Blenheim 1704 or Getting Big on the Little Guys

Murray Nash -New Zealand

Let’s begin with a fact. I am a large scale wargamer. I grew up on a steady diet of Airfix WW2 and ACW. As I grew, so did the size of the figures I gamed with - 25 mm Napoleonics in my teens and early twenties. Now I am in my 40s it should not be surprising that I now favor 40mm.

I can also be a little outspoken. So I couldn’t help but throw my two cents into a debate on one of TheMiniaturesPage.com’s threads arguing the merits or otherwise of 6mm. At the head of the defense for 6mm was Peter Berry, of Baccus. I had conversed with Peter on previous occasions around his excellent ECW rules, Forlorn Hope. I knew Peter to be a straight-up and thoughtful person, so having him talk so passionately about 6mm made me stop and think.

I had a chat with Peter off-line about the merits of 6mm. He talked about such concepts as “mass effect”, which I found hard to swallow given my logic that fifty 6mm figures probably used about the same lead as one of my 40mm figures.

His advice was simple, “give it a try”.

Now I’m sure when Peter made this suggestion, he was thinking I should start with a couple of his army packs. And that is probably what I was thinking when this whole odyssey began. However, the more I thought about the rationale for why I should do 6mm, the more I realized it was about doing something of a truly “grand tactical” nature, something which the larger scales don’t realistically allow.

So after much debate, and changing of mind, I decided to do the battle of Blenheim. I thought this battle would work well because of the linear nature of the tactics, the range of colourful uniforms, the heavy use of cavalry, it was a new period for me and the battle was BIG – it would therefore provide a great opportunity to showcase what 6mm might be capable of.

Peter worked out an OOB and pulled together the necessary figures. I would use the Polemos rules, which at that time were yet to be published (another leap of faith, which has paid off). I wanted to maximize the visual effect of massed infantry. So we went for 3 ranks of 12 figures, a total of 36, per battalion stand (60mm x 30mm). Cavalry would be 12 figures in single rank per stand, and would equate to a squadron.

I estimate the number of figures at just this side of 10,000. TheÜOB work out as follows:
Ü
Franco/Bavarian army
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84 Battalinos ofÜFootÜ
116 Squadrons of Horse
Ü
Allies
64 Battalions of Foot
159ÜSquadrons of Horse
Ü
A total of 423 stands (not including commanders and artillery). To give you a sense of scale, a single line of the infantry and cavalry bases would extend over 25 metres!

That is a lot of painting, and something I could not contemplate doing on my own. I decided to contract the painting out to local wargamer and painter, Kevin Foxall. Kevin is one of those extremely efficient painters who gets great results in very quick time. He has really enjoyed painting in 6mm, as he can complete a battalion or two in an hour. One thing that keeps him sane is that he gets results quickly, so he sees the benefit of his handy work.

At this stage Kevin is approximately a quarter through painting the forces. Already I understand this “massed effect” idea. It is truly breath taking.

We have a slightly larger French force at this time, but more than enough on both sides to have a big game. We are currently using these forces to learn and enjoy the Polemos system, which is first rate. We are now able to get a result in around three hours using forces occupying a table 8 feet x 6feet. W e really like the command system and combat resolution.

We are using the Timecast buildings, which are extraordinary.

We hope to have the project completed in early 2007, at which time we will plan to organize demonstration games around various parts of New Zealand.

When I took this project on, many of my gaming friends thought I had lost it. However, they have come to love this scale and the visual impact and grand tactical perspective it offers. One long time 28mm gamer, after playing a game said, “there is more variation in the gaming experience in 6mm versus 28mm, than there is between periods in 28mm”. Translation: rather than trying another period in the same old scale, try something in 6mm.

Yes I still love and collect 28mm and 40mm, but I also have a new spot in my heart for 6mm. It provides a great game and a visual feast.
I will keep you all posted with progress on this project as it progresses.

Murray