"15mm Late 17th Century, Comparisons and Reviews" Topic

Those interested in the Franco Dutch Wars, the League of Augsburg, the Sedgemoor Campaign, the Tangiers Campaign or similar engagements of the late 17th century in 15mm might want to visit "The Wars of Louis Quatorze" here:

warsoflouisxiv.blogspot.com

I have begun a series of posts comparing and evaluating all of the available 15mm ranges for the period, complete with pictures against a gridded background. So far I have posted the premise for the article with a copy of the ratings form I'm using and Part I, The Overview, with pictures. I will be following these with a post on each maker showing their wares painted with comparison shots and critical evaluation (what's accurate, what's not, what looks right, what doesn't). In the process I'll also offer some tips on which painting styles work best for which ranges, little things you can do to add detail and panache to your army, comparitive costs (both in the US and the UK), and other little details that pop up. When you visit the blog, just click on the label for "15mm figures".

Hopefully, this series of posts will answer many of your questions about mixing different ranges and let you see what poses are available, how they paint up, and how much cleanup is required before painting. I also hope they provide some inspiration to budding 15mm Lace Wars gamers out there.

BTW – I can also highly recommend the blog, hosted by Ralphus, as a great "stopping off" place for anyone interested in the late 17th century in any scale. When you get the chance, stop by and browse the period artwork, figure reviews and announcements, reference sources, reenactors links, and other esoteric material that we uncover for your entertainment and edification.

Bill

Very interesting.
Thank you for setting this up. It is indeed a great help to see what's compatible.

Excellent, thank you for this I shall look in regularly.

Where are the Minifigs for comparison? THere's a great range of WSS available and also, some useful figures in the Pirate range as well. />)

Tom Dye
GFI

Tom,

I'm well aware of Minifigs ranges, but the review is specifically of the late 17th century and stops well before the WSS. I am aware that Minifigs does make "bits and pieces" that might work in their Pirate range, in their WSS range, and in their Renaissance range; but at this time they do not make a specific range dedicated to the period from 1660 to 1700. No War of Devolution, no Dutch War, no Glorious Rebellion, and no Grand Alliance or League of Augsburg. The offering of a "complete range" was the one cardinal criteria that had to be met for inclusion in these ratings. In very "general" terms, long coats (post 1660) and no tricornes (pre 1700). That's very much an over-simplification, but is still pretty accurate.

Perhaps the last "chapter" of the review might offer suggestions on figures from other ranges that might be used for specific troop types, like late TYW Cuirassiers for Germanic and Dutch Cuirassiers, some Museum, Freikorps or Minifig Royalist Cavalry for the Dutch Wars, some Scots from various makers in hodden gray and bonnets that could be mixed in in the War of Devolution and the early part of the Dutch Wars, and some peasants with improvised weapons for the Rebellion could all work. They will not warrant the "full" review with the ratings sheet, but will be mentioned if appropriate and pictures will be shown.

Steve-the-Wargamer covers the WSS extremely well on his blog, in which Minifigs figure very prominently, but he doesn't do the earlier period and I don't do the WSS.

link

Maybe Minifigs (and Museum, AB, Eureka, Dixon, Peter Pig, Freikorps15, Matchlock, Asgard, Old Glory 15's, Xyston, Corvus Belli, Black Hat and any others I'm overlooking) will decide to address the 1660 to 1700 period at some point, but for now we can only go with what we have.

Maybe this series of reviews will give you the ammunition to go to "the powers that be" and request such a range. I can tell you that none of the ranges I'm reviewing "exactly" fits the Dutch Wars, and even the ones that cover the whole period fairly well still have some gaps that could be addressed (with the possible exception of Editions Brokaw and Donnington). So maybe this is the opportunity for some maker to step up and do what Mark Copplestone recently did in 28mm and do a really correct and elegant range. I promise that when they are available, I will review and rate them.

Bill

Thanks for the explaination, Bill. I will try to keep an eye on the progress for a following for the period. (Long overlooked, IMHO) As of now, from where I sit, the cost to invest new figures into the period does not look promising as a profitable venture. That's why I will keep an eye on how well your hard work does to stir up some level of interest.

Keep up the great work.

Best
Tom Dye
GFI

BTTW, I chimed in because you mentioned "Wars of Louis 'Ka-tours", which WSS was his biggest. 8>)

Cheers
Tom

No problem Tom. It is definitely a period that doesn't get as much respect as other Horse & Musket (and pike) periods, sort of the Rodney Dangerfield of H&M gaming.

But a period that saw the complete reorganisation of the French army, its ascendancy as the dominant power in Europe, commanders and personalities like Condé, Turenne, Vauban, Martinet, Louvois and the young Louis XIV, the rather sudden but dramatic rise of William III, the Glorious Revolution and consolidation of William's power, the 2nd round of brilliant French commanders exemplified by Luxembourg, the emergence of Bavaria as a major player (along with the Palatinate and other Germanic forces), really the first "World War" with the Grand Alliance, and even the Siege of Vienna in 1683 with Turkish power being blunted by a coalition of Austrians, Germans and Poles has a lot to offer gamer in terms of scope.

There have always been a few who championed this period, and with gamers and rules writers like Angus Konstam and Barry Hilton, sculpters like Mark Copplestone (both with Dixon and now on his own) and the Perry's, and makers like Parkfield and others, it is gaining in popularity finally. Also the wealth of new reference material becoming available has to help. Now, we just need the talented 10mm and 15mm sculpters to rise to the challenge. Out of all of the 15mm makers out there, only 7 produce reasonably complete ranges for this period.

BTW – WSS may have been Louis' "biggest" but most Francophiles would argue that it certainly wasn't his "best" effort ;-)

Bill

BTW – WSS may have been Louis' "biggest" but most Francophiles would argue that it certainly wasn't his "best" effort ;-)

Actually, combatants' troop levels in the 1690's were somewhat higher. The WSS actually scaled back troop numbers from earlier times.