I feel that, since reading the books pictured below, it has been an inevitability that I'd one day make an 18th Century ImagiNation Army. Having said this, it's taken a few attempts to get this far. Youthful exuberance led to attempts at 24 (or larger) figure units in plastic being planned; far too big for me to ever get painted. Later I wanted to do the whole thing "properly" with Spencer Smiths', but these proved too expensive for my modest means. The publication of The Portable Eighteenth Century Horse & Musket Wargame Rules in The Portable Wargame Companion (ed. Bob Cordery) led to a reappraisal of my former ideas, and some rebasing of figures.
Glorious tomes
As I have no game to report today, here is a parade instead.
Army of the Margravate of Moulle
Two regiments (12 figures) of Line Infantry at the back, divide into two battalions (6 figures)
Three battalions of Light Infantry (4 figures each) in the centre wearing fancier uniforms
Two squadrons of cavalry on the flanks
Two batteries of artillery (the one on the right being manned by Sailors)
At the front, hatless, is the Margrave Edouard de Moulle, sporting his new bluecoat and best fighting wig. He appeared recently, unpainted, in the Box of Shame (could be a play by Voltaire?). To the Margrave's extreme right, the head of the Margravate's Armie de Terre, General Antoine Fond-de-la-Mer.
That's it for this subject for now; hopefully there'll be an update soon, assuming I get a bit of paint daubing done.
This parade was inspired by Neil Patterson's far nicer parades, for example THIS, and brought to you by the colour blue.
A fine ImagiNations Army! But - unless my eyes deceive me - the Margrave and the General seem to be larger-scale figures than the rank and file. Is this to reflect their superior social status and the fact that reports of their victories will emphasise the role of these august personages and pay but little attention to the private soldiers?
ReplyDeleteI did have an idea once for representing units by one painted figure portraying the commander, and the troops by LEGO bricks (or not even bother to represent them at all!), to reflect the fact that battle narratives often simply refer to formations by the names of their commanders, as in 'Soult stormed the Pratzen heights' and similar phraseology, but never developed it.
Good luck with your project. I look forward to reading about the Margrave's campaigns.
Thank, you Arthur. Yes, there will be some slight discrepancies in this project. It would have been nice if Airfix had bothered to make cavalry and artillery for their American Revolution range... Anyhow I have bought various figures (of various sizes / manufacturers) over the years that have been lumped together as 18th Century (sufficient I'm sure to make a lot of Wargamers wince) but your thinking is correct; the upper echelons, being better fed, have grown a bit! I'm pretty sure it was Donald Featherstone who suggested that bigger figures might represent an elite regiment... Some of the uniforms are going to look a bit archaic as well - the little states in question are "modernizing" their armies, so bear with them!
DeleteMJT,
ReplyDeleteI'm honoured by your comment and link to my blog!
Good to know someone gets inspiration.
I was going to ask about scale - having spotted some Airfix in there I assume 20mm?
I have some 20mm chunky metal AWI figures thwt I'd be happy to pass on to you if you're interested?
Neil
Thanks Neil, I really like your ImagiNation forces.
DeleteThanks too for the offer - the problem is because I live in the EU there will probably be issues over customs duties (even for gifts!!!). My email address can be found by pressing the View my Profile thing.
And what a photo to start your blog entry with! Two of the MOST inspiring books ever written for wargamers. How many times I borrowed them from the library as a teenager - beyond count!
ReplyDeleteSteve
Steve. Indeed, both are well thumbed reprint copies. Deeply inspirational as you say. Who wouldn't get stirred by the machinations of the Emperor and Elector?
DeleteVery nice 👏👏
ReplyDeleteI have some painted Spencer Smith figures - War of the Austrian Succession - but, sadly, not quite enough for a matched pair of well rounded forces. I believe Wee Wolf in the US has the moulds now, but whether they’ll ever be back in production I don’t know ☹️
I have both those books. Rather “old school” but that’s back in vogue now.
Cheers,
Geoff
Thanks. I do hope that they go back into production. I have a few myself (I couldn't resist a small purchase) and they are lovely simple figures.
DeleteI think that it is the quality of the writing in these two books, Geoff, that makes them both so magical and inspiring.
DeleteA fine imaginations army! Very usable for various different rules sets and differently sized battles, the units could be used to represent anything up to brigades. In my experience slight differences in scale aren't really noticeable on the table unless the figures are in the same unit.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark. The difference in size is not an issue for me either!
DeleteWhen I first got into wargaming almost 30 years ago, those were among my first books. I managed to order some orginial Spencer Smith plastic 18th century figures. Right before ordering a very large order, they discontinued the plastic line. Then Hat started designing SYW figures, but after waiting over a year with no figures, I gave up on doing a "Charge!" Project. I like the looks of your little army: perhaps there will be a "Charge!" project in my future.
ReplyDeleteThanks John. I hope you do a Charge! Project - perhaps a smaller scale (15 or 10mm) is the way to go?
DeleteThe 300 figures in the RISK sets showing 18th century troops on the box lid include advancing infantry, cavalry in tricorns and artillery pieces with one man attached to the trail. They are exactly 15mm from top of head to base and quite slender in build; they would, perhaps, look rather puny beside many manufacturers'metal figures. Perfect for creating 18th century ImagiNation armies. You can often find such sets in charity shops (we have one in the Swansea Cats & Kittens shop where I volunteer at the moment!} or on ebay for quite modest prices when compared to the cost of metal or plastic wargame figures.
DeleteAnd now there are the Epic Warlord figures for the AWI; there is a sample sprue on the latest issue of Wargames Illustrated..
Arthur. Good point about the 18th C. RISK figures - they're really rather nice, and the ones I've seen on other people's blogs have painted up very well.
DeleteExcellent painting and nice compact army! If I were starting a similar project these days I'd go for small numbers, like that. Much more doable in terms of time and money and space. And leaves more resources to expand to other armies. For me, it's a lot more fun to paint 4 different units of 6 figures each vs 1 unit of 24 identical figures, for example. As impressive as large units can be.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, space is another consideration that I didn't mention. Wargaming paraphernalia does take up a lot of room, whereas shoes, apparently, take up no room at all!
DeleteA nice army parade and good to see some of those figures from the box of shame appearing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter, and yes, I have managed to complete a couple of things from said box!
DeleteExcellent parade and regiments on display, terrific fun.
ReplyDeleteAlan Tradgardland
Cheers Alan. The Margravate sends warm regards to the Duchy of Tradgarland.
DeleteLovely bit of ‘trooping of the colour’ there, MJT. C18th would be a change of tack, and ImagiNations is very much your ‘thing’, from previous posts…Looking forward to wherever this leads, 🙂
ReplyDeleteThanks Martin - can't resist an ImagiNation
DeleteInevitable - But fun! Nice to see those Airfix AWI figures working hard after all these years.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark. I really liked those two sets as a child and they still delight me now.
DeleteHi MJT, I think those 'Portable 18th Century' variant rules in the Compendium were by me, very glad to see they have inspired you! I think I had a similar trajectory with those books, very inspiring but the huge units beyond childhood resources. When Bob Cordery's 'Portable Napoleonic' came out, I thought they could be easily adapted, and they do suggest much more manageable unit sizes. They got me back into wargaming, so I am very grateful to Bob! Glad to see those vintage Airfix figures getting used, I look forward to watching your progress. 'Army Red' next?
ReplyDeleteHi David. Good to know that that David is you! The rules look perfect for me and I'll be trying them out (hopefully in the not too distant future!). It will actually be an Army Black!
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