappies
that will be arriving very early January.
.
For
those of you wanting to place orders, uou can of course continue to use the
shopping cart, but we won't be processing them until the New Year. Until then,
all the very best from Team Baccus and may your celebrations be merry and
joyful.
25th
November 2014
No
new releases as such, but a preview for the many Great War collectors out
there, who are assaulting my email inbox in large numbers. There has been
huge interest in this range, and thanks to all of you out there who have been
collecting it. I think it only fair that I give you an update on what we are
planning.
Over
the next two to three months we'll be adding a lot of codes to the range.
This will cover mid and later war troop types in helmets for the three armies
we currently have in production. In addition to this you can expect to see
more heavy artillery, more machine guns and the appearance of various mortars.
As a bit of a curtain raiser, here's a piccy of some of the master models.
ó
From
left to right: British 3" mortar, British 6" mortar, 9.45 'Flying
Pig' mortar, French 150mm mortar and German 17cm Minenwerfer.
By
the time all of this lot is in place, you can expect the Great War range to
have expanded roughly threefold. We'll be adding later war Division packs
and Corps asset packs. At this stage we'll be calling a temporary halt to
proceedings as we start to tackle the WW2 project.
When
we return to the Great War, we'll be covering Mesopotamia, before moving on
the Eastern front and later war Western front as well as adding vehicles to
the mix. All of this will take time - we are anticipating the whole plan taking
about four years, so please bear with us. This is a subject worthy of respect
and we'd prefer to take our time and do it justice.
18th
November 2014
First
off, thanks to all of those who helped keep us engaged and very busy last
weekend at the Warfare show at Reading. We had a great time at a very friendly
show. I'd also like to thank the organisers and club members, especially those
who gave me a hand loading the van up at the end of the show. I can't tell
you how much that was appreciated!
Quite
few of those of you who did attend made a beeline for the Napoleonics section
where the fixture was quickly denuded of its stock of the new Napoleonic French
Guard cavalry. I am happy to say that these are now available to buy online.
In addition to the splendid Carabiniers shown below, you can now get the majestic
Grenadiers a cheval
and
Guard lancers (picture to follow very shortly). You can find more details
and order them if you
>>>Click Here>>>
These
releases mark the endgame for the work on the French and (for the meantime)
the Napoleonic resculpts. There are a few more codes to come, including the
Man himself, but we are into tidying things up rather than bulking out the
main items. I'll be pondering more on all of this in the usual end of year
report, but it has been a major exercise, although well worth the time and
effort expended. Both myself and the sculptor are looking forward to working
on something that does not involve the word 'shako'...
We
will be having a good chunk of new releases for the Great War range before
the end of the year, so keep your eyes open for them, as we seek to expand
the foundation that we've laid this year and take the armies forward into
the 1915 and 1916 campaigns.
But
before all of that, and if things go to plan, we should be seeing the launch
of the all new, all singing Baccus website! I know that this has been promised
more often than the End Of The World As We Know It, but this time all is looking
pretty good. Here's a small taster of what you can expect.
The new site will offer a lot of advantages for visitors and customers amongst
which will be:
-
Full
screen view of the site, so no more peering through the keyhole.
-
Clearer
and easily navigable product page.
-
Easier
checkout and payment options.
The
countdown has started so be prepared for a change sometime soon.
Finally
for today, we will be making our first appearance at the Battleground (formerly
known as 'Smoggycon') show at Middlesborough on Saturday 29th November. If
any of you would like us to get an order ready for you to collect at this
or the Recon show at Pudsey on the following weekend, can you please get in
touch asap.
10th
November 2014
No
sooner than we've unpacked from the Crisis show then we're getting ready to
put all the stock back in the van for our annual jaunt down to Reading for
Warfare. Such are the demand of the UK wargames Autumn show circuit. We'll
have all the usual goodies with us including the very popular Great War ranges
and Great War Spearhead II rules onna stick. I'm also working very hard to
get a few more of our Napoleonic French codes ahead of general release.
The
next group of releases will follow the trend set recently and concentrate
on the French Guard - in this case the cavalry. IF, and I do mean
if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,if,
all
goes to plan, then you'll be able to bolster your Grand Armee with the new
Grenadiers a cheval, Guard Lancers and the ever so splendid Carabiniers
And
for those of you interested, we are on the very final stage of this project
but we are saving a couple of very nice packs till the very end, so stay posted.
On
other fronts, we are working on releasing a lot of Great War codes across
all arms and including supporting weapons before the end of the year. These
will take the armies on the Western Front forward to mid-war, but more of
that anon.
You
have got until Wednesday 12th November to get any collect orders to us for
Warfare, so please get in touch with us as soon as you can.
13th
October 2015
Big
news on the Western Front!
Firstly,
we've completed the first stage of the French and German ranges with the release
of Uhlans
and
Chasseurs
For
the two nations. These come in both mounted and dismounted versions.
Also
for the French, they finally get an HQ (Chateau not provided). This is a wonderfully
quirky little set featuring a staff officer taking his leisure in a very large
armchair and, for the first time in any Baccus range, a carrier pigeon!
This
is a very important stage for the range as it now enables us to produce packages
covering larger formations. But to enable us to do that we have had to opt
for a set of rules on which to base organisations. The answer was very simple
- only one set met all our criteria so we are very pleased to announce our
first Division Packs designed for use with Great
War Spearhead II.
We've
worked close with the author, Shawn Taylor, on the contents of our ranges
and the compositions of our packs. We're also delighted to say that Shawn
has agreed to us selling his rules in our ever-popular Rules onna Stick format.
The
rules have been tweaked to give real functionality for those of you using
tablets or smartphones with cross referencing and easy movment between the
reference sheets and the body of the rules. These represent great value at
£15.50 including VAT.
And
following from this we can now offer the first on our series of Division packs
for the period. Currently these include early war British,
French
and German, but more will be added as the Great War range expands. All of
this means that we can now offer a Great War Boxed Starter set
which
gives you all you need to start wargaming in the period in a single box! You
can find out all the details of the new codes, GWSHII rules, Divisional packs
and Boxed starter sets if you just >>>Click
Here>>
We'll
have all of these at Fiaso in Leeds and Crisis at Antwerp, but if you are
going to one of these shows, why not make sure you get what you want and get
a pre-order in to us? You know it makes sense.
9th
October 2015
WIth
the debris and after effects of the recent show at Castle Donnington safely
cleared away, I suppose it's now appropriate to say thank you to all who made
it such an enjoyable show. You have to give kudos to the organisers, who are
a very small team but do a great job year after year. The venue may not be
the most stimulating, but they really do make it work with a thoughtful layout
and a responsiveness to customers' and traders' needs. Thanks also to those
of you who kept the cash register warm and shared your thoughts and opinions.
On my part the show provided exactly the right combination of commercial activity
and spending time chatting.
My
good friend Derek was in attendance with the latest Baccus small game offering,
this time covering (almost inevitably) the opening period of the Great War.
There were lots of takers over both days with victory more often than not
going to the Germans thanks to their formidable artillery.
Here
is Derek, pondering just how to get the next victim to play his game...
Sadly
we have only one more scheduled show attendance for the game which will be
at Recon in December. The good news is that we put the Saturday night to good
use and have a spiffing new blockbuster Reduced Game planned for next year.
But
enough of this waffle - it's time for yet more new releases. We released the
latest Napoleonic French releases at the Castle Donnington show and by the
end of the weekend the fixture had been picked clean so I think that there
are one or two of you waiting for this latest batch which consists of:
French
Grenadiers in Greatcoat, formed
and
skirmishing..
..as
well as some splendid Guard Artillery, both Foot
and
Horse.
You
can see all the details and order some to swell your ranks if you
>>>Click Here>>>.
There's
more to come for the French, but before that we'll have some exciting news
about our Great War ranges, so stay watching the News site over the next few
day.
Finally
and somewhat inevitably given the time of year we have shows coming thick
and fast, notably Fiasco at Leeds and Crisis at Antwerp. If any of you have
any orders for collection at these events, can you please get them into us
as soon as you can so that we can cast them in good time.
29th
September 2015
With
less than a week to go before the Castle Donnington show, things are pretty
darn active at Baccus central. We're hoping to have lots of new Napoleonic
and Great War releases for those lucky enough to be attending the show. I'm
afraid that those of you who can't get there will have to wait until next
week before you can start to get your hands on the goodies.
IF,
and as always, this is a very large IF, as it all depends
on me getting the alchemical procedures right in mould making, you can expect
the first arrivals of the Napoleonic French Guard, both Infantry
and
artillery.
IF
and this is a much bigger IF than the last one, those
of you collecting the Great War releases (and I know that there's a lot of
you out there) will be able to get their hands on cavalry, both German
and
French
along
with the long-awaited French General Staff.
Which
all in all will mean that our Great War Spearhead II Divison packs will also
see the light of day. All in all a pretty good reason to get out to Castle
Donnington for a day. Speaking of which, we'll have our latest condensed history
game there as Derek will be presenting our 'Old Puttees' Great War game. You
get your chance to prove that the BEF in 1914 may have been little, but proved
to be far from contemptible, all of which will take just fifteen mad minutes.
The game will be next to the Baccus stand and open to all to join in.
Finally
for today. here is something completely different. Many, many, many years
ago, Baccus started life as a manufacturer of buildings and scenics. Eventually
we moved on to making figures and rest is history. The Baccus buildings ranges
were sold to a company called Coyote Miniatures who have subsequently ceased
trading. Sadly the fate of all the original Baccus models remains unclear.
One of the last pieces made for the range was a Samurai castle which was never
actually released. I hung on to one set of castings when the range was sold
and it has languished in my 'in-tray' ever since. I finally dug it out and
have been working on it on and off for the last six months, until finally
and for the first time ever, I can present it to the wargaming World! I do
hope that the wait was worth it. I've posted more images on the Baccus forum.
11th
September 2015
Time
for a modest set of new releases for the WW1 range. This is a conflict famed
for the use of trenches, forts and bunkers. Some poor souls had to build and
maintain this lot, so we thought it was time that they were given representation.
As a result we can now offer pioneers/engineers for the British
French
and
Germans.
These
are all available now - you can find more details if you >>>Click
Here>>>.
A
few minutes after I've posted this article I will be putting in a new master
mould to cook - this will have lots of goodies in it which should be bubbling
to the surface very soon. Among said goodies will feature lots of new Napoleonic
French and the WW1 French and German cavalry featured in the last post. IF,
and I repeat this, IF, all goes well we should have a bumper crop of new releases
ready for your delectation at the World Championships, at Castle Donington
early next month. Stand by for more details as they come available!
26th
August
Just
a quick update on the progress of new projects and releases. The next batch
of Great War and Napoleonic French codes are going through the moulding cycle
and I am hoping will be available in 3-4 weeks. Here's a sneak preview of
some of the Great War German Uhlans.
The
release of the next set of codes will complete the first phase of this project
and we will be quickly moving on to cover the later war. More news of this
will follow soon.
The
release of the Polemos WSS rules has been incredibly popular with the new
tablet friendly version being particularly well-received. Attention is now
turning to the SYW set, but as an interlude we are looking at the possibility
of a re-release of the Polemos GNW rules in similar formats.
As
Summer begins to give way to the stormier and greyer Autumn months, we are
entering the start of the busy last quarter of the year, when wargames shows
seem to appear on the calendar every weekend. The first of these is Partizan
2 at Kelham Hall on September 7th. I will put out my usual call for people
to start getting their pre-orders in nice and early, so as to give us time
to get them prepared. This year's show will see us change location from our
usual spot in the outer reaches of the venue to beating (if dingy, stuffy
and ever so slightly sweaty) beating heart of the event in the main hall,
under the dome, so be sure to look for the Baccus trade stand there. Let's
hope that reception for the credit card reader is better in there than our
usual spot!
6th
August
It's
not very often that I get to announce the release of a new set of Polemos
rules, nor is it a common occurence for such a release to mark a change in
our sales policy, but here you are, both things happening at once!
I
am more pleased than I can possibly state in words to be able to officially
launch the new Polemos WSS rules. These represent such a complete overhaul
of the first edition rules that it isn't even worth calling them a second
edition. In best Hollywood tradition, I suppose they are best described as
a 'reboot'.
In
keeping with our more recent sets, the period is now covered by two distinct
rules booklets:
Obstinate
and bloody battle (OBB) The aim of this ruleset is to allow the wargamer
to recreate large battles in the era of the Duke of Marlborough, Prince Eugene
of Savoy and Marshal Vil-leroi. Use Obstinate and Bloody Battle (OBB) if you
want to stage the clash of major armies or recreate a historical battle such
as Blenheim or Malplaquet.
Chosen
men, well disposed (CMWD) The aim of this ruleset is to enable the
player to recreate the small to medium sized battles of the War of Spanish
Succession, or crucial parts of the major battles. Using Chosen men, well
disposed, you can, if you wish, replay General Webb’s action at Wynendael
or perhaps the attack of the Allied left column on the village of Blenheim.
You
can get your copies of these rules in one (or more!) of three methods.
1)
By purchasing one of our popular Rules onna Sticks. This version
contains both colour and mono files of both sets of rules and is the most
cost-effective way to buy. The colour files have been amended for use
on tablets and smartphones. Both the index and reference sheet is fully
linked to the relevant pages in the main body of the rules. Let's say you
want further explanation on a point about bombardment - one tap will take
you directly to the specific page covering the required rules, and one more
tap will take you back to the reference page. In practice this is far quicker
and far easier to use than the conventional paper set.
2)
By downloading the rules from Wargames Vault. Both sets of rules
are available in mono for download and print from Wargames
Vault.
3)
By ordering a printed Hard Copy from Lulu. Both sets of rules are
available in mono print from Lulu.com.
This represents a big move for us, as we will no longer be printed versions
of any new rules published from now on. While this does have many advantages
for us, we are also aware that many of you love to have the printed rules.
We have investigated the Lulu setup and found that it has good coverage for
supplying customers around the world, and that the qulaity of the finished
product is excellent.
As
many of you may already know we believe strongly that the fiuture of wargames
rules and management of games will increasingly be in the realm of e-books
and tablet/smartphone game management. The WSS rules mark the first step we
are taking in this direction, but bigger things are to come, so watch out
for further announcements.
One
very welcome side-effect of the release of the WSS rules is that we can finally
get our Polemos WSS boxed starter set back into production.
It's
a great way to start playing in the period, and because the box contains the
Rules onna Stick as opposed to the printed set, it is also cheaper! You can
get more details if you >>>Click
Here>>>
28th
July
Hot
on the heels of the last clutch of releases, we skip forward a century as
the Great War armies receive delivery of their first batch of artillery pieces.
The British
French
and
Germans
All
get an assortment of field guns and howitzers. You can find more details if
you >>Click Here>>
Every
new release that we do seems to just promote more questions as to what is
coming next. In what can best be construed as a feeble attempt to ward off
the inevitable, here is what you can expect to see next from our Great War
and Napoleonic ranges.
Great
War: Both the French and the Germans will shortly get their cavalry
which will enable us to start offering combined arms Division and Corps packs.
We are working closely with Shawn Taylor in the composition of these and will
be designing them to work with his Great War Spearhead rules. These releases
will also mark the first phase of the project covering the armies of 1915.
We are now looking at expanding to cover the Western Front armies up to 1916
and you will see the first of these releases in Autumn.
Napoleonic:
We are finally nearing the end of the marathon resculpt and expansion of the
French Napoleonic range, and quite appropriately some of the last sculpts
we will be doing and the ones that will be coming out next will the Imperial
Guard. Let's face it, if all the line chappies get stuck in first it means
that those
pretty uniforms need not get dirty in any actual fighting...You can expect
Artillery and Guard Cavalry over the course of the next couple of months with
the final codes being scheduled for the Autumn season.
Other
matters: The new Spanish Succession rules will be available very
shortly and will be released as hard copy (via Print on Demand), pdf download
and in our Rules onna Stick format. The latter will feature a version that
has been tweaked to be very friendly for those of you using tablets and iPads.
We are also working very hard on the new Baccus website and that mythical
beast should be online in the next few weeks.
Talking
of WSS, we have for sale six painted and based Polemos armies. These are the
ones that will feature in the new ruleset and are fully painted, based and
flagged. Each is a standard Polemos
army and comes in its own Figures in Comfort tray. At the time of posting
there are Bavarian, British, Dutch, French (x2) and Imperialist armies available,
each priced at £175.00 plus p&p. Delivery can be arranged at any
UK show which we are attending and they will be available for perusal.
25th
July
At
long, long, long last we have the next batch of Napoleonic French releases
which I know a lot of you have been waiting a long time to see. So, without
further ado you can now get hold of some lovely Bardin-uniformed French infantry,
And
in greatcoat
not
stopping there, you can now get Horse Artillery
and
late war uniformed Artillery
You
can find all the details including new army and booster packs if you
>>>Click Here>>>
22nd
July
Just
a quick note as we clear up from the aftermath of a hugely enjoyable Joy of
Six show. I've posted a photo report which can
be seen here. We had a brilliant time and hope to see you all again next year
and indeed all those who couldn't make it this time round.
17th
July
Yes,
just 2 days to go before the Big Fat Baccus Weekend! The workhop is being
cleaned and polished in anticipation of the hordes of visitors on Saturday
and the Igor is a blur of motion bustling around an overheating casting machine
getting all the new goodies ready for those of you making it to the Joy of
Six. As promised, here's a few more sneak previews of what we'll be releasing
at the show.
The
armies of the Great War will finally be getting their guns! The British, French
and German will be getting field guns and howitzers:
Away
from the figures, I am more pleased than you anyone can think to be finally
releasing a new set of rules in the Polemos series in the form of Chris Grice's
revised War of The Spanish Succession volume.
There
will be lots more details about these coming along next week, but for those
interested, you can download a few sampler pages if you click on the covers
below.
The
new WSS sets will be available for purchase in the 'Rules onna stick' format
at the Joy of Six ahead of general release - yet another good reason to get
yourself to what promises to be a hot and sunny Sheffield this coming Sunday!
15th
July
Yes,
just 5 days to go before the 6mm wargaming event of the year. For those attending,
here is a reasonably accurate floor plan...
As
you can see, lots to see and do. We'll also be running three seminars/discussions
during the day:
Peter
and The Igor - Your chance to find out what makes a wargames company
tick! You get to quiz the Odd Couple on just how they see things in wargaming,
life and the universe in general. We're looking for the awkward questions,
so please let us have some in advance and email them to lindyesco@hotmail.co.uk.
Any received will not be revealed until the day, so the rabbit trapped in
the headlights expressions you see in the room won't be faked!
Command
Horizon - the way ahead.- Dave and John from Wargames Emporium will be
on hand to outline their plans for this great SF range and discuss the challenges
of taking on such a project.
The
Polemos Sunday Grill - A bunch of Polemos rules authors locked in a small
room with a group of players, interested parties and critics. A recipe for
carnage if ever there was. Even if you don't use the Polemos, it's a fascinating
insight into what it takes to write and publish a commercial set of wargames
rules. I'll also be hoping to do do a short presentation on our progress with
the electronic versions of the rules.
There
will be lots of new releases from Baccus on show and I'll give you a taster
of these in the build up to the show. I'll start off with the long awaited
late-war Napoleonic French. You can look forward to infantry in habit-veste
and
in greatcoat
and
some very nice new artillery crews (Horse and Foot)
As
ever, pre-orders for these and indeed anything else in the ranges are recommended
to be placed sooner rather than later!
3rd
July 2014
Yes,
just sixteen days to go to the great 6mm wargaming weekend here in Sunny Sheffield!
Just
in case some of you have been living in a cave on an outer moon of Jupiter
for the last few months, we will be kicking off the weekend with the ever-popular
Baccus workshop tours. Always great fun, these
are your chance to get look behind he scenes at how Baccus works and what
makes us tick. We are holding one session in the morning, breaking for a convivial
lunch and running a second in the afternoon. These are FREE to attend, and
we provide hot drinks and Chocolate Hobnobs. If you are coming up to the JOS,
why not make a weekend of it and do the tour on Saturday and the show on Sunday?
To reserve your place(s) you can call us on 0114 2724491 or email at admin@baccus6mm.com.
And
speaking of the
we
are feverishly entering the final planning and organisation stages. The floor
plans will be drawn up very shortly as the lists of games and traders is finalised.
We've got more games than last year and will be using both floors of the venue
to house them. Over half of the games will be welcoming participants to play,
we'll have a great hands on painting clinic going all day, and there'll be
three seminars running throughout the day to keep you entertained and informed.
We'll
be running a raffle at the Joy of Six with some very special prizes. These
are hand-painted mugs offering a truly unique souvenir of this year's show.
And
for those of you planning your day, here is the roll call of traders:
-
Quatre
Bras - Ian Willey and Lee Sharpe
-
Mons
Graupius - Wyre Forest Gamers
-
Old
Puttees (WW1) P - Baccus
-
Mons
- Wargames Emporium
-
Banja
Luka - Russ Fewtrell and Ian Taylor
-
Shiloh
P - Mad Gamers
-
Wars
of the Roses P - Peter Riley
-
WW2
Aerial P - Leeds Wargames Society
-
Spanish
Succession P - Chris Grice
-
Klissow
P - Per Broden
-
WW2
P Wargames Emporium
-
Command
Horizon P - Wargames Emporium
-
US
in Iraq P - British Legion
-
Cold
War - Sabre Squadron
-
6mm
meets DBMM - Milton Keynes Wargames Society
-
1980s
Cold War - Sabre Squadron
Lots to see and
lots to do! And for those of you wondering about a bit of retail therapy there
will be lots of new goodies from Baccus coming out at the show we're working
on the final list, but you can expect lots of new Napoleonics and some wonderful
models to expand all of our WW1 ranges. For those of you patiently awaiting
the release of Chris Grice's Polemos WSS rules, the good news is that they will
be available at the show and Chris will be showcasing them in his game on the
day.
And
to finish off for today, now is time to get your pre-orders into us for the
big weekend. We've a busy few days ahead, so we'd appreciate as much notice
as possible!
9th
June 2014
As
I'm typing this, Sheffield is getting its own little monsoon - all I can say
is that I'm glad that that the weather was better at Partizan, which as it
happened took place on a beautiful day. The wargames show in a tent concept
worked really well, and lots of people raved about how well it went. I wonder
if the comments would have been so positive if they'd arrived soaking wet
and then had to have their car towed out of the mud-filled hell that had been
the car park? What I will say is that the organisers did a wonderful job at
short notice and they deserve a lot of thanks and credit for getting the event
back on track.
The
next little trip for us is over the Pennines to St Helens, when we'll be attending
the Phalanx show this coming Saturday. It's still no too late to get your
collection orders in to us, but please don't wait too long to do so. The Igor
gets very cranky when he gets last minute orders - he's been know to break
all his stitches down one side when put under pressure...
I
will do my usual plug for the Joy of Six/Baccus Open Day weekend coming up
very quickly. The workshop tours are open to anyone who wants to come, but
please do book with us to reserve places. You can do this by phone, email
or, if you are going to Phalanx, over the counter at the Baccus trade stand.
We
are still sorting out the final games lists for the Joy of Six, but the subjects
covered range from Ancients to Contemporary and there will be plenty to play
and do as well as just look at. When we say that it is the 'must go to' event
for 6mm wargamers we aren't exaggerating.
So
far, you may have noticed a distinct absence of talk about new releases. Well,
there's nothing new out right now, but the following are very close indeed
to being available...
-
Napoleonic
French infantry in greatcoat
-
Napoleonic
French infantry in 1812-1815 uniform
-
Napoleonic
French horse artillery
-
Napoleonic
French horse and foot artillery in 1812-1815 uniform
-
WW1
British, French and German artillery
And
just to give a little tease on that last point...
Also,
at long last, you will very shortly see a new set of Polemos rules become
available as Chris Grice's reworked WSS rules are nearing completion.
These
have been completely rewritten and in keeping with other sets in the series
will offer versions for two levels of play, allowing you to fight both the
middling and the very, very large actions of the war. If you >>>Click
Here>>> you can download an extract of the new set to get an
idea of what to expect.
We
are aiming to release most of the above at the Joy of Six - yet another reason
to get July 20th firmly noted in your diaries!
30th
May 2014
One
day or so to go before Partizan in the Park, and I'm looking forward to spending
a pleasant day under canvas with a horde of wargamers. This event promises
to be 'interesting'...I'll be taking my wellies.
The
more observant amongst you may have noticed a new logo heading this section
as it is the time of year when you can get to sign up for your
tour of the Baccus workshop. These events are always great fun and everyone
who has attended in the past has had a good time. Some like it so much that
they even sign up for a second time even though they've heard all the jokes
before! It's FREE to come along, and for those of you
coming to the Joy of Six, it's conveniently held on the Saturdays before the
show so you can make a weekend of 6mm goodness. There are two sessions, one
morning and one afternoon. Numbers on both are limited and the sessions fill
up very quickly, so if you fancy getting all the inside information on Baccus
Megacorp Industries I'd suggest that you book your places(s) nice and early.
You can do this by phone on 0114 2724491, by email admin@baccus6mm.com
or by catching us at the Partizan of Phalanx shows.
Speaking
of the Joy of Six, the show is shaping up very nicely with more games and
lots to see and do. We'll be giving more details of just what to expect shortly,
but keep that place in your diary open. This will not be a show to miss.
15th
May 2014
Where
has the time gone? It seems like only two minutes since we were dusting ourselves
down from Salute, and now Sheffield Triples is almost upon us. We're gearing
up nicely for the show, and we are delighted to be able to mark the event
with some new releases which will be making their first official appearance
there. These are all from the Great War range.
As
opposition to the plucky BEF we now have the first appearance of the forces
of the Kaiser
These
initial releases give you the building blocks of your early war armies with
infantry and machine gunners sporting their rather nifty pickelhaube helmets.
You can find more details if you
>>>Click Here>>>
But
we are not stopping there. To complement the Germans we also have their French
equivalents.
Once
again, these initial releases give you the infantry and machine gunners for
the French, all wearing the special 'low visibility' uniforms of blue coats
and bright red trousers. Will French elan triumph over German machine guns?
Now is your chance to test that out. You can get more details on the range
if you >>>Click Here>>>.
Work
is proceeding behind the scenes for the next set of releases. These will cover
cavalry and support codes for both nations and artillery for the British,
French and Germans. Watch out for these coming out over the next 2-3 months.
We
were hoping to bring some more of the new French Napoleonic codes out at Triples,
but these have just run out of time. However, it shouldn't now be too long
before they become available at which stage expect a load of new infantry
and artillery for the post 1812 period plus infantry in greatcoats.
For
those of you eagerly awaiting the release of the second edition Polemos WSS
rules the good news is that all that remains is the photography and final
layout, so they are very close indeed.
As
ever, there are lots of things bubbling away, so please feel free to find
us at Triple and have a chat. For those of you going to the show, we have
moved from our normal position in the main hall and are now in the small hall
(on your left as you enter the show). We hope to see you there!
9th
April 2014
The
last post before Salute, and it's time to bring you up to date with what to
expect. The first piece of news is that following last month's announcement
about the discontinuation of the WMA army packs it's time to unveil what is
to take their place. I am very pleased to be able to announce that with the
support of our friends at Warlord Games we are now stocking a large range
of army packs designed for the very popular Hail Caesar rules.
We
can now supply the most extensive range of Hail Caesar armies available from
any single supplier all of which have been specially designed for us by Hail
Caesar's author, Rick Priestley. Each army pack contains enough troops for
a 500 point army and the packs range from Ancient Persians to Crusader armies.
You can find all the details if you
>>>Click Here>>>. If you want to add more units or build
your own armies from scratch, then there is our ever-popular 'Buy
by the Unit' option. We'll have the full range of army packs with us at
Salute, but only limited quantities of each army, so get to us nice and early
to avoid disappointment!
FOr
those of you building your Great War collections, we'll have some pre-release
packs of our new French and German infantry available.
Sorry,
no pre-orders for these - it will be first come first served and once they
are gone, they are, well...gone!
And
for something completely different, at Excel, we'll be previewing the next
development in our Polemos rules series.
As
many of you will already know we are embracing electronic formats for all
of our rules series. To date this has meant offering all of rules in pdf format
which we know is both very popular and enables players to store and use the
rules on a tablet or even a smartphone. We are now about to take the next
step and make available a series of fully working Polemos apps, the first
of which will be for the Napoleonic rules. The app will generate armies or
allow you to use your own designs. It will handle Tempo Point management,
combat calculations and outcomes and keep track of army morale. No, we haven't
quite managed to get it to paint your figures for you...If all goes well (and
remember that we ARE dealing with an IT project here) then there will be a
working copy for you to play with at Salute.
And
finally, talking of Salute, we are on stand TE09. Nope, doesn't
mean much to me either, so here's a nice map which should make sense of it
all.
See
you there!
25th
March 2014
I'd
like to thank all of you who have contacted me giving feedback on the new
WW1 range. It's great to know that you like the wee chaps. I just wish we
could meet all your requests for extra nationalities and equipment sooner,
so I'd also like to thank you in advance for your patience. Those of you who
know how we work will already be aware that once we start on a project we
finish it, so you can look forward to seeing this range expand nicely over
the coming months.
Stepping
backwards a millenium or so, I have an important announcement about our Ancients
ranges, or more specifically our Ancients army packs. From 11th April, we
will no longer be carrying or supplying army packs organised for Warmaster
Ancients.
I
know that this will disappoint many of you, but from our point of view it
is a necessary step. Because the publisher of these rules has decided to effectively
kill them off, the system is closed to new users with no hope of a reprint
or a second edition ever being made available. This puts a limitation on our
sales as both new and existing customers have to look to other rules. Speaking
personally I have very mixed feelings about this as I know that over the years
many of you have collected WMA armies and they are still being used very happily
by lots of people. It has been a very successful rules set. On the other hand,
the company that published them have been a pain to deal with - although they
were more than happy for Baccus to produce army packs to support the system,
they specifically banned us from using any reference to the rules themselves
in the packaging or marketing. A decision that baffled and irritated in equal
amounts.
As
a result we've taken the decision to replace WMA as our primary model for
Ancients army packs and will be replacing them with new formats from the middle
of April. There will be a seperate announcement on just what that new format
will be in the next few days.
If
you are a dedicated WMA player, then please don't give yourself over to complete
despair. We'll continue to provide WMA units in our unique 'Buy
by the Unit' service. All it means is that you'll have to design your
own army first and then put the constituent units together.
On
similar note, we will also be discontinuing our 15mm ground scale army packs.
To be honest, sales of these are very limited as the rules that they are primarily
aimed at, (DBA, DBMM and FOG), are so completely dominated by 15mm tournament
play that it seems that anyone who gets a set won't look at any other scale.
('Hello chaps, there IS life beyond 15mm figures!') Once again, existing players
will still be able to buy armies using the
'By by the unit' option.
And
by way of a little creative segue, both WMA and 15mmGS armies will still be
available for you to order and collect at Salute on April 12th. So if you
want to pick up these, or indeed anything else at this little show then please
do get in touch with is asap and let us get your order cast up and prepared.
11th
March 2014
We
are finally making progress on the Western Front! I am pleased to announce
the release of our next batch of releases for the British Expeditionary Force
of 1914. To support the previously released infantry, we now have Vickers
Machine Guns,
Cavalry
and
some awfully well dressed chaps standing around a table...
You
can find more details and order these wonderful little chaps if you> >>Click
Here>>>. Work is now underway on the artillery and in providing some
allies and some opposition so watch out for the French and German forces being
added soon!
On
another noter, further to an earlier post, you'll find that the Napoleonisc
section on this site has been completely upgraded with the new format for
Army and booster packs. In a veritable frenzy of activity you'll also find
that the ECW section has been
given a similar treatment.
I
know from the feedback that I've had these new format listings are really
appreciated and I do intend to extend them across the entire Baccus range
in the coming months.
Moving
on yet again, both Lindy and myself would like to give a personal HUGE 'Thank
You!' to all of you who have offered to support her sponsored slim. As Baccus
is matching all of your pledges pound for pound this is going to cost me quite
a lot of money at the end of the day. Rumours that I am feeding Lindy chocolate
and cream cakes are totally unfounded! There is still time for any of you
so disposed to participate - we are raising money for a great cause and some
wonderful staff who have been brilliant over the past few months.
Finally
in this rather diverse and rambling post, can I remind you all, (if it were
actually necessary), that Salute is just a few short weeks away. We are now
taking orders for collection at the show, so if you know what you are after,
can you please let us know as soon as possible? There is a nice facility on
our shopping cart system that allows you to place and a pre-order, so we've
made it as easy as we can. Go on - you know it makes sense. The alternative
is to participate in the annual Salute scrummage practice....
7th
March 2014
A
slightly different announcement today. Many of you in the UK will have met
my partner Lindy and our small bundle of energy, Benjamin, at the various
shows around the country. Sadly, Ben has had to make more than the average
number of visits to Western Park Childrens Hospital of late, and although
he is now well, Lindy would like to give something back to the AAU department
whose staff have been brilliant looking after our little boy.
As a result she will be undertaking a sponsored slim, aiming to lose one stone
in five weeks. And this is where you lot come in. Baccus will match pound
for pound the money that she raises from the sponsorships, but she now needs
sponsors. Time for you all out there to cough up and help Lindy raise some
much needed cash for a great cause. Please do get in touch with us at admin@baccus6mm.com
or lindyesco@hotmail.co.uk
to register your sponsorship.
We'll
be at WMSS touting for business, so no running away if you see a toddler chasing
you clutching a sponsorship form!
26th
February 2014
Not
a week has passed and I'm already able to unleash some more new releases on
to the 6mm world. Will this giddiness never end?
The
improvements to the Napoleonic French range is continuing apace and as a result,
you can now sample the delights of the resculpted Elite Light Cavalry
and
some rather nice Chevaue leger lanciers.
You
can find more details and order them if you >>>Click
Here>>>
This
leaves us with just the limbers, caissons and teams and the Grenadiers a cheval
to be replaced. The good news is that the former should be with you in the
next few weeks along with the first of some brand new infantry (in the post
1812 uniforms and in greatcoats).
IN
our constant search for being helpful to customers we'll be steadily introducing
a new format for detailing the contents of our army packs. Rather than rely
on boring old text, you'll see this sort of thing appearing steadily over
the next few months.
The
release of the next batch of Great War codes is also very close. We are aiming
to have these out at the WMSS show and will consist of British Vickers guns,
cavalry and a rather nice little HQ/Staff group.
If
you are going to WMSS and want to place an order for these or any other items
in the Baccus range, please let us have this by Wednesday 5th March so we'll
have the time to get them done for you.
20th
February 2014
Back
in the heady days of 2012 we started to release some codes for the Ottoman
Turks. I am delighted to be able finally announce that the range is now being
added to. The first fruits of this new-found creative energy can be found
in the shape of lots and lots of variously armed Levant infantry,
You
will find all the information that you need to know if you visit the Ottoman
Turks section, >>>Click
Here>>>
The
talented Dr Mike, whose work these are, has just taken delivery of lots and
lots of horse dollies, so no prizes for guessing what he'll be working on
over the next few months. We hope to have another batch of releases in this
range out in the latter part of the year.
The
nesxt batch of WW1 codes are steadily making their way through the moulding
process and will be available in the next couple of weeks. We'll probably
be releasing at the WMSS show on Sunday 9th March, so if you were wondering
about attending, here's that extra incentive to do so!
More
new releases very soon, so keep watching this page!
12th
February 2014
As
you can see from the logo floating above this section, we've started the countdown
for this year's Joy of Six show. Talking to people at York, there are lots
of you came last year who can't wait to get this year's show and even more
kicking themselves that they missed it the first time around and are now booking
family holidays to keep the weekend clear for 2014!
We're
still putting the show together, but it already is looking to busier with
more games and people inspired to show off their chosen scale. There is now
a dedicated site for the event which can be found
here. It's fairly sparse at the moment, but we'll be updating it with
news of games and what will be going on at the show. 2013 set a very high
standard and I for one cannot wait to see how people attempt to do even better.
If you have already offered to put on a game this year, or are thinking about
doing so, can you please contact me as soon as possible? The contact email
is admin@baccus6mm.com
The
response to just the first two releases in our Great War range has been huge
and I know lots of you are waiting impatiently for more codes to appear. The
good news is that I've just put a master mould into the press which is packed
full of the makings of reinforcements and new codes as well as some of the
resculpted French Napoleonics, so I'd hope to have some luvverly new codes
available to you by the end of next week. In addition to all of this I can
shortly give some very good news for all of you out there who are awaiting
additions to the Ottoman Turk ranges.
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