Wargames Illustrated WI457 January 2026 Edition

OBSERVATION POST

In this month’s OP we’ve got some great new books and fine plastics, along with some superb new basing boxes.

RELEASE RADAR

Dom Sore’s Release Radar keeps on cranking out new release news into the new year.

QUICK FIRE

Short, quick-read posts from WI readers about their hobby projects, notes, news, and observations.

THEME: BEST OF 2025

WI’s Dan and James take a look back over the best hobby releases of 2025.

THE BATTLE OF MONTARGIS, 1427

We talked to Simon Chick, the main mini provider behind the Bodkins’ amazing demonstration game at this year’s The Other Partizan, about his incredible Hundred Years’ War collection.

THEME: WHAT MOGSY MADE OF 2025

James Morris describes how Wargames Atlantic’s Grand Battle Scale plastics enhanced his hobby in 2025, and gives us a little report on September’s Colours wargames show.

CIVIL WAR NEWS HOBBY

Inspired by last month’s article on how to use Topps’ Civil War News cards in campaign play, Matt Parkes makes a couple of scenes based on the pulpy artwork.

PETER’S ASSASSINS AND TEMPLARS PAPER BOYS

We’ve teamed up with wargaming’s favorite illustrator, Peter Dennis, to bring you some brand new, free-to-print Assassins and Templars Paperboys.

DESIGNER’S NOTES: INSIDE THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WARGAMES

Rubén Torregrosa, aka ‘HeresyBrush’, discusses the epic collection of painting tomes on which he’s been Project Editor.

1151: VIKINGS VERSUS KNIGHTS

Daniel Mersey graces us with a campaign for his popular Lion Rampant ruleset, inspired by a simple ‘X versus Y’ nucleus.

ANCIENTS ARE DEAD

Bill Gray discusses the state of Ancients with a view from the US wargames scene and show circuit.

SIMON MILLER’S LUST FOR GLORY

James found some time at this year’s The Other Partizan to quiz Simon Miller on how his next ruleset, Lust for Glory, is progressing.

THE QUICK AND THE LEAD

James reports on a showdown between Great Escape Games’ Mark Wheatley and WI’s Joe, then grills Mark about the year that was and the year ahead in wargaming.

THE JOY OF LESS

Pete Brown explains how collecting and painting with fewer miniatures at a smaller scale leads to more time for gaming. He wraps up with a scenario featuring a small-scale battle from the American Revolution.

DEAD BUT NOT GONE

Frostgrave author Joseph A. McCullough discusses ‘living’ and ‘dead’ wargames.

TITO’S PARTIZANS IN BOLT ACTION

Manuel Barros Silva builds and paints a characterful Bolt Action army and shows us how he did it!

BASING FOR THE COLD

Rubén Torregrosa returns with a new hobby guide; this time, he’s basing the figure he painted in WI453, preparing it for combat in the snow.