I have previously described how these images of the 20mm ACW wargame between Donald Featherstone and Peter Gilder really propelled me into wargaming as a hobby.
The clearly identified Airfix figures and the (unknown to me at the time) Hinton Hunt figures plus Featherstone's wargaming books from the local library had a profound effect and took the eleven year old Matt into his life-long hobby.
When the 1964 collection came up for sale on Ebay from Hinds I could not resist diving in and grabbing myself an armful of wargaming history.
I give you the first of the batch which is rather surprisingly made up from converted Napoleonic Hinton Hunt figures. I give you the Maryland Guard (sound of drums):
They arrived like this, plastic bases and old flocking. There are some chips but I decided not to attempt repairs - 60 years of service and still looking good!
I like to think that they were painted by PG himself. At this stage he was not the famed figure sculptor/rule writer he was to become and the Wargames Newsletter article regarding this game
here certainly suggests they are all his own work.
From the bases (and a bit of internet searching to confirm it all) I can identify the original figures as, left to right: DN1 Belgian Infantry Officer, BN 25 British Horse Artillery Officer and DN3 Belgian Infantry Charging. Rather than one off conversions I can see from the matching imperfections that they were converted and then cast. I think the kepis were created by filing down the shakos as the heads do not match original ACW figures I have.
The flag bearer is Airfix and fortunately not brittle so he stays with the unit he has bravely led through the decades.
Finally the flags appear to confirm their authenticity. Red for the rebels and blue for the Union with unit names painted on.
This unit appears to be 2nd US Infantry. I have the 1st US Infantry in this same style.
So, removed from their bases, cleaned up with cotton swabs dipped in odourless white spirit and a new coat of matt varnish applied to the non metallic bits here are the results so far.
While I do not generally add figures painted by others into my collections I think we can say these toys are a worthy exception. More of these gems to follow, plus their Jacklex colleagues and a foray into home casting for the rest of 2023.
A nifty nugget of nostalgia there Matt.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty chuffed with myself on this one!
DeleteA veritable vintage victory Matt. What a sensational find.
ReplyDelete11 year old Matt would love me for this!
DeleteHow amazing to handle and game with such Featherstone / Gilder figures with such pedigree - fantastic that they are still to be found in use (carefully) on the gaming table 60 years later. I did not know they had come to auction.
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I feel the same custodianship about two Peter Laing 15mm small armies of Romans and Celts / Picts, painted and played with by the late Wargames author and editor Stuart Asquith which I bought as he downsized during his lifetime. I had the same quandary about rebasing singly from groups for a different rules system. When I emailed him on another matter but mentioned this, Stuart formally signed their future generalship over to me with best wishes, happy that they were still valued and still in use.
I am happy that the basing was not the original.The plastic was new, some of the command bases I bought had contemporary (Newline) figures and the lurid green paint used to stick the flocking did not match the bases. It was the re-basing that had me concerned...more on that later.
DeleteCongratulations on finding your Laing Miniatures - had a lot of his WW1 figures back in the day.
They have survived well, it's amazing how much better they look once removed from those flocked bases which (IMO) made them look rather tatty.
ReplyDeleteAs above I think the bases were a new addition. With their new coat of varnish I hope to add a few more decades....
DeleteGreat to see those old veterans still ready for action! I like the simple, but perfectly good for wargaming, painting style better than the super-detailed, highlighted and shaded techniques we are encouraged to employ today, which IMHO are more appropriate for dioramas and display pieces than for toy soldiers who will be pushed around tabletop battlefields. Well done for preserving them!
ReplyDeleteThe older my eyes get the more I have to agree.I am guilty of the search for perfection in shading but I find myself more inspired by my copy of addition 1 of Wargames Illustrated than I ever do of this months copy. If ever I buy it.
DeleteSo glad you took the plunge and rescued these and top marks for identifying them! I like the way you've gone along the preservation route and now you've started me thinking that maybe I should do something similar with some of my ex-Neville Dickinson figures.
ReplyDeleteAs for identifying them - well I learnt from the best!
DeleteFor the preservation side this collection is pivotal for me so it was a no brainer in my case.
Well done!
ReplyDeleteAhh the old Airfix "low guard" figure, many of these carry flags in my acw armies.
The mere mention of Airfix gives a warm glow to my wargaming heart!
DeleteMany thanks for sharing these with us. You are a very fortunate individual to not only be able to touch and see a major piece of wargameing history but also to actual own these. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteI must admit I did have to pinch myself when I saw them up for sale!
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