It’s not often you get a major historical movie these days and even less by a mainstream producer. So Ridley Scotts “Napoleon” is a good excuse to get some figures on the pedestal.
First up is the man himself – Napoleon – as imagined back in the early 1970’s by Miniature Figurines (the Warlord of their day).
Next up is one of a kind for me…..
*the painting of the same name by edouard detaille hangs in the New South Wales art gallery showing the charge of the 4th hussars at Friedland 1807.
I do not normally post about what I buy to indulge my hobby. However this occasion fits nicely.
Apart from recognising that for the first time since 2019 I attended this show, one I have rarely missed, it solved a problem.
What do you do when your sidetrack project becomes a Cuckoo in the nest. You buy another nest, metaphorically speaking, and stick it in it. I had attempted to paint and kitbash my way through the sidetrack project Fauxterre 1930, while progressing my main project of 2021 – Wars of Italian Unification 1848/1859 (in themselves ever more complicated but still fascinating).
So, having gone round the show in quick time I felt there was little to tempt me or solve my current project woes. “Or so I thought”.
Early War Miniatures was one of many (but not all) bigger traders busy selling at VAP22. With no bring and buy or competitions, plus only a select few demo/participation games, it was easy to get around but also the smaller sellers were not too diminished as they were spread across all 4 floors.
At Early War Miniatures I encountered a sell off of some completed figures. And they were exactly what I wanted for my Fauxterre 1930 project. Although I had opted for US and Russian forces – original plan – I had drifted into the interwar period and French forces had loomed into sight complete with Char B tanks, Renault’s and various quirky looking vehicles.
Net result was I came away with a prize and of course my wallet much lighter.
The effect was that a mini deluge in buying followed. There is a lesson in there somewhere.
The figures come next followed by the rest of my purchases with some kit armour and finished EWM tanks to finish.
The rest of my buys were somewhat “erratic” of course……….
So a big thank you to Early War Miniatures who fixed a growing problem. Pendraken as ever met my needs for all sorts of extras while Helion Books invariably come up with attractive titles to feed my reading. Great Escape Games provided the tufts and some humour.
Last of all for those who stuck the journey………..
Thats all folks – just maybe for patient “John the Varnish” the next post should be about Wars of the Italian Unification although Fauxterre 1930 is still squawking away!
James Fisher has a fascinating blog on Napoleonics. James asked me about Warrior Miniatures. Now I will say at this point Warrior Miniatures and I go back to the mid 1970’s, however my association has only ever been as a paying customer. So any effusive comments about them is simply reflecting my enthusiasm for their products.
So James wondered about plastics and the metals from Warrior Miniatures which I would add, shown here, are from their advertised 25mm range.
Now I have chosen to show the figures randomly arranged. Previously I have posted with some attempt to show exact height difference. Yet I think that ultimately it is the opinion that matters not the maths. So do they look ok?
Just for fun here are some other figure comparisons – I think hinds and caliver books still run these “retro” minifig/hinchliffe lines. I have posted elsewhere the gross sculpture change Greenwood & Ball did between their Garrison Normans and Vikings. I think the bigger more detailed Vikings shown here sunk without trace – while the older G&B figures were rerun for a time into the 2000’s?
Here is another oddity – again a short life production from Minifigs
Now I have dug out a later 25mm 1700 grenadier – I think its a foundry chap with practically no base.
Now some finished and based figures to compare against
To sum up, when it comes to height, I have become ever more tolerant and actually it is anatomy which jarrs my view. This is why I struggle with Perry figures – they are just so perfect. Which shows you just can’t please some people.
Finally a book which started my wargaming in earnest and is a celebration of fantasy gaming – I kid you not!
I leave you with this image from that book – published in 1967 – when it really probably was bad form not to have the correct facings or turnback colours etc. Lawford and Young said “play fantasy” and in the game photos they showed that scale was not a big issue. These look like 30mm figures rubbing shoulders with 45mm figures?????
Above all if it looks right to you then it is fine – play* away.
*tournament players will not be so lucky methinks.
A 1970’s 4VEP British Rail commuter train of slam door stock – what is going on?
A tenuous link I admit but I could not wrench it from my mind. I don’t think I have any older figures unpainted so this is my sort of painting record.
These figures are by Warrior Miniatures and are sold as french dragoons in their 25 mm napoleonic range. They are a slim 25mm and contrast with their then contemporary overfed minifigs from the 1970’s. I guess they were more like early hinchliffe before those got taller and bulked out somewhat.
I still love them after all these years so I am pleased they finally got a coat of paint!
I painted them as kleber dragoon’s and my inspiration is from the Funcken 18th century to modern times volume.
My intention is to use them in early campaigns of my Fauxterre Mythical Realm which covers 1815 to 1870 at present. It is all because of Fauxterre and Faux Napoleonics that they got painted anyway!
Thats another thank you to Renaissance Troll and his fantasy napoleonics post.
image license info – the train pic is used under
Grognardia has been running a series of posts on 1970’s roleplaying which have prompted my memories of encountering D&D.
His post showing the No7 edition of white dwarf took me back 5 decades to that moment when D&D took off – well arrived in my backyard.
It has meant I have dug out some pictures of my historical figures of that time.
I play fantasy historical anyway – this theme has a long history and I could say my introduction was Charge or How to Play Wargames where the “tailpiece” exhorts all gamers to abandon thoughts of modelling real units. In fact there is an allusion to Charlotte Bronte and her brother and their fantasy stories.
In fact I think my influences were in the 1960’s – airfix soldiers, my mates playing with the US union troops against the British 8th army! well thats all we had! Then I had a magazine called Ranger (later Look & Learn) which typically in those days offered children a whole range of articles although mainly science and history as I recall. Nestled in there was a cartoon strip in colour called tales of the Trigan Empire. Pseudo Roman soldiers armed with ray guns and swords complete with monsters and a little magic meant I had no compunction about twisting history when it came to gaming with model soldiers.
Finally 25mm Minifigs 7YW Austrian Free Corps rub shoulders with Warrior 25mm Napoleonic French, Tradition 25mm Russian Guards, Hinchliffe 25mm Bavarians, Minifigs 25mm 7YW Grenzer, 1/72 Hat Napoleonic Austrian Grenzer and finally some early Minifig french napoleonic infantry of the very slim variety.
Having got the 1/72 strelets Normans going, I decided to search out my old 20/25mm metal figures from long ago. The idea was to see whether they could be used alongside my plastics.
Specifically I was looking for some small Garrisons Normans. These were bought in the late 1970’s. At the time it was Garrisons new 25mm Viking’s which caught my eye. I bought the Normans at the same time all on impulse. They were actually for dungeons and dragons gaming as well as skirmish gaming. Big battles were in theory Macedonia versus Persia although the armies were never completed.
So it just happened that the Garrison Normans were shorter than their new Viking mates. I think this was the moment when 20mm, 1/72 and 25mm were going their separate ways. Well 20 mm had already stayed where it was while 1/72 and 25mm just about lived with each other yet 25mm was getting taller. But in these photos you can see the height, bulk and style difference within the same makers existing ranges. There is nothing new under sun – least of all scale creep!
For my money the garrison Vikings were up there with Citadel castings. Top notch on detail. And probably heading towards the few well painted skirmish figures collection or D&D idea.
The normans though were from the mid seventies figure style – a good wargame figure for army games.
As it happened the Vikings never made the D&D games while the Normans were parked after undercoating. My wargaming days ended – well for about 15 years.
When I returned in the mid 1990’s it was all DBA, acrylics and 15mm.
The Wargaming Erratic 