The Model Soldiers – What is available

18mm and 28mm figures and scenery

The number and type of model soldiers you already have, or are prepared to obtain, will determine how you will plan your wargame system.

Having decided what you want to achieve you must now list what figures you have available to achieve it.  

6x6 foot wargames table

Again I will use what I did to illustrate what I mean.

First I made a list of what figures I had available.   I found that I had 1296 infantry, 120 cavalry, 26 guns manned by 104 gunners.   And of course they are duplicated in 28mm, 18mm and 6mm.

I have a comprehensive collection which represents most of the armies of the Napoleonic Wars.   The infantry were organised in units of 36, the cavalry in units of 8 and the artillery one gun and 4 crew.

The breakdown of figures by nationality and numbers was as follows

French          288 infantry   32 cavalry     6 guns 24 gunners

Austrian        144 infantry   16 cavalry     4 guns 16 gunners

British           144 infantry   16 cavalry     4 guns 16 gunners

Prussian       144 infantry   16 cavalry     4 guns 16 gunners

Russian        144 infantry   16 cavalry     4 guns 16 gunners

Spanish        144 infantry    8 cavalry      4 guns 16 gunners

Bavarian       108 infantry   8 cavalry     

Polish             72 infantry   8 cavalry

Baden             36 infantry  

Italian              36 infantry

Westphalian    36 infantry

28mm battle of Talavera

The good news was that the ratio of cavalry to infantry was reasonable at roughly 1 cavalry to 10 infantry.

The main problem was that they were organised and painted as 36 figure infantry battalions and 8 figure cavalry squadrons.      

Planning and Preparation – The Objective

Start off by deciding what you want to achieve.   Don’t make it too complicated and don’t try to cover all possible options.   Keep your objective firmly in mind, and don’t be distracted.

Then list what figures you have available, or which you are prepared to buy, to achieve that aim.  When you have done so you may have to adjust your objective.  But better to do it now than try to change everything later.

Finally consider how you will fight your wargames.  Do you have a permanent wargames table where you can leave your game and play when you wish?  Or do you have to set up and take down your battlefield within a few hours.   Will you game solo, with a set group of friends or in a club where you will have to share facilities?

Having done so you will now almost certainly have to compromise.   You may not be able to do everything you would wish to do.   You may not be able to fight the type of battles you would like to.   It might help if I run through my own experience.

I wanted to create a Napoleonic campaign which would provide interesting battles for my wife and I to wargame.  I wanted to use all of my available wargame figures and scenery on a regular basis.  I did not want to buy, paint or rebase any figures.

I have a medium sized Napoleonic army covering all of the major powers, and many of the minor ones, of the period.   I have 6mm, 18mm and 28mm figures all based to represent the same number, types and nationalities.  I also have a large collection of scenery and buildings, both commercial and home made in the same three scales.

I have a permanent 6x6 foot wargames table. 

My model soldiers had been collected, and updated, over a long period.  They were bought to be used with “In The Grand Manner” rules, so the infantry formations were 36 figures and the cavalry 8 figures.  

With a 6x6 foot wargames table I would not be able to field multi corps armies with each battalion represented by 36 figures.   So my first problem was to work out an acceptable order of battle.

A Comprehensive Wargame System

Ten years ago I designed a comprehensive wargame system which has provided the framework for all of my wargaming activities ever since.  

In 2006 I was about to retire and move from the UK to Spain to live.  I am fortunate that my wife is, and always has been, my regular wargame opponent.  Napoleonic Wargaming has been a large part of our lives since 1969, when we played our first wargame based on “Charge or how to Play Wargames”.   It was obvious that it would continue to play a large part in our retirement, and this prompted me to plan a major reorganisation of our wargame activities.  

The result was our 1813 campaign, which has provided the background to all of our wargames since.   It started in 2009 and has produced 252 battles for us to wargame.

The campaign has changed little over the years.   There have been many minor changes, but the basic concept remains the same.   Updating the campaign maps has been the most time consuming task, but that is only because I actually enjoy making new maps.  

I am currently reviewing the project and updating some of the administration.   This is what has prompted me to explain the project in some detail in the hope that other wargamers might find it useful.

Over the coming weeks I will cover the planning and preparation for the whole system, how the campaign was designed and developed and why I opted for writing my own wargame rules rather than select one of the many commercial sets available.

Although the campaign may look very complicated and time consuming at first sight, it is in fact very simple and requires very little administration to keep it going. 

It started as a solo campaign, ran as a PBEM campaign for almost six years and has now reverted to a solo campaign.   As a PBEM campaign it did involve a great deal of work, but was a very rewarding experience.   Now that it is solo again it takes me a few hours a week to run the campaign, and about five or six hours a week to wargame.   Total output about ten hours a week.

I have recorded the whole campaign on a series of blogs which cover each phase including reports on each of the 252 battles.   You can find the current one here

http://1813pbemcampaigndiary.blogspot.com.es/

Although my interest is the Napoleonic period, this system could be used for any period.  I write my wargame rules, but the system could be used with any commercial set.   My preference is 28mm scale but any scale from 2mm to 54mm could be used.

Next week I will explain the planning and preparation necessary to start this system.