Pass of the North

25mm Moros of the Philippines

by Bob Beattie

I once bought the wonderful set of American battle scene prints from the Superintendent of Documents office. One of the most colorful was Knocking Out the Moros, 1913. This print shows a few U.S. soldiers standing off a large contingent of very colorful natives the Moros. The Colt .45 automatic was developed to stop these ferocious warriors who could not be brought down by any other hand guns of the day. Just recently I saw a little known film on American Movie Classics The Real Glory which deals with the early part of this episode, 1906. This is one film I wish they would colorize There are a few U.S. officers, with shotguns and Gatling guns, leading a Filipino militia contingent against vast numbers of the Moros, who attack a town by boat, ladders and by catapulting over the walls with bent palm trees. (Can we have a rule for this?)

The Moros are a Moslem group in the northern Philippines who were not conquered by the Spanish and did not want to be subjugated by the U.S. either. They wear colorful clothing and fight mostly melee style. The situation is excellent for small group actions. Many years ago Jack Scruby offered figures for this, but what can be done now? Jeff Caruso of Pass of the North (POTN) has come to our rescue. He offers 10 beautiful 25mm figures to game out this exciting side light of U. S. imperialism. There are 6 natives: one firing and 5 melee poses, including two with open hands to hold a wonderful array of separate weapons (a curvy long kris knife, a big sword, bolo, bamboo spear plus shields) and one wearing old Spanish mail and steel helmet. With weapons substitution and a variety of painting, one can make a large number of different figures.

There are also 2 Philippine Constabulary and 2 Moro Constabulary (with Fez). Any early 1900 uniformed American officers and soldiers will serve as other opponents. POTN has a number of such available from their Poncho Villa vs. Pershing range. (We do need an officer with shotgun.) The Moros in the Real Glory had a small artillery piece and the opened handed figures could serve as crew. How about a game with 6-8 units of Moros (1/4 rifle armed highly recommend these figures designed by Rene Perez. On Barrett Scale,I give them a 24M. Price is $1.00 per figure (and for extra weapons sets which are useful for Boxers too) plus $5.00 for shipping and handling. Available from Pass of the North, 1060 Esplanda, El Paso, TX 79932.

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