"15mm Franco-Prussian War" Topic

So what are the best lines for FPW in 15mm? Good castings, wide range, reasonable price? And how compatable are various lines with one another, where you might need to "fill in" some figure types?

Years ago we had quite large Franco-Prussian war armies and they were all Minfigs.
I liked the infantry and artillery but hated the cavalry as the horses' tails all floated like a collection of hairy synchronized swimmers.

Lentulus try LKM I think they have everything.

I like the Old Glory 15mm. I have them, Minifig, Rank and File, as well as a few Outpost. The Old Glory are the most animated. Rank and File have a few more folds etc than Minifig.

I use Old Glory but I do have some Essex. The Essex are much cleaner figures but have the "big head" syndrome and the poses are limited. The Essex artillery pieces are more detailed than the Old Glory pieces.

I am not trying to discourage you but I tried the period and did not like it. I like both ACW and Napoleioics and have armies for both. I thought that it would be a good way to do both at the same time. I painted 800 Prussians all Old Glory and 900 French all Old Glory. The figures were nice and that's most likely the way to go. I ended up selling them on E bay.

It was the period. I tried a few different rules and it just was not a fun period for me. The Prussian always whooped the French. The fire is to powerful for cavalry. It was hard to figure out how to use them. In my opinion if you are going to do the period I would not even buy cavalry.

Again not trying to be negative or trying to discourage you because I am all about gaming and truely believe that do what is fun for you. I just wanted to give some observations from personal experience.

Larry

"The Prussian always whooped the French. The fire is to powerful for cavalry. It was hard to figure out how to use them. In my opinion if you are going to do the period I would not even buy cavalry."

You have to have some cavalry – just so the players can find out for themselves that they had no place on the battlefield;-) Seriously, their main use is running down stragglers and broken units, not doing Waterloo style massed charges (didn't work there either).

I'd be surprised if the Prussians consistently beat the French, maybe it is the scenarios? Compared to e.g. the Austrians in 1866, the French in 1870 have a whole lot of advantages, not the least of which being long service professionals armed with the most modern weapons – in the Imperial army at any rate.

I looked at 15mm, 10mm and 6mm for FPW and in the end plumped for 6mm as I like BIG battles, and the cost of artillery was prohibitive in 15mm. Essex did the best 15mm range though, IMHO, as that was what I was going to get.

Hmmm, our gaming group has found (after 4 or 5 games) that the French are hard to beat due to their firepower. Some of us are beginning to wonder if the prussians can ever beat the French! This was a war that the French lost mainly due to mobilization problems, not battlefield related problems.

coopman
Are you playing in the FPW game at Bayou Wars?

Larry

Yes, probably so, Larry.

If the French are winning then they aren't crippled with command & control problems. During the Imperial phase of the war they moved slowly and were extremely cautious. Remove that problem and they should kick butt.

The Prussians also almost always had the numbers during that phase.

I think the proportions of the Essex figures are off – they just odd to my eyes. They also suffer from the "Kneeling Giants" syndrome. The kneeling figures would, if they stood up, be about 8 feet tall!

Old Glory are too varied and animated for me. Some of the poses remind of the scene in "Blazing Saddles", where the black chain gang watch in amazement as the boss cowboys all dance and sing spirituals…("like a bunch of Kansas city ***" to quote the movie).

My French are all Freikorps (now from LKM I think). They're quite nice, especially the cavalry. They don't mix with anything else though, since they are true 15s.

My Prussians (and Bavarians) are from Outpost. Slightly varied poses, including some line infantry wearing forage caps rather than the pickelhaub. Also quite nice.

All opinions expressed are entirely my own, of course.

Balanced scenarios are vital for the FPW, as both French and Prussian tabletop commanders would not make the mistakes their historical counterparts did. Rules sets are a bit hit and miss in this period. It would be best to try a period specific set rather than a generic 19th Century one. The new Polemos or 1870 maybe.
Essex figures for 15s, if only they finished it- no Mitrailleuse.

Depends on the scenario and what level your games are fought at. Prussian artillery was a huge adavntage. But it wasn't present in large numbers below the corps level.

I started with loads of Rank and File and some Frei Korps. I painted them up and sold most of them. I now have mainly Old Glory, some FK and Minifigs. However, I am planning on taking a close look at Baccus if Pete makes Austrians too. I actually prefer 1866.

Thanks,

John

no one has mentioned Outpost Wargames Service. I have alot of these and rather like them. not that there is anything wrong with the newer OG ones mind, but OWS were the first ones I bought.

link

demigamer, I am looking closely at those now. One of their packs is "firing line" -- do you know offhand what different poses are in it? Once you have a stand painted and flocked can you get a nice, dynamic look that fits in with the feel of the period prints?