Painting Winter Americans

By: Kreighton Long

My recent Bolt Action projects have, in-part, been chosen to challenge myself with new basing techniques.  I’ve played around with desert bases for my North African Italian army, stacked rubble with urban bases for my Stalingrad German army, and now plan on making snow angels with winter bases for my Battle of the Bulge US army.  So let’s get into how this project came together on the painting table.

Bolt Action Tournament Time Management

By Kreighton Long

I recently wrote an article about a Bolt Action tournament I attended in February.  One of the commenters made me think about how different Tournament Organizers across the country approach the time management piece of running a tournament.  So I set out to collect some answers.

I reached out to TOs from coast to coast, some I knew from attending their events and others via Facebook or recommendations from others, and started to compile some ideas.  The conversations began with point/order dice limits, how long rounds lasted, scenarios chosen or avoided, and additional measures put in place to help ensure well timed events.   Take a look below on comments made by eight TOs.  At the end you’ll find my key take-aways from this experience.

The Hungarian Sub-Optimals!

By: Phil Gurtler

I have been super excited about Konflikt 47 since I saw it on the discount shelf at my local store six years ago after first edition floundered. Now with the rerelease and the new plastic kits, I get to live the best parts of German tanks and multilegged battlemechs in one! To create my dream K47 army, I took a little bit of liberty to head cannon my own reasons for why I will be playing my favorite models. Notice I didn’t say the best units…a dozen or so games in, and I have only actually won a single game.

Painting BEF Infantry for Flames of War

A miniature of a British Rifleman from the Flames of War Early War range.

By Richard Steer

I’ve jumped into the Early-War period of Flames of War, and am in the middle of building the British half of the Dunkirk two-player starter set. I recently took a look at what is in the box, and now I’m painting the infantry.

The purpose of this article is to step through my process for painting FOW infantry, in the hope that this may be of use to players who are just getting into FOW and looking to paint their first figures.

Painting My First Battletech Set

By Kreighton Long

A former student of mine recently introduced me to Battletech.  We played a few games over the last year and it gradually grew on me.  At first, I was content to play with the models that my friend provided for our games, but that contentment did not last.

Perhaps it was rewatching Neon Genesis Evangelion over the summer, or older influences like Gundam or Pacific Rim, but either way I felt drawn to painting my own mech force.  As I have little experience with the lore, game play, or mechanics, I decided to prioritize which set I wanted to try my hand at by the rule-of-cool.

Battlegroup 2.0 Coming Soon

By Tom Gall

Battlegroup is a WWII set of miniatures rules by Plastic Soldier Publishing. Written by Warwick Kinrade and first published in 2012, there have been many source books released over the past 14 years covering all parts of the war from early on with Blitzkrieg, Barbarossa, North Africa, the Pacific, Italy, D-Day, Market Garden, the Bulge, to Berlin when the war is all but over.

Williamsburg Muster Bolt Action Tournament – 21 February 2026

Photo by David Skibicki.

By Kreighton Long

On 21 February, thirteen players gathered at the Williamsburg Muster in Williamsburg, VA to compete in another one of Kalissa Skibicki’s Bolt Action tournaments.  Most of the participants were returning players with friendly catch-ups throughout the weekend.  A few new faces joined the usual gang over three rounds on gorgeous tables prepared by David Skibicki.

Getting Started with FOW Early-War: The Dunkirk Box

By Richard Steer

Flames of War has returned to the early period of the Second World War, with the publication of Blitzkrieg, covering the Invasion of France in May and June 1940. A new period is an exciting time for the game, with new nations, new miniatures, and new challenges.

My focus for Early-War in previous editions was the Mediterranean theatre, and I have never played anything from the campaign in France. To get back into playing Early-War while we wait for the North Africa book, I have picked up a copy of the new “Dunkirk” two-player starter set. Over the next few weeks, I’ll use it to assemble, paint, and start playing a new army. First, though, let’s have a look at what’s in the box.

The Dunkirk Starter Set