Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast

Episode 64 - Andy Johnson - Soldier, Gamer, Author

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to the first, long form "normal" Podcast for a while and todays guest is Andy Johnson.

Andy was born in York which gets a big tick in a box on this show ! and in the first part of the show we chat about Andys Wargaming life and the old Little Soldier Shop on Gillygate in his home town.

Section 2 covers Andys extensive military career in the Coldstream Guards and how wargaming was used as a learning tool throughout his service.

Its then the usual quiz etc before we move on to talk about Andys books and his Utube Channel "Brave Men Died Here".

I really enjoyed reading my guests books and they are highly recommended.

Books avaliable via the link below

Amazon.co.uk: Andy Johnson: books, biography, latest update

YouTube Channel is here

Brave Men Died Here UK - YouTube

Back in a couple of weeks when I hope to be interviewing Lorenzo Sartori editor of the Italian Wargaming Magazine Dadi & Piombo 

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 63 - Paul Thompson - EWM Catch Up & the WW2 German Raid on the UK

Hi everyone,

This was planned initially as a bit of a catch up episode with a number of guests but I wasn't able to get all the  interviews done and I've been away myself so rather than have this lying around for weeks I've put my catch up with Paul out as an individual episode.

Paul was my guest on Episode 43 and we chatted in depth on that occasion about Early War Miniatures and at the start of this show we chat for half an hour about what is going on at EWM and how they managed to cope with The Great Wargames Website Wobble of 24, something that affected many companies in the UK.

We then move onto, what for me is one of the most fascinating stories I've ever covered on this show, the German raid on the coast of the Isle of Wight in 1943, an event which occurred just round the corner from where Paul lives and works.

An amazing amount of work has gone on since we last spoke and Paul fills us in on the information that has come to light recently. The story isn't complete yet but its been a privilege to be party to the information as its come out and I look forward to hearing more.

My next guest will be author Andy Johnson who has written a number of historical novels set in different eras, the WW2 and Wars of the Roses books have been on my reading pile recently. Andy has also done a bit of gaming as well as having a career in the military, so there will be plenty to chat about.

Its important for me to keep the Podcast fresh and entertaining (for me as well) and with that in mind I've got a couple of different types of shows (in addition to the current, wargamer, brews in the binyard and historian styles) in the pipeline and I hope to announce those in the near future.

So sit back and enjoy my chat with Paul and I'll see you again next time.

Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 62 - Trevor Dixon - Dixon Miniatures

Welcome back everyone to Episode 63 of the Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast and today I've got off my backside and driven down t'road to Honley just outside Holmfirth where I sat down with Trevor Dixon of Dixon Miniatures to chat about his time in the hobby.

He got his first break with Hinchliffe Miniatures before striking out on his own in the 1970s with a range of Monguls, much much more was to come over the following years.

Dixon Miniatures are full of character, something which for me is lacking in modern day 3d sculpts, his Samurai range is still one of the best for the period and as you can see, it looks the absolute business.

A bit shorter than usual as I just went for a straight interview rather than the usual sections but I had a lovely time talking with Trev and I hope you enjoy listening to it.

Drop by Trevors website and pick up some of his lovely figures, if we all do it, it will save him doing the decorating !

https://www.dixon-minis.com/

Back in a few weeks time for a catch up episode, my one confirmed guest so far is Paul Thompson from EWM who will give us an update on EWM, The Great Wargames Website Wobble and of course the 1943 German Raid on the Isle of Wight.

Until next time Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 61 - Little Wars TV with Greg and Miles

Hey Up,

Its time to go across the pond to the USA and speak to a couple of guys who are part of the team who run Little Wars TV on that there Utubes. These guys are so big they even have more subscribers than Alex Sotheran !

The channel has been off air for a while and has recently returned to the airwaves so I thought it would be a great time to have a chat and see what was going on and what the plans for the future are.

Greg and Miles from the show volunteered to be my guests, we had limited time so its a slightly different format to normal, but I don't think you will notice that much, however its "only" 2 hours long, blink and you will miss it :-)

If you haven't seen their channel its here 

https://www.littlewarstv.com/

Hope you enjoy the show and I'll see you in a couple of weeks when I will be back with a chat with Legend of the Hobby, Trevor Dixon of Dixon Miniatures

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 60 - Summer Brews in the Binyard 24

Its that time of year again where the gang meet up in our terrace bin yard to chew the fat on the hobby in general.

Today I'm joined by regular guests Alex Sotheran from Storm of Steel and Iain McDonald from Flags of War, we have a quick catch up whilst Alex saves up the money for his internet connection before he tells us how he became the "face" of Warlord Games.

Its then time for the panel to ratify the recent entries into Wargames Room 101 before moving on to draw Rounds 1 and 2 of the World Cup of Historical Wargames Miniature Manufacturers and yes the Perrys are in it !

We then finish of with the usual #askournora listeners questions where we discuss weighty topics like which pizza topping we would be.

Hope you enjoy, as always with these shows they are not for the faint hearted and best listened to in a darkened cellar with soundproofing.

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 59 - Pete Brown - TAG

Welcome to Episode 59 and today I am chatting with Pete Brown who is the main man at The Assault Group who are probably better known as TAG.

Pete has had a interesting journey in the hobby prior to setting up TAG, he's worked at Table Top Games, Games Workshop and Wargames Foundry so it was great to chat about his career in mould making and casting and especially chatting about Bob Connor the owner of TTG who is sadly no longer with us.

TAG are probably best known for their extensive range of 28mm Renaissance Figures, covering most nations and conflicts in the period, as Pete is a self confessed list ticker he is always keen to finish off his ranges and not leave customers hanging on for that final pack in a range.

Its another wide ranging chat about the hobby which I'm sure you will enjoy.

TAG figures can be purchased via their website, link below,

https://theassaultgroup.co.uk/

The next episode with be the Summer Edition of Brews in the Bin Yard which will include the draw for the World Cup of Historical Wargames Miniature Manufacturers.

Until Next Time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Episode 58 - Joe Bilton - Wargames Terrain

After our double header history fest on Jutland with Nick Jellicoe its time to get back to basics with a special episode on Wargames Terrain.

My guest is Joe Bilton aka @Joe_Wargamer on Twitter (sorry Elon, its Twitter mate) who during the 5 years or so he has been in the hobby has produced some superb quality tables with an emphasis on more realistic terrain.

His day job is creating maps for Wargames, mostly Role Play and Fantasy style stuff but with an increasing amount of historical stuff chucked in, here's a link to the company

http://www.heroicmaps.com/

All the usual sections are there and we have a cracking entry into Room 101, I can feel the Twitters lighting up already !

The final section of the show is a deep dive into terrain making with some top tips and ideas for improving the look of our wargames tables.

My next guest will be Pete from TAG, I'm a big fan of The Assault Groups Italian Wars figures so I'm really looking forward to that one.

Sit back and relax with a nice brew and a Garibaldi and enjoy the episode.

Until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode 57 - Nick Jellicoe - Jutland, The Battle and its Aftermath

Hi everyone.

No surprises with the content of this episode as I present the second part of my interview with Nick Jellicoe. In the first part we covered a lot of the background to the battle and the characters involved.

In this part of the interview we look in detail at the battle itself, going through each of the major phases of the action at Jutland. We then finish the show off with a quick look at John Jellicoe after the Battle.

The two episodes weigh in at just over 4 hours and I have to say I enjoyed every minute of each one. I would like to thank Nick for being so generous with his time and hopefully you enjoyed our chat as well.

Next episode will feature Joe Bilton, Joe is one of the leading terrain makers out there and his recent Stalingrad table at Salute was a joy to see. As some one who often shies away from that side of the hobby from both an enthusiasm and talent perspective it will be great to hear from Joe on how he gets excited over some grass tufts and a bit of scatter !

So until next time, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer 

Episode 56 - Nick Jellicoe - Jutland - Prelude to Battle

Hello again, welcome to Episode 56, the first of a double header on the Battle of Jutland, by far the largest sea borne action of the First World War and what a great guest we have to discuss it with you, Nick Jellicoe, grandson of John Jellicoe Commander of the British Fleet at the battle.

We recorded for about 4 and a half hours and it was a great discussion cover many aspects of Nicks life as well as the battle itself. 

I haven't split a guest episode for a while but I had recorded this episode along with the ones with Nigel Atter and the Rapid Fire in a period of two weeks so splitting this episode will make it easier on your time and also give me a bit of a break until I record the next episode.

In this show I talk to Nick about his life as well as a most interesting chat around his fathers WW2 career. We then go on to discuss the prelude to the battle and some of the characters involved.

Back in two weeks to talk about the battle itself and its aftermath.

Until then, Sithee

Regards Ken

The Yarkshire Gamer

Episode55 - Richard Marsh & Colin Rumford - Rapid Fire

Welcome to the latest episode of the Podcast with my two guests Richard Marsh and Colin Rumford who are responsible for one of the most popular sets of WW2 rules available - Rapid Fire.

First released in 1994 and supported by many subsequent Supplements, Campaign and Scenario Books the rules have gone through a recent update with Rapid Fire Reloaded, a chartless version of the orginal rules.

It's a long episode but with two guests that's always the way as we go through the regular features with each guest, eventually after a couple of hours we get round to actually talking about the rules ! But this isn't a short form Podcast after all it's just as much about getting to know the guests as it is the main topic.

The Rapid Fire website where you can obtain all the various books is

https://www.rapid-fire-uk.com/

Hope you enjoy the episode, next up I hope will be another Historian style show with Nick Jellicoe where we will be discussing the Battle of Jutland.

Until then Sithee

Regards Ken