One of the side effects of playing Volley and Bayonet (V&B) with 20mm plastic figures is the accumulation of certain types figures in excess of what you can use. A classic example is that of Scottish Highlanders in British Napoleonic forces.
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| Command stand for a Klantyre force |
Given the scale of the standard game, it is extremely unlikely that you would need more than two brigade stands of Highland infantry, and even then, the Highlanders would typically only represent one of the battalions in each brigade.
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| Klantrye has a proud military tradition |
Over the past twenty five years I have acquired a number of painted and unpainted sets of Airfix (and other brands too) Waterloo Highlanders (Click here for the PSR review) in excess of my requirements. Naturally I have hoarded these figures as they might be useful one day.
As I have been building forces for use with my Duke, Elector, King (DEK) 18th century imagi-nation campaign, I have been trawling through my collection of painted and partially painted figures looking for something suitable. Upon discovery of these painted Highlanders, I was struck by the thought that they could be used as well, despite being technically the wrong period.
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| The original painter's attempt at a tartan pattern is very subdued in these photos |
Indeed, one of the advantages of DEK is being able gloss over imperfections in uniforms as long as it has the right vibe. And since I have recently decided on the campaign background for my DEK campaign, these figures will work perfectly, and in numbers in excess of those normally needed for games of V&B in the Napoleonic era.
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| A proud regiment of Klantrye: The Glenmoorloch Borderers |
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| The original painter made quite a nice impression of a tartan on these figures |
And while perfectly nice sets of 18th century Highlanders exist, these figures have the advantage of me already having them, having a good range of poses that work well for making V&B stands of regular infantry, and of being quite forgiving of my restoration techniques.
Brian,
ReplyDeleteTell us more about your DEK campaign background you have settled on!
The highlanders look splendid.
I often thought it would be interesting to have an Imagi-Nation campaign with separate English and Scottish kingdoms set in the C18th. The English could be based around historical forces, while the Scots would derive a lot of influence from Jacobite forces with more line based around the Royal Ecossaiss in blue faced red. Militia could be hodden grey and Highlanders as per the rebellion.
Neil
Hi Neil,
DeleteThank you for your kind words - I am pretty happy ith how they turned out, and I am looking forward to painting some up in different colours - depending on hat realm they see service with.
Brief details on the campaign background is on a ne page I have published for the blog here.
I like the way you are thinking regarding an 18th Century imagi-nation campaign with separate English and Scottish kingdoms. That does sound quite interesting!
Duh! Didn't see the separate page....
DeleteNeil
Hi Neil, It is quite possible that the separate tab hadn't appeared on the main page at the time you made your comment, as it did take some tinkering on my part to get it to appear.
DeleteThose old Airfix have stood the test of time - very nice indeed.
ReplyDeleteThank you Svjek for your kind words! The Airfix black powder era figures all have a certain charm to them that makes me what to use them in gaming projects.
DeleteBrian -
ReplyDeleteI'm with Neil on this: I'd like to know more about your DEK campaign.
I'm looking at the pics and thinking how splendid those chappies are. The nearest figure stands 10cm tall when I click on the pic. Quite superb!
Cheers,
Ion
Thank you Ion for your kind words! I only hope that hen I finish basing them they will still look as good:)
DeleteI have made a new page in the blog that gives a start to the campaign background, and my thinking behind it, here.
Possibly my first ever painted figures - I remember my mum and dad sitting in the kitchen on a production line, painting up a box of these figures for me when I was about ten years old - that's fifty years ago now, for goodness sake!
ReplyDeleteHi Rross, Thank you for sharing that memory. Such a nice thing for your parents to do for you!
Delete