""Switch Out The Flags" Armies. Do you do this?" Topic

I'm not really a stickler for super pinpoint accuracy on miniatures fitting the mold and never have been. No, I won't sub-out green army men for the Imperial Hussars, but neither do I really care if the stockings on said Hussars are light, pale mauve when they should be pale light mauve.

As an example, blue jackets have always been among my favorite troops, as switching out the flags can turn them into Germans, Spanish, Dutch, Americans, British, Italians… pretty much anything.

But I take things a step further than that.

Yes, I am aware that Victorians in khaki jackets with pith helmets are not universal. There are subtle, and sometimes more than subtle, differences in uniforms, but, again, if the differences are not shattering, I really could care less.

In fact, one of my considerations in getting into a new army has always been how much versatility I can get out of it. I recently did some 1920s era mobsters in caps (again, I do paper flats) with the reasoning that these guys could also serve in horror games, as IRA men in the Easter Rising, as WWII Maquis, and possibly even in the Spanish Civil War.

I'm unlikely to play that additional stuff any time soon, but it is a part of my thinking.

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever subbed out Boers and Confederate butternuts?

When I was a young, poor college student working two jobs I did use 15mm Confederates as Boers. I also had a couple of Elf bowmen I slipped into a unit of English longbows from time to time.

I often swap figures across periods/armies as long as they are close enough (hats and general uniform colours). My long suffering Bavarians have seen action standing in for almost every minor German state and I've made many of my SCW infantry in helmets generic enough to stand in for Dutch, Belgians, French, Rumanians, Bulgarians, Yugoslavs etc….

Articles were published last century about raising Napoleonic infantry regiments all wearing greatcoats. Mix up all the figures you can find and put flags on pins so you can swap them.

I tried it with a small batch but the result looked too odd for me.

This is one of the pros of many 17th century armies -- you can find multiple uses for them -- just switch the flags.

I have a collection of Old Glory for the Spanish American War. I mixed both Cuban, Spanish, and even some Haitian in my Cuban rebels units. I added a Spanish command with flags as well as flags for Sandinista rebels.

For sure – in fact, if you read "The War Game" by no one less than Charles Grant he freely substitutes French white coats for Austrian white coats

Nah. I'll fight a historical battle with troops from the wrong period, but as far as I'm concerned, if you can change the period/nationality by swapping flags, the troops aren't painted right. (Understand, I never cared for ununiformed castings, and I've gotten out of the early modern stuff.)

TYW and 17th century white coats, yes.

No, I just buy more figures.

If the frugal AWI gamer has Hessian regiments in red, white and yellow facings he also has Brunswick regiments with flag swaps. Anspach also with red. Waldeck with yellow.

👍

Kevin c mild bill

That I did even when I had my earlier collection. 30YW and ECW are great for that purpose. Spaniards, English, French, Swedes, and the list goes on and on.

Just switch out your flags and the protestants become Catholics and vice versa, and happily start killing for God on the opposing side!

My Normans will become Welsh with different flags (and sabot bases), and also Irish, with the de Clare flag

I use sets of miniatures to represent different forces that i know have differences. Major colour and style should match … mozfly.

A lot of my miniatures are for fictional or hypothetical forces, so there is extra lattitude built into that.

And, of course, last weekend, I did The Battle of Short Hills, NJ, an AWI engagement, that may have used some non-cannonical Rebels and Imperial forces …