Old Light Infantry

Way back when I was a teenager and had the good fortune to go to Adelaide University, there was a local model shop up on Pultney Street that had a barrel (sounds better than a bin) of random metal figures.  They were frequently missing spears and were fairly random, often just one or two of the same figure, as if they were samples.  This was in the late 1970s and proved irresistible to a wargamer used to soft plastic figures and limited funds.  See this post for an example:

 https://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com/2022/09/ye-olde-parthians.html

In moving stuff around I unearthed my collection of mostly Minifig 25mm ancients figures. What to do with them?  Obvious answer is to make a series of blog posts, starting with this one for the Light Infantry.  The terminology comes from WRG's Ancients rules authored by Phil Barker.  My brush with the author came in 1984 and he can be seen in some of the images in this post:

 https://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com/2014/01/wrg-ancients-6th-edition-competition-in.html   

In looking up these posts I now find I have already done a post on these figures:

https://onesidedminiaturewargamingdiscourse.blogspot.com/2011/09/25mm-metal-ancients-javelinmen.html

Well...

Doh!

So it goes.

But I expect, like me, no one reading this post will remember the previous one from over thirteen years ago.  I hope not anyway as I would find that deeply disturbing.

On with the show!

Just to tie back to the earlier Phil Barker reference, the code numbers for these figures are all PB and no guesses are required for what the initials stand for :-)

PB16 Javelinman

PB121 Barbarian Symmachiaruis

PB163 British Infantryman Javelinman with original spear

PB177 Asiatic Mountaineer with Javelins

Hinchcliffe hairy barbarian light infantry

Apart from replacing broken spears I also cut the figures off their bases.  Madness!  But flat basing was very much a style I was into and still pursue, however thankfully I have perfected it and no longer require the drastic step of base removal.

These figures also predate flocking.  The paint was a Humbrol matt green enamel and matched the playing surfaces I used to have.  I was able to recreate it using some cardboard of a similar colour for these photos.

In a bit of luck I have also found my Miniature Figurines catalogue from this period, along with my WRG Fully Revised 3rd Edition The Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome by Phil Barker. It is interesting to me how close the Minfigs castings are to the images in this book.  For example the Asiatic Mountaineer with Javelins on page 68/69.

I never progressed to a 25mm Ancients army, but interesting enough the first 15mm figures I painted and that went on to form my Later Hoplite Greek Army matched the PB16 figure.

A Tin Soldier casting painted mid 1980s.

These have been rebased a few times as WRG rules evolved and have been used in many games.

The initial basing was a copy of what I did for the Minifigs - flat green no flock. Here is an example from a November 2013 nostalgia post:

Prussian Infantry Projects F19, F29 and F30

Next up some figures from God knows when and where.  That standard-bearer is one I repaired and given the undercoat used could date from the 1980s or even earlier (I originally thought metal needed an industrial strength metal primer). This is Project 93.2 (which I'm guessing is a 1993 numbering exercise).  It was destined to be Unit F30.  The painted figure was not by me, or the partially painted one as far as I can remember.  As there was originally 16 figures in this project the extra one (probably the painted done, was obtained in a more recent time).

F19, F29 and F30

I can be pretty sure I am not going to finish them and hope to find them a home.

A05

One purpose of my blog is to record figures I have painted and projects contemplated (and sometimes even completed).  This also serves as a way of "letting go".

Back when I didn't have much of a collection I was given to numbering units and projects.  This Hinchcliffe French Horse Artillery is A05 and dates from the 1990s.  Can't recall where the figures came from, possibly a second hand purchase at Cancon.  The painting/basing is certainly all mine.

The blue comes up better without the flash. 

Reciprocation

A bit of history here with some models that are about to depart for foreign shores.  They are all around 1/76th scale.

 Plastic Nebelwerfer, unknown brand.  (#139)

 T70, from the Skytrex/Hinchcliffe 20mm WW2 range (#156)

 BA64 again from the Skytrex/Hinchcliffe 20mm WW2 range (#148)

 Three Schwerer Whermachtsschlepper from Roco Minitanks code DB6M (could be DBGM).  

They have drop down sides, but don't have whatever it was they were mounting.  

I had thoughts of using them in some kind of Nebelwerfer unit, 

but never progressed beyond thinking about it in twenty years.

An early 1990s visit to Brockhurst Models in California

 resulted in random purchases of all sorts of things.  

Sadly never even opened.

RAFM 6859 RSO German Tracked Truck.

Same visit picked up this with the same outcome.

RAFM 6860 75mm IG18 German Infantry Gun.

Skytrex/Hinchcliffe 20mm WW2 range purchased mail order with living memory.  20/43 is a limber and I was disappointed when I realised I had no suitable horses (I had a crazy idea to use the ones from the Airfix French Napoleonic Artillery set, but they would have been too small).  20/42 is... I forget.  Along with the T70 and BA64 I think I was just getting samples rather than any specific plan.

Thankfully they are about to find a new home with the Archduke Piccolo.  Bon Voyage and may you serve faithfully.

Hinchcliffe Barsoom Miniatures

I currently have a project to go through all my Military Modelling magazines and index them.  There is about fifteen years worth so it is not an impossible task and without an index they are fairly worthless as a reference source.  It is not such a chore as going through them generates waves of nostalgia. 

In going through the March 1975 issue I found this:

I've previously posted on SF13 Plant Man.  I'm just embarrassed that it has taken me so long to progress this project.

Here are SF3 Red Martian Warrior, sword and dagger and SF4 Red Martian Maiden. 

Lovely bendy Hinchcliffe figures. 

Rear view

They featured in the previous post and just took a mere four years to complete.  No progress on the other Hinchcliffe figures or those from TinMan Miniatures that I purchased a year or so back. 

The catalyst for this post was realizing that the new John Carter kickstarter has miniatures that are 32mm. 

Songs of Cavalry Carnage

Last night at the NWS Mark B and I tried out cavalry with Songs of Drums and Shakos using some of my very old (1979) and very new (2014) figures.  The scales are mixed, but so it goes.

Some old Hinchcliffe Chasseurs a Cheval and a lone Minifigs trumpeter go into battle.

The officer is OPC48, the troopers FNC36 on LH5 and the trumpeter FNC41 on N14.

Blood is spilled early in the encounter.

The Dutch officer looks threatened (A magnificent Waterloo 1815 1/72nd scale figure)

The French officer,  a lovely one piece casting, gets his men into action.

The body counts mounts.

And mounts...

The Dutch are the first to break and head off home.

Great little game and I was very happy being able to use some of my figures that have rarely seen the top of a table.

Napoleonic French force ready for skirmish

These seven figures have taken me so long to finish.  Purchased at least ten if not twenty years ago at a Cancon jumble stall and languished in a lead pile as part of a crazy plan to build a 24 figure unit with then.  Songs of Drums and Shakos came to my rescue and I had a set of rules I was happy to use for Napoleonic skirmish that just need a few figures.  That was a good number of years ago, but at least within the life of this blog.

Anyway, they are finished now, ready for a game.  I've based them 15mm wide and 20mm deep so they can form up, but I only ever expect them to be used a singles, however, never say never.

Eustache

On the base was the number 129

Bastien

On the base FN3

Corentin

On the base FN3?

Adrien

On the base CR1980

Gaspard

On the base the Hinchcliffe symbol and FN4?

Fabien

Same figure as Eustache

Damien

On the base NP22

So I think they are mostly Hinchcliffe, but they are old whatever they are.

Some pebbles from my 25mm Napoleonic Lead Mountain

Why collect in one scale when you can have Napoleonic forces in two scales, or three or four...

While reviewing my 15mm (which yes includes a good number of 18mm figures, nothing like scale creep to keep you awake at night) I came across these chaps:

Many years ago I had planned to form a 24 figure French Line unit for my 20/25mm Napoleonic army, however these guys are now targeted for Songs of Drums and Shakos.  I've some Prussians already finished that they can fight.  These French men look almost complete, just a few more years and they'll be done.

On the subject of scale, I'm calling this one "25mm" and for me it includes 1/72nd, 1/76th, 20mm, 25mm and even 28mm (and I do have two 30mm figures from 1971).  

It's mainly old stuff from my teens so full of nostalgia.  It was my first Napoleonic venture and I have a fairly detailed project list of all the units both complete and proposed (and even cancelled).  Most of them (Airfix predominantly) have been the subject of posts already and I've been updating my project list to include links to the relevant posts.  One of the aims of my blog is to record my wargaming efforts, including those of the past were possible and were I still have the figures in my collection, 

Apart from 15mm and 6mm I also have some 54mm figures.  My 54mm Napoleonic collection has its own lead mountain that I rediscovered going through my 15mm stock pile.  I think it deserves a post...

More Hinchcliffe 25mm Prussian Landwher

Being just a poor student at the time, I couldn't really afford metal figures, but the odd Minifig and Hinchcliffe figure did come my way. I had the start of a unit of Prussian Landwher, but to my horror when, after a goodly passage of time, I went to get more there had been considerable growth.

The figure is PN14, Landwher advancing.  This change in scale put paid to my interest in Hinchcliffe apart from the novelty aspect.  They were fun to paint, or rather took paint well, given their animation.

I have 17 figures painted and based now as singles.  The next step is to give them names and use them for Songs of Drums and Shakos.

This post was inspired by James Fisher's comment on my recent post about my 25mm Metal Prussians: The original 25 mm figures fitted really well with the 1/72nd stuff. Then for some reason, the 'arms race' began and they have not stopped 'growing' ever since. Are the metal manufacturer headed for 54 mm '25 mm' figures or will they stop at the 'new' 28 mm scale? haha!

25mm Metal Prussians

This is the last of my 1/72nd (or thereabouts) scale Prussian Napoleonics.  These ones are metal and not converted in anyway.  All painted last century.

Minifigs.

Hinchcliffe.

Hinchcliffe.  After the sameness of the Minfigs castings, I always enjoyed the animation of the Hinchcliffe castings, even if it made them look like they had Gumby arms.  The officer with the telescope is one of my favorite.

Minifigs.

Minifigs grenadier command.  Sadly that's all of these types of figures I have so they will never muster as a full unit.

Hinchcliffe and one ring-in - a Prince August casting.

I rather like these guys and really must do a unit of them for my 15mm army.

With these figures I am tempted to base them as singles (easy to do as I just saw the bases up) and use them for Songs of Drums and Shakos skirmish.  That is what I have done with my Hinchcliffe Prussian Landwher.