HG Wells' Little Wars: With 54mm scale paper Soldiers by Peter Dennis. Introduction and Playsheet by Andy Callan

Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea,There I’ll establish a city for me:A Kirk and a mill and a palace beside,And a harbour as well where my vessels may ride.Robert Louis StevensonI’ve always been a sucker for the old Britains. That was a time when military modelling was key, rather than gaming components. There is something really appealing about seeing images of HG Wells, GK Chesterton or Robert Louis Stevenson scrambling about the floor/garden, moving 54mm figures and firing miniature cannon. Wargaming with a smoking jacket, pipe and straw boater is the way forward.I used to know the grandson of HG Wells, who once showed me his grandfather’s collection of model soldiers (those not commandeered by the Home Office for inciting communist unrest) and they were fantastic. But, oh the price1Worry no more. Harking back to the classic beginnings of wargaming, Peter Dennis and Andy Callan have produced a revise copy of Little Wars, repleted with updated rules. Replete with printouts of British Infantry in Home Service Uniform, Guardsmen, Highlanders, Riflemen, Indian Army, LifeGuards, Scots Grey, Lancers, Hussars, Punjabi, French Infantry, Poilu, Zouaves, Cuirassiers, Naval Landing Party, The ‘Firing’ Cannon and possibly “visitors” from another planet. This volume has absolutely everything! It would be ideal for playing out Victoriana, Martian Fronts and the “Second” Napoleonic War.Whether you are actually buying this, with the intention of gaming, or merely as a piece of nostalgia, of bygone years on the playroom floor, Peter Dennis and Helion have produced something that is very special. Magical.

Just received my copy and it does not disappoint.First off as anyone who has any of Peter's book, the figures are just excellent and here we have a lovely bonus in the form of some Victorian civilians and a suitably steam punk style Martian tripod. Besides myself, my grandkids love cutting out these paper soldiers and given their larger size, they are easier for younger handsHowever that is not all, you also get a slightly abridged version of the original book, complete with some quirky illustrations, that mirror those in that originalDid I mention the working paper cannon? Or that new files can be obtained from Peter's siteAll in all a really good fun book, that promises to be well used in the months and years to come