Back when I first started war gaming, the only figures that were available in this part of the world were 25mm Minifigs and Hinchcliffs Napoleonic’s, and for a poor college student, they were horribly expensive at $0.25 each. 1 lead figure = 1 beer. There were plenty of Airfix figures in all eras available, but we were all lead snobs….
Then 15mm figures hit the market. They were available not only for the Napoleonic era, but ACW and Ancients as well. We could cheaply fight grand battles with more than a regiment or two per side, and our poor old 25s were boxed up and forgotten, or sold off. Except of a few brief forays in to skirmish gaming along the Sharp’s Rifles line, they were of very little use anymore.
Then about a year ago, an old gaming friend and I started reminiscing about the great games we used to play with the old 25s. There is just something about the uniforms which made the era so compelling, and the larger scale really made for a beautiful gaming table. A quick poll of the group found that there were several other folks that had their own dusty boxes of forgotten figures, so we decided get everything together to see what we had. It was at this point we found that we were a bunch of closet Bonapartist. The count was about 75% French versus about 25% for everything else…. As I had already painted a handful of British for a Sharp’s Rifles game, the Peninsula War looked like the best bet. Not only were fewer troops required, there were four different countries and their allies involved which gave us a great variety of uniforms to work with.
The search for figures was on. Forgive me if I don’t mention someone’s favorite range, but the best ones we found were from Dixon, Essex, Elite, Front Rank, Foundry, and Old Glory. Dixon makes a great range of French in both dress and campaign uniforms. However, that is all that they have for this era. Essex and Foundry both have fuller lines of very fine figures, but neither have Portuguese or Spanish. Elite, Front Rank, and Old Glory all have the most complete ranges for what we needed.
Rules were the next order of business. There are many good sets on the market with a variety of price and complication. However, our group chose the AWI rules “Don’t Tread on Me” by member Bob Moon. Not only were we all familiar with them, they are a simple two page set that is very fast play. Slight modifications were made to accommodate things like heavy and light cavalry, forming of squares, moral, etc. This is still very much a work in progress with any changes or questions talked out at the gaming table.
At first the games were fairly one sided as the French numbers weighted in heavily. However, meeting engagements with the random arrival of troops made for more interesting games, plus several of the group have been busily painting up allies to even up the sides a bit more.
So there you have it. I’m sure that there are a lot of folks out there who have always played 25MM Napoleonics. The number of companies that produce these figures proves that it has always been popular. However, for me it has brought back fond memories, and perhaps, a bit of lost youth. The dashing Hussar, gleaming Cuirassiers, and solid lines of infantry in colorful uniforms are what got a lot of us into the hobby in the first place. I’m just glad that I’ve rediscovered old friends again.
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