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Not obscure , but buried in the sub conscious of Brits at least , think of Churchill and you think Winston not Marlborough , think of Blenheim and you think of the Palace and Churchills ancestral home, not the battle , there are almost as many streets named after Marlborough`s battles as Wellingtons, call it the War of Spanish succession and you will get a blank look , call it Marlborough`s war and you get a lot less blank looks. It`s "obscurity" has much to do in the English speaking world about how the war was exited , not as honourably as many others that are better remembered.
I think the AWI is a deceptively difficult era to cover just because there was SO much uniform variety, stretching from the purple coats of the Culpeper Virginia militia to the Scots and men of Hesse-Hanau that fought for the Empire, that fielding what can be called a 'typical' AWI army is difficult. So in part I can see why many 1/72 scale companies have avoided it, albeit naturally this could change in the future.
Frankly the SYW needs so many sets throughout Europe, North America, and India that starting from scratch would not be that much different than building on the current sets. I like the HaT and Revell efforts though.
I agree with many of you that have mentioned this, but I would love to see the international aspect of the SYW done well as well. Especially the "French and Indian" front of the war.
I agree with many of you that have mentioned this, but I would love to see the international aspect of the SYW done well as well. Especially the "French and Indian" front of the war.
While not nearly as obscure as the WSS, the F&IWs have even fewer figure sets.
And most of them are BUM......
I think big budget, Hollywood movies have kept the F&IW, to a degree, in the public mind.
I would describe the period as "niche" rather than "obscure".
One of the positives of the 1/72 hobby is that it encourages us to be creative, to modify & adapt.
As you can see from my SYW collection, you CAN game it, even without much more than the excellent HaT ranges, the sadly two Zvesda sets & the mostly dated Revell sets (those "pin heads"!!!)
I think what's lacking for the 7YW is mostly heavy cavalry, it can be created by conversions (I used Zvezda Saxon Cuirassiers with heads from Revell Austrian artillery), but to have some sets made by a good manufacturer would be preferable. Zvezda's two 7YW sets suffer from being on the VERY large side (see PSR review). The Revell infantry is not among their best products but can be used. I actually like the HaT sets.
As for 7YW British I think the Redbox British infantry might do and perhaps some of the Accurate/Revell AWI British infantry, both are nice sets.
British cavalry is of course lacking, as are 7YW French and Russians (other figures might be usable for the Line infantry, but I'm not sure, maybe Italeris AWI French though I don't like them very much) and there's an annoying lack of artillery (unless you buy metal figures or make do with IMEX AWI American artillery - IF you can get hold of them).
I think what's lacking for the 7YW is mostly heavy cavalry, it can be created by conversions (I used Zvezda Saxon Cuirassiers with heads from Revell Austrian artillery), but to have some sets made by a good manufacturer would be preferable. Zvezda's two 7YW sets suffer from being on the VERY large side (see PSR review). The Revell infantry is not among their best products but can be used. I actually like the HaT sets.
As for 7YW British I think the Redbox British infantry might do and perhaps some of the Accurate/Revell AWI British infantry, both are nice sets.
British cavalry is of course lacking, as are 7YW French and Russians (other figures might be usable for the Line infantry, but I'm not sure, maybe Italeris AWI French though I don't like them very much) and there's an annoying lack of artillery (unless you buy metal figures or make do with IMEX AWI American artillery - IF you can get hold of them).
@ Paintdog
VERY nice figures over at Benno's, great work!
I agree with all of this.
I still think the biggest missing "piece" is SYW Russians. I would love to create a large army of them.
donald
BTW I just received two boxes of the RED BOX Jac.Jacobite LifeGuards & FitzJames' Horse.
The Horse will become a French SYW Gentleman's Regiment (Orleans, I think) & the LifeGuard will make up some squadrons of Gendarmerie de France. The senior office figure will be a much needed French general.
Could you tell us by which rules you are playing and how you organize your armies (i.e the ratio of minis to real troop strength like one miniature representing twenty or thirty men)?
Could you tell us by which rules you are playing and how you organize your armies (i.e the ratio of minis to real troop strength like one miniature representing twenty or thirty men)?
Rules: A modified SHAKO set (we call it TRICORNE). A little "dirty" but fast & still has an historical feel.
These have just replaced rules we wrote ourselves (called A GLORIOUS WAR) that over the years, grew bloated & slow as we tried to cover everything.
Figure ratio: about 1:30. I don't think this is a vital thing BTW. A French infantry battalion will have 20 figures, a Prussian 24. A cavalry squadron has 3 figures. A gun model equals a battery of 5-6 real guns.
Could you tell us by which rules you are playing and how you organize your armies (i.e the ratio of minis to real troop strength like one miniature representing twenty or thirty men)?
Rules: A modified SHAKO set (we call it TRICORNE). A little "dirty" but fast & still has an historical feel.
These have just replaced rules we wrote ourselves (called A GLORIOUS WAR) that over the years, grew bloated & slow as we tried to cover everything.
Figure ratio: about 1:30. I don't think this is a vital thing BTW. A French infantry battalion will have 20 figures, a Prussian 24. A cavalry squadron has 3 figures. A gun model equals a battery of 5-6 real guns.
donald
Interesting, 'bloated and slow'...wasn't that what did for the Austrian and Prussian armies (to name just two) which had their showdown with the armies of French Revolutionary France?