"28mm plastics, so what can we make now?" Topic

Perry has three boxes of napoleonic plastic infantry (French, British and Prussian) plus three boxes of cavalry (French Hussars, Dragoons, and Heavies).

Victrix now has 15 box sets available (14 infantry, 1 atillery)

Warlord has their Prussian Landwher.

Using either paint jobs, minor modifications and/or combining parts from different sets what other Napoleonic troops types can be made – please also say how.

To start things moving:

Victrix Old guard + heads from either the Perry or Victrix French sets gives French legere in greatcoats (with eppaulettes and short sword – so not regulation for all companies in all periods, but the eppaulettes are easily removable with a sharp knife and several sources say regiments tried to keep the short sword for Chasseurs even when it was not regulation). It also gives French Voltigeurs in greatcoats to go act as skirmishers for the Perry 1812-1815 French in Greatcoats with form nearly half the box

Victrix old guard bodies + heads/arms from either the Perry or Victrix French infantry sets with spare tool-wielding hands from the Victrix British artillery set gives passable French foot artillery in greatcoats

Other suggestions?

Not sure. I think you can make Saxon light cavalry with dragoon bodies and French infantry heads. But I'm not sure.

Well natuarly, you can make Hanvoerians from both Perry and victrix british, also marines.

British can also be used for Prussian reserive in british uniforms, just paint them blue.

You can use our Victrix French bodies and use the Perry Carabinier helmets to make French engineers.

Use Britsh Bodies (Victrix or Perry), scrape off the lace on the front and then add French arms, backpacks and Heads to make Dutch for 1815. You can shape the French pompom with flat pliers to make the more elongated plume for the Dutch.Add some green stuff shoulder rolls for flank company.

Do the same as above but use Belgic shako's to make Belgians for 1815.

If you add a plume to the left hand side of the helmet on our Austrians 1798-1809 you can make Wurzburg troops.

You could use some of the Perry Hussar Colpacks on our Victrix French infantry elite bodies to make Elite companies of Legere. Some Leger did have long tail coats (not many and I dont have the regiment numbers to hand)

Steve.

It might be worth remembering that HäT also produces a range of hard plastic 28 mm Napoleonics, though these are not ideal material for conversions (not being particularly multi-part in nature).

You can use Perry Mahdist heads with turbans and Perry French dragoons to make Sikh Dragoons, at least muslims who were in the Sikh army as Drgaoons.

You can use the heads from those dragoons on the bodies of the Victrix British artillery to make Bengal artillery.

Great suggestions everyone, especially Pictors as I had not thought at all beyond Napoleonic Europe.

Griefbringer, I avoided mentioning HäT as they are not multipart AND they are smaller/more slender than the other three. It is possible to have them on the same table (I have HäT Bavarians), but mixing parts just does not work (I have tried)

Put left over heads from perry prussian infantry on french hussars to make prussian hussars.

Put line shakos on old guard bodies to make young guard in greatcoats.

Portuguese Infantry: I would eventually like to do several more battalions of Portuguese infantry for the Peninsula. I am not happy with any now done in metal. Unfortunately, there are very few French 1815 without greatcoats. If there were, I would us French elites, carve down the hair-brush epaulettes, and cut away the short sword – but not the bayonet scabbard. One would also need to scrape away the lapels, allowing for single-breasted jacket. French back packs would work well for the early Portuguese.

I have not seen the British Waterloo shako head by either Perry or Victrix, but it should be good raw material to make the early Barretina shako of the Portuguese.

With the advent of the stovepipe shako for the Portuguese, British backpacks would be appropriate, and some conversion of the British stovepipe shako. Epaulettes would also need some work.

Somewhere in the deep, obscure past I recall reading that the Portuguese started with only a bayonet crossbelt, but as the war went on, they liked to acquire French sword and bayonet crossbelts! I bet it began with Oporto, where the 16th Portuguese was part of that very successful operation!

For Peninsular War cavalry, rare unit of Spanish (Madrid Dragoons?) shown in one of the Osprey booklets. I would assume a squadron strength would be the maximum. Use the 1815 French dragoon, and add a French head with shako and pompom. Saddle equipment is identical, but different colors.

I have seen 2 illustrations of Spanish late-war dragoons with French 1815 cut jackets. They both had long overalls. But horse furniture same as French. The problem is I cannot remember the structure of the helmet they wore with a rolled crest: band of fur or not. Leather or metal? French helmets could probably be used with conversion.

The Spanish had some cuirassiers, well-docented in this Forum in recent past. Red coats.

As an afterthought, could Austrian plastic infantry, with British Stovepipe shakos and French back packs, be used to depict the 28th Foot as they may have looked after the 1800 Eqyptian campaign? Scrape away canteen straps – but keep the round canteen – use only bayonet scabbard. Shoulder tufts and wings would need to be added. The 28th won the "back number" in Egypt, and are reputed to have taken up French packs captured in Egypt. They still wore the stovepipe at Waterloo, and the flank companies may have still had French packs.

GdeP

I'm intrigued as to why most of the suggestions are somewhat labourious or 'shoddy' conversions to figures which are already available as 'accurate' metals? Surely it would be better to look to do conversions for those types which are not currently made in anything and have little chance of being made. The Hanseatic Legion springs to mind, von Hellwigs Streifkorps and other such oddball things.

NigelM – perhaps because some people a) like plastics and converting figures and/or b) have limited budgets so 35 pence each converted plastics are affordable whereas metal figures costing 3-4x the price (after P&P) are out of budget and/or c) Most of the convertions listed I can do faster than I can clean up metal figures so I am not sure where the "most of the suggestions are somewhat labourious or shoddy" comes from.

Do you have suggestions for making the Hanseatic Legion, Hellwigs Streifkorps or any other oddball things?

I'd suggest the book, Historex Modeling Masterclass by Bill Ottinger. Contains great information about converting and modeling styrene plastic napoleonics and others.

But if you have to use 3 or 4 different sets to get the parts for the conversion you lose the cost saving unless the other bits happen to go together and produce useful figures. Basis for the Hanseatic legion would be Landwehr, put French heads on them for Bremen for example. Hellwigs infantry would be Brit flank company bodies, Prussian infantry packs and French shakos. For the record I also enjoy the conversion my Victrix Brits became the Hanoverian Lauenburg Bttln (admittedly not particularly difficult as it mainly required scraping the shako plate) But the lengths required to get accurate Dutch Belgians from Victrix Brits when the Perrys have excellent accurate metals seems counter productive. Putting Prussian heads on French hussars does not make an accurate Prussian. The conversion possibilities are endless and many fantastic ones have been done but to me it makes sense to go for an accurate figure be it metal plastic or whatever before spending a lot of time and effort putting something 'near enough' together.

I used Perry Hussars with Mirlitons for Seven Years War Hussar units if that helps :-)

Was trying to work out how I'd do Austrian Grenzers.

NigelM – why is "close enough" not good enough for some of us? I tend to think that at table top distance most units look the same to my tired old eyes anyway :-)

I agree for collectors/display, but on the table why not try and make some more units out of plastics.

I reckon Victrix Austrians would make passable Wuttemberg, which would make a change from painting French or Austrians. I did that many years back with my Minifgs, and they are ok.

Perhaps the "make do and mend" units will serve in the ranks until better plastic alternatives come along, and maybe as more plastics are sold the manufacturers will recoup the set up costs and make more.

Marc as someone who has painted Austrians as Wurts in the past I agree with you to a large extent, paint job conversions (e.g. Brits as Prussian Reservists) I can understand. It's the using bits from several different sets and a load of greenstuff to come up with something that might look a bit like it when there's an accurate metal is what I don't get. We are not in the 60's & 70's when all you had was Airfix sets and conversion was the only option for many things. There are a good number of options out there why not use them? I'm using metal, plastic and resin for my various forces depending on what gives the best model for the best price.

I for one have many "left over bits" from Napoleonic projects which just scream out for conversions.

That is one nice bonus, most sets have spare arms, heads etc

I was planning to paint some of the New Victrix Austrians as Sardinians (i'd like to see someone get more 'Oddball' than that)
I'm also pretty sure that the Perry Hussars are 'passable' as Austrian Hussars without too much work, although i could be wrong

Wargames factory zulu war British infantry bodies and the Perry carabinier heads to make a VSF 'Eastern European' force! I know its not Napoleonic but it illustrates the versitility of plastic multipart figures

Plastic, the new refuge for "near enough is good enough"…good grief..

Victrix 1804 French infantry with Victrix British Marine heads for French colonial infantry.

Perhaps you could do the same with British infantry if you can scrape away the lacing?

What we really could use is 'generic' infantry in short coatees.

I am sorry if I refuse to have 3-4 different French Armies based on the exact time frame. I actually fail to see that having the wrongt belt buckle for the 1805 French invalidates the figure.

Zaku118…..The austrian shako is a bit differant then the french model..but under oil skin cover it's hard to tell.The biggest problem I have seen to kep me from makeing austrian hussars from the Perry plastic french Hussars is the saddle cloth/sheepskin…the austrian kit is totally differant from the french.

Runicus

@Runcicus
I guess I'll have to wait untill someone makes Plastic Austrian Hussars then :)

Plastics Smashstics

I am sorry if I refuse to have 3-4 different French Armies based on the exact time frame. I actually fail to see that having the wrongt belt buckle for the 1805 French invalidates the figure.

Wash yore mouth out :D

I use "stand off scale" measure – so long as my oppo or I cannot see (on the table) an obvious error (ie wrong uniform colour/hat etc) then IMO its not an error :)

Also units tended to re-equip over time.

And part of the fun of the game is…well, having fun – its a game. If you want a few temporally or sartorially challenged units go for it, say I.

I notionally have 1809 Austrians, so its helmet to shakeover changeove, I have both types.Do the Shako headed ones fight 1805 Frenchh? Yes. Do the helmeted ones fight 1814 French? Yes. Am I going to paint extra battalions to fight both "accurately"? Maybe one day, but not this day :D

And I challenge ANYONE to notice that my 7YW Swiss battalion used British figures!

Im looking at waterloo and so far from plastic i have,
Hanovarian Landwehr
Belgian Line Infantry
Dutch Militia
Belgian Carabiners
Dutch Carabiners
2nd Nassua (using french 1807-12 with metal command)
Brunswick hussars

next in the pipeline is

French 11 cuirassiers (using dragoons)
French Light lancers using dragoons/heavy cavalry and hussars
Belgian Hussars

kippersminis.blogspot.com
some images here, with a little effort and some green stuff the possibilities are pretty wide ranging.

This plastics fad will never last…

I have taken the sword arm from Victrix British Foot Artillery , a little trim work, and added it to a Perry Prussian Jager to give them a officer in the skirmish line.
Also , being in need of Cavalry for my Prussian , I used the Perry French Hussars, a little trim work , and yes , they where without the shako cover. But they look great and still kill French.

Tom

How about this simple conversion…Victrix old guard grenadier bodies with victrix french line(1807-1812) covered shako…fusilier grenadiers/fusiler chasseurs in campaign dress

I've been knocking around the idea of using left over Perry Hussar parts with their Dragoon bodies to make chasseurs a cheval. Still trying to figure out what to do with the left over Dragoon parts.

The austrian shako is a bit differant then the french model..but under oil skin cover it's hard to tell.The biggest problem I have seen to kep me from makeing austrian hussars from the Perry plastic french Hussars is the saddle cloth/sheepskin…the austrian kit is totally differant from the french.

Exactly that issue with using the figures as 7YW Hussars, so I built Fischers (volunteers) instead – I'm sure you can find some allied/insurrection/ imaginary unit for your army.

Just thought of something that could be a possibility in the very near future. Warlord are releasing Russians which will provide lots of Kiwer heads, the Perry's are working on Prussian cavalry (not sure how much will be plastic though) This means you could use Kiwer heads, Hussar torsos and Litewka lower halves to create the East Prussian National Cavalry Regiment of 1813 (I am not aware of a suitable figure for this in any scale – well there's probably some 54mm+ examples around)

I am considering later Saxon cuirassiers using Perry French Carabiners and and Wuurtemburg Jaeger zu Pferd using Perry Dragoons with Carabiner heads.

On a slow day at work i have been trawling through TMP and found this topic. I had missed the suggestion about French artillery, what a brilliant if mad cap idea, with a little work on the cuffs the gunners would be fine, but all day I've been thinking how i could convert the guns.
There are 3 guns and 3 Limbers and 9 gun barrels in the Victrix set, I will pick up a pack in the new year and see if its possible . . . I do love a challenge!
Here's some picks of the latest efforts at converting plastics;

link

Gentlemen;

Certainly a bit of a departure from the European Napoleonic scene, however:

Texas War of Independence -

Most of Santa Ana's Mexican army should be possible from Napoleonic parts. A bit of conversion work would be required for the distinctive flat-brimmed hat used by some, and some shoulder "rolls" would need to be made from Green Stuff. By adding in some of the Perry's ACW bits you could even do the conscript infantry. If you want to add that level of detail then a frizzen could be added to the muskets in the ACW sets with either Green Stuff or a bit of liquid plastic, making them reasonable flintlocks.

The Alamo defender's and the Texicans at San Jacinto would be a bit more of a challenge, but by combining parts from the Perry's ACW infantry with some bits from the Warlord Prussian Landwehr you could do a large part of them. Since there were a finite number of Alamo defenders and the rest of the Texican army was never large, these could then be supplemented with specialty metal figures.

South American Wars of Independence, mid-19th Century -

Again, combine a hodge-podge of Napoleonic and ACW bits and you have most of the "Banana Republics" from the various revolutions. Also a great setting for Imagi-Nations that has been relatively unexplored. I started this project many years ago using home cast Prince August Napoleonics and Dutkins ACW molds, but the figures were just so bad… This could be a very viable project with plastic.

Bill
Sir William the Aged

I was thinking about using Austrians with British heads for Portuguese. What do you think? I think that if you do not like plastics and close is not good enough. Maybe this discussion is not for you. I hate it when people are trying to have a discussion and someone else needs to chime in just to badmouth everything they are talking about. It is why some of my friends hate TMP.

I hear ya Jimmy. I'm raising a mince pie in agreement.

Good point well made Jimmy, I'm thinking about dutch line infantry with Victrix Austrians, any excuse to buy those Austrians!

Good point well made Jimmy, I'm thinking about dutch line infantry with Victrix Austrians, any excuse to buy those Austrians!

I think NigelM has a valid point about the cost though. The Perry metal Dutch are just over a £1 a figure. The Perry plastics are 50p a figure. If you have to buy 2 boxes to do your conversion you might just as well have bought the Perry metals. And very nice figures they are too!

It is a good point. I already have the heads. It would not be worth buying for just heads.