Review of Sash & Saber Musketeers Advancing, 40 ECW4

Pics of my cleaned, primed and assembled S&S Musketeers Advancing - 40ECW4.  You get 20 for $45, which is $2.25 a figure, a great value for one's line units.  I would say that they had an average amount of cleaning for Old Glory castings.  Some fine mold lines, some parts that I filed lines deeper, the occasional flash.  The heads add great variety - it's amazing what even changing the position of a head can do!  Again, there are three variations in a 7-7-6 ratio.

My one complaint is that the sword scabbards are unusually thick and attached to the base with a large chunk of flash.  This has to be cut with metal snips and then I used my Dremel with a metal carver to shape the big thick rectangular sculpt a bit.  They would be much better off as a separate casting which would enable them to have a lot more detail and be correctly sized (scaled up they're about the size of a 2by4 that's 3' long!).  The ones on the Romanoff sculpts are separate and they're lovely scabbard sculpts - perfect proportions and nice details overall.  Compared to regular Old Glory they are almost twice as much - the 25mm are $1.16 ea without any discount - but they are nearly twice as big!

I give them an 8 for variety, 8 for value, and 7 for overall sculpt/casting quality, for a 7.5.

"With whom do you consort, Roundhead currr/ Cavalier dog??"

Thought it was about time to post a review of one of my favorite "inspirational cds" for painting my ECW figs.  The Baltimore Consort plays music of the 16th-18th C. as a consort (type of period ensemble) with authentic instruments and accessible interpretation.  So they sound good and are also generally understandable, basically.  This fall marks the beginning of the group’s 31st season as one of America’s favorite early music ensembles. The Consort has made fourteen recordings on the Dorian label and has toured widely in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
http://www.baltcons.com/recordings.htm

My favorite recording from them for the ECW is "The Art of the Bawdy Song" with the Merry Companions (a pick-up catch song and beer swilling group, far as I can tell - the certainly look like they're having fun in the album's pics!).  These songs are from an earlier period and would probably be either "old favorites" by the 1640s or have been reworked to similar melodies.  However the lyrics are priceless and the subjects timeless and of great interest to all soldiers from the Phoenicians to the SEALS.  You also learn a lot about the culture in a "first-hand" manner more like a memoir than a secondary source history.  And how can you not like lyrics such as:
You're a rogue, you've cheated me, I'll prove before this Company,
I caren't a farthing sir, for all you are so stout!
[response]
Sir you lye, I scorne your word, or any man that wears a sword,
for all you huff who cares a Turd, or - 'Who cares for you!?'
[can't you just see the overdressed, boozing officers in a tavern?]

Other songs include "The Old Fumbler", "My THING is My Own", & "Come, come, let us drink".  Also to my amusement I learned that "the Irish Jig" is period slang for sex.  Perhaps in a field, hard to tell from the song.  And the song is hilarious.

Anyway, I've three other albums by them, and they are NOT bawdy but are still very well done.  They provide a refreshing change of pace from the modern rat race and help us to enter another time and place, and isn't that one of the draws of historical wargaming?  Perhaps a future post will feature the opinions of my commanders upon their men's off-duty activities...

Musketeers - March!

Couldn't wait so broke open one of the two large packs of S&S figures.  I've one of pikes and one of Musketeers, at 20 figs for $45 they're the best bargain at $2.50 a fig.

REVIEW: They are quite crisp [hard metal and relatively clean] and have many nice details, including snapsacks, powder flasks, "apostles", bows on britches, and some nice details on the Matchlocks.  There are three poses advancing, and you get a perfect 7-7-6 spread.  They also come with musket rests [nice touch for early war especially], 3 sets of 4 brimmed hat heads + 2-3 individual ones, 2 bare heads, 2 monmoth/knit cap heads, 5 montero cap heads.  There is a bit of flash in hard-to-reach spots, but the mold lines are faint.  I don't find them to be unusual in cleaning either way [unusually clean or messy].

These can easily be used for early or late with and without rests.  The head variety is solid for brimmed hats but the caps / bare heads are only 9, so one would probably have to ask for extra montero hats, for example, which I am certain they'd be happy to provide (based upon past excellent service with Old Glory who casts and ships for S&S).  With only heads to attach they'll be a snap to assemble.

Overall, I give them an '8' for solid sculpting, nice options, easy assembly and metal quality.

The Colonels Prepare to Clash...

Despite years of relatively amicable co-existence in the county, and two years of service together in the English regiment during the Dutch Wars, these two gentlemen find themselves in opposition to one another for King and Parliament.  It makes a sad but all-to-common part of the unfolding story of 1642 England.  

When Charles raised his standard in Nottingham on August 22nd, both gentlemen fully expected to find the other on their side and looked forward to serving together again in The Cause.  So certain in fact that not until they found the other _also_ recruiting near the county seat did they realize the other's terrible choice!  

Startled words were exchanged but blows were avoided between the respective recruiting parties.  Still, having known the other man as a person of fine character, good breeding and unimpeachable honor, it remains a disturbing breach to relations.  Of what cost to this and other friendships will the coming struggle be??

My two cleaned and assembled commanders.  Part of the fun with these figures is designing them yourself with a little story in mind.  The fellow on the left is my Cavalier.  Disdainful of his opponents, he's dressed for a hunting party.  He refuses to don armor since they'll "disperse the Roundhead rabble like the outlaws they are" and has lost his hat with his rushing about.  He's well known for his sanguinary disposition, fiery temper, immoderate drinking, course language, and - since the death of his second wife - late-night carousing.  He's shouting 'Onward!  Onwards! For King and the Right!' as he advances, urging his men to follow him to Glory.

My Roundhead is much more subdued, having finished his morning prayers and interrupted his  reading of the scriptures to deal with the ongoing situation developing just outside the borders of his estates.  He is soberly dressed for war in a "back and breast" and holds his horse steady as he directs the placement of his troops in a professional, scientific manner quite in touch with the latest military studies and his Dutch experience.  He regrets the entire situation, but sees it as only his duty for uphold the ancient rights of all Englishmen against the King's rule of tyranny. 

No names yet - those they get when they're painted.  I think some family names from my British side are in order - more fun than historical personalities and I can't make any research errors!

Aside from getting the bodies to sit properly on the horses, the cleaning and assembly of the figures was quick and fun.  Their stories and personalities were formed during the process of selecting their heads and arms.  While I think they both are representative of a typical officer of their sides, they each have some individuality that I'll flesh out as the blog continues.

As the forces assemble, the first construction had to be the commanders.  This gave me time to work with the parts and get a feel for the figures.  Next up I have to work on the infantry commands, trusted men who will be under them in the battles to come, along with some musket-men who can move fast to seize key features in the county for their Cause.  This also suits my painting approach, as I like to simultaneously work on special characters with individual details and common soldiery I prep and paint in 'assembly-line fashion'.

Ta-DAAAAAA!  The Sash & Saber "40 ECW 204" bag contents revealed in detail!  Special thanks to yarr68 at TMP for the advice to use Google Chrome to work on the blog instead of Internet Explorer (obviously a Google conspiracy at work here...).

In the bag you get 2...horses [walking, standing] 2 bodies [not attached - they are demonstrating my choices of body+horses], 4 heads [bare, helmet, and 2 broad-brim hats [1 lots facial hair and 1 less facial hair], 5 arms [baton, sword waving, sword pointing, finger pointing, waving hat] and 4 holstered pistols that attach to the knee of the figure with a peg [you can only not use by filling in the hole].

MY REVIEW: 
The two figs are $17.  The selection of bits is great and they fit together quite easily with minimal fitting.  Only slightly more work than assembling a cannon or knight with shield and spear.  Flash and mold lines are average amount for an Old Glory figure [ so more than perhaps a premium casting] but clean up much more easily since the figure is so much larger the files and such spare the detail.  My one irritation is that the bodies don't fit well to the horse - the tails of their coats and one's sash ends are in the way of the raised saddle back.  They both required some fitting, but one needed a lot of work to get him to settle properly.  I'm OK with that for a general figure, but not thrilled.  
I give them a 9 for sculpting, price, options, assembly, but -2 for the bodies not fitting the horses which I consider to be an avoidable sculpting error.

First Purchase! Sash & Saber + Romanoff

With most of my ECW 25mm eBay auctions making great progress in bids, I decided ten days ago that I could allow myself to place an initial order of 40mm Sash and Saber (from whom one gets Romanoff 30YW in the USA, also):
www.sashandsaber.com
Romanoff are from the UK but S&S imports them.  They are more 30YW but the differences are little to none for most figures.

The order included the following, and Chris explained by a _quick_ reply via email that there are extra heads and weapon in the packs, including heads with the Montero Cap (unmentioned in the fig descriptions and pics):

20 Unarmored Pike, 20 Muskteers Advancing, Command A [5]
Cavalry in Buffcoat & Cav Command [10], 2 mtd Generals,
A Romanoff Command [5] and two Romanoff firing musketeers [10].

Total of 60 foot, 12 mounted for $240 USD [including shipping]. Infantry are about $3 USD and Cavalry $10. USD 

So, more expensive than big Bicorne and Renegade figs, but not by much with shipping and such figured in for those figs from UK. The foote come in around $2.50/ea, but the horse average out to $10 with command  [lotta lead I guess!].  Price comparison:
Renegade (shipped to US) = $2 foot, $5 mtd
Bicorne (  "       "          ) = $2.50 foot, 6.50 mtd
S&S/Romanoff [free shipping ] = $2.75 foot, $10 mtd
But as I will have smaller units of the 40mm, it probably won't be a lot more than a premium 28mm project.  The cav is the big expense, and I plan to have plenty of it!

Excited about painting them as well, since it'll be a snap to put on a few extra details quickly with my trusty Micron pens.

First Post! "Why ECW" and "Why 40mm?"

Well, both are good [rhetorical I admit] questions.

English Civil War was one of my first gaming adventures with my first club, then the North Penn Wargamers.  They'd a somewhat battered collection of ECW in 20-25mm but I loved the variety of weapons and the strange terminology.  But there's lots of reasons to game this period:

• Plenty of resources in English,
• Plenty of novels/memoirs in English - always keep me motivated to paint and play,
• Colorful uniforms and unusual styles [compared to now],
• Interesting weapon combinations - sword/pistol cav, pike/shotte infantry,
• Good balance btw Horse & Foote, with Artillery a bit weak - good!
• Firepower is important but not overwhelming,
• The miniatures fight for either side since there are few distinct uniforms, yay!
• The war itself is an interesting clash of both religion and politics, giving plenty of reasons for almost any wargame event or scenario,
• Lots of interesting personalities and units,
• Lots of interesting small campaigns and clashes.

Whew!  Isn't that more than enough to drop some silly project like starship combat or anything by Games Workshop??

I put my 25mm Old Glory onto ebay, which was a pre-condition of buying the 40mm. I refuse to do it in two scales.  Painted buffcoat regiment of cav, 20 gunners with three bigger guns and eight small, and about a hundred pike and shot infantry with command.  Some of the auctions have sold, but for those of you who insist on 'playing small' my eBay ID is "Double-a-68" : http://www.ebay.com/itm/181195945853?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

This of course begs the question, "Why 40mm - especially when you started it in 25mm??"  Which a gaming buddy did ask, and it's a good question.  The bottom line is that I wanted to use these big figures - more visually interesting and easier to paint, I believe.  As I get older and move to glasses and other optical improvements, the thought of working in figure sizes I can't see except as fuzzy little blurs is just too much!  Also, this is America - Bigger is the New Better, right?  And I have to add that I was inspired by the pictures of other's work in 40mm. 

Finally, Chris at Sash & Saber is doing a great job making it all affordable at good wargame quality.  The net cost, if one makes regiments with a few less figs than some of the larger 28mm like Renegade, can actually cost less on a project basis if not quite on a figure-by-figure basis.

It was a little hard to put up figures that were finished as well as a project that was on its way, but the actual painting didn't inspire me despite the high quality of the Old Glory ECW line.  Also, as I my new goal is to always field both sides of any gaming project, I figured I may as well start something fresh.

Enjoy the cartoon I finally got up with the correct sizing - it's my favorite ECW humorous bit.  Prince Rupert and his famous poodle face off against Pym and 'Pepper' it seems, with the well-dressed and coiffed cavaliers to the left and the somber commoners to the right.