YogiBearMinis | 27 Apr 2020 7:10 a.m. PST |
Some friends and I are building forces for starting Napoleonics in 15mm. One guy, a PhD in military history, already had a decent collection of French, another had started later Prussians, so we decided to build for Waterloo to start and so I am starting the Anglo-Allied forces for Waterloo. I separately had decided to start building a post-1809 Austrian army, for down the line we will likely game post-1812 scenarios. This got me thinking: with what army did people start their Napoleonic collections? My guess is that at least half if not 2/3s of people started by building French of some sort, most likely Waterloo followed by Austerlitz. British second in popularity to start with would then be my guess. And the related question: did you build multiple armies, and if so, which ones? I am especially curious how many people built multiple armies WITHOUT having built French. I am in the group—I will have an Anglo-Allied army for Waterloo, which at some point I will likely expand to encompass the allied forces in Spain. I also have the Austrians I am building, and after them I plan to build Russians. I figured I couldn't throw a rock and not hit someone who has French. |
Warspite1 | 27 Apr 2020 7:10 a.m. PST |
link 23 mines laid – six ships sunk and one damaged. Barry |
AussieAndy | 27 Apr 2020 7:33 a.m. PST |
I started with Kingdom of Italy, but then did some French. |
Sho Boki | 27 Apr 2020 7:35 a.m. PST |
I still don't have any proper army to play. Mainly Brigade or Division size Units from different nations. French and Austrians have bigger fractions, couple of Divisions both. Most of my AB troops..
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Nine pound round | 27 Apr 2020 7:43 a.m. PST |
Like a lot of people probably did- as a kid, with 15mm Minifigs French Old Guard grenadiers. My first time around I did like a lot of younger people do, somewhat at random, but mostly French and British. When I decided to restart, I repurposed those guardsmen (augmented with some newer Minifigs) as the late 1807 Grenadiers of the Reserve- not because I was super-interested in gaming Friedland, but to make the best use of the figures I had. Since the division was rebuilt in early 1807, it was still early enough for the bearskins, but late enough for shakoes. For the rest, my big interest is the Peninsula- the British and French make for well-balanced opponents, and I am trying to paint and mount the "main" force for each antagonist for its "peak" time, so gaming another year is mostly a process of deducting units. For the British Peninsular Army, it's post-Vitoria- the organization is right for 1813-1814 campaigns, but you only need do some swapping for Vitoria. For the French, I am painting the 1810-11 Army of Portugal, with a few units from the Army of the North, which maneuvered against Wellington, but without closing the deal. That lets me have some genuine Young and Middle Guard and Guard cavalry, a full dragoon division, corps organizations, and pre-Bardin uniforms. The bonus is that some units (e.g., Ney's VI Corps) can be used for Central European campaigns, as early as 1805, because the core brigade and divisional organizations didn't change much. But I still have a couple of units that Don't Quite Fit, but that proved irresistible: Berg Light Horse, Vistula Legion, Hompesch Mounted Rifles, just for the love of them. |
Valmy92 | 27 Apr 2020 7:46 a.m. PST |
I started a long time ago in high school, so limited funds I was joining an existing group that had all the armies so I borrowed troops and supplemented with what I painted. We played Empire III, and it was the only minis game I played so learned it well. I started with French because I was taking French language in school. I built up to an infantry division and too much cavalry (more maneuver elements with fewer units). When I went away to college I didn't have any opponents so needed an OPFOR so started Russians (my original French drawn from an 1812 OB). Russians are my largest and most coherent army. I've dabbled French all over the period plus Revolutionary, and added Austrians in helmets to oppose them or my later French. French are really my research interest. Based on my experience 35 years on: paint enough of one army to play a reasonable sized game of whatever your group plays (over-do the cavalry because it gives you choices to play and variety to paint), then pick an OPFOR to dabble a couple of units at a time – could match or fight alongside one of your friends, but if someone moves you have something to introduce new players with instead of an orphan army. It's the long game. Hope this helps some, Phil Welcome aboard |
79thPA | 27 Apr 2020 7:57 a.m. PST |
I did Russians, and a few Confederation troops. I've never had any desire to build a French army. |
IUsedToBeSomeone | 27 Apr 2020 8:00 a.m. PST |
When I started in school with 25mm Minifigs I built French as all nationalities were taken and we needed some more French. Starting in 15mm I got French AND British for thepeninsular to have two matched pairs. Starting (again!) in 54mm I am building a waterloo collection and started with a small amount of French and British but then bought a large collection of Prussians and a second large collection with a lot of french and Dutch, etc allies… Out of preference I would always build both sides. Mike |
setsuko | 27 Apr 2020 8:02 a.m. PST |
Started with French for 1812 as a clubmate wanted to do Russians for 1812. At that time I knew almost nothing about Napoleonics. I started with a smaller force for Sharp Practice, and ended up just getting more and more and more French. By now I'm getting close to fielding a dozen 36-man battalions for larger games like General de Brigade, and at this point I feel like I want to focus on other things than just French. So I've bought Duchy of Warsaw troops and consider other 1812 allies like the Swiss, but also a completely new army like Austrians for 1809. I think I'm an odd man out in Napoleonics as I have close to zero interest in neither the Peninsular war nor Waterloo. :P |
Artilleryman | 27 Apr 2020 8:09 a.m. PST |
I started many moons ago with Hinton Hunt 20 mm figures; French Grenadiers of the Guard and British Peninsular infantry. Why? Because the period covered by the uniforms seemed the longest! I know! These were quickly followed by Minifigs French but then university and the real world got in the way and wargaming took a hiatus while the real thing took its place. After a couple of decades I started again with Foundry French and Austrians but with the new century these were replaced by the nucleus of my current collection Now I have mostly Perry figures augmented by Avanpost, Front Rank, Warlord and a few others. After a sortie into the American Revolution/War of Independence, I am now concentrated upon the Napoleonic Wars. I currently have division-size forces for French, Bavarians, Russians, Anglo-Portuguese, and 1815 Netherlands. I am now casting my eyes on Danish and Austrians so I do not foresee stopping any time soon. It has been a long road and I am still tramping along. |
robert piepenbrink | 27 Apr 2020 8:26 a.m. PST |
I started in 30mm with Swedes and Westphalians, the major powers and many of the minor ones being "taken" in the group--meaning the first man to build, say, the Bavarian Guard Cuirassiers took precedence if we both wanted them for a game. I was later assigned a quota of French units for a planned Waterloo campaign. Others came over the years. Usually in other scales, it's started with French and someone--almost always British--but fitting into a group is different. |
KimRYoung | 27 Apr 2020 8:35 a.m. PST |
A friend of mine decided his wargaming days were done and he gave me his entire Napoleonic 15mm collection. I previously had none, now I have enough to do the entire battle of Waterloo and also the entire battle of Borodino! Kim |
Jeffers | 27 Apr 2020 9:29 a.m. PST |
Airfix French Cuirassiers were my first Napoleonics. I still have them. |
noggin2nog | 27 Apr 2020 10:57 a.m. PST |
I started with Poles (1812-14), then added Saxons, Bavarians, Prussians and Russians. All 15mm, mostly minifigs. |
Frederick | 27 Apr 2020 11:21 a.m. PST |
Started with 6mm French, did nothing for a lllllonnnng time, did some 28mm French then got back into 6mm big time – I have about three Corps of French, two Corps of Austrians and a Corps of Russians For some reason I never did much get into Brits, although I have tons of colonial/SYW and WWII Brits I also have done a number of 54mm, but those are for posin', not playin' |
ColCampbell | 27 Apr 2020 11:23 a.m. PST |
I started in the very early 1970s with 20mm Airfix plastics, then added Jack Scruby figures followed by MiniFigs and Der Kriegspielers. Originally it was the Peninsula, but as I got rid of the plastics I "graduated" to 1813 central Germany with Prussians and Russians on the one hand and French and some allies on the other. Still doing Scruby (now Historigigs) but added some Hinchliffe and a few others to the mix. I thought about changing over to 15mm but couldn't justify the expense. Besides my "vintage" metal figures are just too many to get rid of. Jim |
45thdiv | 27 Apr 2020 11:46 a.m. PST |
I have decided to do Austrian and French, 1804 to 1806. I like to bicorne hats of the French around that time. Everyone seems to be doing Waterloo. I have to buy both sides since I do a lot of solo gaming. |
surdu2005 | 27 Apr 2020 12:20 p.m. PST |
My first miniatures project was Airfix ACW using Rally 'Round the Flag. When I got to college, one of the professors introduced me to Napoleonics using Empire III. He had gathered several students into an informal club. He had enough figures to play games with all of us, but each of the students in his group picked a country and starting painting. I was a year behind the others, so when I joined the club, the country not chosen yet was England. We didn't worry too much about whether all the forces SHOULD be allowed on the table; if you painted it, he figured out how to incorporate them into the game. So my first Napoleonic Army was MiniFigs British -- sort of by default. Incidentally, I only pulled two "all nighters" in college, and both were to finish a couple more battalions for a game the next day. Buck |
mckrok | 27 Apr 2020 1:47 p.m. PST |
Russians and Westphalians. I noticed nearly every Napoleonic gamer had a French army, too, so I built an ally. pjm |
Mike Petro | 27 Apr 2020 4:43 p.m. PST |
1/72 plastics to start in the 80's. Now have 10mm peninsular war stuff. 20 units of French, 7 British, 12 Spanish. |
ConnaughtRanger | 27 Apr 2020 11:59 p.m. PST |
Airfix 20mm Lamming 25mm ("The Northern Garrison" was just down the road). Minifigs 15mm (Their factory was now just down the road) Front Rank 28mm (with a few Perrys and Brigade Games) Always British and French. Where's the last 50-odd years gone? |
Marc the plastics fan | 28 Apr 2020 1:11 a.m. PST |
Airfix Napoleonics – Scots and French artillery Minifigs 25mm came in senior school Then Essex 15mm Battlehonours Then AB Now back to 1/72 plastic. Really wish I hadn't wasted my time with the metals – my plastic collection would be even bigger now |
mysteron | 28 Apr 2020 1:54 a.m. PST |
I was always more into WW2 but around 3 years ago at our club we ,well the chairman decided Naps was on the agenda .We all drew nations from a hat and I got Austria. That was the birth of my Austrian 28mm army .It's no that big now but it's doubled in size because of the lock down being 2 large brigades plus 2 units of Cuirassiers .Approx 500 figs .I have just started a 1809 French force as well being just 2 painted line infantry battalions . I have always regarded it as a long term project being second fiddle to my WW2 interest. |
La Belle Ruffian | 28 Apr 2020 8:41 a.m. PST |
My first Napoleonics (other than Airfix) were 15mm. My dad took me to my second Northern Militaire and I decided it was time to step up to metal figures. He picked up assorted Minifigs British whilst I went with two Warrior Miniatures French armies as you got more bang for your buck. I wanted to have a mixture of French and Confederation, as I liked the variety. Having taken a break for some time I started collecting more Napoleonics courtesy of EBay, my preference being for reasonably painted Minifigs. Currently I estimate around 10,000 of all sorts, although Spanish and Portuguese are almost entrely absent. p.s. Sho Boki, that's a beautiful collection. |
Grelber | 28 Apr 2020 3:05 p.m. PST |
I was never especially really excited about Napoleonics. When I joined a group, many years ago, they already had lots and lots of 25mm Napoleonics, and I was happy to play with other people's toys. Then, a couple of them started doing 15mm Napoleonics--one of them taking Austrians and the other French. I think somebody got Brits, too. I wanted to be a team player, and make a contribution, but not be distracted too much from my other projects. So, when I found a package of Old Glory Saxon infantry on sale cheap, I jumped on it! I thought it would be cool to provide another color of uniforms on the table. Unfortunately, I discovered Saxons wore white. They've been packed away for many years now, but if I ever run into a group with 15mm Napoleonics, I am ready to go! Grelber |
Fredloan | 28 Apr 2020 5:15 p.m. PST |
I started with French but quickly moved on to 3 more: Early Russian, Austrian and Bavarian. I know have the above in addition to: Poles Wurttemberger Italians Baden Hessian Late Prussian Late Russian Saxons |
Kevin in Albuquerque | 28 Apr 2020 7:39 p.m. PST |
I started with 1807 15mm French Minifigs II in the late 1970's. Then seeing I needed an opponent I made an 1809 Austrian army, Klenau's Corps. Then came Poles, Wurttemberger, Bavarians and more exotic French and Austrians. I'm a sucker for really cool uniforms. |
Brechtel198 | 29 Apr 2020 5:30 a.m. PST |
I collect 54mm figures overwhelmingly. My first two sets of Britains models were a Christmas gift when I was five. They were double row sets of Union and Confederate cavalry and infantry. One Union infantryman survived the 'floor wars' and is still in the collection and has been repainted at least twice. My eldest brother had a small collection of about 300 pieces, mostly old lead Britians and I caught the Britains bug. The collection has grown to about 10,000 pieces, the major portion of the collection being old Britains lead soldiers, Herald plastic figures, and new Britains. The collection also includes Imrie-Risley, Stadden, Rose, and Lasset figures and is still growing now over 60 years later. The project I'm working on now is painting and displaying Imrie-Risley Revolutionary War figures-infantry, cavalry, and artillery, mostly Continental Army but also some British and Germans. I believe they are the best on the market, now unfortunately unavailable except on the secondary market. |
YogiBearMinis | 29 Apr 2020 8:30 a.m. PST |
@Brechtel198–how wide is the Britain's Napoleonic catalog? I wouldn't think they would have more than Brits, French, and a few other codes. |
Major Bloodnok | 29 Apr 2020 10:00 a.m. PST |
I started with Airfix back in the '60s. I started gaming in a club back in 70's with Minifigs 15mm Austrians, which came of strips of three cvavalry figs, five infantry all for .75 cents at the beginning. We played Column, Line & Slaughter. |
Rod MacArthur | 29 Apr 2020 10:00 a.m. PST |
Kevin, I had those same Britain's Union & Confederate Cavalry, Infantry and Artillery as a Christmas present when I was about 8. My first Napoleonics were in 1969 and were Airfix plastic Highlanders, painted as 92nd Foot (Gordon Highlanders). I still have them and they can be seen on my website here. link My other Napoleonics are based on either the Waterloo Campaign or the Peninsular War and comprise Hanoverian, Dutch-Belgian, Brunswick, Nassau, Portuguese, Spanish, Prussian, French, Polish and a few Confederation of the Rhine unis who fought in the Peninsula. |
Whirlwind | 29 Apr 2020 12:57 p.m. PST |
This got me thinking: with what army did people start their Napoleonic collections? My guess is that at least half if not 2/3s of people started by building French of some sort, most likely Waterloo followed by Austerlitz. British second in popularity to start with would then be my guess. Pretty much spot on for me: I did French and British together to start off with (and Spanish) And the related question: did you build multiple armies, and if so, which ones? I am especially curious how many people built multiple armies WITHOUT having built French. I mainly play solo so French was a must have. I have at least a contingent for most of the armies – I haven't got any Ottomans, Mamelukes, Sicilians, Danes, Poles, Saxons or Westphalians yet. |
Brechtel198 | 29 Apr 2020 1:47 p.m. PST |
The only Britains Napoleonic figures that I am aware of and also have are the Highlanders and Line Infantry at attention, the Royal Artillery field piece and gunners, and the two sets of regiments that fought in Canada. For Napoleonic figures, I have Imrie-Risley French cavalry and Old Guard Grenadiers a Pied along with Old Guard Foot Artillery and a 12-pounder field piece. I also have plenty of Historex figures as well as guns and vehicles, Segom figures, and assorted Staddens and Lasset figures. |
Brechtel198 | 29 Apr 2020 1:52 p.m. PST |
I had those same Britain's Union & Confederate Cavalry, Infantry and Artillery as a Christmas present when I was about 8. I have replaced both of the original sets and also have the one that you describe plus the four original single row Civil War sets plus the artillery. To my wife's great chagrin I have half the collection in cases in the den (3), living room (1), and library (2). The other half is in the upstairs workroom. My current project is restoring the 200-odd Continental Army figures that I used for class illustration when I was teaching US history. They are Imrie-Risleys. They made the best horses to my mind. The great benefit of them being put away in boxes is that there is very little to no dust on them. They were there for twenty years. |
Teodoro Reding | 29 Apr 2020 8:28 p.m. PST |
I fought Spanish-French campaign of the French move into Spain at the tender age of 13 with a ragbag of a 54mm childhood collection (some Timpo Battle of Waterloo), then made all them into two imaginations. A break 16-23 (other priorities) and then, after painting a 54mm 50 man Russian brigade with reissued Timpo Prussians, took the plunge to – 25mm Minifigs S range with a 3 batt French regt. Tail end of the S range. Only Waterloo British (No thank you) so chased round hobby shops for AWI British – who with a little filing became 1808 Spanish. Spanish French for quite a while, ‘new' Minifigs 25mm range, then Brits in stovepipes appeared, Minfigs range allowed all variants of new Spanish uniforms – with head swops. I aimed my French at Talavera, British at Albuera, topped up with 1st Division (Guards and KGL), Light Division – French gained 5th Corps (for Albuera which I finally fought last year, 35 years later. I like painting Spanish (around 2700 infantry in 97 batts, I think) – so used two painting services over the 30ish years. Right now I am the locked down the other side if the Atlantic to my toys – but it's cosy!! |
Timbo W | 30 Apr 2020 11:05 a.m. PST |
I started with 1/72 Russians in Napoleonic, and am still doing them. My opponent had French and Peninsular British, Spanish and Portuguese and another did Prussian. Along the way I've started Austrians, a few Peninsular odds and ends and have now gone into French and Allies, having moved away from the old gang. |
Nine pound round | 01 May 2020 7:24 p.m. PST |
A C Stadden, Charles Stadden's son, is still in business. I know him mostly for his HO scale model railroad figures, which are some of the best I have ever seen. I think he does restorations of his father's work as well. |
14Bore | 02 May 2020 4:20 a.m. PST |
I have only 4 nations in 15mm, large armies all of Russians and Prussians, 1 division of Bavarian and little more than Wallmoden's British and Hanoverians. |
COL Scott ret | 02 May 2020 9:57 a.m. PST |
I started with Airfix 1:72, I still use 1:72 but the manufacturer selection has grown. |