"What are the least useful COMMON figures everybody makes?" Topic

My personal favorite have to be the Queen's Rangers Hussars in the AWI.
I think there may have been as many as 20 "in real life". They showed up in a Lefferts plate in the 1920s, and look quite different than the usual. Dark green lounging pajamas, a tall cylindrical … hat of some kind. I have heard that that particular plate's accuracy is dubious at best.
Nevertheless, I have 2 from Hinchliffe. At the usual figure to man ratio I game it, that is 1 too many!
Of course, Perry makes a pack of "ordinary" Queen's Rangers Hussars, PLUS a command pack. That ups the "uselessness" ratio a bit.
The sad thing is that they can serve as proxies for not much of anything else, their "uniform" being so unique.

I may have exaggerated my title a bit. Not EVERYBODY makes them, of course. But unless you play a lot of 1:1 skirmish games, I don't see a lot us need for them.

Having said that, what other figures with an unfavorable "real guys" to "blister pack content" are there out there?

French Old Guard.

Tiger tanks.

I think any 18th century types can always be found in role in "Imaginations" armies. Just imagine the queens Ranger hussars in pink pyjamas, with red hats! Would scare the life out of your opponent.
To return to your main theme John, my vote goes to the Russian Napoleonic grenadiers in mitre caps- only the Pavlovski seem to have retained the mitre caps and there appears doubt as to whether they actually wore them in the field. Judging by how frequently they come up on EBay auctions, lot of gamers discover this too late.

…yes, but if you are gaming the Russians from Suvurov's Swiss campaign thru Freidland in 1807, mitres would be acceptable.

The soldier with the bandaged head. If he still felt good enough to continue marching across the field with his mates then he would not have left the line to go back to the baggage park to get his head wound attended to.

I think it isnīt the figures, but rather the huge amounts that people by them in. On the other hand, I have no guard units at all, which is equally wrong I suppose!

1st Virginia Cavalry. No figure line is complete without them but they were after all only one regiment.

King Tiger tanks

In terms of poses – Prone figures, loading musket figures

John, those figs are great for a Arnold invades Virginia campaign. They can also march up in Monticello playing "Knock, Knock, Mr. Jefferson"

Flaming pigs for Romans.

British troops for the AWI in the 1768 warrant uniform. War of 1812 New York Militia advancing.

Panzer I. Pershings.

ACW New Jersey Hussars. Hinchliffe has them.
Rush's Lancers. Of course, I mounted mine on camels.

I believe the New Jersey Hussars can also double as the Jessie Benton Fremont Hussars. There was only one squadron of them, but it extends the figures' usefulness to a whole 'nother theater.

Freikorps makes a Schaumberg-Lippe Carabinier in 15mm for the SYW. There were 20 of those guys. They look like nothing else in this world. Actually, they look like they're from Tekumel, if the truth be told.

Then there's Falcon's 15mm Ark of the Covenant with Levite Guards and Priests. How many of *those* do you need in your army? But I guess every aspiring Shofet needs one.

15mm WWI late war rifle grenadiers. Minifigs has one good figure kneeling. But that's it. Sure would like someone to do a group pack with four different figure poses. Hard to do the Brits in particular without rifle grenadiers for one section of the Platoon.

I have 2 Arks of the Covenant
How about the Millenium Falcon, the Yamato, Guard Mamelukes

Napoleon. I think I've got five.

Jlundberg, I guess with two Arks you can stage a civil war in Israel, like the War of the Levite's Concubine.

"He is with us! He is in our box!"

"Nonsense, you impostor! Your false box is empty! He is in our box!"

"I told him we already got one"

snigger! chortle!

Japanese kneeling infantryman with grenade discharger (knee mortar), officer with samurai sword, and prone light machine gunner.

1814 Prussian Guard Infantry in parade dress…. Never saw a battle and certainly not in parade dress!

Maus tanks…

Italian P40 tanks

Drummers. All drummers.

And bugle players.

15mm mortar crew carrying the weapon.

DM

Prone figures who look like they are taking a nap.

Egyptian and Assyrian slingers. Slingers in many armies?

For all of their ubiquity in histories and as miniatures there don't seem to be any army lists in the mainstream that use them.

You can replace the archers in skirmish units with them, but they aren't 'official.'

French Napoleoinc line infantry, and french napoleoinc dragoons!!

Why would you ever ned them, when you got 30 battalions of old guard, and 20 regiments of Chasseur a Chaval of the guard.

I have less of a beef with Tigers & Tiger IIs, they turned up in significant numbers of engagements later in the war in significant numbers.

Jagdtigers, Sturmtigers and Maus (Mice?) are another matter, their main function was to provide photo opportunities for their opponents.

A few which spring to mind:

Napoleonic Polish Lancers

Post Office Rifles

Camel Corps (although like Tigers, they did turn up in a few places)

Officers looking in one direction and pointing in another.

Running figures who won't stand up on their bases.

WW2 figures with SMGs

WW2 German machine gunners firing over their mates shoulder.

I'm going with any line that includes prone figures. Almost worthless in my view.

Even my lmg teams I use as figures advancing.

Napoleon. I think I've got five.

At least he was present in a lot of battles. And you probably need different models to represent early, middle and late period Napoleons.

That said, rulers in court dress are of a somewhat limited utility on a field of battle. Foundry used to make a model of Elisabeth I, and Copplestone makes a model of Henry VIII that would not quite look like at home in the battlefield.

Mameluks of the Guard gets my vote; one company attached to the Chasseurs !