Vintage 20mm Napoleonic wargaming nostalgia plus random other stuff
Monday 18 February 2019
French Guard Artillery
1 x horse gun and 4 x crew + 1 x foot gun and 6 x crew. The hose artillery gun is HH, need to replace this with a larger model, it looks a bit ridiculous next to a true 25mm piece.
Thanks Matt, I've already completed my planned 3 x line batteries and I can't see me needing more than 5 in total. Shades of Bill Gates in the 1980's "no-one will ever need more than 1 MegaByte of memory in a PC". However a line horse battery would be nice....
The guns do look a bit small but you have to bear in mind the crew have their cast on bases and the additional plasticard(?) base. If the gun were raised so the wheels rested on a surface level with the soles of the figures feet I think it would look OK. And yes, go on, give in, a line horse battery would be lovely -just what every well-equipped army should have.
Mark, Will have to look at a modern alternative for the gun, there are a lot out there these days. Rob, I might consider rebasing so the crew are fixed to the same 2mm MDF base, then the height discrepancy won't look so bad. That would mean using a roster system for casualties, which I was trying to avoid, but sometimes the look is more important than rule convenience. Still looking for a line horse crew, may have to go for recasts.
I'd keep the crew removable as that's part of the charm of the M&M rules - I would add a plinth just under the gun so that its wheels were level with the soles of the crew's feet, i.e. allowing for the figure base as well as the plasticard they're mounted on. I do this for my artillery which is fixed to the same base as the fixed crew to bring it up to the right height. Are the crew all singleton based? You could have a double and two singles with mini magnets so they can't topple during the game - but the flock might prevent that.
The wheels should be about 5ft and the average height of a man in those days was 5'6" so the top of the wheel should be at least at neck level. I think rebasing will help a lot as will replacing the wheels (horror of horrors- you could use plastic!)
Very pretty, Dave!
ReplyDeleteI've found it difficult going back to plain old line artillery after painting my guard battery.
Thanks Matt, I've already completed my planned 3 x line batteries and I can't see me needing more than 5 in total. Shades of Bill Gates in the 1980's "no-one will ever need more than 1 MegaByte of memory in a PC". However a line horse battery would be nice....
DeleteThe Hinton Hunt does indeed look a bit puny even for Horse Artillery.
ReplyDeleteThe guns do look a bit small but you have to bear in mind the crew have their cast on bases and the additional plasticard(?) base. If the gun were raised so the wheels rested on a surface level with the soles of the figures feet I think it would look OK.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, go on, give in, a line horse battery would be lovely -just what every well-equipped army should have.
Mark, Will have to look at a modern alternative for the gun, there are a lot out there these days. Rob, I might consider rebasing so the crew are fixed to the same 2mm MDF base, then the height discrepancy won't look so bad. That would mean using a roster system for casualties, which I was trying to avoid, but sometimes the look is more important than rule convenience. Still looking for a line horse crew, may have to go for recasts.
DeleteI'd keep the crew removable as that's part of the charm of the M&M rules - I would add a plinth just under the gun so that its wheels were level with the soles of the crew's feet, i.e. allowing for the figure base as well as the plasticard they're mounted on. I do this for my artillery which is fixed to the same base as the fixed crew to bring it up to the right height. Are the crew all singleton based? You could have a double and two singles with mini magnets so they can't topple during the game - but the flock might prevent that.
DeleteThe HH guns remind me of the Airfix French Waterloo Artillery set, was Marcus H the designer by any chance?
DeleteThe wheels should be about 5ft and the average height of a man in those days was 5'6" so the top of the wheel should be at least at neck level. I think rebasing will help a lot as will replacing the wheels (horror of horrors- you could use plastic!)
ReplyDeletePlastic? Haven't you seen Blue Planet? Seriously though I'd probably give it a go.
Delete