Inspiration 2

A recent post by John Ray reminded me that i had meant to post these for ages...

Pictures of Erich Rohde's collection featured in various issues of Tradition and Miniature Warfare in the early 1970s; I didn't see them for another decade, but they, together with images of Phil Robinson's (mostly Hinchliffe) SYW collection, set the tone for what a SYW game should look like.

I know almost nothing about Rohde, but Hamburg based maker Uwe Lacina gets a brief mention in Garratt's 'World Encyclopaedia'.

My Hero 2

The future MP for Liverpool by Doug Mason.

Every chap of good taste wants his own miniature Banastre Tarleton, and i am no exception. Luckily  the legend of paint brush and soldering iron that is Doug Mason kindly agreed to create one for me. The basic figure is the Suren British Legion officer (armed with trademark pin sabre) mounted on a Hinchliffe horse (my favourite of the 'dramatic' Gilder horses) that he controls via wire reins (another Mason trademark).

Every sensible scouser turns up to a fight mob-handed, and our future MP for Liverpool is no exception - the British Legion cavalry are hot on his heels. These, and other DM creations, will feature as soon as i've based them up.

Everybody's Got One

Leading the charge or the rout? The foot are all basically Hinchliffe, with a head swapped Suren rider on a Connoisseur horse.

Surely every AWI wargamer has had a version of the 2nd New Hampshire regiment circa 1777 in their collection at one time or another? Personally i blame Charles Lefferts - who can resist the allure of sky blue coats and buff small clothes? Whilst the more recent Troiani depiction of the unit is likely to be more accurate i prefer the more colourful Lefferts/Mollo version - so in this case i'll definitely be 'painting the legend'.

Inspired by the ex-Gaskin piece Mike Siggins showed us some time ago i'm going for an all action unit.

A couple of officer conversions (Foremost French with new heads). 

Now all i need to do is finish the 30 odd rank and file.......

A History of Tradition

An interesting article on the legendary London shop can be found here on the website of Toy Soldier Collector magazine.

Stearns On Suren

Another gem from our ever vigilant East Anglian correspondent Mike Siggins. The legendary Phil Stearns visits the equally legendary Ted (or 'Teddy' apparently) Suren. From Campaigns magazine Issue 3 March/April 1976.

Baring in mind Stearns day job, his involvement may explain Suren's 'minimalist' dress code, or perhaps Suren was embracing punk (possibly only wearing a bin liner for dinner)....or maybe it was just the temperature....

The Naked Sculptor

Ted Suren. Wearing a bow tie. And nowt else. Thank goodness for the desk.

I'll refrain from any Willie jokes as you're probably way ahead of me....

Suren AWI Conversions

More of John's Suren conversions - a couple of toffs, and the Kings American Dragoons. Horses are mostly Ebob with a few Foremost. Again painting is mainly oil washes on an acrylic base, and i particularly like the scarlet - it's so vibrant it almost glows.

My Hero! *

(Or at least a miniature representation thereof)

John recently added some long overdue commanders and personalities to his small but perfectly formed British AWI force, and this is his Banastre Tarleton (complete with 17th LD aide). Suren figures on Foremost horses. All the large areas are oil washes on an acrylic base, detailing is mostly straight acrylics. Tarleton himself isn't the predictable Suren BL officer (N13) but instead a conversion of a Napoleonic figure (J26 Commandant of the Cameronians, Egypt c 1801 - which despite not being listed on the Tradition site is definitely available as Magnus remoulded it last year)...i mean, why go off the shelf when you can go bespoke...

* Not entirely true - young Tarleton was far too rash and tactically one dimensional for my liking, though i'd defend his reputation against rebel propagandists both then and now (yes, i'm looking at you Mel).

Bill Gaskin 3

More ex Gaskin pieces now in the collection of Mr Siggins. This time we think the conversion and painting is the work of Bill himself. As far as i can see the basic figures are all Gilder sculpts apart from a lone Willie (the lt dragoon officer). Great stuff!

More of Young's Surens

A couple of 17th C. types this time. The ECW officer is definitely a Suren, presumably the Cardinal is C 16 Cardinal Richelieu...?

It's a shame that Gilder's Hinchliffe ECW are some of his smallest 25mm offerings (at least of those still readily available) otherwise i'd have added Suren's ECW personalities to the collection long ago (then again, if over-sized commanders were good enough for Callan....).

The Brigadier's Willies

A few 30mm 18th c. subjects from the legendary Peter Young's collection. I think the majority of these are Suren conversions (though not being an expert in vintage 30mm figures i stand to be corrected) and, as the Brigadier apparently knew and wargamed with Ted Suren, then perhaps they are the work of the master himself...?

I've had these pictures for years, they are not mine, and i can't remember where i nicked them from (though i think i might have taken them from the site of the auction house that was selling them at the time).

More Robinson Napoleonics

Another splendid Napoleonic command group by the obscenely talented Phil Robinson. This time i think the figures are Suren on Hinchliffe horses. Phil painted these chaps back in the 1980s, and they currently reside in the collection of Roy Lowson.

Bill Gaskin 2

More Gaskin collection pieces courtesy of Mike Siggins. The quality of these pretty much speaks for itself, so i'll shut up....

August 2010 Edit: When he originally sent me these images Mike did suggest the figures may have been by Phil Robinson, and Phil himself has just confirmed this. Phil also tells me that the majority of his command figures were Suren (though often converted) remounted on Gilder horses.

Noo Yoik, Noo Yoik

This is my version of the 3rd New York Regiment c. 1778, 30 figures strong, all Hinchliffe castings designed, of course, by Peter Gilder. Alexander Hamilton (a slight modification of the Suren George Washington on a Gilder Foremost horse) provides moral support.

This unit is a fairly new addition to my collection and has only fought once.. i say 'fought', actually they didn't fire a shot, nor suffer a casualty - they just stood and watched as [enter Mel Gibson mode] the vile oppressors were soundly thrashed by the defenders of liberty [exit Mel Gibson mode] ......

As you can see my first efforts at photographing a decent sized unit have not been entirely successful - no doubt there are settings i could use to improve the focus, etc. but me and digital devices (including our camera) just don't get on, give me analogue anytime...

New Willies!

I've just received an email from Tradition announcing further reworked/converted and remastered Suren 30mm 18th century figures - a few French and the first of the Prussians. The 'Gentlemen' set above is my favourite. Whether David Wilson has been able to match Suren's standards i can't say as i haven't seen any of the reworked figures in the flesh, but if i had the time and money (the new sets work out at about £1.50 per figure) for a SYW project i suspect i'd choose the Willie range.

Ted Suren

Whilst i'm in the mood to shower praise on talented sculptors it would be remiss of me not to mention the late Ted Suren. Suren's 30mm creations ooze character, and have a lean and hungry look that feels entirely appropriate. His 30mm AWI cavalry, once remounted on Gilder horses, fit remarkably well with Hinchliffe 25s (though his 30mm infantry are just a tad too big for me). Above we have Suren's George Washington and Baylors Dragoons officer mouted on Connoisseur medium horses.

Surens are currently available from Spencer Smith and Tradition. Beware though - some of the moulds are in bad shape, so be prepared to do a fair bit of clean-up. The end result is worth it i think. The good news is that Tradition are in the process of remastering and extending the Suren range.

AWI 'In the Grand Manner'

My most enduring wargaming love is the AWI - i've been interested in the period for over 25 years. My original armies were Hinchliffe, Minifigs and Tradition 25s that i foolishly sold many years ago. My current collection was sparked off by a chance purchase of various ex-Gilder/John Ray collection units a few years ago. I've been adding to those slowly over the last 3 years. As things stand the armies are a mixture of Hinchliffe (scuplted by Peter Gilder and Steve Hezzlewood), RSM (Hezzlewood), Willie (Ted Suren) and John Ray miniatures. More of these anon. Meanwhile, by way of a taster, here's a rebel command stand (i like command groups) - standard Hinchliffe figures, painted by me.