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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Thursday, July 13, 2017

I is for I couldn't think of a long alliterative title for these guys!

The nappies; or is it nappys? No matter, it's a silly moniker and if you check back to the magazines and books of the era these appeared in it was firmly and always Napoleonics or 'Waterloo', which negated the chance of the general public viewing you with pity for you juvenility!

These were a smaller 'set' than the AWI or ACW, I don't know why but can have a guess that maybe the period wasn't as popular before Airfix's figures were issued? Although I know there were metal wargames figures of the era, but smaller, maybe it hadn't taken-of in the larger 30mm? Do we blame Charles Grant and his books full of Marlbrough?

The British - There is a pose missing, an advancing Highlander (who is not listed in the modern metal range?), I got a load of these; all semi-painted or started, but no Highlanders, they obviously stayed to fight another day when the owner off-loaded these!*

The French - The first figure is a Grenadier advancing and while I've seen him described as a Highlander (when found in grey) he has the French bayonet of the other two and no pleated kilt/sporran as it's a greatcoat!

Everybody else! I think these are - from top to bottom - Russian, Prussian and Austrian (listed as Bavarians), but with these figures it was all about the paint, perhaps augmented with a blob or two of Plastacine and something called banana oil!

The Cavalry, all two of them; Lancers or Lifeguards! There were hussars but they got moved to the AWI in the early 1990's! It's how Dr. Who gets away with it; history and time-travel are one and the same thing!

While there were no gunners, we've already seen how the catalogues pointed out the uses of the other guns for Napoleonic forces - presumably AWI carriage for France and its allies, ACW for the Brits?

The AWI could also provide earlier French with bicornes/tricornes, while if you needed dismounted Cossacks there was always the backwoodsmen to paint-up; just cut-away the racoon-tails!

Catalogue Listings
Mid 1970’s Production (approximately 1974)
Standard Range
Napoleonic
- Bag of 24 British Lifeguards (trotting)
- Bag of 24 Lancers (galloping)
- Bag of 24 Hussars (charging)
- Bag of 80 Russians/Prussians/Bavarians Infantry (mixed)
- Bag of 80 French Infantry (3 types mixed)
- Bag of 4 Cannon (2 field & 2 howitzer)

Early 1980’s Production (approximately 1981?)
Standard Range (1980’s)
Napoleonic
- Bag of 8 British Lifeguards (trotting)
- Bag of 8 Lancers (galloping)
- Bag of 8 Hussars (charging)
- Bag of 30 Russians/Prussians/Bavarians Infantry (mixed)
- Bag of 30 French Infantry (3 types mixed)
- Bag of 2 Cannon (field)
- Bag of 2 Cannon (howitzer)

Peter Johnson Years
Plastic Range
Napoleonic War
P21 - 30 British Infantry (15 Battalion Company privates, 15 Highlanders advancing, 15 Highlanders firing)
P22 - 30 French Infantry Advancing (10 Grenadiers with greatcoats, 10 without, 10 Fusiliers)
P23 - 30 Mixed Armies Advancing (10 each; Bavarians, Prussians and Russians)
P24 - 8 Cavalry (4 lancers, 4 Lifeguards)
P25 - 2 Guns (6-lbr’s)
Plastic Sample Packs (contents differ)
SP2 - Standard - Napoleonic (8 foot, 2 mounted, 1 gun)
Other Items
P29 - Horse and Musket Rules 1750-1870 (including ACW demonstration game)
Metal Range
Metal Sample Packs (6 foot, 1 mounted)
SM4 - Napoleonic

Internet/Metal Years
Weren't listed for a while, now found here, sans Highlander advancing.

*If anyone would like to swap a handful of plastic Advancing Highlanders (if they existed?) for either of the other two poses, that would be brilliant - any colour received, you get red . . . with a bit of paint!

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