"28mm Mexican Revolution Armies" Topic
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Henry Martini | 10 Dec 2016 9:55 p.m. PST |
With the publication of the second and third volumes of 'Maneuver and Battle in the Mexican Revolution, 1910 -1915', covering the campaigns most likely to interest wargamers, along with free online access to the author's PhD thesis, and the two titles by other writers already on the market, hobbyists now actually have a choice of source material. When you add to that the availability of a dedicated set of rules (Achtung Gringo), and various figure options in 20mm and 28mm, I'm not surprised to be sensing an upsurge in interest in gaming this prolonged and multi-faceted conflict. For those considering the 28mm option who haven't yet taken the plunge, I thought a bit of guidance might be helpful. The most comprehensive and useful ranges are by Old Glory and Outpost Wargames Services. My collection is mostly comprised of the former; the historical accuracy, sculpting and posing are generally superior to Outpost's, but weapons in particular are sturdier and better proportioned. Outpost rifles are thin and delicate, and only carbine length. With OG Federales you have two head options for infantry: flat peaked cap and pith helmet; cavalry are only offered in peaked cap. Outpost gives you the same choice, including for cavalry and machine gunners (although the peaked cap is poorly depicted), with the addition of the early Saumur kepi, however, it really should be painted white as if covered; the distinctive top indentation of the uncovered dark blue item isn't represented. If, as I did, you want OG Federales in kepi you can create them by transplanting separate French heads in that headgear from the Woodbine(GB) range. I recommend spending some time perusing the vast number of period photos (and a few vidoes) on the net to get a feel for the costume/uniforms and armament of the various factions. You'll soon realise that you have a remarkable degree of latitude in how you depict the forces in miniature, but there are some rules that need to be observed. I'll set these out in the next installment, as well as ideas on how to construct your armies so units give you maximum versatility, thus avoiding unnecessary purchases and keeping costs as low as possible. |
mghFond | 10 Dec 2016 11:27 p.m. PST |
I'm with you, Henry, my armies are almost all Old Glory and I think they look fine. |
Henry Martini | 11 Dec 2016 6:59 a.m. PST |
Thanks Bob. Now, to continue… I'll deal with the main factions from the period 1913-1915 one at a time, relating them to the two figure ranges mentioned above. Federales started out in white four-pocket tunics and white trousers, worn with the Saumur kepi, exposed or with a white cover. The flat peaked cap was introduced in 1913, in dark blue with arm of service coloured band in full dress, or khaki for campaign dress. It was also sometimes worn with a white cover. The pith helmet was mainly worn by artillerists, but I've seen (undated) photos of infantrymen wearing it too, and one source claims that it was popular with cavalry units – although I haven't seen any photos of mounted troops wearing this type of headgear. Khaki uniforms were introduced in 1914, but don't appear to have achieved sufficient distribution to more than partially replace the white version. Making sense of the federal organisational nomenclature used in different sources is difficult, but units denominated as auxiliaries apparently wore the standard uniform, but with brimmed hats of various descriptions, including sombreros, sometimes turned up on the right. I've seen a photo on the cover of a book of uniformed troops, nearly all of whom were wearing a standardised wide-brimmed straw sombrero – turned up on the right! The photo caption was no help; the publisher couldn't even identify which side they belonged to, but given the above it seems reasonable to assume that they were auxiliaries. These were mostly former Maderistas from the 1911 rebellion who'd been enlisted in units of their own. They were uniformed and trained, but to a lesser standard than regulars (Orozco's colorados and other more recent turncoats were also organised into units, but not uniformed or trained. In federal OBs such units are listed as irregular cavalry). Photos demonstrate, and contemporary observers confirm, that there was no standard shade of khaki in the federal army. The question is, does this mean between units, or within units? It seems that the answer is that both apply. Some units appear to be wearing uniforms of a homogenous shade, while in other photos the shade varies from soldier to soldier, and sometimes individual men wear tunics of one shade and trousers of another. The problem is that photos are often undated, making determining what stage of the conflict the troops are from very difficult. My own feeling on how to explain this is that uniformity was probably at its most widespread at the start of hostilities, and that as the conflict progressed and shortages and supply chaos became endemic the appearance of units became more ragged. White continued to figure in the mix too, right up until the defeat of Huerta. What does all this mean for those trying to assemble a miniature federal army? The reality notwithstanding, we as wargamers have to decide what painting system works best for identifying units on the tabletop. With the Federales there are enough variations in headgear and uniform colour for every unit to have a distinctly different look – if that's what best fits your requirements. Whichever brand you opt for, auxiliaries will have to be created through head swaps. whether the heads come from other figures that are also due for new heads, or from one of the sets of separate heads made by Woodbine (WW1 range) or Perry Miniatures (WW2 range). You could use straw sombreros, felt sombreros, or US-style hats. I would suggest the last option, for reasons to be discussed below. For the regulars, you could opt for some units in white and others in khaki, whether homogenous or mixed, or all units in a random combination of various shades of khaki, and white – or some other combination. Even if all your units are indistinguishable by their uniform colour, you still have three types of headgear to choose from, one of which (peaked caps) could be any one of three different colours, giving five possible variations; so if you have no more than five of any one type of unit they'll still be easily distinguishable. Federal irregular cavalry can be represented with northern revolutionary (Villista) figures painted in assorted civilian colours. They would probably have been rearmed with Mauser carbines for logistical reasons, so you might want to omit any figures with Winchesters. Next… the revolutionaries. |
Condotta | 11 Dec 2016 7:02 a.m. PST |
Old Glory's Pershing in Mexico range is one of my favs for early 20th century conflicts. Thanks for the posts. I look forward to more, and meanwhile here is more info on these titles you referenced: link |
Zargon | 11 Dec 2016 7:43 a.m. PST |
Very interesting stuff, brings back lots of cool memories of all those spaghetti westerns (the coolest type of westerns ever) and the swarthy south of the border baddies and goodies in khaki and white with our intrepid heroes trying to help the poor peons of the village. |
Kevin C | 11 Dec 2016 8:32 a.m. PST |
I agree with your assessment that Old Glory's Pershing in Mexico's range is the best and most complete range of miniatures for the conflict. I have supplemented these figures with a few other figures from other ranges and companies to fill in a few gaps. From Old Glory I have also used Japanese infantry and artillery from their Boxer Rebellion range to represent earlier Federales: link link I have also used the European Civilian Volunteers from Old Glory's Boxer Rebellion range and Boers from their Boer War range as stand ins for Colorados and American Legion Volunteers: link link link link In addition, the pack of Mexican Peasants from Old Glory's Building range (which are not pictures) have some interesting figures with shovels that can be used for siege operations as well as some figures with dynamite which are very useful for all kinds of scenarios: link And while it may not be exactly historical, the armored wagon from Old Glory has a lot of potential for various Mexican Revolution scenarios: link I would also add that Brigade Games offers a number of useful figures for the range as well, in particular they offer a figure which matches the unique Federal bugler depicted in the Osprey book on the Mexican Revolution (plate C on page 35), the "Wild Bunch" and Villa riding in a model T: link Finally, Pulp Figures also has some interesting figures that have a number of uses for the Mexican Revolution: link I have certainly found the Mexican Revolution to be one of my favorite periods for gaming potential and miniature collecting.
Kevin |
jurgenation | 11 Dec 2016 1:17 p.m. PST |
Thanx for the great ideas..Im in the middle of painting and building mine..also mixed a few Gringos 40's. I just bought vol. 1 on maneuver..etc..great so far ..lots of info.Can;t wait to play. also great book is "The Great Pursuit" |
Condotta | 11 Dec 2016 7:06 p.m. PST |
Kevin C, concur with your choices. One of the aspects I am working on is the importance of railroads during this period. One figure I find particularly interesting is one of Poncho Villas more destructive followers, Fierro the Butcher, who liked to plunge dynamite filled trains into enemy defenses. link Thanks, all, for an interesting post. |
Henry Martini | 11 Dec 2016 7:44 p.m. PST |
Thanks for the comments, muchachos. For the moment I'm going to focus on the figure ranges I've used; others I'll get to in due course. Before moving on to the revolutionaries, a few more points about the Federales: For the most part the photos indicate that headgear was uniform within units, even if clothing colour wasn't, but a few photos show mixed headgear; again, probably from 1914 when the supply situation was becoming more desperate due to administrative breakdown and the rushed attempt to hugely expand the army. You might prefer to have all your federal regular units sport the same look, whether all clad and painted identically, or all in the same mix of colours and/or headgear. It's certainly an option, but it does of course make keeping them separated on the tabletop that little bit harder, and having a range of 'looks' keeps things flexible so that you can differentiate say, veteran and raw units, or first line and national guard units to suit the needs of the moment. There were also federal irregular infantry units. This probably means mostly Indians, who were most famously used in large numbers by Obregon (Yaquis), but also to a lesser extent by Huerta. In addition to that photo of the sombrero-clad infantry I mentioned above, I've also seen a video that included a uniformed mounted unit in the same type of hat, but not turned up. As the other units in the video were unmistakably federal, these were presumably auxiliary cavalry. There's a photo online and in the Osprey book of a federal artillery unit in pith helmet that seems to be universally armed with Winchesters, so it's possible that some or all irregular cavalry units might have had any Mausers they were carrying beforehand appropriated and been rearmed with this rifle. Whatever firearm they carried, uniformity would have been the foremost consideration for ease of ammunition supply, so figures in miniature units of this type should probably all be armed the same. There were federal volunteer units distinct from the auxiliaries, composed of men who weren't former revolutionaries. The minimal evidence available to me suggests that they wore khaki uniforms cut in a civilian style, probably meaning Norfolk jackets. The best fit we have is to use Boers painted in khaki clothing for both infantry and cavalry. These units were usually on the small side. I haven't mentioned rurales because there's really no choice involved; there's only the OG pack. Outpost only does them on foot, they're in full dress, and they're armed with Remingtons, which, at least for those units that were absorbed into the federal army, were replaced with Mauser carbines. Now to the rebels: If you plan to collect Zapatistas they should be mainly made up from the OG dismounted irregulars, but a small proportion of Old West peons from various manufacturers (e.g OG, Foundry or Dixon) can be mixed in; even some with antiquated muzzle-loaders. Whatever rules you use will most likely assign a firing factor that represents the total firepower of a unit, so individual armament can realistically vary for better aesthetics. For the token cavalry unit or two you could just pick out the figures wearing the most white amongst your Villista force, or if you're only collecting Zapatistas just buy the required number of Villista figures and paint more white clothing items than you otherwise would. The Zapatistas never seriously attempted to regularise, so there's no need to represent them in uniform. Fighters of any of the northern factions can be represented by figures marketed as Villistas, and beardless Boers can also be mixed in, with some head-swaps for better integration. Unfortunately the outpost Villistas are marred by being unhistorically depicted wearing full-leg Old West-style chaps, but they can be used if you don't mind a bit of resculpting work, or are prepared to overlook this fault. Whole or part uniforms were worn by many northern revolutionaries in 1913-1914. They were either captured federal items, or imported surplus US stocks or locally made imitations thereof, all in a wide range of khaki shades. These can be represented with Federales with head swaps and/or SAW US figures. The latter are a case of 'close enough is good enough', because Mexicans rarely wore their sleeves rolled, whereas the OG figures and most others are depicted thus. I suppose you could sculpt on long sleeves, but that might be pushing historical accuracy just a bit too far for the average gamer. The main difference between the Mexican and US tunics was that the latter had patch pockets and the former were integral, but no one makes 28mm US SAW figures wearing tunic (apart from the officers and generals in the OG packs, which therefore make ideal revolutionaries), so in another case of 'near enough is good enough' the Federales are the only option. A couple of revolutionary armies, such as Obregon's Army of the North-west, were at first mainly composed of state militia, and/or federal auxiliaries (both recruited from the same source as mentioned above) and rurales who'd defected. I haven't managed to find any information on the costume of militia units, but I think it's reasonable to assume that they were uniformed, probably in an outmoded style. Good options might be the Foundry Old West Mexican soldiers, which are also armed with single-shot breech-loaders, as many militia units probably were, or OG SAW Cubans in pocketless tunics, perhaps with a bandolier or two added here and there (the pre-1913 federal campaign dress tunic was pocketless). By the 1915 campaigns everyone in the two main opposing factions was in a uniform of some sort, mostly of the federal or US types, however, as the well known case of 'los rayados de Celaya' (the striped ones of Celaya, so-called because of the prison uniforms they wore) indicates, any sort of uniform was preferred over none. I've seen a few photos showing Constitutionalists wearing pocketless tunics. They're mostly officers/generals (including Carranza), but there are a few soldiers too. This opens up the option of using SAW Cubans. You could add bandoliers to them, but I don't think it's strictly necessary. Any heads in straw hats should be replaced with ones in US-style hats, with or without Montana peak. As indicated above, these could double as 1913-14 state militia. For 1915 they could conceivably serve on either side. A good way to differentiate Conventionalists and Constitutionalists is to use US SAW figures for the former and federal conversions for the latter. There's a photo in the Osprey book of a 1920 Constitutionalist MG team wearing khaki jackets cut in a civilian style. This is very late for a non-standard uniform, so either it's deliberately intended to mark them out as a special unit, or the supply situation hadn't improved since the major campaigns of mid-decade. Personally I lean towards the former interpretation. My guess would be that they belong to a volunteer unit (by this time the Carranza regime's army was mostly recruited through conscription), which, as mentioned above, had also existed in the federal army in 1913-14, probably clad similarly, so the best option is again Boers painted in khaki. For 1915, like the Cubans, they could be used for either of the warring factions. It appears that, along with adopting the old federal recruiting system, at some point the Carrancistas reverted to clothing their regulars in a uniform very similar to that of the khaki Huerta-era version, including the peaked cap or pith helmet (but not the kepi; its use ended with the disbanding of Huerta's army). If you believe this process might have started as early as 1915 it means you can enlist any khaki-clad federales in the right headgear into your Carrancista army alongside federal head-swaps in broad-brimmed hats. The latter can also do double duty as Huerta-era federal auxiliaries. This is something to think about when planning your collection's structure and painting. After 1915 the remaining loyal Villistas reverted to mounted guerilla tactics and uniforms gradually disappeared, so your 1913-14 Villista figures get another run. The OG Mondragon gun is seriously over-scale (more like 40mm than 28mm), so you might want to look for an accurately-scaled French 75 as a substitute; it was just as common in the Mex Rev as the Mondragon. You should consider flexibility just as much when thinking about how to paint your artillerymen and machine gunners as you do for infantry and cavalry. By carefully planning your collection's structure and painting for maximum flexibility you can represent the whole period from 1913 to 1920 through having many multi-purpose figures, thus minimising the sting to your wallett. Brigade Games does some nice revolutionaries. The only problem with them is that they're packaged with bandit figures wearing masks. That company also makes a few very well sculpted federal infantry, spoilt only by oversized ammo-pouches, and a car with driver and Pancho Villa. Gringo 40s makes an assortment of one-off figures, but the poses are mostly too static/eccentric and the options too limited for them to be the foundation of an army. They'd be good to sprinkle through your units for variety, though. The Gatling gun is a strange beast: no magazine or number two gunner, and the Mondragon 75mm gun's barrel is too short and stubby. The Pulp figures are fine in their intended skirmish game role, but there are too many pistol-armed figures for battle games. The Zapatistas are OK if mixed with less well-armed figures. The OG Boxer Rebellion Japanese are wrong on a number of points: caps aren't the correct shape, equipment is wrong, and leggings were uncommon in 1913-14, and not in use earlier. |
Henry Martini | 11 Dec 2016 9:36 p.m. PST |
Just as an example of what's possible with a considered, flexible approach to collecting a Mex Rev army, say you had an army entirely painted in khaki uniforms, composed of a mixture of units in federal uniforms in peaked cap, pith helmet, and head-swaps in wide-brimmed hat, and Boers. For 1913-14 the figures in peaked cap and pith helmet would be fielded as federal regulars, the ones in hat as auxiliaries, and the Boers as volunteers. For 1915 they could all be used as Constitutionalist regulars; two armies for the price of one. Personally, I have Federales in both khaki and white, and units in peaked cap and others in kepi… because I wanted some federal units in white and some in kepi. As someone who intends to get around to doing 1915 as well as my focus hitherto of 1913-14, they're of no use in that phase of the revolution, so I have more units than is absolutely essential solely due to purely aesthetic considerations. |
Blutarski | 12 Dec 2016 7:50 a.m. PST |
Henry – Thank you for the tip on the Janssen doctoral thesis. Easily located it on the web and browsed it last night. Looks like a fine piece of scholarship on the period. Keeper. B |
Henry Martini | 12 Dec 2016 5:39 p.m. PST |
As we say in this corner of the world, Blutarski… no worries. I've discussed how to differentiate federal units on the tabletop, but not the greater challenge of rendering individual revolutionary units distinctive. The effect we want to achieve is clarity without compromising realism. This is easier with northern faction units because of their varied costume and the vast colour selection available to the figure painter; being mostly clad in white/off-white, Zapatistas present more of a challenge. For northerners you could choose a unique identifying shade and paint it on at least one clothing item of each figure; you'd just have to ensure that you don't use it on other units. The only issue is that your colours should be mostly muted/drab, and distinguishing particular shades of grey or brown (or grey-brown) amongst a sea of such colours from a few feet away could be challenging. You could use hat colour, but that would look oddly unrealistic. With the Zapatistas probably the only option is to use their bases: number of rocks/bushes or something of that ilk. In light of my previous observations this type of system might be a better option for northerners, too. Unit differentiation is probably only an issue if you're using a rule set that mandates individual basing, but that approach has always been virtually de rigeur for periods such as this with the larger figure sizes (also BoB and VBCW, for instance). |
Henry Martini | 12 Dec 2016 11:47 p.m. PST |
When I typed that there are no US figures in long sleeves I was overlooking a unit builder pack of marines with rifle in the Pulp Figures range, but… the equipment is too light for Mex Rev, and more crucially, the pack contains only one pose; not really a feasible option for several entire units, and the figures are too idiosyncratic to mix with say, OG. |
Hafen von Schlockenberg | 13 Dec 2016 12:13 p.m. PST |
Henry, a slight tangent,if I may: I've thought about doing a Zimmerman Telegram what-if scenario,with Germany landing a small force,via submarine,perhaps. What figures might be appropriate? OG has the Sea Batallion in their Boxer range,and 19th Century Miniatures has East African Germans for WWI. What would you suggest (other than screwing my head back on right!)? |
Henry Martini | 13 Dec 2016 4:47 p.m. PST |
Well, that's not reallly my thing, Herr von Schlockenberg, but being WW1 era, and a tropical climate, I would think the most likely candidates would be figures intended to represent the German units in SW Africa or Palestine. The troops in East Africa were almost entirely African, and a bit busy at this time, so they were unlikely to be available for other 'projects'. BTW, the only dedicated Mex Rev rule set, 'Achtung Gringo', as the name hints, makes allowance for just such a scenario. Back on the miniaturisation of the historical reality, there is of course the option of using Old Glory or other manufacturer's Pershing Expedition US figures as 1915 Mexicans. The Springfield makes a passable Mauser at tabletop viewing distance. The biggest hurdle is the very distinctive triangular ammo pouch flaps, which you could ignore (I couldn't), but if you want to make the figures less obviously US modifying them would entail a lot of work. Some head swaps to reduce the universality of Montana peak hats would also assist the transformation, or you could just mix in marines; the OG ones are depicted in plain slouch hats. The rest is down to the painting. |
Henry Martini | 14 Dec 2016 4:46 a.m. PST |
Corrrection: '… other manufacturers'…' In one of the above posts I might have given the impression that I consider auxiliaries to have been 'turncoats'. In fact, when they were enlisted Madero was in power, and as it was he they'd fought to install in government this would be an unfair characterisation I didn't intend to make. |
Henry Martini | 08 Aug 2017 2:15 a.m. PST |
I just want to briefly revisit this thread to add one small addendum: Zapatistas don't seem to have worn the US-style felt hats so common in the north, so cavalry of this faction should be composed only of figures in sombrero – whether cast as such or head swaps. |
Henry Martini | 27 Mar 2019 1:22 a.m. PST |
Please excuse this instance of severe thread necromancy: When it comes to the Mex Rev there were uniforms… and uniforms. What I mean is that many units wore clothing that was cut in military style and manufactured to outfit military forces, whilst others (volunteers and auxiliaries) often wore the same clothing throughout a unit, but that clothing was made for civilian wear. An example is the Norfolk jackets mentioned above. Some time go I found online – but neglected to post about here – a series of photos of an auxiliary unit in which every soldier is wearing the same civilian patterns of long-sleeved white shirt, dark trousers, and straw sombrero, with two bandoliers worn crossing over the chest. Obviously the unit commander had made bulk purchases of pre-made items, or had them made to order (more likely the former, I'd say), to lend his unit some sense of a common, pseudo-military appearance; something to keep in mind when considering which figures to use to represent auxiliaries. |
AICUSV | 28 Mar 2019 10:11 a.m. PST |
For the Mexican Federals, may I suggest looking at the North Star Chinese Warlord range. Hafen von Schlockenberg, for Germans in Mexico look at Brigade Games -Palestine range. |
Henry Martini | 28 Mar 2019 4:57 p.m. PST |
Given that four companies (Brigade Games; Gringo 40s; Old Glory; Pulp Figures) produce 28mm Federales, I can't see any reason why anyone would feel the need to resort to using Chinese Warlord figures to represent them. |
Henry Martini | 29 Mar 2019 4:27 p.m. PST |
Whoops! Make that five companies: Outpost Wargames Services. |
Basha Felika | 15 Apr 2019 12:09 p.m. PST |
Henry, thanks for reviving this thread – it's one of those many ‘want to do' projects. Other than the 5 (?) volume ‘Manoeuvre and Battle…' set and the Osprey, what else would you recommend as essential reading on the military history for a newcomer? Given the size of some of the actions, I'm tempted to do this one in a smaller scale. I'd usually go for 15mm but there seems to be a real lack of suitable figures unless I make some compromises (WW1 Russians or British Cavalry as Federales, sombrero headswaps on Old West cowboys etc). 20mm seems possible, using EWM and Shellhole – any opinions? |
Henry Martini | 15 Apr 2019 2:25 p.m. PST |
Prior to the publication of the Janssens books the most detailed English language source was James R. Hinds' two-volume set. Whilst his 'Battles of the Mexican Revolution' has been superseded by Janssens, you might still want to pick up a copy of the companion volume, 'Documents of the Mexican Revolution' – although most of its text is in Spanish. As you say, there's no dedicated Mex Rev range in 15mm (although Martin Goddard did seem to be musing with the idea on a recentish TMP thread. Maybe you could prod him into following through), so if 28mm isn't an option for you I'd suggest that you go with 20mm. |
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