Half of my favourite glossy toy soldiers are old 54mm ones while the rest are only 40mm tall, all of the same era. This my friends raises the insane spectre of evil Dr. Duplication!
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| Zinnbrigade 40's face Britain's Standard. |
Its still a good plan in many ways and I'm going to stick to some version of it. Being still under the influence of Howard's shiny 40mm game I just might give up the really small units on a grid approach for the little guys and go back to 12 or 16 man "battalions" off grid.
Or maybe I should do that the other way.....
You know, they really don't look "off" facing each other on your table in the photograph above. So long as they are kept in distinct units, couldn't you use the 40s and the 54s together? When we were boys we probably used plastic and metal soldiers of varying sizes for our battles in the sandpile. I certainly did, and it looks like your 54mm soldiers might just about squeeze onto bases of the same size as the 40s. Just my two penn'oth.
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend and Best Regards,
Stokes
Pictures can lie! Actually in this case its a sort of accidental forced perspective. The old Britain's infantry don't have a much larger foot ptint (which is why thet are so unstable) but the cavalry have at least 4x the foot print.
DeleteI'll post a better comparison dhot tomorrow.
You say duplication like its a bad thing! I agree with Stokes above.
ReplyDeletePeter
That's just my Inner Quarter Master talking as he tries to find enough quarters to house everyone.
DeleteHi Ross,
ReplyDeleteHow big is the footprint of a 12-16-figure unit of 54's?
How big is your table -- you're still using the 6x5-foot version, right?
How many units would you be able to deploy and still have room for maneuver?
Is that enough to give a good game?
If the answer is at least 6 per side, you could use them for OHW-scenario games. That doesn't sound bad at all when you are in the mood for that kind of game, and the old-school figures and larger units should make for some great pics.
Good to have you back, Ross. I've missed your posts.
Regards,
John
Its good to be back. The plan was to blog en route but I was too busy then too tired.
DeleteI can easily fit 12 Britain's sized infantry, shoulder to shoulder Crinean style pn a 5" frontage (2*60mm bases) but the plan was not to go back there. (I used to be able to field 8*24 man Imperial units)
The current plan is for OHW sized games as played in August with either 8 figure units off grid or double the number of 4 man units. Its all homecast
So I could eadily go 12 off grid though. I sense a playtest in thee air.
If you were to go for a small 1870's game using 54mm figures on a gridded surface, which rules would you use? (I'm assuming one your own sets...)
ReplyDeleteI didn't have a chance to say howdeedo at Fall In, but inasmuch as I may soon move to Canada as a result of last Tuesday, I may have another opportunity.
Best regards,
Chris
Chris, remember: Rule number one, Don't Panic!
DeleteThe games played in August used my Tin Army rules on a grid but I'm contemplating a slightly different off grid approach with fewer but larger units.
The 16 man battalions would look nice. I mostly always play to a grid, but last night we did a small table black powder game (warlord Games), not gridded and we really enjoyed the game. A change as they say is as good as a rest. ... and did I say the 16 man battalions would look nice? :-)
ReplyDeleteIts a trade off. A few bigger units or more smaller units. Needs testing!
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