I thought I had finished my 15mm ECW/TYW project for good several years ago. What started out as an ECW project was expanded to the Thirty Years War. I'd long had an interest in the TYW but I think what really pushed me over the edge to include the TYW was that I knew I didn't need a whole lot of figures for 15mm ECW gaming and adding the TYW would allow me to collect more figures! Once the project was done I ended up with the following units for the English, Scots, and European powers: 8 Dragoon units of 12 mounted and 12 dismounted with a separate horse holder and standing horse 35 Horse units (heavy/medium) of 12 figures 73 Foot units (pike and shot) of 27 figures 12 stands of "Forlorn Hope" shot of 9 figures 7 Cuirassier units of 12 figures 17 heavy, 46 medium, 6 light, 6 mortars, and 14 frame guns (heavy guns have four crew, medium have three while light and frame guns have two). All guns have limbers except for the frame guns, which have a packhorse for transportation. I must admit it is a little silly to have limbers for this period as from what I've read, once the guns were placed on the battlefield, that is where they stayed 52 mounted Generals (three mounted figures for army commanders, two for wing commanders, and one for "local" commanders 24 wagons, two coaches, 8 mule stands, and some stands of period civilians to be used to represent an army's wagon park Both foot and horse are organized with three stands per unit; foot have nine figures in three ranks (one stand of pike and two of shot) while horse have four figures per stand. I liked the way the three rank stands looked. However, I recently obtained the two TYW books by William P. Guthrie, "Battles of the Thirty Years War: from White Mountain to Nordlingen 1618-35" and "The Later Thirty Years War: from the Battle of Wittstock to the Treaty of Westphalia." Expensive gems (total of $143) but the best value I've spent on books in a long time! The amount of information and orders of battle is just amazing! However, there is a price to pay for being exposed to additional information, isn't there! I had foolishly thought I could represent TYW formations with my three-stand units but found this would not be possible. After lots of thinking and planning, I decided upon using my three-stand foot unit concept to represent a Swedish regiment of approximately 500-600 men. The Swedes utilized what was referred to as the "Swedish Brigade" - three regiments of foot supporting each other. Thus, a brigade of Swedish foot has 81 figures (27 figures X 3 units) in it. With a Swedish Brigade running between 1198 and 2194 men (at Breitenfeld), how was I going to represent an Imperial Tercio of anywhere from 900 to 2400 men (again at Breitenfeld) which by the way, could increase to size to over 3,000 men! Dutch foot formations could go as high as 3300 men while Spanish Battlia units were around 1000-1500. What I elected to do was to "add" shot and pike stands to existing units. The added pike stands would not have a flag bearer, as do the rest of my pike stands, and the shot stands would not have an officer, drummer, and sergeant, just pike or shot figures. In order to more fully represent the formations of the time, I decided to add "center shot" stands of three shot per stand to be placed to the front of pike stands. Thus, a Tercio of four pike stands (two in front and two behind) would have two center shot stands to the front of the pike stands with an additional four shot stands (nine figures each) on the right and left flank (front and rear) of the pike stands. These "center shot" stands can double as "commanded shot" stands. For a "full-strength" Tercio, this renders a total of 36 pike and 42 shot (78 figures). Actually, from the illustrations I've seen, Tercios had shot lining all four sides. The system I've described above allows the shot to cover the entire front of the formation and portions of the flanks but not the rear. Guthrie (page 10) outlines a Tercio of 1024 men as follows: The first number within parenthesis refers to the width while the second denotes the number of ranks deep. Thus, the Tercio formation would be 58 men wide by 19 ranks deep. Figures within a formation will not necessarily need to have the same color/type of uniform as (1) there was a great deal of variety in uniforms within a unit at the time, and, (2) these large formations were composed, many times, of men from different regiments. This was a plus for me as I could use the "extra" pike and shot stands, as well as center shot and commanded shot (shot taken from foot units and placed between horse units or to the front of the army), with different units. I am not absolutely clear on how Swedish "Brigades" should be represented. I know they were formed by three "units" of foot and from my reading, the purpose was to be able to "support" each other. Illustrations gleaned from TYW wargaming rules display them in one single formation, however, I am thinking the rules designer took this approach so as to be able to represent the formation on the wargames table within the figure ratio he had decided upon - therefore, I strongly suspect the three foot "units" were separate, but close enough to provide support to each other. I envision two of the "units" being in front with the third centered behind them. Guthrie (page 18) illustrates a Gustavan formation of "two small infantry regiments" of 740 men in "practice" as such: From what I understand, the Swedish formations were superior in firepower because the shot was spread out thus allowing more musketeers to fire. I run into several problems if I desire to base my system upon having a Swedish unit of foot (around 740 men) being represented by my standard basing procedure of three stands totaling 27 figures. First of all, my basing system will not allow me to represent the increased frontage and decreased depth of the Swedes. Secondly, if as in the illustrations above, I use my standard basing system of 27-foot figures to represent the Swedish formation, I have a figure ratio of 1:27 while the Tercio ratio is 1:38. A "livable" situation, but what happens if I am attempting to represent a 3,000 man strong Tercio? I would require 111 figures at a 1:27 ratio, and 78 at a 1:38 ratio, more than I had hoped would be needed. My solution is possible only by adding additional pike and shot stands to my existing units. I'm anxious to see how a large Tercio of over one hundred figures will look on the wargames table! I did have 12 stands of "commanded shot" which I had previously referred to "forlorn hope" (basically the same meaning, I would think) mounted a wider stands than the regular shot stands. I remounted all of these on regular shot stands so I had a good start on increasing the number of shot stands available to me. I also picked up some painted pike and shot figures, many of which will require "touching-up" but they will be very helpful in increasing the number of figures available. I also need to add battalion or regimental guns to many of the foot units. These were usually three pounders with a small crew. I intend on using two crew for each gun and unlike the rest of my artillery, will not have a limber for them. Another area of need for me figure-wise is that of light horse for the TYW. Originally I had some period Polish and Cossack horse painted up but they all carried lances. From my understanding, the lance was pretty much "dead" in this period except for "show" units. They were usually armed with carbines. Battlefield use of light horse appears to be limited to that of being placed on the flanks of the army and used to harass or threaten the enemy and pursue a beaten foe. I'm thinking of using larger bases for my light horse. I need quite a few more cuirassier units as they were very numerous during the TYW. One nice thing about using figures from different manufacturers, as I like to do, is that you can get different types of Cuirassiers, in this case, instead of having only one or two varieties. I have them in visors, pot helmets, and even hats. Do you remember the old MIKE'S MODELS 15mm Renaissance range? They were produced in the early 1980's and then sold to ESSEX in the late 80's, I believe. ESSEX used them for about five years until they got their own Renaissance line going. Well, I'd never really seen them before but recently had a chance to pick up several poses second hand. They are, as I'd heard, "stubby", but have a great deal of character as a figure. The poses I have consist of helmeted ECW/TYW musketeers and dragoons. I've got a lot more on the way to me in several days and am anxious to see what the pike, command, artillery crew, and horse look like. The MIKE'S MODELS Renaissance listing for the TYW/ECW is quite extensive. Also picked up quite a few MINIFIG ECW/TYW figures. They are not available in the USA but are still produced by MINIFIGS in the UK and Tom Dye of MINIFIGS USA can order them for you (check his ad in MWAN). You can still run across them in hobby shops sometimes. At one time, they offered a very extensive TYW line, in addition to the ECW, but a look at their latest listing (UK) indicates they have reduced the number/types of TYW packs offered. I was looking for TYW "Light Horse" and the UK listing includes Croat Light Cavalry, Hussars, Bohemian Light Cavalry and Transylvanian Light Cavalry as well as Spanish armored pike, arquebusiers, musketeers, foot command, and Caballos Carazas. I'd like to build up my Spanish TYW units. At present, I only have the ESSEX Caballos Carazas and Herreruelo (pistoliers) horse units but haven't had them painted up yet. DONNINGTON MINIATURES has an extensive TYW and ECW line with many different types of Cuirassier figures. They are the only company producing Finnish horse and eventually, I have to obtain several units of these. The PARTIZAN PRESS website reports that their ECW 15mm range of Matchlock Miniatures is still available although they no longer offer the artillery crew. They used to have a smaller 15mm TYW line but that hasn't been around for a long time. I'm going to base my mortars in the following fashion - I'll take some toothpicks and form a "wooden firing stand" on a metal stand and then mount the mortar and four crewmen on the firing stand. The more I learn about the TYW, the more I appreciate the ESSEX Renaissance figure line for ECW/TYW! I guess I always thought it was an "ECW" line but I can now tell that you can build most TYW units by using it. The addition of pike and shot stands for my TYW project will greatly influence my basing for the ECW. Instead of using a standard three-base (two shot and one pike) unit, I will have enough additional pike bases to increase my foot units to four bases, usually two pike and two shot. Changing my "Forlorn Hope" shot stands from nine figures to three will not only allow me to represent "center shot" stands, but it will provide more realistic representation of "commanded shot" for "interlining" (the placement of shot between horse units) and placement of shot in building complexes and to the front of an army. I still have to deal with the "ratio issue" with my horse units. If one of my foot figures represents approximately 30 real men, my horse units of 12 figures then represents about 360 horse. This is probably about "right" as many horse units were under-strength. I can always add a fourth stand of horse for larger units. I'm also adding a pike stand for each of my Irish Musketeers units. I had three stands of shot for each of two Irish units so I'll end up with three shot and one pike stand as well as several commanded Irish shot. Am putting the finishing touches on my Highlander units. They are mounted on somewhat larger stands (still nine to a stand) than my pike and shot as they are organized (or disorganized) as a "mob." As such, I have all types of arms represented: muskets, axes, gallowglasses (is that what they are called?), swords, farming implements, etc. They look pretty good. I've got a 15mm ECW-period ship all painted up including guns. However, I am unsure as to how to mount the gun crews. There isn't a lot of room on deck and I am thinking I may have to mount them individually, which I don't care for. Has anyone else tackled this and how did you resolve it? I've seen 15mm ship battles at conventions but never took the time to see how they mount the ship's crew. I also picked up a second hand star fort. I think it may be an old Gallia model and is quite functional. I had considered getting one from time to time over the years but always decided against it. In our hobby, forts always look so good and as a result, are tempting to purchase/construct, however, when you get down to using them in a game, it never quite works out. However, I thought I could use it as a harbor fort in conjunction with the ship I have. I am thinking I will repaint it and mount it on a piece of double-tempered hardboard. 1 am thinking of using naval guns for the fort guns. I noticed FREI KORP15 has added a second ECW (1634-51) line to their catalog. This has some useful figures within it including Irish pikemen, and dismounted Dragoon horseholders and horses. They also have a nice selection of Scottish foot, artillery crew, and mounted. There are thirty packs of figures available. I haven't seen them and am wondering how they would fit in with their existing line for the ECW/TYW, which is the only line I am aware of offering Gustavus Adolphus' leather guns. Although I have many of the FREIKORP15 ECW/TYW horse in my collection, as well as some of their gun crews and all of the personality figures, I haven't seen their pike (separate pikes), shot, and foot command. You can always count on FREIKORP 15 to offer a very nice and extensive line of mounted command for all of the periods they offer. I very much like having a variety of mounted Generals for my collections! Their horse have always appealed to me. There are a total of 42 packs available within this line. I should mentioned that a second 15mm SYW is also listed now for them. Another item I want to obtain for the ECW/TYW which could also be used for my 15mm SYW is a pontoon wagon group and pontoons. My plan is to take several of my river sections and either glue pontoon sections to them or determine if I am skilled enough to construct the pontoons so that they can be placed on a river section. HALLMARK and FREIKORP15 both make pontoon wagons and pontoon sections. I've been trying to replace some broken pikes; this is not an easy task on 15mm figures! Anyway, it can be a bit of a nuisance to go back to work on a project you thought you had finished. However, the exciting part can be finding new figures to use and determining how you are going to handle the organization. The only problem is that it draws me away from other projects I had been working on such as my 15mm SYW and 15mm Sudan! Before I started working on the ECW/TYW project, I had been reorganizing my 15mm Sudan project. You may remember that I was going with the Early Sudan - Gordon, Baker, and the first British incursion into the Sudan. I managed to pick up a few small native ships to go along with my three gunboats and was merrily mounting and terraining figures when I ran out of metal stands. I decided to "down-size" both the government and Dervish forces. I went through my Dervish riflemen figures and selected those figures which could be used as "Irregular" natives organized by Gordon and/or Baker and made up several units commanded by Egyptian officers. I'd like to find some appropriate horsemen with rifles to use for the same purpose but have been unsuccessful thus far. I've decided to have some 15mm Sudan figures sculpted and cast for me. Right now it looks like I'll have Bashi Bazouks on foot and on horse and a native irregular horseman with a rifle done for me. Nobody makes them that I am aware of. Once they are completed, my plan is to offer them for sale at cost. If anyone is interested in obtaining them, let me know. Peter Pig (Martin Goddard of the UK) has been kind enough to release 15mm ranges in both the English Civil War and Early Sudan, probably just for me! I'm hoping to add figures from these ranges for both of my periods. I attended the LITTLE WARS Convention outside of Chicago this spring and was very impressed with the number of vendors. Since my wife was with me, I didn't stay long; just long enough to closely check out the Flea Market and vendor's area. I came away from the Flea Market with dozens of books on the SYW and ECW -- made some really nice finds! In the recent issue of WARGAMES ILLUSTRATED, 54mm enthusiast and MWAN contributor, Mike Blake has some wonderful color pictures of a 54mm English Civil War in progress! Great work, Michael! There is a large English mansion with surrounding wall, lots of trees, and a troop of horse. I know you can obtain 54mm plastic Thirty Years War and English Civil War figures (Revell?), but I wonder where Mike got the horse - conversions, I suppose. They certainly looked impressive to me! I'm in need of "hasty works" for my 20mm ACW and FPW projects; does anyone know where to obtain them? Thanks for reading my "wanderings" -- kindest regards from Hal! Back to MWAN # 130 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2004 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com