6mm Project

Hello all, and there’s good news! My postal deliveries arrived successfully, giving me a bunch of Prussian models and a copy of the Might & Reason rules. To do the latter first, the rules are very good. Nicely presented, readable, and the whole thing is a pleasant read. It puts me in mind of the Fire & Fury rules for ACW which I had years ago and were similarly glossy. The actual game mechanics seem sensible and interesting, but I’ll need to have a go at putting them into practice before I confirm they’re good stuff.

As to the figures – very nice! I bought enough to assemble the Prussian army from Mollwitz, as detailed in the M&R website scenario. As such, I’ve got Musketeers and Grenadiers, Cuirassiers and Dragoons, plus cannon & generals. I’ve also got some 2mm MDF bases for them, plus a sheet of Prussian Infantry flags. First thing to comment on is when I opened the box and saw the flags sheet and thought ‘Oh, it’s a reduced scale illustration of them all’ before it dawned on me that I was looking at the finished article. Yes, although it’s stating the obvious, I was still surprised at how small they all were.

A picture of a small thing, next to a big thing

I’ve avoided looking at them all in a group, as I want to see the army assemble as I go. In the meantime, I’ve painted up what I’ll need for an infantry regiment and have been tinkering with the base sizes. Initially, I had a look at how many figures you got in a bag and how this would work out per base. Turns out that the manufacturer had thought of this first, and had bagged figures with enough command stands etc. to work out exactly for his bases and the M&R rules. Each unit is 48 figures, consisting of two bases of 24 each in two rows of twelve. It fills the full base width, and looks pleasingly formidable (from a height of 5mm or so, anyway.)

I decided early on to base the two ranks close together, and have larger space in front and behind on the base. Next I pondered the flags and where they should be positioned. In the centre of one base seemed wrong, as the two bases of a unit would mean that when in line the command party would be constantly ¼ of the way down the line. To get it centrally, I’d need to split the flags across each base and place them at the corner – but then when they’re in column it’d look weird! In the end I decided to have one flag on each base and position them centrally. When all assembled, the mass effect will be of a line of infantry regiments with flags regularly popping up along the line, which should be just the impact I want.

After some pondering, I also decided to use up some of the extra officer figures I had to provide each regiment with a Chef to direct it. I think this decision came from some of the photographs in the M&R rules, which show this – on a larger scale of figures admittedly, but there you go. If I remove two infantry figures, I can add a mounted officer on to the end or middle of the regiment’s line, depending on the positioning of the base. The two extra infantrymen clipped off will be put to use as (another idea inspired by/stolen from the M&R rules) decoration for hit point markers. With a bit of converting to make them look like collapsed figures lying face-down, they’ll get attached to a little numbered base which can be placed next to a hit unit, so damaged regiments will have fallen soldiers all around them.

More photos to follow of the finished regiment.

The full regiment on ice-lolly sticks for ease of painting

A closer view of musketeers from the front

The command group - colours, musicians, and the mounted Chef de Battalion

A view the Austrians won't get - the backs of the Prussian Infantry