Episodes
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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
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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
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Missing episodes?
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Hello everyone and welcome once again to the Yarkshire Gamers Reet Big Wargames Podcast as I reach the 54th episode. In a bit of an extended introduction I go through and explain a recent change in my guest booking process. Before moving onto the main course.
Today my guest is Nigel Atter who is a WW1 historian with a couple of books to his name who has studied one of my favourite campaigns of history to recreate, The Great War in Mesopotamia.
Its a fascinating area to look at and very different to the more commonly studied war on the Western Front.
My guest is no stranger to the wargaming table as well so we look at his own personal wargaming and history story before doing the features session, skipping over the usual Big Game chat to give us more time to concentrate on the main topic.
Nigels books can be obtained via Helion on the link below,
Nigel Atter - Biography | Helion & Company | Military History Books
Hope you enjoy the episode and maybe get a taste for the Campaign yourself.
My next episode will see me talking with the authors of the WW2 rule set Rapid Fire, Richard Marsh and Colin Rumford.
Until then, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
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Welcome to Episode 53, for the first time on the Podcast we are going to have a detailed look at a Wargames Show in the UK and we have started with the biggest.
Salute is a London based show which has been around since the 1970s, it has grown and grown through a series of venues to its current location in the Excel centre and it sees around 6,000 devotees of the Wargaming Hobby descending on it each year.
My guests are Phil Andrews who is the current lead organiser of the show and Martin Gane who is the President of the South London Warlords, the club that runs the show.
As usual we get to know our guests through the Introduction, Big Game Chat and Features section before getting into the Big Topic which of course is the Salute Show.
Full details, including tickets etc on Salute can be found at the following location,
https://southlondonwarlords.co.uk/salute-1
Hope you enjoy the episode and I will be back next month with another guest and another show.
Until then, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
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Welcome to the first Podcast of 2024, it always seems to take me a while to get started again in the New Year, but at least I managed to get an episode out i January this time around.
Today my guest is the author of the blog Shed Wars, Giles Shapley who is also known by his nom de plume "Eric the Shed".
Shed Wars was and remains one of the staple Wargaming Blogs and it continues to be regularly updated (unlike some, yes I mean you Yarkshire Gamer !) with the gaming adventures of Giles and his friends.
In recent months the Shed has relocated to a more rural location outside the M25 and Giles has converted on of the buildings on the land he bought into a new improved version of the Shed. Plans are afoot to get on site accommodation so you can stay and play.
All the usual features are here, so sit back and enjoy nearly three hours of Wargames Chat.
The Shed Wars Blog is here
Shed Wars
And details of The Shed Wars Experience
The Shed Wars Experience
I'm in the process of organising recording of the next episode so I'm not able to announce my next guest but expect 2 episodes in February.
Until next time, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
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Its back, the Podcast within a Podcast, our traditional (well 3rd episode) of the Brews in the Binyard Xmas Special.
After being serious this year with special episodes on Paintbrushes and Papal Zouaves its time to let our hair down with a festive blow out. Sadly our usual hombre Sean Clark wasn't available this year so the wonderful Iain McDonald of Flags of War has stepped in, so Sean's Mexican corner is now Iains Jacobite Corner.
As usual the episode has a Parental Guidance Sticker as Alex can't stop swearing (as usual), I am of course as clean as a church mouse !
Sadly the recording of the track for Alex in part 1 didn't record so I have edited it together as best as I can, I couldn't leave out the Mistletoe and Wine bit.
Then Part 2 sees us review the recent entries into Wargames room 101 before moving onto a hot topic chat about how History is represented on the big screen. I then have my own Perry Miniatures related rant !
Finally its your questions and me and Alex actual get serious on our Complexity vs Playablity Session for a least 5 minutes.
Hope you all have a great Xmas and New Year. Its been a great 2023 for the Yarkshire Gamer Podcast and I want to thank everyone who has listened in. I hope to be back in the New Year with many more.
Until then, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
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For my Golden Jubilee Episode I thought I'd celebrate with a couple of the hobbies luminaries, who just happen to have recently won the World Cup of Historical Wargames Rules with their Chain of Command WW2 set, not only that the runners up were another one of their rule sets, Sharp Practice.
Nick and Rich have done many Podcasts in the past so I tried to approach familiar topics from a different angle or ask new questions, in Part 2 I turned the tables on Rich and got him to interview me on Sidney Roundwoods 7 golden rules of Podcasting.
It was a great way to celebrate 50 Episodes, here's to another 50 more !
The next episode will be the Xmas Brews in the Binyard, I did have another 3 episodes planned for this year, but I don't want to make the same mistake as last year and end up burning out trying to catch up, so those will appear early in 2024.
Finally thanks to all the listeners over the last 50 episodes, great to have you all on board.
Until next time, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
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After last episodes Paintbrush Geek Out its time to return to the regular format of the show with one of the hobbies premier rule writers.
Dave Brown broke into the world of wargames rules with his Napoleonic set General de Brigade and since then has developed successful sets of rules in both WW2 and the ACW, with other taking forward the basic system into the AWI, Seven Years War and late 19th Century Europe.
Dave has recently joined forces with the toofatlardies to reinvigorate his earlier rules and we now have another holy trinity of O Group, Pickett's Charge and General de Armee.
We cover all the usual sections and have a good laugh through the quiz and Wargames Room 101.
We have a quick chat about the forthcoming GdeA2 but mostly its me asking him how long it took to think of the name.
Its a long one, over 3 hours so make sure you have a couple of pints of milk in so you can keep the brews coming !
Next episode will be my Golden Jubilee so I will be having special guests Nick Skinner and Rich Clarke on to celebrate their remarkable achievement of getting two rule sets in the final of the recent World Cup of Wargames Rules.
Until then, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
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Its Podcast time again, this episode I've stepped aside from the usual format to get a deep dive into the world of paint brushes.
My guest is Peter Thompson, the head honcho at Pro Arte a company based in my favourite place in the world, Skipton.
We had a lovely chat covering the history of the company before moving on and discussing the finer points (pun intended) of the brush making world. From brush types, to materials, to handles, to brush care, its all there.
Its important for me to step slightly outside the Wargaming World and have guests who can enlighten us on aspects that maybe sit just outside our hobby yet still have a big influence on it, I hope you enjoy it.
The main Pro Arte website detailing the full range of brushes is here,
Pro Arte UK Artist Paint Brush Makers | Watercolour, Acytlic Oil Painting
Recently a company called ABC Brushes has started to attend UK Wargames shows selling some Pro Arte brushes so you should be able to pick some up there.
ABC Brushes
My next episode will be with the Big Game rule writer, Dave Brown.
Until then, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
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Welcome to Episode 47 of the Podcast and this time we take a look at one of my favourite Wargaming niches, that is Naval Wargaming.
And to help me on that journey I have press ganged David Manley to guide us through a minefield of turning circles, broadside markers and wind gauges.
David has been involved in Naval Wargaming most of his life, inspired by his fathers service in The Royal Navy in WW2, he has gone on to a career in Naval Ship design and currently uses wargaming within his course content at UCL.
If its Ancient Galleys, Ships of the Line, Pre and Post Dreadnoughts or Nuclear Powered Carriers, David has written a set of rules for them or desigend a 3d ship for them so who better to help us get our feet wet.
David's rules and 3d ships can be found on the link below,
https://www.wargamevault.com/browse.php?author=David%20Manley
Sit back and enjoy our chat about all things Naval.
The next episode will be out in 10 days, its already recorded. I will be speaking with Peter Thompson who is the owner of Pro Arte, The manufacturer and supplier of paint brushes to Yarkshire Gamer (and a few others !) for over 40 years.
Until then, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
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Welcome to the Podcast within a Podcast, yes it's time for another Brews in the Binyard Episodes with the regular gang, Sean Clark of Gods Own Scale and Alex Sotheran of Storm of Steel Utubes.
As regular listeners will know this is very different from the usual Episodes and is a lot more free form. Imagine three mates talking down the pub about a hobby that they love and you won't be far off the end result.
The first part of the show sees Alex and Sean finally evicted from the cellar whilst Sean has a confession to make when it comes to his latest hobby purchase. At the end of this section the boys complete the draw for the Yarkshire Gamer World Cup of Historical Wargames Rules, which was actually quite exciting 😀
Part 2 has the team acting in their capacity as adjudicators of entries into Wargames Room 101 before adding our own (obviously deadly serious) take on the Mid Winter Minis incident a few weeks ago.
Then, in Part 3 its time for the listeners questions in the #AskOurNora section.
I love making these Brews episodes, I hope you enjoy listening to them.
Next up will be David Manley an experienced rule writer and font of knowledge on all things Naval Wargaming.
Until then, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
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Welcome to episode 45 of the Yarkshire Gamer Podcast and today we have our feet firmly planted once again in the soil of Gods Own County as we travel a short bus ride through the streets of Sheffield to meet todays guest Mark Hides.
Mark has been involved in the hobby all of his life and has carved out a career embracing various aspects of wargaming.
His day job is that of a Professional Painter with his company Conflict in colour, but in addition to that he has written a book about the hobby, "Real Life's a Bugger, A Tale of Sex, Dragons and Rock and Roll" which tells the story of a youth growing up in the 80s, finding their feet in the world and this great pastime of ours. His blog Real Life's a Bugger is well worth a read even if its not for the faint hearted.
If you graft onto that a figure company called Satanic Panic its amazing Mark has any spare time at all.
As you would expect from two lads who live in Yorkshire we have some opinions on a few things and "tell it like its is" but you will learn all about the Nuclear Attack version of Threads rather than the Zuckerberg Social Media one. We discuss the glory days of the greatest wargames show ever, Sheffield Triples along with strange blokes in Barnsley that look like Vikings and unreasonably large rule books.
In all the excitement the tinterwebnet failed to record a couple of chunks of the Podcast, especially our painting chat, so I will be inviting Mark back on the next catch up show to cover that aspect of things.
It was a great fun chat and I hope you enjoy it.
You can find out more about Marks Painting Services on the link below
Miniature Painting Service | Conflict In Colour
The figure range Satanic Panic, here
Satanic Panic Old School Inspired 28mm Miniatures
Marks Book is available here
(Real) Life's A Bu**er: A Tale of Sex, Dragons & Rock 'N' Roll By M.A Hides | New | 9781471643873 | World of Books (wob.com)
And finally Marks Blog can be found here,
https://reallifesabugger.blogspot.com/
I will be back in a couple of weeks time with Episode 46 The Summer Brews in the Binyard Special.
Until then, Sithee
Regards Ken
The Yarkshire Gamer
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