6mm Figures Are In

I haven't been touting it much lately, but I have been getting a lot of my 6mm troops, especially Napoleonics, ready for battle. Some of it is rebasing old troops [sigh] and some of it is unpacking from a painter I commission.

Now I usually go on about how easy 6mm figures are to paint, but let's just say that my buying got way ahead of my painting. Way too many auctions with people selling off unpainted and partially painted armies. Actually, I picked up quite a few painted troops too.

I have been using a painter from Flint, MI named Mike Crowley, and I have to say his painting talents of the small guys is pretty good. He is also pretty fast too. All of the figures depicted here are painted by him.

All figures depicted are Baccus 6mm, unless otherwise noted.

Napoleonics

British

First up are the Scots Greys that I received last night (which is why they are not based yet). The belts, bearskin cords and reins and really fine and precise. They are the last regiment that I needed painted for the Union Brigade.

Baccus started resculpting his British line and I have really like his newer sculpts over the older ones, so I needed to check them out. I specifically like the 'skirmisher' troops as a line unit that is in a firing line. So, I decided to buy some of the new Highlanders and see how they painted up. I like them. I need to touch them up because the painter thought that I was using them as the light company, so all of the plumes are green!

French

Peter of Baccus 6mm had for a long time said that he did not want to sculpt 'specialty' figures like British Scots Greys, Russian Pavlov Grenadiers, and such because each customer would, at most, buy one or two packs. He finally broke down and sculpted them and he was right, at least with me. I only bought one pack of Scots Greys and because the rules I am using only requires nine figures for a regiment, that left 36 figures to use for something else.

One regiment that has a similar uniform (especially at this scale) are the French Gendarme d'Elite.

I think they look pretty good as that unit! (That is what we call a 'paint conversion'.)

Austrians

I have quite a number of Austrian and Hungarian line infantry, a lesser number of Grenadiers and Grenzers, and no Jagers in Korsehut. Until now, that is.

Although your first reaction may be that the collar and cuffs are too prominent (in color and size), you have to realize that details have to 'pop' at this scale.

Spanish

I had a really good 6mm painter in the UK, who unfortunately I cannot remember the name of, but he had a hiccup in his business so I (unfortunately) stopped using him. But his Spanish figures were really lovely troops. Although I received quite a number of line infantry, grenadier, artillery and dragoon units, none of my hussars or heavy cavalry had been painted. So I finally sent them off and Mark has done an outstanding job. The piping on the hussars are just insane.

Russians

For a long time my Russians have had no leadership. Finally I have some Generals to lead them.

Franco-Prussian War

French

I have two regiments of French Zouaves painted now.

This will be my second regiment of French Algerian Tirailleurs painted up. (I painted the first one.)

Finally, some French Ligne regiments in greatcoat.

Prussians

First off, the mainstay of the Prussian army, Prussian Grenadier regiments.

Unfortunately the Prussian Jagers were moving, so their photo is a little blurry.

Bavarian artillery crews with a Krupp steel gun.

Some Prussian and German Allied Generals.

And finally, two regiments of Prussian Hussars.

Basing

Currently I am basing my Napoleonic infantry with eight figures (two strips in two ranks) on a 1" by 1/2" wooden base 3 mm thick and with a magnetic bottom. Three such bases make up a battalion. This is pretty standard for Polemos basing, except that I am using 25 mm (1") for the frontage of each strip rather than 20 mm.

For cavalry I was initially basing them as three bases of three figures each, but they look very sparse at that density, despite that being standard Polemos density. I think I am going to go with four figures per base with two bases representing two squadrons and four bases representing a regiment. This means that all of the cavalry I have had painted up so far has to be doubled in size. I probably should have thought about that before sending off my last order... I dislike basing.

Cavalry bases are 1" by 3/4", 3 mm thick wood, with a magnetic bottom.

Artillery is based on 1" by 1", 3 mm thick wooden bases with magnetic bottoms. There are four gunners and one gun on the base. If I have limbers, they are on a separate 1" square base.

Commanders are mounted on 1" wooden round bases, with a magnetic bottom. They have multiple figures on the base if they are the Commander-in-Chief and only one figure if they are a Commander.

Rules

For using these figures, I will more than likely use Tin Soldiers in Action for the Napoleonics troops. They are currently organized with three bases of eight figures each for infantry, but I would likely use four such units to represent a 12 tin soldier unit.

Cavalry Brigades in Tin Soldiers in Action would be eight bases (an inefficient number for morale purposes) to twelve bases depending upon whether it contains two or three regiments.

As I am playing more Black Powder (as that is what is played around here by others), I could also use the above as one three-base infantry unit (or two two-base cavalry units) equals one Black Powder unit played at half-scale. 

For the Franco-Prussian War I will probably still use Neil Thomas' Wargaming Nineteenth Century Europe, on a grid of course.