"Soldiers Marching" Topic

Just saw a post with a link to some great ss grenadiers on the march (thanks, Tango). I think soldiers on the march look great in dioramas and add accents and character to vehicles. My question is are those sculpts of any use in wargaming? Even if the goal was to surprise or wipe out a patrol, wouldn't they assume firing positions as soon as contact was made? Do you swap out the figures for different ones? Not agonizing over this, just wondering.

I don't worry too much about it, though I do prefer "action" poses.

A lot of manufacturers dont make figures that are crouching or kneeling which always bugged me.

In my experience, any soldiers not prone, taking cover, or hunkered down running are not in combat, but on the way to combat. I prefer the upright types since they are more stable and easier to position on the board (mine are all singles on 20mm bases).

Preiser makes some in 1-72nd and in 1-87th )ROCO scale. 2016 catalog here link

Look for military models in the index. They have several nations/types.

C-in-C's 1/285 infantry packs include marching figures with slung rifles.

This struck me as a bit odd when I received my first pack. I thought it was unlikely that I'd have any use for marching figures.

I only ever used C-in-C infantry for one force, building one company of U.S. WW2 infantry. I have found the figures to be too fragile in general for my purposes … particularly prone to breaking off at the ankles. So I have gone with other manufacturers for my infantry over time.

However I find that I have used a great many of the C-in-C marching figures on stands with other forces / figures from other companies. I use them mostly for special stands … engineering, HQ, medical units, vehicle crews, etc. They also make useful additions to artillery crews.

Sometimes I do a bit of modification … for example I have placed the marching figure next to a command figure (often in officer's cap, pointing or holding a pistol). I bent the free arm of the marching soldier to be held up near his face, and added an antenna to his backpack, and voila I have a radioman. After reading other threads I am also now considering kit-bashing a stretcher for two marching soldiers to carry.

The difference in the stance makes them useful in my force for helping to make it obvious that a given stand is NOT just another infantry squad.

Probably more of a consideration in multi-figure stands that are common in smaller scales. But it might still be applicable to individually based figures for skirmish rules.

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

I find them really useful, I sometimes like to differentiate between units by using figures in different styles of poses.
EG:
just finishing a 20mm British Btn where 1 stand = 1 section, mainly using AB figures, so 1 company has figures that are predominately prone, 1 coy has figures mainly crouching, a third has figures running and the 4th has them ambling along casually marching.
Obviously to accomplish this sort of thing you need a manufacturer(s) with a huge variety of poses, something which is not too difficult in 20mm

I'll use more upright poses for HQs etc., but prefer some semblance of 'action' for those fighting. I thought that many of the figures in that original post had arms that were too long.

I like them as they make perfect "filler" stands for landing craft