"Where to begin...???" Topic

I've decided to start another period and have been drawn to Napoleonics. 25-28mm is the range and plastics is where I'd like to begin. With the availability of Perry and Victrix sets, thought they'd be good to start with. So as I surf TMP today and read up on the threads here in the Nap section, can someone give me a suggestion on which boxed sets to sart with? I am probably going to have to do a French and an Allied army as I solo game more than FTF. Ruel set suggestions would be appreciated too. This is my first attempt to even read about anything Napoleonic so my knowledge base is limted.

Before you tie up a lot of time and expense in a brand new period, you should ask yourself what draws you to Napoleonics. Do you want to win at Waterloo or do yo uwant to recreate some of Sharpe's adventures?

They are very different approaches to Napoleonics. Make up your mind aon that, and recommendations will be easier.

I am drawn to smaller actions…definitely don't have the room for the larger battles. And, if I were to do the Sharpe's action stuff…I would start it as a differet project. I do have the Sharpes rules from Too Fat Lardies.

Sounds like you are on the right track anyway. Good rules, nice figures. Enjoy!

with limited space then the smaller actions would be more in with what you could game.No more then a divison at best per side.The smaller actions can sometimes be a lot more fun then the full scale battles.

I use 28mm Perry figures for Sharp Practice. Most are based 4 figures to a 40mmx40mm stand, with a few left individually mounted. If I want to move to a "big battle" set at a later date I can, without the need to re base. I plan to use the same force for "Black Powder" at a later date, but will need a lot more figures painted first.

It takes a lot of dedication to do a "big battle" 28mm army for Naps. I think it is best to start small initially with a game like Sharp practice, with the aim of moving up at a later date.

I started with "big battles" gaming long ago. But more recently I have moved, and the local gamers here were into tactical/skirmish – and am really liking it alot, more than I ever expected.

I think I would now join the crew in favor of starting with Sharp Practice. You can get going easily and "scale-up" later, as Brett noted.

Chuey

If you are buying Perry figures and are looking to play Sharp Practice I'd go with the following purchases.

One to two boxes of British Line (preferably two).
One to two boxes of French Line (preferably two).
A pack of British Rifles
A pack of French Voltigeurs
A British Command Pack
A French Command Pack
A British canon
A French canon
One of the French cavalry boxed sets (Probably the Dragoons).

The above will give you enough to play large Sharp Practice games and be a good start for bigger forces for other systems. Note the Perry French are in the 1812 Uniform, but I don't mind using them for early conflicts. The British plastics come with two different shako types, which alllow you to do earlier or later Brits. However, nearly all the Brit metals are in later uniforms.

Victrix figures can be mixed with Perry's, but note that Victrix are marginally taller (particularly the French, which have very large shakos). Victrix are also more fiddly to assemble and slightly more difficult to paint. However, if you are prepared to put in the extra effort they give a better range of poses and the Victrix faces have more personality. Personally I wanted most of my French to have marching poses like the Perrys' figures so I could form big uniform columns. Of all the Plastic box sets the Perry French line are probably the easiest to assemble (fewer parts) and paint (lots of long coats), which also influenced my decision.

Hope the above info helps.

EHeise,

Welcome to Napoleonics!

Brett's advice above is absolutely spot on, although most people wouldn't really notice the height difference between the two manufacturers, they are as close as you will get in wargaming. But his point about the simplicity of assembling and painting Perry rather that Victrix is right on the money. That said, I sense that later Victrix releases are making up for that slightly as they develop their knowledge base and get a feel for the market.

Both manufacturers also provide plenty of painting guidance and flags, so that should help you get started cheaply. If you need more painting guides, their are a host of very good websites out there with napoleonic era uniform plates -just type in 'Frederic Pouvesle' or 'Alexis Cabaret' under images, and you will find that both these gentlemen have done the Napoleonic fraternity a great service with very detailed uniform plates.

Kind Regards,

Sparker

Ok, thanks all for the info. Brett, looks like that selection will set me back about $250 USD USD. Not bad for the number of figs. Regarding the Victrix vs Perry. I was actually looking forward to a 'project' and am used to model building so putting them together, even if 'fiddly' is ok. I do like the look of some of the Victrix faces too. Not so sure I'll mix them with the Perry's though. Did the Peninsular campaign tend toward smaller battles?…might focus on that area. And one last newb question…How do the March of Eagles rules that come with the Victrix figs stack up?

EHeise,

Not used them myself – but I gather they are well designed as a starter set. There are a whole host of newish Napoleonic rules out at the moment – Black Powder, Lasalle, Republic to Empire. The latter is the posher, fuller version of the free March of Eagles, so that might be a good start for you.

I daresay they are all as good as each other – the main thing is to find out what the locals are into. If you are the first one to go Napoleonic, then probably stick with March of Eagles so that when R2E comes out you are already halfway there! I'm not biased, since I like Black Powder!

As for smaller battles in the Peninsula, as the saying goes, In Spain large armies starve, small armies are beaten! For really small battles look up Maida or Rolica – both ideally suited for the tabletop.

Kind Regards,

Sparker

You could start playing a lot sooner if you were to get "Song of Drums and Shakos". I'm not suggesting that this would be a replacement for SP (which I enjoy too) but it would give you the opportunity to play with a few of your toys whilst painting up a decent SP collection, for a very small additional outlay. Forces of a dozen a side give a good game: you can proabably go up to 30 by which time you are at the low end for Sharp Practice!

Another "hear,hear" for Brett and his wise words.