1/144 Tank is a small company making miniatures for tabletop wargames.

1898 Miniaturas is the dream come true of Rafael Gómez and Javier Gómez ‘El Mercenario’), two brothers with a decades long link to the world of miniatures that want to show their personal vision of the hobby with this project, a mix of History, modeling and wargaming.

History because 1898 Miniaturas is born with the aim to recreate unfairly forgotten periods of our past, as the Cuban War of Independence and the Spanish-American War, complementing the ranges of miniatures with history or uniformology articles of said conflicts from the pen of renowned authors, and dear friends, like Julio Albi de la Cuesta or Francisco Gracia Alonso.

Modeling because 1898 Miniaturas is, above all, an initiative that intends to release 28mm miniatures for collectors, painters and wargamers with a great level of detail and quality, sculpted by José Hidalgo, current sculptor and owner of Miniaturas Beneito and with extensive experience in the sector. Without forgetting, of course, the historical rigor, for which we have accredited advisers like Luis Sorando Muzás or William Combs, or the painting techniques to paint them, by Javier Gómez ‘El Mercenario’.

And Wargame because the 1898 Miniaturas ranges are ideal to recreate conflicts at different scales, from small unit skirmishes to field battles. For this we will offer adaptations of different rulesets for this period, as well as different game scenarios.

Our Team

Rafael Gómez Valero

Founder of 1898 Miniaturas. I am the owner of Atlantica Juegos, a store specializing on miniatures, wargames and Military History.

My first experience with this hobby happened during High School with role playing games. Later, back in 1990, at the age of 22, I opened my first store in Madrid called “El Baluarte”, specialized in board wargames, role playing games and fantasy games. I had always been very fond of military history, so as soon as I had the first historical miniatures in my hands (Napoleonics from Front Rank, by the way) I decided to get fully involved in this subject and opened a section just for historical wargames miniatures.

A couple of years later I entered the Librería Atlántica team, which was the germ of current Atlantica Juegos, which over the years has become a national benchmark in miniaturism, wargaming and Military History. Despite becoming my way of life, twenty-six years later I still feel passionate about this hobby, for which I raise the stakes with this new and exciting project, 1898 Miniaturas.

Javier Gómez Valero

Founder of 1898 Miniatures. I am a PhD in History, professional miniature painter more known as 'El Mercenario' and coeditor of Desperta Ferro Ediciones.

My first contact with miniaturism came in the late 80’s thanks to role playing games and some infamous orc miniatures that I “colored” with Humbrol paints from my brothers. However, from very early on I developed a passion for history that lasts until today and, being barely 15, I began to paint Napoleonic miniatures. Therefore it is not surprising that after finishing high school I enrolled in History, which I combined with working part time in Atlántica Juegos and painting miniatures by commission.

After graduating I decided to dedicate myself more and more to miniaturism, acquiring with my good friend and by then partner David Gómez the nickname ‘El Mercenario’, a job that for two years I combined with the direction of the unfortunately defunct Spanish version of the magazine Wargames: Soldiers and Strategy (still available in its international version). Working solo, I painted miniatures for private collectors around the world, as well as for top brands like Perry Miniatures or Front Rank, and I have written dozens of articles for magazines and industry blogs, as well as the book Painting Wargame Miniatures (Pen & Sword, 2015).

In 2008 I moved to Barcelona and joined the Alpha Ares club, which since 2014 I have the honor of presiding over. My life took a turn in 2010, the year when I founded, together with Alberto Perez and Carlos de la Rocha, Desperta Ferro Ediciones, an editorial specializing in Political and Military History and Archeology that in a short time has become an indispensable reference in the sector, which I dedicate myself in body and soul (although I always try to spare some time to paint).

Collaborators

José Hidalgo

Sculptor of 1898 Miniaturas

My first contact with miniature soldiers was in the late 70’s, with Montaplex envelopes. Yes, much water has flowed under the bridge since then… And I have not stopped, first with 1:72 miniatures from Esci, Matchbox, etc, then with some models and the jump to bigger scales, both in plastic and metal. I began to collaborate with Fernando Beneito in 1995 or 1996, in the courses he gave in his workshop, and learned a more refined painting technique. I also took my first steps with putty, although I had already tried to do something with it years before. I started working for him about 2002. Fernando passed away in 2005, and his widow and me kept on for a couple of years more with Miniatures Beneito until she decided to leave it and I took charge, until now. I currently dedicate myself to sculpting originals, painting box art and casting copies.

William Combs

Historical advisor of 1898 Miniaturas

William K. Combs, called “Bill” by all who know him, was born in 1955 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended the University of Cincinnati and has worked at several living history museums in Illinois and New York. He is currently the business manager of the Ohio Valley Military Society, an organization that sponsors the largest militaria collector fairs in the United States. Bill saw his first rayadillo uniform in a display at the Ohio Historical Society museum in the mid-1970s. He recalls that he thought it was the most beautiful uniform he had even seen. From that moment was born his passion for the study and collecting of the history and material culture of the Spanish colonial army from before 1898. For over 40 years he has focused his research on the uniforms and arms used by the defenders of Spain’s tropical empire. Some of the fruits of his labors can be viewed on his website. A comprehensive book covering the period of 1851-1898 is planned in the future.

Luis Sorando Muzás

Historical adviser of 1898 Miniaturas

Luis Sorando Muzás (Zaragoza 1961) is a founding member of the Spanish Napoleonic Association and president of A.H.C. Volunteers of Aragon. Adviser of the Army Museum, he is the author of ‘Flags, standards and trophies of the Army Museum 1700-1843. Catalogue raisonne’, and more than 100 essays and articles on Spanish flags and uniforms, especially from the Napoleonic period. He has been twice awarded the research prize of the Sieges of Zaragoza and the medal “Pro Memoria” of the Polish Government for his collaboration in spreading the study and the memory of its soldiers that fought in Spain.

Àlex Claramunt Soto

Historical adviser of 1898 Miniaturas

Àlex Claramunt Soto is director of Desperta Ferro Modern History magazine, as well as a doctor in Media, Communication and Culture, and a graduate in Journalism from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. His interest is focused on the military history of the 16th to 18th centuries, on which he has published two books and various articles.

A & A Game Engineering was started up by Andrew Finch ("A") and Alan Butler ("the other A") in 1995. Both are long term wargamers and, having failed to find rules that provided a good game that could be played to a conclusion in the time available, set themselves the task of providing these to the wargaming world.

We are both long standing members of Tunbridge Wells Wargames Society.

Our Philosophy

Since we started our business publishing rules we have seen a big change in the style of rules available to the wargaming community. Most sets of rules were the product of a small number of players who had come together at various events and had formed groups who set about publishing rules, which became what could be termed standard sets. These were used for many years at annual competitions, so all players who were participating knew how the games were played. These products were usually in booklet form with little or no illustration.

More recently the hobby expanded with a number of companies producing much larger glossy hardback books, which set a new standard. What used to be a hobby that was centred on historical battles has expanded into one where fantasy and science fiction also have their place. Over time these sets of rules have become the new standard at competitions.

When we started our business, our rules were developed for use between a small group of players at our local wargame society. After a while a suggestion was made that we could market our products, albeit in a small way, selling them at wargame shows that we were attending as a society, often demonstrating the use of the rules in the games we presented. The aim has always been to have a set of rules which played to a conclusion within around 2-3 hours of actual gaming during an afternoon at a meeting. While the actual meetings in those days lasted about 5 hours, you have to allow for the coffee breaks and chats with other members.

From the outset we seem to have concentrated our efforts on areas where there was and still is not really a great choice of easily playable sets of rules: in the air and on the sea. There are quite a few offerings in both these categories, but these all seem to be either hideously complex and/or require the use of an umpire. Our view of this hobby of ours is that we want a game which is fun, feels right and gives the right result in the end. Games played using our rules should not be regarded as simulations. Leave that to the computer.

The most significant change for us was transferring our range into electronic format in the form of PDFs, which can be downloaded and cuts the cost both for us and for the customer. To enable us to do this, we work together with Wargame Vault, part of the US-based OneBookShelf organisation. Distribution of our products could now be global, rather than limited to just the United Kingdom. Having moved away from carrying a stock of printed copies, the next step was to embrace the concept of Print on Demand. This allows you to have a nice shiny copy of the rules to use in a game, but also allows us to provide stock to wargames traders who sell our products at shows or by mail order.

There are a number of such sites now in operation and many classic wargame producers have stopped printing their rules and placed them as downloads, some free where they are supporting a specific metal product and some where payment is required.

Research

When we started out, research was largely based on available technical books, such as most wargamers had in their collections if they were starting in the hobby in the late 1960's, as we were. Many of those books are now long out of print, but thankfully we either kept our copies, or tracked them down thanks to the Internet. Of course in recent years, the Internet itself has become a valuable resource. You can now track down all manner of research which delves into quite interesting and complicated analyses of weapons, armour, battles, and other factors which have had an effect on the outcome of conflicts in history.

When carrying out research, it is interesting to make use of resources such as Wikipedia. While this can in some areas be regarded as less than reliable, in the area of technical information, it can be invaluable. There is now so much more information being shared via this resource that was unavailable as recently as 10 years ago. It can also be amusing to find, as we have done many times, mistakes made in recording information decades ago still being presented as facts. It is therefore necessary to cross check through several data sources to establish whether some little piece of data can be believed. These hidden mistakes usually come to light when you have carried out a series of calculations and a figure appears in the results which is completely off the scale, when compared with the rest.

As we have developed sets of rules over the years we have collated several large databases, which are useful to use when we set about reviewing some of our earlier products. As new data comes to light, we also take care to make sure that we correct game data where required, or add new game data to widen the scope of the rules.

Publishing for other authors

When we started out, the rules were devised by the two of us. Through our wargames society we played other games with home-grown rules, and developed these, with the agreement of the authors, adding them to our product range. As time went on, other authors contacted us, asking if we would be interested in publishing their work, further expanding the range.

When we work with other authors, we support them in the development of their rules, making suggestions in areas where we feel that the flow of the game could be improved, and seeking clarification about rule mechanisms. It is often our experience that games will play very easily if the author is present at the time, because he may contribute some information about how the game works. If the author is not present then it can be that some vital aspect of the rules is absent, because it has not been "committed to paper".

What happens to the final product is a decision that must be made when we start work on such projects. If the final result is going to be marketed by the author, then we would charge a one-off project development fee. If the final product is going to be added to our product range, then a contract will be drawn up between us and the author, which defines the annual royalties that will be paid on each item sold.

AB Figures are run by Anthony Barton and Michael Hickling. We have both been wargaming for over 35 years. Now we are returning to our first love - WW2. To us authenticity, detailed design and quality are key and we go to great lengths to research our figures using contemporary illustrations, photographs and artifacts.

We hope you will like our figures – we really believe that we supply the best "Men in Miniature" for the dedicated Wargamer and Modeller.

About Anthony
After a childhood spent making plasticene animals and gaining an indifferent degree in Zoology, Anthony Barton ("AB") started his career making biological and archaeological models for museums.

Military figures had always been a hobby, and growing poorer prompted him to start making them seriously in about 1985. The "AB" range was launched in 1990, and he now devotes most of his time to it, with periodic diversions into larger-scale projects: historical paint-work, sculpture and reconstructed costumes – he has worked for many historical institutions.

He lives quietly in a small house near York, surrounded by interesting junk, and only goes out to play music with the York Waits, a 16th Century wind band which he helped found in 1977, or to indulge in historical re-enactments in interesting places, generally involving bows or early firearms.

About Michael
Michael is our craftsman making the moulds and running the small foundry and manufacturing process from his home in the beautiful Welsh countryside. He also packs and despatches your orders with help from his wife..

Michael has also actively helped in archaeological excavations including Fishbourne Roman Palace, and the exciting Patching Gold Coin Hoard, and occasionally works on digs in Wales like Dinefwr Castle and Llandeilo Roman Fort. He now enjoys pottering around the countryside in his 1943 Willys Jeep.

Aberrant Games was formed with the goal of creating the very best of science fiction gaming set in detailed original universes. Our mission is to take our players to new and exciting worlds by way of fun, easy-to-learn games with infinite possibilities.

As our name suggests, we are not afraid to be different or to deviate from the norm, and this is reflected in our products. Rezolution is a cyberpunk miniatures game set in a dystopian future on the brink of interstellar contact. The rich unique setting, high quality sculpted miniatures and easy-to-learn rules has made it simple to attract new players and keep established ones. With minimal time in the market, Rezolution has had a deep impact and has been nominated for four Origins Awards for Best Miniature Line and Best Miniature Rules, as well as numerous other awards.

If you are looking for the unexpected or the unusual… Welcome, friend and enter the worlds of Aberrant.