20mm Sculpture

First attempt at a 20mm sculpture. It was made in under an hour. The original plan was just to cover the entire armature in putty. At first I was going to try to make the skirt look like a fur; however it started looking like an ancient wrap . 

I took the measurements off this Airfix figure.  The figure is more "animated" than I had planned. After an hour, I liked the look of the figure and decided to stop at this point.

At first I wanted a stone age figure. In this position I could see the figure throwing rocks, or fighting with spears.

Originally I was going to just put a nose for the face and a couple of indents for eyes. While playing with the face, it came out looking something like a barn owl face; I liked the look of it so left it as is. I could  also see it as a Greek style helmet.

If used as a master, it would be easy enough to add shields, armor and swords or other weapons to create new figures. 

I want to create generic figures for "No Brain Wargames".

 An Airfix Indian used for NBW, compared to my figure. I can now see why metal figures tend to be stockier than plastics; the legs can't be too thin as they will be too fragile.

My work tray. I try to assemble a new armature while working on a figure, so as to not slow down sculpting. I have spent over $30 on different tools. However, the tool I have used most are regular toothpicks, which cost $3.50 for 400 of them!

New Figures

     I have made a couple of new purchases. One was a lot of Frying Pan & Blanket Amalgamated War of 1812 figures.  There are enough figures to make an American regiment from 1814, if you are using their rules' THE COMPLETE BRIGADIER. Also, there were 12 artillerymen and 9 British infantry. After seeing them I went looking for the War of 1812 Militia figures I have, without success. While looking for the militia, I did find my Minifigs 4.7 naval guns which I had lost. I wanted to use these guns with my Peter Laing figures.

   Another purchase I made was some 10mm plastic figures from a company by the name of Gordon & Hague. They are based figures already painted. They come painted and based already. each base is individually packaged. I did some research of the company. It seemed that after a couple of years in business, the company who molded the figures went out of business. G&H then planned to switch to 15mm plastic figures; however they went out of business. I was getting interested in these figures. However, when they were in business the price of single stands were quite high. In fact I bought 10 stands which with postage cost $2.00 per stand. When I opened them, one figure dropped off the base with no abuse on my part. I dare say that if I want to war-game ACW in 10mm, I will stick to Old Glory figures.

A Gordon & Hague artillery and Confederate militia stand.

An assembled and primed Minifigs 4.7 gun.

The 4.7 manned by Peter Laing figures.

Frying Pan & Blanket Amalgamated British War of 1812 Infantry.

FP&BA War of 1812 American command figures.

FP&BA War of 1812 American infantry.

FP&BA War of 1812 artillery

20mm Aylmer Miniploms

My last couple of posts about 20mm figures started me looking at Ebay for figures of this scale. Among  the figures were several sets of Aylmer Miniploms. They come 4 to a base. They seem to originally come in little display cases.  The two sets I got are missing the plastic display case.   The photos I saw are closeups that make the figures look really cheap. However, when looking at them without magnification, they are quite handsome figures. They are metal that have been hand painted.  I paid $7.00 for each set I got, which after getting them I feel is a good price. My original plan for these were to take them off their base to use the for molds; after getting them I have decided against that.

20mm The Complete Brigadier

          Like many war gamers, I tend to buy more figures than I ever use. I get a great idea for a project, go whole hog researching the wars and figures that cover that period. After buying samples from different companies, I'll decide which figures I like the most and then buy the needed forces.  Usually I'll be motivated to paint the armies, start planning the battles and find the rules to use. If I'm lucky I might get a couple of games in. In the meantime, while looking through the different lines of soldiers, I'll see figures than plant the seeds for my next project.  So now I have thousands of toy soldiers, the majority I have never used.

     Among the figures that I never used was 20mm Frying Pan & Blanket Amalgamated, LLP. Yes, that's the name of the company! The figures are manufactured to be used with their rules, called "The Complete Brigadier". The figures are based on early American wars, from the French and Indian War to the War of 1812.  They even have a line of Wayne's Legion.

    When you buy the rules, you get a good boxed set with two books, one an introduction to wargaming and the second, the "Complete Brigadier" rules for battles.  The books are nicely illustrated, with delightful drawing a'la "Little Wars" in the columns.

     The figures themselves come in boxed sets. The infantry sets are enough for a regiment using their rules. You get two officers, two flag bearers, two drummers, and 18 privates.  You also get stands to mount the figures on. As for cavalry, you get six horses, six riders, and six dismounted. For artillery, you get two guns, two limbers, and two horses. Artillerymen are separate. They also have pontoon wagons and supply wagons.

  I bought three different sets; Prussian Grenadiers, Prussian Fusiliers, and War of 1812 Militia.  Below are some samples of them. I had painted the Militia regiment and figured they would be good to show what they look like. Unfortunately, being militia, they must have gone home, as I can only find one flag bearer!

The Prussian Grenadiers, with a Hinton Hunt Pavlov officer for scale.

Prussian Fusilier officer, War of 1812 Militia flag bearer and Prussian Fusilier Flag bearer.

Airfix grenadier with figures for scale.

One of the boxes the figures came in.

The Complete Brigadier: Introduction to Wargaming.

The Complete Brigadier: Rules for Battles.

         I am wondering if these figures are still available. The only way was through the mail. There is no  website for the company itself.  For several years one of my interests was the War of 1812. I am starting to think that I would love to get some of their figures from this period.

20mm Hinton Hunt Napoleonics

          Over the weekend I came across a blog with Hinton Hunt miniatures.  When I first got interested in wargaming again, I had come across some stories involving Hinton Hunts.
       After reading "Charge!" I thought that Hinton Hunts might be good for "Charge!" armies. I found someone who was producing the figures. At the time you had to buy bags of 100 and really couldn't pick what poses you wanted (I wanted march attack poses). Still I ordered Russian Pavlov Grenadiers and French 1806 French.  I liked the figures, but they ended up in war-game limbo. Occasionally I will come across them  and think that they deserve better.

 After seeing the blog, I started thinking of the fact Hinton Hunt had Crimean War figures, so I spent half an hour looking for the old catalog, without success.