Saturday, 26 January 2019

From GregB: Franco-Prussian Troops in 10mm (74 points)

Selection of 10mm Franco-Prussian war figures - mostly from Pendraken, but a few from Magister Millitum.
 For this week a "smaller" submission on a familiar theme - more Franco-Prussian war stuff, but this time in a different scale - these are some 10mm-sized figures.

When I dive into a period, I tend to overdo it.  Different scales of games give us both different gaming options on the table (bigger battles vs. smaller skirmishes) and different painting & collecting challenges, a chance to experience a different "look".  One big draw for this period is the marvellous uniforms, I just love painting them, and only 28mm-sized castings, in my opinion, truly do these great uniforms justice.

At the same time, 28mm-sized brings a number of gaming limitations, namely a very limited ability to represent the battles on the table.  Many of the main encounters in the Franco-Prussian war were very large, multi-corps-per-side affairs.  I could paint only this period for years and still not crank out enough castings to represent all of the units, and even if I did that, no table would give a chance to hold all of that stuff for a game.

So while I am excited to do 28mm "Black Powder" games (which would represent small parts of much larger battles), the only chance I will ever have to try to give the fellows a truly large battle will go to the smaller scales - 10mm or 6mm. I puttered around trying out both, but found that in this case 10mm was the winner, in particular the sculpts from Pendraken.

Last spring I painted up a few units of basic infantry to try and get a feel for painting in the scale, and just to see if I would enjoy it. I did! Now, with the Challenge under way again, and since I have all of the paints I use for Franco-Prussian War figures handy, I have been working on more 10mm stuff "on the side", doing a few here-and-there while something else dries etc.  After a few weeks of this now, I thought it would do for a submission, particularly as I don't have anything else to show for this week...

I am intending to try the "1871" rules by Bruce Weigle.  While some of the rules mechanics seem a bit bolshy to me (simultaneous movement? uh...ok...) the books themselves are a must-have for anyone interested in the period, as the research and planning he has put into the scenarios and force lists alone make these so, so worth your time.

In the basic "1871" rules, one base represents a battalion of infantry, two squadrons or cavalry, or one artillery battery.  Command figures are mounted one, two or three to a base depending on seniority. For bases I just used the handy "Flames of War" sized ones I have from Warbases, as they were on hand, and I have a lot of them already!

Prussian artillery, three batteries - sculpts from Magister Millitum

Prussian artillery, three more batteries - sculpts from Pendraken.
So in this submission there are six batteries of guns, a decent down-payment on the artillery complement of a Prussian Corps (a Prussian Corps typically had four batteries per division, as well as an artillery reserve with six or so batteries of the heavy stuff).  Among the guns are three from Magister Millitum - also fine 10mm sculpts, although on this range I have to give the edge to Pendraken.

Prussian Dragoons in 10mm - figures from Pendraken.

Two bases together represent a regiment
The cavalry are Prussian Dragoons, the two stands together representing a regiment.

Tremendous sculpts from Pendraken. Outstanding quality.
The officer is also a Magister Millitum casting (came with the guns).

Mounted Prussian officer from Magister Millitum - a fine sculpt, but I do prefer Pendraken's work in this area.
There is a unit of Prussian Jagers - this would represent the single Jager battalion attached to each Prussian Corps.

Prussian Jagers in 10mm

A splash of green among the green.
And I haven't ignored the French completely, honest! Here is a unit of French Chasseurs.  One battalion of Chasseurs was attached to each French division.

French Chasseurs in 10mm.

The single base will represent a battalion in the "1871" rules.
Of course, rules like "Black Powder" are very flexible, so there are many different rules sets under which these 10mm chaps could be pushed around the table. And "1871" can also be scaled up and down (so that one base of infantry would be regiment, or conversely, two bases could represent a battalion etc).  But, for now, I at least plan to try "1871" at some point. Even at smaller scales, large numbers of castings are needed - there were some big scraps in the Franco-Prussian war, so will call for lots of castings.

While 28mm will remain my main focus for this period, doing a few 10mm figures here-and-there throughout my painting sessions has been fun and I plan to continue that throughout the Challenge this year. With luck, it will bring a few more units like this to the table.

And will I try painting this period in 15mm too, just to see what it looks like? Yeah...probably...I'm bad for that...

For points we have 44 infantry, nine cavalry and six guns in this submission, all in 10mm, so that should work out to 74 points total. 

__________________________________________________________________

Clearly, you responded to an alternate scale of figure. I assume you demonstrated the full power of Pendraken figures by setting your course for their battle packs?

1871 or 1870? "When" is fast becoming "now," Greg. The Emperor will tolerate no further delay. You have made time an ally of the Prussians. Seventy four points!

26 comments:

  1. Lovely work Greg. You've got a pretty limited palette to work with but your making good use of it!

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  2. Very nice indeed

    https://www.10mm-wargaming.com/

    Take care

    Andy

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    1. Cheers Andrew, and thanks for the link - I have been diving into your blog, it is an excellent resource!

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  3. Really good detail for 10mm. Very colourful indeed (and great basing)!

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  4. Greg, you‘re absolutely bonkers... in a positive kind of way. Not only do you paint FPW as skirmish AND multi-based in 28mm but now you‘re doing it in 10mm as well.
    Now, that’s dedication. Excellent painting all round and I love those guns. Finest examples of Krupp technology.

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  5. Beautifully painted Sir. We use "They died for Glory" which ate an excellent set of rules.

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    1. Thanks Ray - are those rules still in print?

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  6. Lovely painting and really great basing,so important in the smaller scales I think, but 15mm as well? That's nuts!
    Best Iain

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  7. I saw the first 'test' models of this project last year and can attest that they are even nicer 'in the flesh' - if that can be believed. Beautiful work Dude! I very much look forward to trying '1871' with you in the not too distant future. Awesome post.

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  8. Very nice indeed! I see the attraction of gaming in two scales as the spectacle of the individual uniform in 28mm is replaced by the spectacle of sooooo many figures on the table in 10mm. Bit like epic and 40k. These look ace and I’m sure will look better and better as the army grows.

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    1. Thanks Jamie - indeed, the comparison with "Epic" is apt. If only there was some way to make small figures for gaming in 40k...oh...wait...right...

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  9. These are absolutely wonderful. I have to admit, even with all the projects on my table now, I'm seriously tempted to dive into this one. Excellent Work!

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    1. Thank you! All I can say is...give in! Pendraken stuff is truly top-shelf...

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  10. Great stuff Greg- I've spent many happy hours over at Pendragon planning.

    I'm afraid I just don't get the do it in two scales at the same time thing - I get enough redundentcy (oh I give up trying to spell the damn word) in my life without inflicting more on myself!

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  11. How do you work in so small a scale? It's brilliant!

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  12. Love these Greg! The appropriate scale for the FPW!

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