Spanish Passion: A Review

Recently I have rediscovered my interest on the Spanish Civil War. Much to my surprise, Helion's wargaming guide to the Spanish Civil War, "Spanish Passion" was released. I ordered and the parcel from Helion arrived at my door about a week later.

The guide is 156 pages and comprises of six major sections. Section 1 gives a timeline and historical overview of the war with copious amounts of photographs. Various campaigns and events are explained as are different personalities from the war. 

Section 2 provides lists of equipment are provided for the National and Republican sides for their armies, navies and air forces.

Section 3 explains army organization and different factions involved and assessments of them (morale, equipment, etc.).

Section 4 comprises a series of scenarios. These include background to the scenarios, force composition and deployment, objectives and maps. 

What good is a wargaming guide without color plates for uniforms? This guide has some really nice color plates (example above). I was hoping to see a color plate with an Italian CTV soldier but this was not the case. There are too many factions and uniform types to show examples of all of them. 

The penultimate section is a painting guide. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the author provided a painting guide for 10mm figures for the Spanish Civil War (Pendraken of course). Moroccan Regulares and International Brigade infantry and heavy machine guns are showcased in step by step guides with photos. Additionally, recommended paint colors (Vallejo) are provided for the different bits of uniform and gear for the various factions (quite valuable info). 

The final section is a list of different manufacturers who provide wargaming items for the SCW.

All in all, I highly recommend this wargaming guide for anyone interested in starting off on a Spanish Civil War project.

As a side note, while I am providing a review for this guide, I also want to recommend the  PaintingWAR: Spanish Civil War painting guide by Ruben Torregrosa aka "HeresyBrush". Though all the figures displayed are 28mm, the guide covers multiple examples of the various factions. Another valuable resource for painting your SCW miniatures.