Whenever a miniatures wargamer considers gaming in any given period or milieu, the very first thing he or she looks at is figure availability - after all, if there just aren’t sufficient miniatures for that campaign or period, the miniatures wargamer simply isn’t going to game there, no matter how interesting the period is, or how much you like that new set of rules you just picked up.
Fortunately, the War of 1812 is not one of those miniatures-scarce conflicts if one likes gaming in 15mm.......an attractive scale for 1812, by the way, for a number of reasons.
First, many gamers getting into the War of 1812 do so from a background in Napoleonic gaming. This means that they get to use many of the British figures that they may have amassed for Wellington’s peninsular army - it saves money and time if you can jumpstart right in, and helps maintain enthusiasm for your new interest.
Secondly, the War of 1812 was not a war dominated by skirmishes - the average size of an action usually involved at least a small brigade on each side, and by 1814, battles involving divisions on each side were becoming increasingly common (Niagara, Plattsburg, Baltimore, and New Orleans all ultimately involved more than 20,000 combatants, for instance). This means that company stands - familiar to most Napoleonic gamers - gives the gamer new to the period something in common with other gaming milieus, thus creating a useful reference point.
There are an extraordinary number of 15mm figures available for use in the War of 1812, which we will cover here. Part One lists (and describes) those figures specifically made for the War of 1812, with addresses, phone numbers, Internet URL’s and e-mail addresses of primary sources of these figures.
Part Two lists those figures that are easily usable for the War of 1812, but were manufactured for other lines or periods. There is a surprising amount of variety here, since many American uniforms were deliberate copies of European patterns.
More Recruiting Your War of 1812 Armies
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© Copyright 2001 by Rich Barbuto.
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