John Edwin Scruby (1916 - September 1988) was a manufacturer of military miniatures whose efforts led to a rebirth of the miniature wargaming hobby in the late 1950s.
John Edwin Scruby (1916 - September 1988) was a manufacturer of military miniatures whose efforts led to a rebirth of the miniature wargaming hobby in the late 1950s.
To meet the needs of wargamers for inexpensive but historically accurate miniatures, Scruby began casting figures made of type metal in 1955 and selling them from his shop in central California. Scruby made innovative use of RTV rubber molds. In 1958 Scruby began selling figures of his own design which he sold for 15 cents apiece as late as 1962. In 1963 he began using the 50/50 tin/lead alloy that would remain the industry standard into the 1990s.
In 1956, he organized the first US (and perhaps first anywhere) miniatures convention in California, and in 1957, he launched War Game Digest, the first publication devoted to military miniatures gaming (initially with 50 subscribers). Published quarterly, War Game Digest became the publication around which the early miniatures hobby coalesced. In 1962, Scruby began to publish Table Top Talk, intended as a promotional publication for his lines of miniatures and sets of miniatures rules, and ceased publishing War Game Digest in 1963.
Jack Scruby was also a founder of a miniature wargaming club in 1971 along with Robert (Bob) Casey, Stephen (Steve) R. Casey, Elliot M. Derman, Michael (Mike)W. Frank, Raymond (Ray) James Jackson, Wayne Ludvickson, David Rusk, Ronald (Ron) Vaughan, and Harold (Hal) Windell. This Club was very informal and had no name until the meeting on October 7, 1972, when on a motion by Ray Jackson, his proposal to call the Club the San Joaquin Valley War Gaming Association (SJVWGA), was unanimously accepted. The Club then became a formal organization with dues and officers, but no written BY-Laws. The SJVWGA on the same date became a chapter of the now defunct Spartan International. The San Joaquin Valley War Gaming Association still exists to this day as a subdivision of the War Gaming Society (WGS).
From the late 1950s until October 1973, Jack Scruby's miniatures business was in Tulare County, specifically in or near Visalia. Then he moved to Cambria in San Luis Obispo County (the California coast near Hearst Castle) where he opened a retail shop, called like his mail-order business, The Soldier Factory. It was there that Charles Kuralt and his CBS On The Road crew came in August 1977 to film a segment for the CBS Evening News.
In 1975 [1] Scruby introduced a line of fantasy figures using the 30mm scale advocated by Gary Gygax in Chainmail [2] and appropriate for use with Dungeons & Dragons .
In addition to miniature figures, Scruby sold gaming newsletters and rulebooks alongside campaign maps of Mafrica, a fictional continent used as a campaign setting for miniature wargaming that he invented for use in 19th-century African Colonial period campaigns. [3] A map of Mafrica was designed and marketed by Scruby. Publication of the map has been continued by HistoriFigs/Table Top Talk Press. [4]
A wargame is a type of strategy game that simulates warfare realistically, as opposed to abstract strategy games such as chess. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to study the nature of potential conflicts. Many wargames recreate specific historic battles, and can cover either whole wars, or any campaigns, battles, or lower-level engagements within them. Many simulate land combat, but there are wargames for naval and air combat as well.
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming in which players enact battles between opposing military forces that are represented by miniature physical models. The use of physical models to represent military units is in contrast to other tabletop wargames that use abstract pieces such as counters or blocks, or computer wargames which use virtual models. The primary benefit of using models is aesthetics, though in certain wargames the size and shape of the models can have practical consequences on how the match plays out.
In miniature wargaming, players enact simulated battles using scale models called miniature models, which can be anywhere from 2 mm to 54 mm in height, to represent warriors, vehicles, artillery, buildings, and terrain. These models are colloquially referred to as miniatures or minis.
Figure painting, or miniature painting, is the hobby of painting miniature figures and/or model figures, either as a standalone activity or as a part of another activity that uses models, such as role-playing games, wargames, or military modeling.
Battle Cry is a board wargame based on the American Civil War, designed by Richard Borg and published by Avalon Hill in 2000.
Empire is an award-winning set of rules for Napoleonic Era miniatures wargames. The first of five editions was published in 1975.
1:144 scale is a scale used for some scale models such as micro/mini armor. 1:144 means that the dimensions of the model are 1/144 (0.00694) the dimensions of the original life-sized object; this equates to a scale of 1/2 inch per 6 feet of original dimension. For instance, an airplane 30 feet (9.14 m) in length would be a mere 2.5 inches (63.5 mm) long as a 1:144 scale model.
Terrible Swift Sword: The Three Days of Gettysburg is a classic grand tactical, regimental level board wargame depicting the Battle of Gettysburg of the American Civil War. It was published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976, and remains one of the largest board wargames ever produced.
Donald F. Featherstone was a British author of more than forty books on wargaming and military history.
John Evans Hill was an American designer of military wargames, as well as rules for miniature wargaming such as Johnny Reb 3. He was a member of the Wargaming Hall of Fame. Hill is most well known as the designer of the extremely popular Avalon Hill board game Squad Leader in 1977.
Tony Bath (1926–2000) was a British wargamer who favored the ancient period. He was the founder of the Society of Ancients.
Stalingrad is strategic-level board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1963. As one of the first board wargames it was extensively played and discussed during the early years of the wargaming hobby.
Noch GmbH & Co. KG, from Wangen im Allgäu is a manufacturer and importer of accessories for model trains, especially for building landscapes. It makes products for all common sizes of model trains.
A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby developed in 1954 following the publication and commercial success of Tactics. The board wargaming hobby continues to enjoy a sizeable following, with a number of game publishers and gaming conventions dedicated to the hobby both in the English-speaking world and further afield.
Micro armour refers to small figurines made of lead, pewter, die cast metal or plastic, usually used for wargaming purposes. Variations of the name include: mini armour, microscale, mini tanks, miniature armour, miniature tanks, micro tanks, minitanks, minifigs, armour figurines, tank figurines, etc. are also used. Micro armour is a sub-category of model military vehicle miniature figures used for military simulation, miniature wargaming, scale models, dioramas and collecting.
RAFM Company, Inc. of Brantford, Ontario is a producer of miniatures, reference materials, and board games. RAFM has produced games, reference materials, and their own lines of miniature figures in 15 mm, 20 mm, 25 mm, and 28 mm scales since 1977. Their games concern soldiers, adventurers, and monsters inspired by history and fiction, and their products are sold at gaming conventions, in hobby shops, and by mail order for use in role playing games, wargaming, dioramas, competitive painting, and collecting. The company is best known for its Baker Company, Charlie Company, Death in the Dark, RAFM historical miniatures, Call of Cthulhu miniatures, fantasy miniatures, Space: 1889 figures, historical source materials, and pewter dice.
Fire and Fury is a miniatures wargame about the American Civil War.
Corps Commander, or "Corps Commander: Operational Manoeuvre Group" is a set of micro-armour Miniature wargaming rules designed by Bruce Rea Taylor and Andy Ashton and published in the UK by Tabletop games copyrighted by B. A. Rea Taylor, A. Ashton & Tabletop Games July 1986.
A wargame is a strategy game that realistically simulates warfare.
Der Kriegspielers Fantastiques was a line of fantasy miniature figures that were produced by Custom Cast and then Heritage Models beginning in the 1970s.
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