"Perry plastic chasseurs - the ecstasy and the agony" Topic

I have just received my shiny new box of Perry French chasseurs a cheval.

They are, as ever, excellent.

There so many possible permutations it's hard to find something to muck around with and turn into something else that isn't already covered.

There are so many options for riders that it would easy to make nearly double the number of riders. The only thing there'd be a shortage of is sword scabbards and slings, and I can make those.

The agony comes from scrolling through the Accessories lists on the Perry website and finding they don't sell the light cavalry horse sprue separately.

If I'm wrong, please put me out of my misery. If I'm right, can we flash mob the good twins and beg them to sell separate horses? They do for British light cavalry.

I'm sure it will be available once the initial rush has died down .

Oh yea….just hang on a bit….it'll be available.

I got some yesterday – they are absolutely lovely, perhaps my favourite Perry box so far.

I would seriously doubt the logic of selling the horses seperatly from a commercial manufacturer point of view it would be dumb, and counter productive.

And yet they have done, with the British horses.

It makes perfectly good sense to sell the horses separately. Every person who buys a box of these Chasseurs is left with 14 whole rider figs EXTRA but with no horses. As a result the Perrys can sell the horses (which are already tooled and produced) as a nice little add-on. It costs them nothing and brings only profit.

It is interesting that I talked to Alan Perry at Salute and he said they had scruptured 10,000 different figures that are non Games Workshop. I was amazed at the number.
Stephen

Classic example that everything a gamer gets in his box is 'precious' and from a plastic manufacture point of view those extra 14 and bits are less than disposable or even throw away!. Yeah perfect sense if you are a buyer, but not if you were the seller, you would just be wrecking your own margine. that would be stupid. Yeah you'd sell the extra horses maybe, but they dont want that they want to sell another box set. You're all dreaming, sorry.

I think it is so interesting to hear the maker's commercial view of this. It does make sense if they are to make a living.

Would metal horses not make sense as an alternative? I keep wondering if Perrys could not do a box of, say, standing horses, in the style of their existing metal chasseurs or cuirassiers. A simple box of six of a casting that already exists.

I find the plastic sets whether Perry or Victrix and absolute goldmine for conversions and parts. Nothing is ever thrown away. I have a bunch of Mahdist Sudanese in plastic just for the bare arms, torsos and lower legs.

DH, I think I've often agreed with you on this topic – a set of standing metal horses would be very welcome, especially with the pointed saddlecloth type. A lot of potential there.

Oh yes indeed.

Simply sell sets of what they already make. The standing French Light Cavalry and the Cuirassiers, but without riders. None of the expense of new metal castings let alone new plastic moulds (ouch!)

But then, as you say. Full dress Perry Lancers of the Guard we have from Perrys. All we need is the standing, or even walking, horses for parade. Chasseurs a Cheval of the Guard….we can still add the plastic pelisses for full dress. Guard style shabraques and dual pistol holsters for heavies (easy to add one more holster for Dragoons or Gendarmes d'Elite). They still get to sell the riders as currently, plus some horses, whilst we then have some horses galloping that never go to waste!

Well, the Perrys are quite successfull, so I guess they have good reasons to make those horses available on extra sprues.

Good luck finding someone stupid enough to do it or make them. if I did I'd make them the same price as a full set just to prove a point. Historical wargames figures are already stupidly cheap. and of all people the Perrys already offer the best bargain not only are they the best sculpts with the biggest range, but they are the cheapest. :(

Good luck finding someone stupid enough to do it or make them.

You mean like the Perrys?
link and here for Napoleonics link

Yeah, the Perry business model seems to be doing really badly, doesn't it!! How stupid of them.

Considering the price of the individual horse sprues, you could possibly be better off buying whole boxed sets if you need lots of them.

14 Napoleonic horse sprues (42 horses) from Perry costs £49.00 GBP + shipping (£5.88 / £8.33 GBP /£12.25 depending on your location).

3 boxes of Chasseurs a Cheval (42 horses + riders) bought through Caliver books costs £54.00 GBP, with shipping included.

Lord Hill and von W are both right that Perrys do offer two, but just two, horse sprues based on the existing plastic cavalry, only one Napoleonic. They are very much the exception then and I do wonder if they are not great sellers.

Griefbringer's point is well made. I think these "accessories" are best for the oddities that appear in a boxed set, eg the command sprues, esp for cavalry. My best example though is the two riflemen in the British Line Infantry, I bought over a dozen sprues to allow much cutting and chopping. Now that made economic sense.

I take Griefbringer's point but he's missed mine – these Perry plastic light cav boxes are so wonderful that you end up with a ton of (whole figure) spares. It seems a pity to waste them, and it would be great if they could be put to some use (hence seeking horses on which they could be mounted). Buying even more boxes would just exacerbate the situation!

In the past I've bought plain metal horses from Front Rank or Calpe but that means fashioning saddles out of greenstuff. Personally, I enjoy such fiddling about but obviously it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Gonna need command sprues as i do 4 horse cav regiments, they will cone soon im sure.

Lord hill nothing wrong with the Perry business model, never said there was. but you need to get it that these surplus figures are a bi product and have no place but the bin. If feels criminal, I get that, but that's just the nature of plastics.

The bin?

Yer kidding. No place but the bin? Never!

I have boxes and boxes of bits of human anatomy, in 28mm plastic, in my garage. I have remnants of two boxes of Perry French Hussars, but not a single French Hussar in my collection. I have Perry British Line Infantry, but not a single one ended up as Line…all became Light Regts. I have Victrix Highlanders and British Line, purely for the arms and the superb muskets they carry (beat Perry hands down, even if the rest is rubbish….well poor anyway). I have ACW cavalry, to get horses for my Eclaireurs. I have Mahdists for bare arms and legs. Several command sets for French Heavy cavalry, plus British Hussars and Light Dragoons…….

My AWI command sprue provided the basis for Louis XVIII

Not a single one of these boxes ended up as the maker intended…..

Nothing is ever wasted!

Well, this took off while I was spending time in that strange state of existence known as Real Life.

Like you, Deadhead, I throw nothing away, and guard my spares like Gollum guarded his Precious. There's a small feeling of triumph every time they come in useful.

I have bought some spare British horses, in moderation, to eke out a box of Perry Light Dragoons. But no, I wouldn't buy 12. That's when it IS time to buy a whole new box.

One option for those with extra riders around would be to not glue the riders to the horses, but instead use blue-tac, magnets etc. to temporarily attach them. This would then allow you to swap the riders on the horses depending on which uniform you want to use for a particular game.

Regarding the medieval horses, Perrys also have a couple of packs of metal riders that are specifically designed to go with them – these riders are sold in a pack without any horses, and the customer is recommended to order sprues of plastic horses to go with them.

Griefbringer, that is genius.

I think I'd go for brass pins connecting horse and rider.

I bought 1 box of Perry British light dragoons and thanks to a bits swap with Lord Hill and a purchase of horse sprues from Perry got two 12 man regiments of light dragoons for my peninsular force plus a couple of spares one of which was kitbashed into an ADC.

Hello Alan here, don't worry the French Light cavalry horse frame is being released separately possibly next week, along with the Chasseurs command frame. The separate horse frames do sell well, so it's good business sense. Yes, your right Stephen, it's over 10,000 figures we've made for Perry Mins, plus thousands during the 15 years we worked for Wargames Foundry.

THANK YOU!

Oh, and if you could settle this one for me – do you sculpt in your sleep?

the French Light cavalry horse frame is being released separately possibly next week

Hurrah! Great news.

Just how encouraging is it to even get any response from Those Who Must Be Obeyed? Let alone to think they are actually listening to us.

Much respect

and thanks

My brother (who also appears on TMP) claims the bragging rights for the Perrys bringing out BH53 (52nd Light Infantry Command) after reminding the good twins that the 52nd did have their colours with them at Waterloo.

I can't compete with that.

Nice one.

Huge fan of Adam's Brigade and it did always seem odd to me that the units, all Light Regts, involved, fought as line, throughout, on the only real serious battle of the Napoleonic Wars.

But 71st, 95th (second and few cos of third battn) and 52nd indeed lined the ridge and beat Boney single handed, in the end (so the newest books tell us). But, at least, all agree only 52nd had the colours showing (makes you wonder how the others kept their dressings?). Ensign Leeke was it not?

ha ha, yeah how silly do I feel. Oh well it's good news indeed, so it's nice to be wrong! Now onto those chasseurs, I couldn't resist getting a box, I will be painting mine as the Potuguese legion ones in 1812, and yeah the other bits will go in the scrap box or bin. lol

Ensign Leeke was it not?

And Ensign Nettles, who was killed in the spat with the Imperial Guard right at the end.

Were all 52nd officers vegetarians?

- I'll get my coat…

Love it….brilliant………

Takes a weird/superb mind to even notice that.

And according to a fresh Perry newsletter, the separate plastic horses (and command frame) are now available. Plus alternative metal heads to go with the plastic riders.

Still rather miffed they couldn't have made them with the habit.
The habit was used all the way from 1805-1814. Would rather have that then the bardin or single brested coat.

The new metal heads are intended for the Plastic French hussars. For the habit, take a look at the latest Brigade games Miniatures (but metal of course, so they will cost you more)

@Alan

Great set of Chasseurs! I have been looking forward to these for a while. Also fantastic to have separate horse sprues :)

Will you be making horse sprues as well with the pointed horse cloth? I know there are metals available, but plastic sprues with pointed shabraque would make a very wide range of hussars and light cavalry from other non-French nations possible to make/mix out of the French and British sets.

Regards

in case you are fantatics, also an option is Perry plastic cavalry on Perry metal horses (in my view even better, there the horses are smaller and give better rider / horse size proportions, here an attempt with Perry plastic hussars

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