What we did in 2024 and what we will/might do in 2025
Time, it seems, really does fly. It only seems two minutes ago since I sat down to exercise my powers of creative writing to list the range of predicted shiny new releases from Baccus that were going to made available during 2024. As we coast through the final days of this year, it’s time to list the triumphs and the disappointments of the predicted release schedule, and to look at what may come for 2025. Let’s get this litany of broken promises and dashed hopes underway…
As ever, each section will start with a prediction from last year followed by a metaphorical cold shower of detailing what was actually achieved.
- We will continue to explore the Bronze age with the release of the early Arab/Desert nomads who proved to be such a constant nuisance to the more civilised folk of the middle East. We haven’t entirely given up on those Assyrians either…
Let’s start with a sense of achievement here. The aforementioned nomads did indeed pop up, and they were very much welcomed, especially the camel-mounted scouts who seemed to find themselves pressed into lots of different roles in lots of different collections.
And the Assyrians. Yes, the Assyrians. Well, we didn’t actually give up on them, more like just pat them on the head and ask them to wait in line a little longer.
Moving on…
- After that, more Byzantines…the aim eventually is to have coverage of the Imperial army from the 5th to the twelfth centuries, along with various opponents on the way.
Ah, yes. Byzantines. Those chaps. Well, against all expectations we managed to release not one, but two iterations of this most enduring of ancient Imperial armies. First, we had the Byzantines of the late 10th and 11th centuries, perfect for dust-ups with various bands of riff-raff and ne’er do wells of the time. Taking their place in our Early Medieval ranges they’ve been well received and very popular.
‘Mission accomplished’, you might think, but no. You spend a decade or so waiting for a Byzantine range, and then two pop along at once! Yes, we added an earlier incarnation of the army in the form of a 6th and 7th army perfect for reconquering Rome and dealing the with Sassanian Persians.
So far, so good.
- I’ve a mind to see if we can squeeze in a couple of overhauls of older Ancients ranges, but I won’t make any rash promises at this point.
The Me who is typing this right now is giving justifiable heartfelt thanks to the Me of a year ago for not doing the rash promises thing. I must endeavour to pass this act of kindness on to the Me of a year in the future. We thought about the overhauls and then went, ‘Nah’. Maybe next year. Maybe.
- Which brings us to sort of, ‘Pikes and things that go BANG’, area. Firstly, I will VERY confidently announce that we will shortly be releasing the final codes to complete our 18thC Ottoman Turkish range.
You cannot possibly understand how pleased I am to be able to say that we did indeed complete the Ottoman range.
The incomplete Turkish range for our Great Northern War armies has been annoying me and frustrating customers for years. To be able to finish this section, and then by extension the whole GNW project has been a huge source of personal satisfaction for me. This is a wargames period that has long been a favourite of mine, and I have wanted to do it justice. Over the past three years, the whole range has been completely resculpted. We’ve added new codes missing from the first set of releases and released eleven brand new full colour flag sheets for all the nationalities involved.
For those of you unfamiliar with the period, get reading. You won’t find anything with more variety, colour and action. What are you waiting for?
- This news is doubly important, as it will mark the end of the massive update of the GNW ranges, and secondly, it releases the sculptor to start work on the much-anticipated Italian Wars figures. This will be a massive undertaking as it really is an epic project. Sculpting has already started on the first figures, and Italian Wars releases will become a staple for the next two or even three years. This range will have the ‘X Factor’ and will be suitably spectacular.
Welllll …. We have definitely started on this project, but progress to date has been slow for a number of factors. The biggest drag on release dates is the care that we are taking with the range to include the huge diversity of clothing and headgear that typifies the period. This is definitely an era where the word, ‘standardisation’, got up in the morning, looked at the conditions outside, muttered to itself and then went back to bed for a few decades.
As a result, we are sculpting multiple versions of the same code, casting these and then returning them to the sculptor for adding a range of different headgear. The result is a bewildering amount of variety in the end result, not of pose, but of dress and equipment. All of this takes time, so the Italian Wars is going to be a long term product of steady releases. The first releases from this process did see the light of day in the form of some gorgeous Gendarmes, suitable for all sides of the conflict. Anyone who has had the pleasure of painting these will attest to the quality of the sculpts, and diversity of options to paint.
- Strangely enough, many more Second World War releases are in the pipeline. We are at the stage with the British and German forces of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s for late war equipment. The plan is to finish the process over the next few months. The US and Soviet armies will be all but completed by the end of 2024.
I suppose that this all depends on what you mean by the term, ‘finish’. I mean, ‘to complete’ sounds so, well, final. Think of it rather as leaving a few, maybe quite a few, codes left to add to the US and Soviet forces to bring them up to speed.
While we did get some of new stuff out into the world, there is still a lot to do, and we do aim to get this all done. Let’s move on, shall we?
- However, the main set of releases over the next twelve months will see the release of the first models for the North African campaign. We have actually got quite a lot done already and we are anticipating a regular set of releases as get into gear.
We actually did pretty well here. Both the British and German infantry and support weapons were released in full.
And we got a good number of vehicles into the catalogue.
https://baccus6mm.com/_products/2559-wbr81.jpg
It’s been a good start, but there is obviously a lot more to come for this part of the WW2 range.
- Staying with the 1940’s theme, the aircraft models will begin to roll out, and they will be jolly nice, if I say so myself.
Where would this annual Purgatorial self-examination be without the odd Epic Fail here and there? ‘Technical issues’ prevented us moving ahead with these models as we had planned. It’s all down to wing thickness and tapering and other such things. I would regard these as being, ‘delayed’, rather than cancelled. On the other hand, I stick by my assertion that they will be ‘jolly nice’.
- In a break from our normal releases, we will be bringing out our own range of Teeny Tiny Terrain models to complement our figures. In the usual Baccus manner, these will be ‘different’, so keep looking out for their release.
And in complete contrast, we have the release of the Teeny Tiny Terrain range.
The TTT range was the result of a, ‘sideways thinking’ meeting at Baccus HQ. Building on our experience of using very small scale buildings in an old Gettysburg game we decided to release a few models and see what the response would be.
It was such an unusual idea that we had no idea of how well-received the concept would be. We knew that gamers would either love it or hate it, but what those proportions would be was a complete unknown. As it turned out, the range was an immediate hit and in their first month of release, TTT models were our highest selling items. We were also deluged by a request for more subjects and expansions. A second group of models was released at the Joy of Six, and they proved to be just as popular as the initial batch.
You will definitely be seeing more from this range next year.
One release that wasn’t predicted was our Napoleonic Winter Collection.
The inspiration for these figures was a steady, constant and remarkably consistent series of requests over the years from a wide range of people for a few Napoleonic figures in generic bad weather gear. Given that we already had various infantry in greatcoat, this seemed like a logical addition to the range. So, there you have it – generic light and heavy cavalry and artillery, all with covered headwear and swathed in cloaks or greatcoats – perfect for most armies of the period.
- The renaissance of the Polemos series will continue. Firstly, the ‘Ruse de Guerre’ rules have been upgraded to full colour with the new edition due to be released early in January 2024. Next, the finishing touches are being put to an ACW Companion to our existing Polemos rules for the period. These will have scenarios, extra army lists and a campaign module for both, ‘On they came’, and, ‘Crisis of Allegiance’.
And lo! So, it did come to pass…
All of our recent Polemos releases have been really well received and there are more to come, it’s a matter of…timing…
- We will FINALLY be releasing a set of rules that have been much-promised but never delivered. However, this time I am prepared to state categorically that we will be publishing a Polemos rules set for the Seven Years War. These have been completed and are only awaiting layout, which will take place once the ACW Companion is published. They have been writing by Glenn Pearce and are based upon his innovative, ‘Ruse de Guerre’ set.
Ah, the youthful impetuosity of the Me of just 12 months ago. No, the SYW set didn’t appear. For various reasons, this year, I have had to spend a lot more time on the day to day running of Baccus and standing in as a part and sometimes full-time caster. This has had a massive effect on the amount of time available for things such as video creation, book writing, photography and, rules layout. As a result, a no-show for the rules this time around.
- The Joy of Six will be taking place at Sheffield Hallam University on Sunday July 14th. We will shortly be opening booking for games and traders at the show and we’ll let you all know when that’s put in place. I am looking forward to seeing what you’ve all got planned this time around. It really is the highlight of the year as far as we are concerned.
What can I say? Once again, the Joy of Six delivered! Amazing games, a great range of traders, lots of happy wargamers and a showcase for just what 6mm is all about. Small games, HUGE games and everything in-between. It has even arrived as an event on some people’s Bucket List. Thanks to all those who made it happen; visitors, exhibitors, traders, panellists and, of course, the Yellowshirts. JOS works as it does because of the contribution of all these groups, so give yourself a huge pat on the back if you were in one of them.
- Not quite a Baccus release, but one which should be of interest. Helion will be publishing a guide to 6mm wargaming. While I will admit to having a certain personal interest in this publication, I am sure that it will serve well to spread the word about the Joys of Six to a wider audience.
And we finish with yet another Epic Fail. The same, ‘circumstances’ that contributed to the lack of Polemos publications also claimed the book as a victim. Many apologies to David, my co-author, Charles, my long-suffering publisher and to anyone awaiting the tome. Amends will be made…
Some of you may have noticed that Lindy has been more active in the business this year, and her principal contribution seems to have been to give money away! You have my lovely wife to thank for the occasional sales and the introduction of the monthly golden ticket draw. The former seems to have been received with a degree of incredulity to those more used to my more niggardly ways, while the latter has been a means of us saying, ‘thank you’, to our customers. It’s really nice for us to put faces to names when we get the photos of the winners sent back to us. And yes, the Golden Tickets will continue next year.
And so, with the painful bit out of the way, let’s attempt to draw back the misty veils obscuring the difficult road ahead and look at what may, or may not, be coming out of Baccus HQ in 2025.
The easiest way to approach this is to work chronologically, so...
In the Beginning were the…Assyrians. Well, in our beginning anyway. We’ve touted these chaps around often enough. To be fair, we have made a start in the past but were badly let down by a new sculptor. We’ll be entrusting this version of the project to Tony, and we know that he will do the subject justice.
Staying with folks in chariots and a predilection for conquering neighbours and doing the whole Empire thing, we will be moving further east and bringing out a Ch’in Chinese range. Over the years this has been a consistent subject in the, ‘please will you bring out’, part of emails and conversations, so in the end, ‘Why not?’. If nothing else, it looks as if it will be a very spectacular, colourful project.
Speaking of which and something that will definitely feature in a number of releases in 2025 will be the epic saga of the Italian Wars range. First out of the blocks will be the Landsknecht pike, closely followed by Arquebusiers, Swordsmen and Artillery. Once these are completed, we will be moving on to the Swiss. Next in line after that will be the Spanish, but I can’t promise we will complete this by the end of the year. I will also endeavour to make some flag sheets available. Let’s face it, this is a wargames period that most definitely needs flags and lots of them!
If this were a film, there would now be a cut scene of the pages of a thick book miraculously ruffling and turning over pages in quick succession marking the passing of the years with the final destination appearing on the screen in big letters indicating that we have arrived in 1918.
Yes, 1918, as will be releasing the last of our planned ranges for the Great War, in the form of the US army. I do know it’s a bit late to the party, but, well, you know…
We will be providing the usual mix of infantry, support weapons, artillery and a rather nice set of HQ/Command figures. After this, future Great War releases will be restricted to vehicles, and maybe, at some stage, aircraft.
Which brings us nicely on to our proposed Second World War releases. The problem with this is, that there are very few major, ‘Ta Dah!’ releases. It is essentially a steady release of individual models that eventually match together to make the whole. So, yes, lots of new items will be appearing on a regular basis throughout the year at regular intervals. In no particular order, we are looking at North African British Priest, Sherman, Lee, Grant, Tiger, Bishop, Marmon-Herrington, 8th Army HQ, and for the Germans, PzII, PzIB, DAK Army HQ. For the Eastern Front, German JgPzIV, SturmTiger, Elefant, and Russian Su122/85/100/76i, 2.5t Studebaker & GMC. We may even add a sprinkling of Soviet Naval Infantry for a bit of variety. If we can then add half a dozen aircraft, that will be a pretty decent set of additions to the range – and there may even be a few more that aren’t on the list.
Fans of the Teeny Tiny Terrain will be delighted to hear that we will continue to expand and develop the range in 2025. The first set of releases have already been prototyped and are awaiting moulding. We’ll be keeping the range of subjects diverse, with Eastern Europe, Early Middle Ages and Imperial Rome all being represented in our planning. We are investigating adding wooded areas to the options, as well as other natural features. Longer term will see the addition of fortifications/city walls of various types, but let’s see how this all develops.
In terms of printed materials, I will endeavour to both get the infamous 6mm wargaming book completed and, if time allows, get back to some Polemos publications. No hostages to fortunes here, and no promises made.
The Joy of Six will be returning with its usual mix of high quality 6mm games, all your favourite traders under one roof and lively Q&A sessions. The 2025 Joy of Six will take place in Sunday 13th July at Sheffield Hallam University. If you only get to one show next year, make it the Joy of Six.
I will be making online booking forms for games and traders available very shortly.
In addition to all of this we will shortly be announcing a major new project for Baccus. We have been working on this for the past three months or so under the title of, ‘Project X’. Look out for this one…
On a less welcome note, I am afraid that there will have to be another price increase at some point in early to mid 2025. I know that it is not long since the last one, but that itself was well overdue and it was immediately overtaken by an insanely rapid and dramatic increase in the price of metal and our energy costs. I hate doing this, and it costs us an awful amount of work to put in place, but sadly it is a necessity.
All of which brings me on the ‘thanks’ section of this annual verbal perambulation. Starting close to home, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all at Team Baccus, especially the casters who have had to do a difficult job under what has been some trying circumstances this year. I’d also like to single out my wife, Lindy, who has massively increased her role in the business in the last twelve months, and who was threatening to come back to work just two weeks after abdominal surgery! Thanks also to the Yellowshirts who volunteer to help out at JOS. We couldn’t begin to stage the show without them. Finally, many, many thanks to all of you have ordered from us over the past twelve months – without you lot buying things, I might have to get a proper job instead of mucking around with toy soldiers.
May I wish you all a wonderful 2025.
