"Where to get 1/72 US troops for 1812" Topic

Since I already have a good start on a British army for the period, I thought th War of 1812 would be an easy project to branch into, but the subject seems to be roundly ignored by the 1/72 plastic figure makers.

Has anyone else tried to build a 1/72 or 20mm collection for this war? What figures did you use?

- Ix

I'm also working on a 1/72 War of 1812 project. I didn't find much at all out there for US forces, so I have been cheating and painting Brits as Americans….

The only dedicated US figs I found in 1/72 are the plastic "American Militia in Winter Dress" by Strelets (you can see them on Plastic Soldier Review).

Despite having to ignore some details like lace and stuff on the uniforms when I'm painting , I think my ersatz US forces don't look too bad.

Converting Brirish troops is a good idea. I'll have to consider that. Do you use Waterloo troops or Peninsular?

- Ix

From what I understand, the US regular army started the war equipped with stovepipe-style shakos, then re-equipped in 1813 with shakos that had false fronts. I made some compromises and went with troops in the Belgic shakos (mainly associated with Waterloo) in the hope that they'll cover most of the war without too drastically mutilating historical accuracy.

I'm going to use troops in stovepipe shakos to represent some of the state militia units. Several used that style of shako, often with a coloured cloth wrapped around, which should be easy to add with a few flicks of paint.

Also, some state militia units used round hats instead of shakos. Strelets makes (or made, some sets seem to go out of production with little warning…) British regulars for the Egyptian campaign, who are in round hats, so i'm using those for militia. Those are a bit rough sculpts (Strelets often are), but with paint they look ok. About 1/3 of that set are wearing tall gaiters, which doesn't fit for US militia, but they are usable for British marines, which may be handy for coastal raid scenarios…

Some of the HäT Portugese would probably work as regulars too.

For militia, the HäT and RedBox Napoleonic Russian light infantry might be able to stand in for some, and about half of the HäT Napoleonic Swedish Infantry set looks promising. The HäT Brunswick Avant Garde might work too, if you carve off some of the ridiculous hat brim.

Hrm. Interesting problem.

- Ix

Yes, most of those would do the job, with a little conversion. The Portuguese set looks like a pretty good fit for the regulars – the US and Portuguese uniforms are both a bit simpler than the British at Waterloo… if they're painted the same as the others, the cazadores would probably blend right into the unit, too.

Another set to consider for regulars (and militia in stovepipe shakos)is Hat's Waterloo Netherlands Militia and Belgian Infantry. No command figures, though.

I've been finding the War of 1812 in 1/72 a fun project. Having grown up in Canada, it was covered in history class, but I'm definitely learning a lot more about the fine details! (Upper Canadian militia had green uniforms- who knew?)

Definitely going to suggest Portuguese, 1815 Belgians, Swedes and some Spanish as good fill-ins for Americans.

Clipping the greatcoat roll off the back-packs is an easy conversion, too.

A conversion chart or list would help a lot with this project. I bet there are more than 3 of us in the world.

I've done a few conversion projects in the past, and if I don't make a list like that, I eventually regret it, when I discover I just need three more figures or tanks or ships or something and I can't remember how I made the first set.

- Ix

Frying Pan and Blanket made (make?) a 20mm metal range. I have only seen a few 1/72 games for this war, and they seemed to be British 1815 Napoleonics and a few metal figures.

IMEX Mexican Cavalry At The Alamo will give you light cavalry in Tarleton helmets. There is not a lot of detail on these figures so you get a lot of latitude on how to paint them up.

IMEX Lewis and Clark may have a couple of figures of interest although as there aren't many figures in the box these may be more speciality figures.

The IMEX Mexican Infantry and IMEX Mexican Artillery set may also be adaptable. Also look at the IMEX Alamo Defenders.

Italeri Indian Warriors might be suitable for native americans.

All pictured on PSR plasticsoldierreview.com

Strelets makes Indians as well.

Strelets Tecumseh Set M107
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There are probably other 1/72 plastic Native Americans that could work too:

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Also worth remembering hat 1/72 ain't all that large a scale so plenty of detail will just not been seen from gaming distance. So no need to stress about even semi visible details methinks…

Also depending on your painting skills the amount of (correct) detail doesn't really matter. And besides, a goof painter can make a crappy miniature look good, and a bad painter botches the most excellent mini.

I too have started a war of 1812 and all the above comments are true. HOWEVER, remember that MILITIA where a HUUUUGE problem for the Americans. DO NOT just make a "Napoleonics armies set in america" thing. This war was a MESS and totally F#d up.

Imex Alamo Defenders in civilian dress for a range of militia on both sides. The New Orleans Grays could work for Caldwell's Rangers if you trim the cap. Imex Mexican/American War US Infantry might be worth a look too. If you're handy with putty you could build up the fur cap of the Canadian Voltigeurs.

I too have started a war of 1812 and all the above comments are true. HOWEVER, remember that MILITIA where a HUUUUGE problem for the Americans.

Isn't that part of the fun of the period?

It looks to me like getting painted militia units on the table in this scale seems to be the biggest challenge. So many uniforms, so much conversion work to do.

- Ix

One problem are the knapsacks. Most US knapsacks are canvas envelopes, similar to British early war knapsacks. No rolled blanket on top.