"best rendering: firing vs marching vs shooting vs charging" Topic

Dear all,
maybe this was already discussed here on TMP, but I still don't have a solution.
Speaking of armies deployed in ranks (from XVI Century till around beginning XX Century) I found quite challenging to choose how to represent for example a battalion, usable for any kind of action.
I tried will a total marching stand position (here French Dragoons in 1706)

or SYW

then from Napoloen's period on with a mix of positions:

increasing the positions (1848 – Risorgimento)

and then mixing with a rear rank in marching position

till my last effort with the British 1st Foot Guards Rgt with some different adding positions

in this last rendering I wanted to express a unit while firing. Then, if the same unit will be just standing, I have to switch the front rank to

At the end, using my (crazy) 1:1 ratio, I have to increase it to an unaffordable 50 real men vs 70 papersoldiers (!!) because of the need of different positions for different situations. I am in need of your idea and suggestions and opinions what you think is the best.

The alternate poses for the front rank are fantastic. It's too bad that they're so fiddly in play (and so expensive).

A considered doing something similar for WWII skirmish, with standing, kneeling, and prone figures for each man.

I'm increasingly partial to the march/attack pose (standing erect, musket held vertically in the crook of the elbow). It allows stands to butt against one another in column, and the repetitive poses are less apparent then they are when you have to make a whole brigade out of the same four or five charging poses. It also allows you to see more of the front of the uniform, which is where a lot of the interesting and distinct detail is.

I agree with Nine pound round. All my line infantry are in that pose. It doesn't look odd when a unit is advancing, remaining stationary or marching along a road.

In firing pose in my metal army have very few out of thousands. Standing around but firing seems so odd to me,

Great work you have going on, like the mass formations

thanks all,
@emckinney: thanks. Actually with the system I use – a magnetic square on an iron plate – lets me move them easly.

Being papersoldiers they are not expensive, but still fiddly in play to remove 1 front line and put the other.

@ninepoundround @arthur1815 @14Bore. As you can see I also used the standing pose but when firing (with the smoke) the vertical musket look really odd.

Also it could be to substitute just some of them in the front line

For example for units with pike and shot the different poses
the need for different poses is fundamental

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You appear to have a system, if it works for you use it, if it doesn't quite work tweak it until it does. I'm sure there isn't a single answer as it depends on the time you are willing to dedicate within the game to the level of detail you want to achieve.

I'm a bit old school so for infantry at least I like uniformity of pose. I have the elite companies in firing position and light infantry kneeling. So elite light infantry, eg voltigeurs, are always kneeling firing.

The exceptions are when it is obvious from the uniform what the unit is, eg Rifles, Old Guard, etc; or when I'd have to buy and then wastefully discard too many figures to achieve the above. So my British Light battalions have one figure standing firing, another kneeling firing, and another loading per base. When formed in square, all the figures are taken off the table, and replaced by a single base of the correct proportionate size.

When you are playing a game will you be looking at the side of the units or the back?

I am looking at the side.. they are 2d, otherwise you would have just the marching pose option ..

I like my SYW troops pretty much all marching/march attack

@Frederick can you post here a picture of the your SYW figures?

I am personally thinking to make

rear ranks: Marching Pose (M)
front rank Ready to Fire (F)
and in case of shooting to substitute just 1 or 2 base of F with shooting poses

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Here the way they look (3 and 4 ranks deep)

and with the shooting poses in

effect

and Bavarians with NO shooting poses (I prefer the other version)

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I like the firing poses because that's what soldiers do in battle. I've never understood why people don't like the pose. Note, a marching column had space between the companies whilst marching.

One idea is to base the figures for platoon firing with two end stands firing and the two middle stands at the ready.

@Der Alte Fritz. I am a fan of your blog and I am happy you went back to SYW, giving me will to go on with my project with Leuthen. This said, I agree with you on the solution you proposed. For me it is even quite simple because the 3/4 papersoldierd bases are not glued to a bigger base but just held with a magnet and thus very easy to switch from marching pose to a firing pose. In my previsous picture you can see I used your system with just 3 bases firing the rest still marching.

And above the latter: just yesterday I was scrolling your post to check your wonderful figures and to understand how much the musket, while marching, was sloped.

So I tried to find a compromise to a too vertical pose (quite difficult to think that a soldier could march keeping the heavy musket totally vertical and a too modern and too much sloped shoulder sloped pose.

So the result is number 3 that I think it is ok

@DAF My objection to the firing pose, along with charge your pike, lances couched etc., is that it's harder to pack the figures for travel without breaking things. I made the mistake recently of using an officer figure pointing forward with his sword. Within a couple of trips to/from the club I've lost two swords and another looks wobbly. All weapons vertical goes anywhere with no problems.

@markj Wilson: I understand, but with papersoldiers this is not an issue…

and even more straight nr 4

@mark Wilson: I put my firing line figures on a deeper base than my marching figures, however, I maintain the same frontage for both types of bases. The firing figures are placed closer to the back of the base so there is a lot of base underneath the leveled muskets or pointed swords. This seems to protect the extended parts of the figure from getting bent or broken.

I'd note that upright bayonets on marching figures are also at risk of damage from handling. Either way has its pros and cons. See picture below for my firing line basing.

Gents; I didn't say it couldn't be done, just why I don't do it.

If I show figures firing I like to show the figs firing at will, after the first controlled firing/s. So in a line you would have a mix of firing, loading, ready etc. positions. To me it seems to show more activity. I find that firing units advancing just look sad, but that's just me.

'Firing' has always been a pet hate of mine. Figs just look stupid… advancing in column… shooting each other! Skirmishers, mix fine.
Favourite pose has always been the 'old fashioned' 'advancing' (NOT RUNNING FLAT OUT!)… with weapon at 45degrees. 'Sort of' 'did' for Firing line, Square, Marching… whatever!
'Modern 'March Attack'… ok, but prefer as above.

Could not get into 1/72 plastics… clubbing, overhead bayoneting… no. Some Modern manufacturers are recognising!

Metals… 25s usually fine. Get what you order. 10mm… would ask for 'Special Orders'… might cost more, but some manufacturers fine with that.

Ditto what Heedless Horseman says above -- I am, have been, and always will remain a devotee of the "Advancing" pose. It works for troops in pretty much any/all tabletop contexts.

March attack for line infantry units, skirmishing pose for light infantry. Fortunately manufacturers like AB, Blue Moon, and Old Glory give you a nice variety of poses for skirmishers (firing standing, firing kneeling, loading, advancing with trail arms, etc.).

With my 28mm AWI figures, I tend to like my Americans loading and firing. I like my British advancing or charging with sloped bayonets. I have recently done several units which are Marching.

Soldiers spend most of their time marching. Actual combat takes up a small percentage when compared to marching. That is marching and standing around waiting for orders.

Why do people think that every battalion is doing the same thing on the battlefield? Some are marching, some are firing, advancing on the enemy and others are standing waiting for orders.

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