Monday 31 October 2011

Grand Designs and Lofty Ambitions....Part 5

I really think the Perry plastic idea is worth looking at in more detail and certainly the attractions of such an approach are many. They are relatively cheap - averaging around some 50p a foot figure - and being hard plastic means that all the usual soft plastic dramas can be neatly swerved. They would be far easier to convert than soft plastic figures - I am quite comfortable working with the medium - which opens up a lot more opportunities. As these are being considered for a pair of 'imagi-nations' the question of fine detail can be largely ignored. I pondered this whilst on the train this morning and reckon that a couple of boxes of each type - infantry, Zouaves and cavalry will be more than sufficient for my immediate needs. Artillery can be easily acquired from a variety of sources and of course, 28mm means that a whole world of period specific personality figures becomes available.

I am uncertain as to when Russia or Turkey changed their uniforms from those depicted in the Osprey Russo Turkish War 1877 to the more modern style but will happily use the aforementioned plastic ACW figures for an 1891 'imagi-nation' set up based on these two historical adversaries. From a numbers point of view I will be working to the 'Portable Wargame and a half' scale which means around 60 foot, a dozen mounted and two or three guns and my preferred size playing area will be a 12 x 8 Hexon battlefield. For the paint job I am thinking flat colours and Army Painter and should the results flying around on the net be anything to go by this technique could be a winner for my sloth-like painting dilemma!


No comments: